I bought a house. This transaction actually occurred back in August...but hasn't seemed quite blog worthy until just recently.
Before buying the house, I was living in a teeny tiny apartment in White House Tennessee. It wasn't where I wanted to be. It was merely the result of my divorce. I knew it was only temporary, and I repeated that mantra to myself over and over as I signed the lease.

I work in Gallatin, and on a whim started looking up houses for sale in the area. I was shocked at how low some of the prices were, but quickly realized the reasons for this as I drove through some VERY scary neighborhoods to take a look at what was on the market. I quickly decided that I did not want to live in the ghetto and would just have to stay in my shoebox sized apartment with only 1/2 of a kitchen drawer....literally.

Then my dad called and said he had found a place for me to move to in White House. It was a house for rent, tucked away in the woods. To get to it, you had to go through a gated storage facility and wind your way back to "the cabin." It seemed like a good idea at the time, so I broke my lease and began thinking about packing.

Then, I started to really resent how alone I felt. I didn't have any friends in the area, and when I went home at night I had nothing to do. I couldn't even really decorate my apartment....because it wasn't mine. So I hopped on the internet again and checked out a few more houses in Gallatin. A couple of new ones popped up in my price range and I decided to check them out on my lunch break. I just knew because of the low prices, that they would surely be in bad areas, so I really wasn't expecting much. But as I turned onto the street that I now call home, I could feel my eyes widening as I realized I was in a good area of town. I crossed my fingers and pulled into the driveway of a red brick house in need of TLC. I stepped out of the car. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. There were kids playing down the street. And the neighbor was working in her yard.

I was home.

I put an offer on the house that day, consulting only God and praying silently that if I was acting crazy that He would let me know it. The offer was countered and I quickly accepted. Not only was the house more than enough room for me and E, my house payment would be less than my rent. So what if the house was hideous on the inside. So what if the tub was moldy. So what if the plumbing, wiring, and heating and air unit were all older than Jesus' grandfather? It was home.

I felt good about it until I told my parents what I had done. They quickly answered the question of "Am I crazy" with a resounding Yes. They yelled. They called me irresponsible. They said they were tired of cleaning up my messes. They said I had already committed to living in the cabin they had found and I would loose credibility if I didn't follow through. In essence...they huffed and puffed and blew my dreams down.

But God spoke louder. For the first time in my life I didn't listen to anyone but Him. And he told me to go home. So I continued on with my plan to buy the house. And by the end of August I was paying a handyman to fix my bathroom, and I was on my hands and knees polishing 70 year old wood floors with my little boy riding around on my back.

After moving into my new home, I was quickly adopted by my next door neighbors. They brought me furniture they found at yard sales, and they mowed my yard for me. They even climbed up on a ladder to fix my gutters for me.

Then my neighbor lady said the words that ever newly divorced girl hears often...."my son's single." For the next two months she talked about him and told me ALL of his history. I dated other people, worked through my issues, and continued with housing projects, never thinking much of the opportunity to date her son, who would undoubtedly be another "Mr. Wrong."

And just when I was fed up with dating, and ready to call it quits, he pulled up in her driveway and she knocked on my door to introduce us. Was it love at first sight....No. But he asked me to have dinner with him when he was back in town two weeks later, so I agreed. Why not? I'm a single mom and a free dinner is always appreciated!

So we went to dinner...and I got the worst food poisoning I've ever had in my life. But he was sweet...so we went out again. And again after that.

We've been dating for almost 2 months...and I've never been happier. Thank God for good Real Estate. : )