Countdown to home ownership

T minus 9 days until we take possession of the house (see handy dandy countdown widget to the left!) Remind me if I ever buy a home again not to let the "under contract" period go on longer than 30 days. Initially we asked for a closing date of July 31, which was actually longer than the traditional 30 days from the day we made the offer. But B was travelling for much of July, so it would have been a difficult month to move.

The seller counter-offered with a closing date of August 14. Wanting to appear as accommodating as possible (given that we were offering much less than the initial asking price), we agreed to whatever would work for the seller.

So we immediately took care of everything we needed to do on our end -- inspections, appraisal, finalizing financing, etc., and it's just been a waiting game ever since. I do appreciate having extra time to pack because it has given me the chance to really go through stuff, organize and purge. The move-in will be much easier because of all the time I've had to organize for it. But I'm ready now. I just want to move already. And all the extra waiting just serves to make me nervous that things could fall through. My Realtor said to me, when I confessed my fears, "Where's my mighty woman of faith?" She is right. God has certainly had His hand of blessing on this, and I do know everything will be fine. But I must confess that worry has gotten the better of me a time or two.

Since the contract was signed, we've juggled around closing dates a bit (for several reasons regarding the Realtor and seller -- not us.) It was the 14th. It was the 7th. It was the 14th again. AND NOW IT'S THE 10th. For real. So excited. Let these nine days pass quickly, Lord!