So worried... & excited... & nervous.. &...&...

Over the past couple weeks I have been progressivly going insane. So here's the deal. We officially decided a while ago that we were tired of renting. We are tired of dealing with landlords (or slum lords in our case) & are tired of paying for a home & for maintenance that will not benefit us in the long run. So, we started the process. We did the budget, finances all in order. Then we started looking for houses. This was the hardest part. Finding a house that we both liked that was in our budget & didn't need a lot of work. Then we got pre-qualified for a home loan. So, we were on our way. Finally, this weekend, we found the house. It's in our budget, it's the perfect size for us, it has a great yard, is has what we need, what we want, & it's totally our cutesy homey style that we wanted. So, we talked, thought, & decided we are going to spring for it. We took my mom & father in law to see it today. They had a few concerns, but nothing major & they both said they thought it was nice. So... now the hard part. We have to get together with our buying agent this week & write up a purchase offer. I don't want to rush things. I want to make sure we have everything in the offer, I want to make sure that the appraisal is done right, I want to make sure that we hire a god lawyer to look over our titles & do our closings. At the same time though, I want this to happen RIGHT NOW. I'm worried that someone else will dive in & take the house. I'm also worried that if this gets too drawn out, I will be packing boxes & moving in the snow, which I do NOT want to deal with. I would ideally like to have this whole ordeal done before the end of October so we can get moved in before the holiday/snow season hits us. In the meantime, I am reading everything I can on real estate markets, first time home owners guides, mortgages, different lenders, lawyers, closings, offers... my brain is on overdrive. In addition to that I am still trying to do my daily things & manage to not lose my grip. It's been interesting. I think the past few days have been the most stressful of my life. Everyone start hoping & praying for us though that we get this house. I just have a FEELING that it's meant to be ours. I have a good feeling it will all work out. But the worry wort, fretter in my is freaking out. I wish real estate were easier. *sigh* Oh well. It'll all be worth it in the end right? :o)