Last fall, after my Momaw passed away and my parents semi-retired, they began renting an apartment here in Franklin. They have always enjoyed visiting and have kindly helped out with the kids SO much over the years but they have never loved sleeping on our fold-out couch.
Their downtown apartment has been a fun adventure with lots of slow mornings at Main & Madison, walks to take books to Little Free Libraries, and was the perfect spot to watch the annual courthouse lighting at Christmas. Unfortunately, it is a second floor walk up with steep, outdoor stairs which made it less than convenient, or safe, during the icy, snowy winter and into the rainy spring.
So, we all began looking for something else for when the lease was up. We looked at apartments, condos, and houses for rent and nothing felt right. We toured a building of brand-new apartments that felt almost right but the cost was too high. I said repeatedly, "If you are going to spend this kind of money, we should all buy something together." Little did I know, I was watering a seed that had been planted years ago.
For many years, my parents had discussed purchasing one of our neighbors homes as they moved out. Two years ago, one went on the market, but not at the right time for them to make a move. So we waited.
In April, my mom texted me a floor plan that I immediately loved. I noticed the builder's name and said "Hey! Kirsten Brown from our Lakeview days is a sales agent with them, I'll reach out to her." I did and within a few days Owen and I went to look at the floor plan Mama and I had loved. Kirsten asked, "Would you be interested in a two story." to which I said "Oh, no." I walked through the ranch we had seen online and knew immediately it wasn't right for us because it didn't have a school room. So, Kirsten showed us two stories and I knew right away which one felt best.
I went home, told Mark, and then I panicked. I don't like change. We weren't even thinking of moving. It was going to be a lot of work to make fixes, to list our house, and to get it sold. I was extremely worried about the financial piece of it. I didn't want to upset the kids who love our house and neighbors.
Mark and I went out to the neighborhood, just the two of us. He immediately liked the same floor plan. We walked the street and found a lot that I loved. We spent hours pouring over online floorplans and elevation options. We came up with a floor plan, elevation, and color scheme we liked.
The next week, the WHOLE family went - Mama, Dad, Lu, Mark, me, and the kids. After walking several floor plans, one was the clear winner. I was now feeling stubborn and said, "Well. I really just want this one lot - with the view I love." Kirsten pulled it up on the computer and the lot I loved was already permitted, ready to begin building with the floorplan we all loved. With the elevation I had chosen. It felt like God saying "Yes."
We went home, had a big family meeting, and decided that yes, we all wanted to move forward with the build and move together. I began to get excited - having all of my favorite people under one roof feels so right to me!
Mark and I applied for the loan the next days and I said, "God. If this isn't right, if this isn't for us, please don't let this loan be approved." There was no financial reason for it not to be so I knew it would be God stopping us. The loan was approved and we signed our purchase agreement over coffee with Kirsten.
Now...we had a house to sell! We know many great realtors but Mark immediately said, "We need to go with Tony." We called Tony, took a week and painted/cleaned house like crazy. He came over on a Saturday night and we gave him our HUGE ask: please find us a pre-approved buyer, don't let a bunch of strangers walk through our house, and we would like to be able to rent it back for the summer until our build is done. We had 45 days to get a contract going so we could keep moving ahead with our build. Tony had a plan to get it advertised off market for a few days and then list full price at the end of the week. 24 hours later he called us with an offer, from a pre-approved buyer, who was happy to let us rent it for exactly the amount of time we needed.
I had prayed for this EXACT scenario, knowing that we can ask God for big things, but that he can say yes or no. God. Said. Yes.
We are all moved in, working on decorating, already hosting family and friends, and I cannot wait to build a life of love all together here. What a joy it is to share this space with our family!
