2 Steps Forward…

First, just to update, we are at 77%!  Praise the Lord for movement and for people who want to partner with us to reach people in NYC!

Second, we took two HUGE steps forward in moving to NYC.  The first big step was saying goodbye to our sweet, beloved dog Bruno.  We have had Bruno for a few years and he has been a great dog and done so well with the kids.  However, when we decided to move, Ed quickly nixed the idea of taking Bruno to the city with us.  His logic was “What happens the first time I am gone on a trip or gone to campus at night and you have to bundle up all the kids to go downstairs and out in the snow to take the dog out?”  It didn’t take me long to agree with him.

So, we started talking with people and found out that my aunt and uncle in SC (who love our dog and agreed to take him should he not be able to find a home) had a niece who was looking for a boxer who was good with kids as they have a baby.  After talking about it, we decided it was a good fit and worth trying.  So, we met them and traded him off and I am happy to say he is settling in very nicely.  We are so grateful for the time we have had with him and we pray someone can love him all the years he has left.  Our girls still get teary-eyed talking about him and will for some time, I am sure.

The second big step we took was to sell our house – YIKES!  We have been trying to declutter and remove personal items for a while, but, at the suggestion of our realtor, we had a stager come to the house to make recommendations.  Ya’ll, it was intense!  First, let me say, she did a GREAT job…I seriously learned SO much and she definitely knew what she was doing.  But, in my mind, I imagined her coming and just pointing and telling us what to do for later and maybe writing it all down.  Um, no.  She came prepared with her bag full of moving men (to put under the furniture to actually move things!), nails, hammer, screwdrivers, anchors, and measuring tape.  She looked around and then she started actually working with us to move things.  Like, in every room.  Like, for 3 hours we moved things.  Like, she took down my curtain to make the room lighter and then used it for a table runner.  Like, she was looking in all my cabinets for things to use to stage the house. I don’t say that to say it was bad – because again, she did a phenomenal job and I will never look at a house for sale without thinking how she would stage things differently, but it was absolutely not what I expected.

So, after all her hard work, and our hard work following up on her suggestions and cleaning the place down, our realtor came over to take pictures.  We decided to use a friend who owns his own company, Justin Carlin with 19 East Reality, and we have been very, very pleased.  From the great pricing suggestions, to the amazing pictures, to the ease of getting a contract signed, he has done a great job.  Its not over yet, but so far, so good.  The pictures looked great – just see for yourself:

See, aren’t they great?  I absolutely love our back deck and am going to miss it dearly – well, our whole house and our neighbors but definitely this deck! Justin listed the house late Friday night, we only had one showing Saturday (which was super odd as we expected to have them all day), and right as we were scheduling 2 for Sunday, as well as an open house, we found out that the only people who looked at it on Saturday had made an offer.  After some negotiating, and them realizing we had others looking Sunday (who did end up looking and also wanted to make an offer!), they offered pretty much full price.

Seriously, only one person looked and they made an offer?  That is the Lord.  He has been in this move from the very first moment and he is still working to get us to NYC.  We are so thankful!!

We have the inspection this weekend, and while we know there are still lots of things that could go wrong, we are hopeful that our house is SOLD!  Thank you for your prayers and keep them coming that we would be at 80% by the end of this week!

 

1 thought on “2 Steps Forward…

  1. God is so very good-ALL the time! Wahoo for how we can see His hand all over the process of getting you to NYC! Can’t wait to see what the Lord will do in and through the Hetzel family 🙂

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