Our New Home!

Luke and I bought a house today! Our offer was accepted at the end of August, so we've kind of "had it" for over a month now! I'll admit, when we first realized our offer beat the others for the house, we were really surprised we got it and were doubting our decision. We kept feeling like maybe there was something better out there for us. But I've continued to look over the past month and still have not seen anything else that would fit us better- so that's good!

I think we kind of got the house at the perfect time because it's coming to the end of our contract with our apartment, so we won't have any early termination fees or anything. And it's towards the end of the year but before the deadline- so we qualify for the $8000 stimulus! Actually that was our real motivation to really buy a home, but now I'm really excited to have a real house!

So this morning, we did one more walk through of the house. We had thought it would be empty and we wanted to make sure it was all still in good condition, but they hadn't moved out yet. But it was ok, they are actually a very nice couple with a 2 year old and 3 month old. It was a nice opportunity for them to answer all our questions and they gave us all kinds of info on the house which was helpful.

We found out though that the house they were planning on buying didn't go through, and they found something else last minute but wouldn't be able to close for another 2 weeks and were planning on staying in a hotel. And I felt so bad because we weren't planning on moving into the house for another month! So we agreed to have them pay us a portion of our mortgage for the 15 extra days, so that worked out well for both of us actually. Oh, and they were so grateful they said we will get us a free meal at their moraccan restuarant he owns! It sounds really interesting, and I love free food!

The only downside was that I was somewhat looking forward to having a month to make the move in. I figured the transition would be a little easier, I could move a few boxes and things over every few days, and I could paint the bedrooms and get things ready! And I still will have about 2 weeks to do that now, so it will be fine, just a little more condensed time. It's probably better that way anyway so we don't have to leave the house alone for so long. The main reason we are waiting is because Luke also started busy season today and will be through October. And our apartment contract ends in November, so it just made sense to wait to move until the first weekend in November. It just makes everything simpler, as long as I can handle the wait!

So anyway, here's what everyone really cares about- pictures of the house! (Just note this is how the house has looked before we move in)

close up of house

right side of front yard, very private with bushes

left side of front yard

stairs to front door- check out all the plants!

front entrance and closet

front living room- i love the big windows

wall diving living room and kitchen

view of kitchen from stairs

kitchen

comes with all kitchen appliances!

dining area in kitchen- excited about the tile and not carpet!

stairs

stairs from kitchen to family room

family room

family room

family room, has door to backyard

family room view of kitchen

master bedroom

master bedroom and closet

love the closet organizers in our room

master bathroom... not exactly everything I hoped for, but it will do :)

two bedrooms across from our room

this one on the left will be Jacob's room

closet organizers in Jacob's room

3rd bedroom upstairs- we'll use as a guest room for awhile

hall bathroom upstairs

stairs leading to basement

finished basement, will be used for office, play room, or a 4th bedroom later on

basement bathroom

laundry room in basement, the 10% of unfinished basement

crawlspace in basement closet- narrow but long

garage, lots of shelving

back of house

shed

cement patio in backyard

spacious backyard

backyard

cherry and peach trees in the backyard!

backs up to open space, including walking trails and a stream! we love the privacy and that we won't have neighbors behind us!

lots of garden areas and plants already! We're most excited about the rhubarb plant!

fenced side of house- supposed to be for a boat or something. I don't know what we'll do with it yet- but I have to think of something before Luke buys a pig pit to put there!

So that's our house! I also realized that we are planning on moving in on Nov 7 and on that day last year we had our ultrasound and found out we were having a boy! It's crazy to think how much can happen in just one year, and so far 2009 has turned out to be an amazing year! :)