Bullet Points

It's no secret that there's a whole lot happening in our world right now, so I thought I'd do a quick list of some of the more important stuff (and maybe some of the less important stuff, too) that's going on:

• First things first: On Thursday, May 30, we officially closed on the sale of our house!
  
  After nearly eight years of home ownership, it was strange (and exciting!) to step, once again, into the role of renters. I haven't shared much about this process, but trust me when I say it was God-orchestrated. We were actually approached by an incoming ortho resident and his wife back at the end of March, before we'd had a chance to put our house on the market. They fell in love with it and quickly knew it was where they wanted to raise their two children (and any others that come) for the next five years. As it turns out, they weren't working with a realtor, either, so we decided to go the "for sale by owner" route. We were thrilled to not only avoid commissions (which meant we could give them a better price on the house, too), but also to not have to worry about the whole showing process I had so dreaded. Now, that's not to say that the two months that followed were a breeze; those closest to me know that both parties were thrown more than one curveball, and we all definitely learned some difficult lessons along the way. But, in the end, the deal was done, which is what matters. We are able to leave for Atlanta without carrying the burden of still owning a house here, and for that we are truly praising the Lord! He may have kept us in suspense for a while, but clearly pulled through bigtime for the Bralys.

• Speaking of Atlanta, we also (finally) have a home lined up there, too! Again, I didn't go into much detail here on the blog, other than to say that I was s-t-r-e-s-s-e-d out, but this process was not anywhere near as simple as we had hoped and expected. Our house-hunting trip back at the beginning of May was not what I would call successful, as we returned having only applied for one house -- for which we found out later that week we had not been selected. {Insert Kyndal having a total meltdown/fit/pity party.} Fortunately, it didn't take long for us to realize that God had closed that door for a reason (to be honest, we were nervous we'd be over-extending ourselves financially, but were determined to make it work), and we set our sights on a more reasonably-priced backup house -- which we didn't get, either. (This time, the reason being that we only wanted a 14-month lease instead of 2-3 years like another applicant, which I understood.) What followed was nearly two weeks of drama on my part, and even a bit on my hubby's, who normally doesn't let very much worry him at all. But, you know how the story goes; God did what He does best and provided for us. Brett randomly found a home online that we'd not seen while we were in Atlanta, but was just down the road from our #1 and #3 houses, so we were very familiar with the area. Though we were only able to look at pictures, we both agreed that we felt more comfortable with it than we did with several places that we'd seen in person during our trip. We called, it was still available, we applied, and a few days later we found out WE HAD A HOUSE! 
  
  Sweet. Relief. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still a teensy bit nervous about the whole sight-unseen thing, but we trust this is what the Lord wants for our family and cannot wait to make this place our home for the next year. Stay tuned...

• Now that we've sold our house and signed a contract on our new one, all that's left to do is finish packing everything up! So much easier than it sounds, especially when you've got three little people's needs to tend to all day. They are pretty darn cute; I guess we'll pack them up and take them along. :)
  
  We are officially in the home stretch, though. Like, the 9 days until my husband graduates from residency stretch. The 10 days until we pack a truck with all of our earthly belongings stretch. And the 11 days until we drive out of Pittsburgh for the last time stretch. Eeeeek! This move has been my ever-waking thought for the past several months, and I really can't believe that we're down to less than two weeks. I don't know that the reality will fully hit me until Thursday, June 20...

• In other somewhat related news, the week/weekend before last, Brett was gone from Wednesday morning through Monday night for job interviews in Oklahoma. The timing was less than ideal, considering another F5 tornado hit the OKC area on Friday night, but thankfully he and all of our other family members were safe. (You'd better believe I spent all night here watching The Weather Channel on the TV and local news on my phone!) It goes without saying that, after six loooong days, we were glad to have our Daddy back home.
  
  Both interviews went well, and Brett left feeling extremely encouraged about one of the potential opportunities. Of course, no contract yet. Part of me wants to turn cartwheels and scream "Hallelujah!" at the top of my lungs at even the thought of getting to go back to OK, but I know better than to get my hopes up too high. We still have a some road left ahead of us. It has come as no surprise that, after recent events, several people here have asked me, "Why move back to Oklahoma?" All it takes is me looking at this picture (texted by Brett from Jefe's ranch):
  
  Because, as difficult as it may be to understand, it is HOME. I may not have been born in Oklahoma, or even have lived most of my life in Oklahoma, but my heart is in Oklahoma. As are our dads, his mom, my brother, our sisters, and so many other family and friends whom we so dearly love. And so, we will continue to pray fervently that God makes a way for the Bralys to return...

• In light of my list thus far, it may not be surprising that, ever since experiencing it during worship at Passion City Church last month, I cannot. stop. singing this song:

It is my anthem in a season that has been filled with uncertainty. The Lord our God is ever faithful. He is never changing. We know that He is good. We won't move without Him. He is all that we need. My heart clings daily to these truths.

• As excited as we are for our upcoming move, I know that we will undoubtedly miss mild summer evenings in our backyard (especially when we are melting down in Hotlanta). We've had several lovely ones lately; I've been trying my best not to let myself get too distracted, and to soak up the remaining moments of watching my babies play in this outside space that has been so good to our family these past five years.

• I snapped a couple of pictures on my phone last week that might provide some insight into my life lately. You may or may not find them as funny as I do. :)

Truth.

When all of our dishes are already packed up, we make due...

• And finally, because I know my parents will never complain about seeing too many pictures of their grandbabies, here are a few that make their momma smile:

Rockin' some 8-minute abs with Daddy before bed.

Skeptical on Saturday morning.

Almost mobile and oh-so-proud!