I wanted to document how it is that we ended up buying our home out in the country, right outside the Altus city limits. We are officially in Blair but we still say we live in Altus because other than the locals, nobody knows where the heck Blair is.
The hunt for a house started the day we found out we were going to be stationed in Altus. I was constantly on all of the different websites for homes for rent and sale just looking for the right one. Altus was tough because even though there are so many military families, there just weren't any rentals! It was so frustrating because buying a home was never on our radar because we move every 3ish years. We quickly learned that buying was a must in Altus.
Rich and I couldn't seem to get on the same page. The homes I liked he didn't like and vise versa. Not that there were a lot to choose from. He kept mentioning a house out in the country and I was absolutely NOT having it! We lived out in the country in Utah and I absolutely hated it. The kids were little and it was a 20-30 minute drive to get to anything. We ended up moving on base after 6 months of loneliness so I had learned my lesson- country life was not for me. So, I shut down his dream of living outside of town really quick.
2 weeks before it was time to PCS, a new house came on the market. It was in a cul-de-sac, had a huge back yard that overlooked fields and had a big kitchen. It seemed like it checked off every single one of Rich's 'must haves'. We contacted our realtor and she got back to us and encouraged us to make a very competitive offer if we were interested in this house because there were already multiple offers on the table and it was going to go quick! We freaked out. We acted impulsively and put in a ridiculous offer. We got the house. It was the WORST feeling when we heard back that they had accepted our offer. We knew it was a huge mistake. Long story short, we backed out after the inspection. What a huge relief that was.
2 weeks later, we've left Okinawa and we are back on American soil without a car or a place to live. That's not stressful or anything. While visiting family Rich keeps telling his family members about this house he is really interested in out in the country. I was getting so annoyed with him! I even pulled him aside and told him to stop talking about the stinking house in the country because "I'M NOT LIVING THERE!" He apologized and stopped talking about it.
Fast forward to Rich and I house hunting in Altus. We looked at dozens of homes. They were all ok and Rich and I agreed that we would be happy in any of them but none of them felt right. One day, while we were out looking at a home he asked me if I would be ok with just driving by that country home? I rolled my eyes and said, "I'm not living there but yeah, we can drive by." He followed GPS and it took us down a long, bumpy dirt road and I made sure I complained every minute of that bumpy drive. When we got to the home I looked across the street and saw that there is a property with old farm equipment and a couple of old cars and a little trailer. This was my out! I pointed to the "junk yard" across the street and said, "There's my deal breaker right there! I'm not living across from a junk yard!" Rich literally hung his head in defeat and said, "Ugh, you are right." He was so sad! He had been telling me over and over again that he had a really good feeling about this house and in his words he kept saying, "I feel it in my bones" haha! So, driving up to the house and seeing the lot across the street and me shutting down his dream was so devastating.
The next day, he had to go in for some in processing and while he was talking to another pharmacist a lady walked by. The pharmacist told Rich that the lady that had just walked by was selling a house. Rich asked if she would introduce him and wouldn't you know it? She was the owner of the stinkin' country house! He told her that we had driven by and that I had said no because of the lot across the street. She totally understood but told him that we should go by and see the inside. He said he would talk to me.
So, Rich gets back from in-processing and says to me, "You'll never guess who I met today." When he told me I rolled my eyes so hard. He told me that she had invited us over to see the inside and I was really hesitant but I thought I would humor them since Rich already knew where I stood. We hopped in the car and started driving...down a normal road, past beautiful fields of cotton, that led us straight to their house and only took us 10 minutes! So we don't have to drive down a bumpy dirt road to get to this house! Still doesn't matter. I'm not living in that house...until we pulled into the driveway. I felt something that was undescribable. This feeling of 'this is it, this is home'. I instantly knew that this was the home that was meant for my family. No matter how hard I tried to deny it, I couldn't deny that feeling. I kept it to myself. I knew I would tell Rich but I didn't want to tell him until we had walked through the home.
We walked through the home and it was all perfect. We knew which room would be for each of the kids and we could just see ourselves there. After hanging out with the owners for a bit we headed out. I wish I could remember if it was then that I told Rich about the feeling I had or if it was later. I did tell him at some point and from that moment on there was never a doubt in my mind that this would be our home. Funny thing is that there was a time when Rich doubted! I actually had to convince him that we were making the right decision!
This is just another one of those experiences in my life that reaffirms to me that Heavenly Father is aware of what we are going through in our lives. Yes, it's just a house and I know we would have been just fine in any of the houses we looked at BUT I know that this is exactly where we are meant to be. In this house, out in the country in the tiny town of Blair, Okahoma, stationed at Altus AFB. This experience has made this move, this transition, the easiest of all of our moves. I needed it and Heavenly Father knew that I needed it and he blessed me with it. Grateful for a Father in Heaven that knows what we need better than we know what we need.
