Packing up

A couple months back I had posted that we had some news that might come to pass, but we weren't certain. Well we have taken the leap and are putting our house up for sale. Scott's grandma passed away back in August. She lived in a farm house that her and Grandpa bought back in the 60's. We have drooled over this house for about 10 years now. As our family was growing by leaps and bounds and Grandma's health declined we offered to move in and take care of her and purchase the house. With Grandpa being gone for almost 30 years, Grandma was independent and didn't like that situation, so we went ahead 8 years ago and purchase this house. We love this house and have put a lot of time, money, and energy into it, which has made this decision somewhat difficult. There are several things that make it easier and that is SPACE! We have 5 kids stuffed into a house built for 2 or 3. Homeschooling means we have A LOT of stuff most people don't. We are just crowded. Now don't get me wrong, we have always made do and will if this falls through, but Grandma's house is very, very appealing. Just the basement alone (it is the entire floor plan of the house, open, and newer, very usable space) is worth trying to sell our place. That will be the hard part. Michigan has been HARD hit in a lot of things, but real estate is the big one. 8 years ago when we bought this, houses were EXPENSIVE. We had very few to choose from and especially any that would fit 5 kids comfortably, which is how we ended up here. At this point we won't get back what we put into this. On the same side though we are able to get grandma's for much, much lower than we could of dreamed of 10 years ago. If we are able to make all this work and put some time and money into grandma's we will get a lot of this back (if the market ever returns:))) So we are on a mission the next two weeks, Clean, paint, de-clutter and pray HARD! One bonus we have is his Uncle and Aunt own the local real estate agency and they will be able to maybe give our house a "push". Time will tell. Hubby has been VERY busy with the radio hosting job. He was just made for this position and LOVES it. This week alone he has been able to "book" Dr. Voddie Baucham (Family Driven Faith, excellent book, it will really change your thoughts on the "youth ministry driven culture" we live in), Dr. Emerson Eggerichs from the Love and Respect Ministry (He was our old Pastor in the first church we started attending after becoming Christians) and Alex Kendrick from Facing the Giants (the coach) and Fireproof!!!! I have the link on the side bar to the Christian Devotions Speak UP! site and you can listen to Hubby interview some great authors, speakers and ministry leaders. I have enjoyed listening so much. All these people have some great stories to share.