Dare me to move?

You know I had to add that song to my play list at the very bottom of this blog--especially after the Cooke sang it on Idol. And yes, Sister Honey Bunch, you are right, I saw him staring at you while he was singing.

our current nest

I wrote this post and told you a little of our background. Well we are trying to be completely gazelle {as Dave Ramesy would say} about high tailing it out of debt. This time last year we had $146,000 of debt yes, I did just hear that gasp. Most of that was business debt {failed business plus current franchise} car debt including a very specific vehicle needed for my the franchise, a little school debt, medical debt and a little consumer debt. In the past 12 months we have paid off over $42,000 of debt. That is totally God math because last year, my husband made less than twice that amount! My husband has been working his hiney off. We hate being in the prison where debt holds you captive and are always trying to tweak our expenses. Not to mention that my husband is in the car business and not many cars are selling right now. So what's a family to do?

No surprise here: we are moving. Here are the house stats for those of you who are just dying to know....

Current rental:

3000 square feet
22 minutes away from our church
4 bedrooms, living room, family room, breakfast area, office, dining room, small porch
right across the street from the neighborhood pool, field where my boys play and lake with walking path--hate to leave it!
right in the armpit of 2 loud well traveled interstates
2 story living room
2 story foyer
sitting area in master bedroom--where I do my crafty stuff and junk it all up

2 story bathroom
huge bathroom that I have a 5 x8 rug in that doesn't even touch any walls, separate potty room, tub and extra shower, double sinks, embarrassing large closet that hold both our dressers, some extra chandeliers {am I the only person in America with extra chandeliers?} and various junk.
zillions of windows
2 car garage
lots of closets
double staircase
balcony look over thing
yard totally taken car of by the owner
25 minutes from my parents--we have never lived so close to them in our entire married life--I am getting spoiled!

soon to be nest

New Rental:
2400 square feet
5 minutes from our church
5 bedrooms and a bonus, eat in kitchen, dining room, family room, big front porch
we'll have to join a local pool
small grassy lot at the end of the street to play football
2 story nothing {better the heating bills my dear} but it is a 2 story house just no vaulted or 20 foot ceilings
no foyer
small master bathroom
small master bedroom
smaller master closet but still a big walk in
13 windows and a sliding door
1 car garage
no ice in the fridge door
yard in need of love
45 minutes from my parents--the worst part about moving--I have the kind of parents that are actually fun to hang out with
$450 a month less than our current house

I'll tell you more about it soon. I have to say that I went into this decision kicking and screaming. I DID NOT want to move my children again! Can you believe that they are excited about this new place? Even though the house is smaller, it's still huge to me and I think the layout suits our family so much better. If you are renting right now you might want to check out the market. We could not find a house like this last year for this price! I guess since the housing market is down it has affected rentals too. So, I'm thinking that this will be a fun adventure not to mention all of the blog fodder that I'll get from moving!

Hey, is there some type of "move" that you are avoiding? Maybe not a literal move from a house but moving out of your comfort zone? Dare you to do it.