Exciting Life Changes!

Hi! I have a confession to make. I've been sitting on a piece of information for a few months now. Trust me - I've been so excited at times that I just wanted to bust, but I didn't want to jinx things. I also didn't want to say "I have something really cool but I can't share it yet" because I know that when I read that, it makes me crazy! OK, so maybe I'm just a touch nosy or perhaps, easily kept in suspense. Whatever it is that causes me to go bonkers speculating others' news, I didn't want to thrust that upon y'all. I've waited until I thought it was safe. I'm just way too superstitious and considerate for my own good. LOL! So, I am now ready to spill the beans!

Yep! We're packing up and heading out! To where?

A little background. Ever since the first time I took Jim to the beach, we've talked of moving near the ocean. Over the last 10 years or so, we've planned and pondered and hoped and wished and even prayed that one day, our dream would come true. It finally became painfully obvious that we would not be able to achieve this until retirement - too far away! Then again, life has a way of mixing things up and throwing changes at a person and for a while, we felt as though we were getting pelted with everything - health issues, personal issues, financial issues, family issues - way too many issues! They say that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. Just call me Hercules! When Jim lost his job and the degenerative disc disease in my spine worsened it became painfully obvious that life changes were necessary. After a very helpful heart-to-heart with my dad, God Bless him, I set out to fix my family! Dad passed away two weeks after our chat and I was heart-broken. How would I make these major changes without his advice and direction? What was I thinking? Dad always took care of his family and with some inheritance that he blessed me with, I had what I needed to put our ideas into action and take care of mine.

I spent months searching for homes along the coast, concentrating on areas with warmer climates, better lifestyles and a less expensive cost of living. I haven't done so much research since college! I checked out homes, areas, crime rates, schools, activities, climates, expenses, taxes, town ordinances - everything you can imagine and probably some you'd never think of! Needless to say, I was very thorough. Hopefully, I made the right decision with North Myrtle Beach, SC! I believe that I did. All the while, I asked Dad to guide me to assist me in doing what I promised him I would do. I know he's been with me during these first stages of this journey.

The home had to meet certain criteria. It had to live the way we live - having 3 generations in one house has its challenges - and it had to be close to the beach! I made contact with a wonderful agent and, with a list of potential properties in hand, Jim and I headed down to South Carolina in hopes of finding the beach home we'd been dreaming of - and we did! It was really odd, like fate intervened or something. Of the 10 or so homes we planned to look at, two went under contract before we got there, two went into bank ownership, two decided not to do any more showings and took the homes off the market, one that seemed great was awful, one had no gutters or downspouts and in the biggest rain storm in 1,000 years, the yard and garage were flooding! We couldn't even get to the front door because the water was about a foot deep! It was as if all of the other homes were moving out of the way to draw our attention towards the one we chose! Over two days, in the pouring rain, we looked at houses and before heading out to see more, made our decision. I was thrilled that Jim was in love with my favorite home as much as I was! We made an offer, it was accepted and we were on our way! It did my heart good to see Jim so excited and happy!

Here she is! SEA-renity Bungalow!

That seems like such a long time ago, but the months have passed quickly. Now we are in the throws of packing and getting ready to leave. We closed Friday - yay! and will be headed south next Saturday - only a week away! I can't believe it! We will finally be living our dream and sharing that experience with my daughter and our dear grand children. They have no idea that the beach is only 5 minutes from our new home! They're going to freak out! We plan on spending part of Christmas at the beach, building a sandman instead of a snowman and doing some other fun activities. I'm not showing much of the house here, as the only pictures I have are of the seller's furniture and decor. I'll be chronicling this new adventure as things progress, so stay tuned! There's a lot of exciting news to share!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you're having a great day!
Hugs, Leena