Grateful for Small Spaces

So we have had a whirlwind of decisions recently. It all began with a coworker mentioning how great mortgage interest rates are right now. She said we should refinance. I brought it up to Wes and we both agreed we should look into it. We looked a few places and finally settled on our original mortgage broker that we used when we bought our house 5 years ago. We started thinking though "Instead of just refinancing, should we get a bigger home". We said this as we were tripping over toys, scooting around the playpen, and wondering where on earth we are going to place our Christmas Tree since we've reorganized the living room.

We began to search looking high and low for available houses on the market. You can get a lot of house for the money right now, especially since there are so many short sales. I really began to dig into this new thought. When I research something it is never half hearted, and in fact it often becomes an obsession. You should ask Wes. I think he dreads when I plan our vacations because I will search through hundreds of hotels and reviews. The house market was no exception. I looked and re-looked at houses on the Internet. No house was left unexplored. I knew pretty quick what I did and didn't want. It had to be something much bigger, something newer, in a well kept area. Something with BIG family spaces. I daydream in the future being able to entertain family at my home. Right now that is well...cozy :)

Something happened though. I was spending time with Violet, feeding her in the bedroom and helping her wind down for the night. I could hear noises of the football game coming through the window. The announcement of the homecoming royalty, the dance club halftime show, the cheers of the crowd. It warmed my heart. There is such a sense of community where we live. Our house is situated in a quite, cozy neighborhood, right next to the park. I offered a prayer to my Heavenly Father and felt like we should probably stay in our home.

The feeling was even stronger as I listened to the prophet talk during conference the next day of preparing for our futures. Right now we can refinance and shorten our loan by 10 years. We could absolutely be free of any debt in 15. School loans, car payments, the house, everything. It is so very possible and as I think of what we could do it makes me feel such peace and joy.

Also, this little house has grown on me. It is our little haven from the world. Besides, I have ideas on how to make it even better. Small project by project I could make it blossom into something even greater. Sure, I might not know where to put the Christmas Tree, but I'll figure it out. I will be ever so grateful for my small spaces :)