Speaking of lining up details...just to remind myself, I'm going to list off some evidence of his confirmation & his timing. I think our first big leap of faith was buying the truck. There was nothing to say that we absolutely had to do it when we did it, but we knew that we had to buy the truck before we could buy the RV, and we knew that the car (the Oldsmobile) was a wild card. After our first delay in buying the truck (we were originally going to buy it as soon as we had the sonogram for the baby), the alternator went out on the car & we had to buy new tires. Plus, the air didn't work unless Steve had just added freon. In other words, to delay the purchase further really put us at risk for having to shell our more money on the car which we knew we weren't going to keep for much longer at all. Soooo...we took the leap at the end of October and came home with a brand spanking new Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel, long bed. And then we knew that we had to start telling people about our plans because anyone who knows anything about trucks knows you don't have that kind of truck without having a reason for it.
Before purchasing the truck, however, Steve & I spent lots of time talking it over, discussing, talking through it with the kids, and we even looked at RVs. Oh my goodness, the kids loooved looking at the RVs. And Genna thoroughly latched on to the idea. For the last however many months, at tuck-in, she requests to pray for the RV. That may seem little, but to me, it is a constant reminder that this is something we're really doing, and that it is going to impact the lives of everyone in our family in such a big way. That "small" thing has helped keep this in the forefront of my mind, even when all the other busy-ness of life made it seem like it was just an impossibility.
Anyway, in looking at RVs, we had narrowed it down to two different ones, and originally, Steve wanted one, and the girls & I were lobbying for the other one. It as a matter of better master/kitchen with reduced space for the girls to sleep & keep their stuff OR a great bunkhouse with individual beds for each girl with ample storage space for their stuff but smaller kitchen. Even though I love having a spacious kitchen, I really felt like the girls each having their own space would result in an easier transition with all of us being in tight quarters, and even the bigger kitchen could hardly be called spacious. I mean, this is an RV, after all! Sooo...Steve realized he was outnumbered, and we decided on the spacious bunkhouse. :) We determined that the best place to buy it was in Ohio because prices were significantly cheaper, which would enable us to purchase it new, which should equal fewer problems. And...we determined that we would wait to purchase it until the house was at least on the market, and possibly under contract but before closing. That was our plan...
Well, a week before Jake was born, Steve was looking on Craigslist, since of course, Craigslist and our family are buddies right now. :) He saw the same exact exact RV that we were planning to purchase for sale in Flower Mound, right where we live! This RV is not new, but it was purchased in April of 2010, so it is less than a year old. Not only that, but the owner was asking a very fair price for it, it included a couple extras that we would have either had to purchase or would simply not have gotten, and it included an extended, transferrable warranty! He contacted the owner so we could see it immediately, if possible, since I was due to have the baby at any time. After seeing it, we told him we wanted it, but we really needed to have an uneventful delivery & healthy baby first. The owner said he would wait on that (even turned down a nonrefundable deposit that we offered) & would consider it promised to us, even if he received other offers (which he did). The RV is currently getting warranty work done on it, but once the work is complete, we will complete the transaction, and we will own an RV. This means we will have the RV before the house sells, so yes, we will have to pay to store it, but this will also allow us to use it on weekends & familiarize ourselves with it, while also beginning to load it with our stuff, all prior to having to live in it full-time. Honestly, given the way all that worked out, I'm convinced God is in the details.
Yes, I still feel a little crazy, sometimes a lot crazy, but I do feel a certain measure of peace about it all...especially when I stop to think about the process of getting from the original thought of maybe, just maybe this is something to consider, to the point that we're at right now. Steve is motivated & working furiously to make this happen & make it happen in a timely fashion. And, he's been forgiving of the fact that there's a brand new baby in the house, and this is the time to give my body a chance to heal & recover from the pregnancy, labor & delivery before I have to launch into high gear to do the final cleaning up, clearing out, & packing up to put the house on the market in less than 7 weeks. Did I mention that I still feel a little crazy?? And yet, there is that peace, too. Normally after a new baby arrives, I'm a little more crazy at two weeks postpartum, so there must be something to that. :) After all, God is in the details, right??
Anyway, in looking at RVs, we had narrowed it down to two different ones, and originally, Steve wanted one, and the girls & I were lobbying for the other one. It as a matter of better master/kitchen with reduced space for the girls to sleep & keep their stuff OR a great bunkhouse with individual beds for each girl with ample storage space for their stuff but smaller kitchen. Even though I love having a spacious kitchen, I really felt like the girls each having their own space would result in an easier transition with all of us being in tight quarters, and even the bigger kitchen could hardly be called spacious. I mean, this is an RV, after all! Sooo...Steve realized he was outnumbered, and we decided on the spacious bunkhouse. :) We determined that the best place to buy it was in Ohio because prices were significantly cheaper, which would enable us to purchase it new, which should equal fewer problems. And...we determined that we would wait to purchase it until the house was at least on the market, and possibly under contract but before closing. That was our plan...
Well, a week before Jake was born, Steve was looking on Craigslist, since of course, Craigslist and our family are buddies right now. :) He saw the same exact exact RV that we were planning to purchase for sale in Flower Mound, right where we live! This RV is not new, but it was purchased in April of 2010, so it is less than a year old. Not only that, but the owner was asking a very fair price for it, it included a couple extras that we would have either had to purchase or would simply not have gotten, and it included an extended, transferrable warranty! He contacted the owner so we could see it immediately, if possible, since I was due to have the baby at any time. After seeing it, we told him we wanted it, but we really needed to have an uneventful delivery & healthy baby first. The owner said he would wait on that (even turned down a nonrefundable deposit that we offered) & would consider it promised to us, even if he received other offers (which he did). The RV is currently getting warranty work done on it, but once the work is complete, we will complete the transaction, and we will own an RV. This means we will have the RV before the house sells, so yes, we will have to pay to store it, but this will also allow us to use it on weekends & familiarize ourselves with it, while also beginning to load it with our stuff, all prior to having to live in it full-time. Honestly, given the way all that worked out, I'm convinced God is in the details.
Yes, I still feel a little crazy, sometimes a lot crazy, but I do feel a certain measure of peace about it all...especially when I stop to think about the process of getting from the original thought of maybe, just maybe this is something to consider, to the point that we're at right now. Steve is motivated & working furiously to make this happen & make it happen in a timely fashion. And, he's been forgiving of the fact that there's a brand new baby in the house, and this is the time to give my body a chance to heal & recover from the pregnancy, labor & delivery before I have to launch into high gear to do the final cleaning up, clearing out, & packing up to put the house on the market in less than 7 weeks. Did I mention that I still feel a little crazy?? And yet, there is that peace, too. Normally after a new baby arrives, I'm a little more crazy at two weeks postpartum, so there must be something to that. :) After all, God is in the details, right??
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