Finding Our House

Two years ago me, my husband and our son decided to start over again. We had filed for bankruptcy, we voluntarily gave up our house and we decided to move an hour and a half away from our hometown. It was to
be a new beginning.

I remember well the first trip we took to the mid-size town that would be our home. We got lost looking for the big shopping center and ended up in a much nicer area of town, the historic district. We drove through the tree lined streets and enjoyed seeing the large Victorian houses, the smaller brick homes, the large mini-estates. I remember making a comment to my husband --

Maybe we could rent one of the apartments in one of these Victorian homes and actually live in the historic district.

We've always loved old things. They bring back memories of being with our grandparents and great-grandparents. We have owned family homes in the past, selling one and then giving one up. We knew that we did not take care of them the way we should have and we often wished we could have another chance to care for a beautiful home, a home with character.

That was not where we lived for the first two years. We found a smaller house outside of town. It was rural and quiet, which we also liked. But it was soon apparent that we needed more room. We also had a lot to learn. And a year ago was when the lessons truly began - when we made a decision to choose us over our pets and made the hard decision to let most of them go. When we decided to truly discover what made us happy and what we wanted out of life. Then coming back together, choosing to be together. It was a difficult year, but a year of renewal and transition.

So we found ourselves needing a bit more space. Since our lease was coming up I started looking for a new house. Since discovering the law of attraction, we made a list of things we wanted in a house, including the rental price. We did find some land with a mobile home that was for sale. That sidetracked us for a while, but it was soon apparent that we were not able to get it at that moment. It did leave us hopeful for the future, but that is another story :)

So while looking for houses I checked real estate websites. The realtors here do a lot of property management. I checked a website late one night and found three homes they were offering - two duplexes
and one brick home, in the historic district of town. The brick house was the most expensive, about $25 more than we had been affirming, but still less expensive than the rent our current landlord wanted to charge us if we'd stayed.

We went to see each location. The duplexes first, and they were an automatic no from the guys. Then we drove up to the house, and it was a yes.

It's a beautiful, brick home built in the early 1900s, with wood floors and a beautiful den and dining room. It's only one bath, but we haven't minded. We're using the den as a computer room / library. We're enjoying the space we have as well. We're not as cramped as we were in our previous rental. The house reminds us so much of the family homes we've owned in the past. We're looking forward to taking care of the yard, planting a garden in the spring, truly having our new start there.

We had a ton of kids on Halloween, running out of candy by 6:30. We had fun, all of us sitting out in the front yard handing out candy, talking to all the kids that came by. Christmas is coming, and the historic district offers a walking and driving tour around ten blocks. Of course, our house is one of the first on the route, and we're looking forward to participating. There is a church just two blocks down the street that we've begun attending. They have the most beautiful carillon bells. It is so peaceful to come home in the evening and just lean against the car and listen to the bells play.

While we may not have been able to find an apartment in a large Victorian home, we have found a perfect rental. It was not everything we affirmed that we wanted, but in truth it was what our hearts wanted. It has a character that we love. It did not take us long to feel at home there. Not once have I accidentally started driving the old way home out of habit.

We weren't sure about living in town at first. We love living in a rural area and having a bit more room around us. But the neighborhood is quiet and peaceful. For right now it's where we need to be, where we want to be.

We still want to buy a house one day, but we're not set on it being in the county now. We've even found a house down the street we love. But I've also found myself wondering what I would do to fix up our current
house if it was really and truly ours. We even found a loft in the middle of downtown -- selling for $300,000 <shocked>! And yes, we kept the flyer, even though we know in reality that we could not buy it.

But we know about the law of attraction. We know that this is a world of AND, not OR. We know we can have whatever we want. So we are going to use this time to decide what we want. Country or town? Big or
small? House or loft? Yard or no yard? We can create whatever we choose. Who knows what the future will bring? We're going to start a vision board on houses soon. It's going to be a fun project.