Finding Our Home

Monday, August 13, 2012

Finding Our Home

Buying a House part V - continued from Nevermind...

By this point, house shopping had become pretty exhausting, and we were losing our motivation. We were in a good situation, we loved our neighbors, and I still had another year of school. Part of me felt unsettled at the idea of staying, but a bigger part of me was really excited and almost even relieved that things were going that way.

We still had e-mails filtering in to us every day letting us know what was newly listed, but nothing really caught our eye. We went out to see a couple of more houses, but really started to realize that it was West Jordan or nothing for us. And even within West Jordan we were finding things we just weren't interested in.

One evening we had a batch of about three houses come through, all in West Jordan. Two of them were split entries, which we hadn't really even looked previously. One of them didn't even have pictures up, but the location it was in was perfect. Andrew was about to jump out of his skin with excitement over it since it was Bingham High School territory. House shopping in West Jordan had meant that we were setting up our kids for going to our rival school. This resolved that dilemma for him. To me, the area was a toss up in convenience to my special yellow house. I didn't have the same concern about raising West Jordan jaguars as he had. And the house wasn't any closer to my parents home than the yellow one. The yellow one was newer, bigger, had the same sized lot, and really, at this point I was kind of in a yellow house or nothing frame of mind. But we talked with Terry to set up showings for us anyway.

We went to the first house and immediately knew we didn't want it. We weren't fond of the area it was in, and it had a weird, funky smell to it. That was the rambler. We went to the second house and it was set into a neighborhood with weird access. It was a split entry and the condition was poor. Andrew, Terry and I all left that house muttering, "They are seriously asking that much for THAT?" And we were down to the third house. We hadn't seen any pictures, but the posting said it had been updated. We knew we liked the area, but had no idea what to expect. And I still just wanted to wait it out and see what happened with the yellow house. I was in no rush to jump on something.

We started driving - Andrew in one vehicle so he could go to work immediately afterwards, and me in another. We were driving South on Bangerter - a road I rarely use when I had this overwhelming feeling that I was driving home. I couldn't shake the feeling so I called Andy and said, "Do you feel like you're driving home?" I was strangely excited. Something felt really right.

We got there and the house seemed very plain compared to my beautiful yellow home. But it was nice. We walked in and it reminded me of the home I lived in from age five - twelve. I have good memories of that house. The house smelled of new carpet, which was great. It looked really nice. The kitchen had been billed as updated, but I could see that the counter top was the exact counter my mom had in her home 30 years ago, so it didn't seem very updated to me. Andrew is impulsive and I am very cautious. I was liking what I saw, but didn't want to rush into a judgement. Andy was walking around squealing with delight at every turn. He walked into the master bedroom, peeked into the master bathroom and said, "Jenny-girl! This is YOUR house!"

Based on our previous experiences, we decided we had better make an offer immediately. But I was still uncertain as to what I wanted. If we went into a contract on this home, it meant giving up the yellow home. I had some serious thinking and decision making to do. We rushed to Terry's office to write up the offer. He had a limited amount of time as he was on his way to a funeral. From Terry's office, Andrew headed to work and then I went to my mom's house to tell her about our morning and to talk over the pros and cons of each house.

to be continued...

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Family Proclamation

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God's eternal plan.Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. "Children are an heritage of the Lord" (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.