I say "luck" because each and every time we would put an offer on a home and subsequently have it rejected I would tell Arin that considering the homes we have traditionally looked at, and the amount we could afford, we would need luck more than anything else in order to have our offers accepted.

Consider for example the last house we bid on. A house we instantly fell in love with. A house that possessed that elusive x-factor necessary for someone to make the single biggest purchase of their lives. We bid close to 10% over asking with an aggressive 21 day escrow and no contingencies. We were as confident as we had ever been, especially considering the state of the real estate market this day and age. But not only were we outbid, but we were outbid by a whopping $100,000 by a couple downsizing into a smaller home.

We. Were. Livid. Heart broken. Dismayed. We lost hope all over again.

Yet, not four weeks later, we were already well on our way relearning one of life's most valuable lessons: everything happens for a reason. Because in that time we found another home, our current one, which was asking a litte bit more, but was more than twice as big. And this time, luck and fate was finally on our side.

We have now been living in our new home for a little less than a week, and I still walk around in a complete state of shock, stealing moments with Arin as we look at each other from across the room mouthing, "oh my god, this is our house!"

Below are pictures I downloaded from the realtor's web site just prior to the listing being removed. I figure they are better than nothing, and certainly better than waiting until Arin and I take pictures of our own.