After a long wait...

March 12, 2016

Today was a HUGE day for our family. We bought a piece of land. A piece of earth belongs to us...has our name on it!! It's definitely a surreal feeling. 

We certainly didn't plan on starting the process right now. Especially having a newborn, it's not ideal timing. BUT when the perfect spot in your dream neighborhood opens up..you've gotta take that leap of faith and jump!

It's the perfect neighborhood for our little family with 1 acre wooded lots surrounded by gorgeous oak trees and iron fences. 

It all started when my mom and sisters came to visit just a week after Ivy was born. We love looking through model homes just for fun. We wanted to show them a couple of homes in the neighborhood we've had our eye on ever since moving to Texas. As Josh was talking to the Drees sales manager, he let them know that just a month later they were opening up phase II of the neighborhood. Whaaaat?! 

Of course we were curious and wanted to know when land opened up and became available. Josh was  persistent and called often to be informed. As luck would have it..we were one of the firsts that were interested. We found ourselves meeting up with the sales managers and we got in their car with our new babe and they took us off roading to look at the lots. (The road hadn't been poured yet.) It became real fun when Ivy became fussy and needed to nurse! ugh! 

We got out and walked around and we couldn't hardly contain our excitement when we came upon a lot that had a forest of trees and a HUGE one out front. We knew right away it was the one we wanted. It was quite an adventure walking through a jungle with vines and cactus with a tiny baby! 

The timeline of when things happened is kind of a blur. There was a lot going on...but fast forward a few weeks and we found out that we had first pick on what lot we wanted. 

Before finding this out we had done a whole lot of praying! Honestly, we thought we would be in our rental another year or two. We had a plan...and this made us nervous. It's a huge, scary, almost paralyzing decision!! Soo many things to consider and what kept me up at night was thinking about Max and what the change would be like for him. Mainly because he would be switching school districts and we were so happy with where he was. Not many other districts in the area are as reputable as that one is for special needs. We had some tearful conversations (on my end) really talking out our fears and worries. My sweet friend Ali, came with me to tour the special needs classroom in this potentially new district for Max. We were surprised with how good it was, especially considering how small the program is. 

After all of the prayers, we felt a peace of mind moving forward. I truly felt like..even with my hesitations with Max, it would all work out. Just as it has before. Change...especially big changes, stomach hurting, little sleep, hoping for the best change is hard. 

So we made that phone call and told them lot #18 was ours!! 

The day we saw it for the first time..

And this enormous cedar tree in the front of the property..is what made our decision on what lot to choose easy! We hired an arborist to come look at it to make sure it was good and healthy before we made our final decision. He said it was a 200+ year old cedar and was here before TX was even a state. It used to be 3 trees that that grew into one.  

Holy smokes...we love it even more!! There is a lot of history in this tree. I could just picture our kids and their friends and cousins climbing it for years to come. It would be well loved. 

We drive out to the property often and of course the kids come and many times like to get on that tree. Especially Camdyn. She's always been our monkey. They loved that there was a giant birds nest at the top. One day we could even hear noises coming from it. 

Above: Josh picked a wildflower for me and I snapped a photo before he came over because I think he's cute...especially being dressed up after church. 

Teeg was weirded out by the moss balls(?) and Camdyn found deer tracks. Lots to explore.

They are pouring the road soon. 

One of the kids snapped this picture. I'm sure this is a sight they see often. Mom and dad busy looking at pictures, daydreaming, and discussing options. Lots of decisions need to be made.