Coming Real Soon: Casa de Calderon!

{From the Desk of Shannon Elizabeth}



"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." -Helen Keller, The Open Door

 

 

Life lately has been all about taking risks.

 

BIG risks.

 

But we take them. We've always taken them. Remember that one time we moved to New York City with only one guaranteed salary out the gate or the time we both were employed by the same company & decided we were going to move back to Florida whether they supported it or not without a clear backup plan?? Or how about that time I gave up my job in order to chase my dreams with no real way to predict our success?

 

Yep, that pretty much sums us up in a nutshell. But I wouldn't want it any other way with any other one. And now, in less than one week, we are beginning a new chapter as husband & wife. Next week we will become homeowners!

 

I am so excited I can't contain myself. I am so uncertain I can't sleep at night. I am so emotional I'm brought to tears. I am so stressed out I've been putting things off until "later". I am so happy I can't take it.

 

...We began the journey late last year when we came across a house on Zillow I just HAD to go see in person. I'd been searching for months on end to just see what was out there and when this house popped up in my email, I knew it was THE one. It was the first house we had ever walked through & we immediately moved ourselves in. We had to have that house.

 

We joked a little as we exclaimed it was "so us" to put an offer on the first house we ever went to see. Maybe it was because I looked every single day since before we got married to see if a new house came on the market or maybe it was because we were ready. Maybe we just knew what we wanted or maybe it was because it was just "so us". Either way, we did it. We put our offer in and we lost.

 

I was distraught. I couldn't imagine us living anywhere else. I couldn't imagine bringing our unborn children home to any other house. All I could think about was this other family moving into OUR home & taking over the space I had created for my family {in my head, of course}. It hurt. It just wasn't fair & I couldn't shake the thoughts.

 

After many "if only we had..", two weeks had passed & we had given up on our home search {imagine that! lost out on our first offer & we were done. who'd want to go through those emotions time & again?!}. But then one night I decided to pull out the laptop & do a little searching. I'd "just browse" I told myself. Next thing I know, we're making plans to go see a model home & we were filled with excitement all over again. And then on New Year's Eve, we made it official. We signed the dotted line. She'd be ours by the end of May! {almost one year to our Wedding Anniversary}

 

And so it began.

The ground breaking. The foundation laying. The block building. The framing. The roofing. The dry wall hanging. The finishing touches. All of a sudden we have a house. A house we'll make into a home.

 

Our home.
 

I wouldn't say we know exactly what we've gotten ourselves into but I can tell you we're excited! We're excited to finally call a place "HOME".  We're excited to continue building our life together & we'll be excited to start our family here. The icing on the cake? We can't imagine this journey with anyone else by our side.

And so, I'll leave you with this... someone recently asked for my advice regarding a life changing decision & I could only speak from my personal experiences. If you continue to do the same things, you must expect the same results. For us, the greater the risk, the greater the opportunity. So, if you've been on the fence & can't decide whether to jump on an opportunity, set all your fears aside. Take a chance & you'll be surprised by the doors you'll open. It's totally worth it!