Do You Ever Just Decide To Buy A Home

before you even know where you are going to have a job and also that it must be in the next two weeks?  My husband does.

But first a little background (hold on, it's a bumpy ride):  Remember when I shared the happy news that Spencer had accepted the job with Walmart in Bentonville?  Well, our peace of mind that comes from knowing what lies ahead was short lived:  when Wmart ran his background check they found a misdeamenor from his crazy days as a freshman at BYU (marshmallows+giant slingshot+back of Adam B's truck="oh, hello, officer").  Spencer had reason to believe that this had been removed from his record and so on the app for employment checked the box saying he had no criminal background. 
And so we have a classic case of "falsifying criminal history", which is unquestionably grounds for rescinding an offer of employment.   Fortunately the people who were in contact with Spencer believed him that he honestly thought it was off his record and said that he could still have his job but he had to be off of their records for 60 days and then reapply.  This meant that for two months we had nothing in writing guaranteeing us a future.  And so Spencer did what any breadwinner, if not commitment-fearing opportunist, would do: kept applying/interviewing for other jobs.

A couple of weeks ago this all came to a head when he was waiting to hear back from Sprint after a final round interview at their HQ in KS.  While we were wondering what our future holds for us, Spencer realized that the first-time home-buyer's tax credit was not going to get extended and that we only had two weeks until April, and the tax credit, came to an end.

We started scrambling to find care for the two older girls while we went on a house-hunting trip, still not even sure what to tell people when they asked where we were going.  We finally settled on child-care options that worked and that we felt very comfortable with.  It was really hard to leave Cadence adn Campbell, but I had absolutely no fear that they wouldn't be cared for very well or kept safe or healthy.  I just missed them.  Cadence stayed with Eryn and her family, which was endless fun for her.  Apparently she taught little Lyvien some new ways to tick-off her mom--sorry Eryn :), and she came home with better manners.  Cam stayed with Matt and Mimi, and she and Josh also taught eachother some new tricks.  It's funny, she acts like Josh when she gets excited now.  Good thing I've always loved it when Joshy gets excited.  Anyway, may the world know right here and right now that Eryn and Scott and Matt and Mimi took on this huge task with only 5 days notice, with complete willingness and not even a hint of annoyance at how little was actually known as far as plans.

So Sunday we finalized plans for Cadence and Campbell.  Then Monday we were supposed to hear back from Sprint.  Then Wednesday we actually heard back from Sprint--it was a no-go.  I was so happy to have a plan that I didn't even care WHERE we were going!  And then on Friday Walmart told us that they couldn't buy us tickets to Bentonville yet since he wasn't employed yet on paper (although they had told him otherwise earlier).  So Friday afternoon Spencer decided we were going to drive, and we took the kids to LPF (dinner at the business school), left them with friends, and started the drive.

The story is even longer than that, but I'm going to cut to the chase--we got one!  We love it.  It just felt right.  Even now, I think about some of the things that aren't ideal (the kitchen being one) but I just still feel like it is the perfect space for our family.  Here are some pictures.  If you saw it before, we updated the winter pictures that were previously here:

entryway:

office:

the living room needs a total makeover--any suggestions?  That big oak thing next to the fireplace is an outdated TV hutch.  It would make a nice computer desk for the kids, though, I think.  But it does throw off the balance of the room.

Formal dining:

Master Bedroom

Master Bath:

Seriously awesome playroom:

The back (in winter).  There is a small garden that we've already got plans to extend.  I love my garden!!!!!  sorry.  I'm excited.

 Backyard with garden:

Side yard:

And there you have it.  And now you want to move to Arkansas, too, right?  Now that you see how far your money can go?  Oh yeah---that's right.  Come on down!  Always room for more here in Arkansas!

Oh yeah, wanna see our back-up option in case this one didn't work out?  We could have gotten this one for less than what we are paying for our place:

You think I'm joking, don't you?  Serious as a heart attack.  It's beautiful but not perfect for our fam like the other one is.