The story of how we found magic. Or did it find us?

I've been blogging in my head about this for the past 2 days and now that I'm finally sitting down to write I don't actually know where to begin.

I suppose it all begins with a fierce bout of anxiety over signing a lease for a place that I wasn't sure was the right one. The house in blue-collarville was nice and comfy--but it was also small and a little bit boring. Still, V. and I were prepared to take it because then we wouldn't have to worry anymore. We got home from Mpls. on Tuesday and immediately checked craigslist to see if we could find a photo of it. In the process I accidentally stumbled on a rental in the neighborhood we really wanted to live in. I told V. and we soon found ourselves confused and slightly panicked because we had already told the landlord at the first place that we definitely wanted it. We didn't want to lock ourselves into it if there was something better...but we didn't want her to lose out on an opportunity to find someone else either.

Ok...but this is where the weird part happened. V. did a search in the Star Tribune. (Why? I don't know). You can limit your search as much or a little as you want. Vinny typed in: "house, 2+ bedrooms." That's it. Only one house came up. ONE! This was a listing we had never seen advertised--and it was more perfect than anything so far! When V. refreshed the page with the same search, the next time a HUNDRED listings came up. WHOA!! Ok--ya gotta admit...that's just a LITTLE BIT WEIRD!!!

I don't mean to get hokey on all of you...but I seriously believe there was a cosmic intervention involved in our finding (and getting!) this place. Kristine wrote in a comment:
"Jessie, Hang in there! Attempt to have a peaceful sleep and I pray that God will make the direction you should go very clear to you."
First, I must admit, that I have a complicated relationship with God. I associate the name with too many negative experiences (I'm an ex-Catholic school girl. Need I say more?). But lately I've found myself praying: "Please let us find the perfect place!" I'm not even sure who I've been praying to (to the universe and anyone or anything that might hear me, I guess)...but I do know that I was grateful for Kristine's comment because it made me feel a sense of peace in thinking that it IS possible that the universe (or a higher being or whatever you want to call it) will take care of us and put us exactly where we need to be at exactly the right time.

I called.
I got a good feeling.
I drove the 4+ hours back down to the cities.

And yep--you guessed it. That's the one we got!

When I pulled up to the house I knew it was "The One." Paris Parfait commented: "Fingers crossed that you get the one you really love; that makes your heart skip a beat when you see it!" Well, that's what happened. I got out of the car to walk around (already with a skipping heart) and saw a trail leading into the woods directly across the street. I followed the trail in the light of the setting sun and found myself smack dab in the middle of an enchanted forest. MY HEART NEARLY STOPPED!!!

So where will we live as of August 1st?

We will live in a house covered in ivy and shaded by big trees on a quiet street. We will live in a house with a huge upstairs bedroom connected to a (2nd) white tiled bathroom--a sanctuary complete in itself. We'll live in a house with an office for each of us, a painting studio for me, and a bedroom just for our wolfie when she gets too hot or too cold outside. We'll live in a house that has a secret fort on the second floor. We will live in a house that comes with a piano. It is a house surrounded by magic, that has a fenced in yard filled with perennial gardens and next to the friendliest neighbors in the whole world. We'll live in a house with a cobblestone path and visiting deer; a house that over looks, not more neighbors, but a 500 acre park filled with trails, lakes, wildflower gardens, meadows, and animals. If we walk the other direction we can see the Minneapolis skyline. We can bike to down town in a matter of minutes. We'll live in a house with hardwood floors and a fireplace and all the amenities such as central air, a dishwasher, and a washer and dryer. We'll live in a house that is cheaper than anything else we looked at, but better than all of them put together and multiplied times 10.

We'll live in a house owned by a 77 year old man named Barry who still works full time passionately running his printing business and his partner, Linda, who already feels like she could be a second mom. Both of them were full of smiles and hugs and handshakes and assured me that they aren't your "normal" landlords. There was something special about them that I fell in love with the second they stepped out of their car.

We'll live in a house that has been inhabited by artists--where creativity and inspiration nearly SEEPS out of the walls. We'll live in a house that is quiet and beautiful and has plenty of space for all of our endeavors.

We'll live in a house that feels like HOME.

We have found MAGIC. And I am so grateful that I feel like giving the whole universe a big hug. But even better, I feel as though the universe has wrapped its arms around us. We have been taken care of.

I am thankful for all of you who have been putting your energy out into the universe with thoughts and well-wishes for us. I know--here I go getting all hokey again--but I believe that all of that energy helped us find the perfect place. Maybe its dumb luck, maybe its persistence...but maybe, just maybe...

it really IS magic.