Word of the week: Eventful!

This has been the most eventful week I've experienced in ages, with surprises both horrific and wonderful, big and small.

There was the crazy active shooter that opened fire in a residential neighborhood here in Florence on Wednesday. It turns out that the gunman was the father of a child that attends the school where I work, and 30 minutes before he went on his two hour killing spree he had picked up his son in our school car line.  I left a long comment at the end of my last post if anyone cares to read more details about this tragedy, so I won't recount them here. It's been a terrible thing, as you can imagine.

The next day, Thursday, I got a text from our realtor about 3 homes she wanted to show us. She emailed links to the listings to my work account so I could have a look on my lunch break. One of the three was far enough above our price limit that I clicked through the photos quickly without paying too much attention to them. What I did see didn't look too remarkable, anyway, especially for the listing price they were asking. I didn't expect to even go look at it, although the realtor insisted we needed to see it and that the price would be negotiable. Turns out the photos didn't do the place justice. It was the first house we've been shown that actually looks better in person than it did in the photos. It was a real surprise.

And you know what's even more surprising?

We've submitted on offer on it! I can hardly believe it.

I'm also afraid to be too excited. We're offering $10,000 less than the asking price, with the understanding that the seller will also cover the closing costs and a one year home warranty. My realtor is confident that that's a fair offer and if we hold firm they'll go for it. It's tucked away in a quiet neighborhood and looks kind of plain on the outside and so although they've been trying to sell it for a while now it hasn't gotten much attention. I hope this means it was meant to be ours and was waiting for us! It checks off every single item on our wish list:

*Safe, quiet neighborhood convenient to everything.

*All hardwood and tile floors (no carpet).

*Gas range and tankless water heater.

*Fireplace (gas logs) 

*Plenty of windows for natural light.

*Garage.

*Fenced yard.

*Screened porch.

*A yard big enough to have a small garden and some trees, but small enough that maintenance won't be an insurmountable problem as we age. 

I won't say any more about it until I see if the current owners accept our offer. I probably shouldn't have said this much, but since we're not talking about this with our friends or family yet I just had to tell someone! Wish us luck!

Speaking of luck, I found out this morning that I won a prize over at my friend Rue's blog Rue and Hyssop !!! Every October she has the most wonderful seasonal giveaways on her blog (a new one each week, so go check it out!) and she's a gifted writer to boot. To wake up this morning and discover that I won one of the first week's giveaways was a fabulous surprise! Thank you, Rue, if you're reading this!

It's definitely been a week jam packed with news around here, and the next few weeks are going to be super busy if the offer is accepted. Our contract states that the closing date will be on or before November 8th....the day before Gregg's birthday! I can't believe that we might be in a new home by Christmas, much less Thanksgiving. I'll definitely keep you all posted!