Part 1,
I admit it, I am not a patient person. When I did a Bible study on the fruits of the Spirit, I knew then I had a serious problem! Looking back over the last six months, I think God has been trying to stretch me on my lack of patience.
Being from Montana, I have felt the pull and desire to go back since moving away. Growing up, we had a family place on Flathead Lake so, I especially have a soft spot in my heart for Flathead. Not to mention all the childhood memories surrounding this lake.
I have kept an eye on property and lakefront property since my mid 20’s. To try to talk my husband into my dream of Montana lakefront, we have explored some of the lakes around where I grew up. In our lake search, we both really liked Ashley Lake and the proximity to Kalispell. It didn’t have the spectacular Mission Mountain views that Flathead did, but it was a quiet mountain lake-not to mention that the color of the water is amazing! It’s a clear turquoise blue green. I remember my mother telling me that the lakes/rives in Glacier National Park are that color because of tiny rock particles ground off of the rocks by glaciers. Which usually means turquoise water = really cold (glacier fed water).
In my lake property search in the last five years, I had finally seen a dip in lake front property prices these last two years. This last spring, something finally came up that was very affordable, although it was not on any of our preferred lakes. I contacted our go to agent, Judy Fountain, and she began some investigating. While we waited for information, the property went under contract. Fast forward a couple of months…Judy noticed that the property was back on the market. We put in an offer and it was accepted, with a contingent that the seller would provide an acceptable shared well agreement. We waited and waited for the agreement. A month later, he came back telling us he didn’t want to share the well. Even though it was a great price, we backed out. (Boo!)
In the time we were working out the purchase details on the lakefront property, we found out that my husband may be retiring from the Air Force in a couple of years. Although, I’m disappointed about the property, I also know God’s timing is better! Maybe Flathead Lake is in our future?!
Next lesson: I have wanted to get a blog started for a while, but felt that I couldn’t devote any time to it, because of commitments due to my husband’s job. The good news was that his change of command was at the end of April. So, I tried to keep focused on what I needed to do for the squadron spouses, and when I had a free moment, I started the groundwork for the blog.
I decided to work with a graphic designer for logos and a webpage. The designer I contacted for the logo, was not be able to provide any options for two weeks…talk about torture! I was ready to roll! My experience with the designer was a huge test of patience. Every time there was a revision, it would be close to a week before I received the requested changes! I don’t know if that is typical for graphic designers, but coming from my Interior Design background, once you start work on a project, you keep working on it until it is finished. It still frustrates me when I think about it. I was talking about patience, right?!!!
The final logo
Next test…selling our home in Texas. Our agent and his staff assured us that it showed well & would sell fast. We listed a couple of months before we had to be in Arizona. We received great feedback. The only negative being the size of our backyard, which we knew would be an issue, because we almost passed the house over because of it, too. We knew it would take the right buyer.
One week before we left, we decided to put it up for rent. We had a lot of interest. A realtor told us she had clients who wanted to rent it. Although, we found out as we were driving out of town, on our way to AZ, that she had accidently taken them to neighbor’s house. They were also selling, and had an open house on the same day. Looking back, it’s pretty comical and accentuates the need for attention to detail!
The day after the house mix up, our realtor came to us with someone who wanted a three year lease. We found out a couple of weeks later that the potential renter had not signed the lease paperwork, because he had some questions about it. During that time, we received an offer. Turns out we sold the house instead of renting. Some times I wish I could see the bigger picture and get just a little hint about God’s plan! Ultimately, I think it was a blessing that I was here in Arizona, so had emotionally detached myself from the house!
I really hope that the Texas house is a great blessing to it’s new family. I know that we really enjoyed the house, neighborhood and people we met during our time in Texas.
Up next: Part 2, Our Arizona house search …