In Which We Make the Largest Announcement Of Our Married Lives Thus Far

We have exciting news and, well, it's hard to put into words but this is how we feel about it:

We took this picture last night and those are really, really excited smiles. We're still wearing them. This is why:

We just put a down payment on brand new town home in Daybreak! Well, it will be brand new when we move in this April. Better yet:

Look who we have for neighbors! Clay and Trista! Woot! (And I know, some of you are asking yourselves who commits to a mortgage with family next door? Well, we do. We like it that way. Would prefer not to have it any other way).

The last few weeks have been an incredible roller coaster ride-- starting my new job is enough, but then a couple of weeks ago we decided to take a look at these Garbett Homes Clay has been talking about for so long. Within 24 hours, we had put down earnest money to hold our spot. And then the real fun began-- making our selections, assembling all the paperwork, rushing to appointments with companies who close before I'm even allowed to leave school. Weighing the pros and cons, crunching numbers (oh, those numbers were crunched about to death), and of course a whole lot of praying. We spent a dejected forty-eight hours thinking it was out of our reach before the first of many miracles started pouring in-- and can I say, wow.

We had about two weeks to make our final decision, and they have been the most spiritual two weeks of our lives. There are just too many details to get into, but suffice it to say that there is no doubt-- not even a shadow-- that Heavenly Father loves us, that He is guiding us, and that He wants us in this home. I feel closer to the Lord and to my husband than I have ever felt before, and it feels good. I can't put it into words that come close to describing how I feel, so I will leave it at that.

Daybreak is a great community with lots parks, a lake, just fifteen minutes from my school, and five from my parents. I've wanted to live there someday since 2004 and I'm mostly just in shock that it's really going to happen!

Our new home (ah! ours!) has tons of windows and a very modern exterior:

Only ours will be blue-ish green. That cement is a cute little patio that opens into our living room, with two stories of windows. From the upstairs (bedrooms on the third floor) you have a gorgeous view of Mt. Timpanogos. The kitchen overlooks the living room but doing dishes comes with a view of the Oquirrhs:

It's hard to see from this shot, but that window behind me is nothing but scenic. Lauria is our first visitor to the bathroom:

I'm not sure if she is embarrassed to be caught in the toilet or worried that someone is going to catch us wandering around the house we're not supposed to be in. Here's what the five-home row looks like right now (I can't tell you how in love I am with that mountain range you see in the background!):

No more basement apartments, no more shared water heaters, no more unpaintable walls! Hello windows and thermostats! I'm so relieved to have just two more rent checks left to write.

Here's to hoping we really get in on time! Because we're not going to be able to sleep at night until we're finally in.