Changes

Housing Changes

Many of you know that Jay and I have been toying with the idea of purchasing our first place for some time now. This down economy has had an upside. It has allowed us (and others) the privilege to purchase a place that otherwise we would never have been able to afford. At the end of April after getting a good referral to a loan officer and real estate agent, we began our search for a condo locally. We took advantage of an FHA loan with it's low down payment. Most of our weekends from May to August were devoted to viewing listings. We branched out of our comfort zone, only to find we REALLY wanted to stay close to work and family. We found it hard to find the "must haves" of our list in our price range, but knew we wouldn't settle either. We eventually had to up our price and knew this would drastically change our finances. We needed to have an open floor plan, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, TWO parking spaces, and GUEST parking! We put in several offers and had several "let downs" particularly with a place we liked to call the "Disney House." However, God had another place in mind for us and a designated time (Acts 17:26). Around our trip to Encinitas, we got an offer accepted although we had to negotiate, so as to "meet in the middle."

While in Escrow, we learned that Jim and Jen, who have graciously allowed us to live in their condo, needed to sell it by the end of this year to avoid the capital gains tax changes. We're SO thankful that God orchestrated everything that we were already in escrow by the time we found out this news. Since then, Jim and Jen have listed our current home and we were busy packing for our big move. You can view the links to each listing in the email notification you received; due to privacy, I didn't want to post them here.

We can't say that this process has been easy or even fun. Maybe in the beginning, but then it got A LOT harder. The process had its moments of pleasure and disappointment. It's been both physically and emotionally draining up until the very last minute. It was just this evening before our move day, that we actually closed escrow and received our keys, only then to learn our moving truck fell through. But God has faithfully guided us each step of the way, providing encouragement and small reminders of the plans He has for us during those times of disappointment and uncertainty. This house is His and His glory is evident.

 Work Changes

Jay's job has been stable and he continues to have job security. While attending my first ever IRS Tax Forum, my bosses and dear friends Dan and Julie announced to Erin and I that they will be selling their business. Although the terms of the offer are still under negotiation, we do know that Erin and I are being sold along with their firm and will likely receive an increase in pay. Dan and Julie have placed their current home up for sale and plan to move to their new home in Northern California where their kids and grand kids live and where they're purchasing a smaller firm.  The change wasn't necessarily a surprise to us although the timing was. The transfer of ownership is set for October 18th. This of course came at a critical time for us while in escrow. We are happy for them and VERY thankful that they have been so gracious to think of us by ensuring we have job security especially before escrow closed.

IRS Tax Forum 2010

Early this month I attended The IRS Tax Forum held in San Diego near Old Town. Dan, Julie, Erin and I left a day early so that we would have some time to poke around town and register early. After checking into our hotel, we went to Old Town for shopping and dinner. That's when Dan and Julie shared their future plans for the business. The following few days were filled with various tax seminars. It was very informative as there are many new changes for this upcoming tax season. The evenings were spent at the mall right next to our hotel. We'd go shopping and have dinner and just get out and walk around. Our last day after a few seminars that morning, we headed out to Mozy's Cafe for lunch on our drive back home. It was a GREAT time for us as a team (minus Silvia who had started school) considering the changes that we learned were coming.

Gratitude

We just want to thank everyone for their patience in waiting for ALL of these posts. Now you have a better idea of what has been occupying our time. We thank those who have supported us during this journey. Our current condo is mostly packed and we're ready for the challenges of home-ownership. I quite frankly am tired of living with the "bare essentials,"  wiping out our food supply, and using "to read, to send, to file" clips in my hair in the morning, since I accidentally packed them in a box that is of course no where to be found. Thanks again from the new "homeowners."