We Have Our First Home...finally.......

Well, we did it. We joined the masses and got ourselves into a heap of debt.

We bought our first home. And, I can tell you this...it is the most exciting decision my husband and I have made since the girls, and our wedding.

I feel like a real family now!

The house is our dream.

We started the house hunting about 6 months ago. Logging onto www.Realtor.com became a daily event to us. We went through about 20 houses, and none of them felt exactly right.

Finding a house was not only a decision for the good of our family, but it truly became a soul searching experience to us.

We found ourselves in this position...

When Jon and I got together, it was nothing short of the most difficult and trying time in our lives. There were lots of hurdles for us to jump, from our family, to our finances, nothing was simple. We started out as a young family with two children, wondering how we were going to pay our bills, feed our family, and keep utilities on. After a winter with no heat, a month here and there with no electricity, Jon and I received such a blessing. He was hired at Steel Dynamics, in Butler. Suddenly we found ourselves in a position we never would have thought we would had ever been in. We had more than we needed. We finally could enjoy things we wanted. I can't begin to explain how lucky we felt.

Now we are parents of a one year old, and a two year old. We live in a nice apartment, and have nice cars, and live very comfortably. That is, if you set aside the economy.

And with this new life we found, came expectations. We wonder if these expectations we put on ourselves, or ones that others didn't necessarily mean to place on us. In all of this, I think Jon and I had a moment where we forgot who we were, and where we came from.

The time in our life that was the most challenging, ended up being the time where life felt the most simple.

In this house hunting, we couldn't find the right house that made us feel like it was home. We looked northeast, and northwest. We put a bid on a house in a nice neighborhood off of Lima Road. We put in an offer on a house by Hacienda Village. Both we lost for various reasons, but I can say that I am actually happy.

We stayed up late one night reevaluating the moments when we had felt like home in the past, and we recalled Lakeside Park. For a few years when we started living together we lived in a duplex off of Crescent Avenue, and that was the warmest feeling we could remember. The home had a large front porch, and we would sit and watch families walk by. Mothers with their strollers, Fathers holding their children's hands. Old couples waving hello.

In one block, we could get to a bar, a restaurant, a gas station, a library, a theatre, and a park. It felt like a neighborhood. This night of remembering was so inspiring to us.

We decided to look in that area to see what was available. The night we lost the house on Cardinal Avenue, a new listing appeared. It was a beautiful house on Alabama. We immediately jumped in the car and drove past the house. I felt awestruck. This house was everything we were looking for.... the big front porch, the sidewalk to the front door, the fenced in backyard...it was beautiful. We can even see Lakeside Park from our front yard.

The next day we looked through the house, and we new it was the one. Now here we are, a week later, with an accepted offer. Tomorrow morning we are meeting the home inspector to evaluate the house. We hope that everything turns out OK, so we can move in by the end of the month. What a breath of fresh air...this just feels so right.

whew....

Fingers Crossed...

We put an offer on a house today. The beautiful house on Cardinal Lane will hopefully soon be ours. We looked a quite a few homes, and this one felt so right, so we should hear

an answer by 6 PM tomorrow night.
It just feels so right.
Today, Delaney and Ruby went to the doctor, and even though they were not running fevers, the Doctor felt that they had upper respiratory infection, and put them on anti-biotics.
Hopefully this will get rid of Ruby's cough, it is breaking my heart.
I stopped at my salon on the way home and helped Anne-Marie put up the new logo vinyl on the back wall behind the receptionist's desk.
It....looked.....awesome.
It was definitely a confidence booster for all the hard work that I have put into making the salon have a more positive atmosphere. Hopefully this will bring some smiles into that place,

we all need it.
I am finally at home now with my husband. The kids are in bed, and we are watching some stand up comedians on comedy central. I am in the mood for a good laugh.
Its just that time of the day.

It's amazing the difference a day makes...

It is amazing the difference a day makes. We went to look at some houses today, and found THE one. It felt so nice to be wowed for once. As soon as we drove up the drive way, I felt at home. The house is so unique and is oozing with character, just like our family. It is spacious, and updated, but is original like most older houses. Jon and I feel so good about this one. We are looking at a few houses tomorrow to make sure of it, but as long as we feel confident about it, we are going to take the plunge and put an offer on it. Hopefully it will work out, because this one just feels right. So, no more grumpy me.

The House, on Cardinal Lane...

Ruby has an awful cough today. We are still struggling with taking he to the doctor. She has no fever, but still has a cough, so we decided if she still felt bad in the morning we would definitely take her in.

Delaney is so excited about the house. She wants to paint her room pink, she told us today. And she wants a bird feeder, and a swing set in the back yard. It will feel so good to give our kids a real home. And, I am so proud of my husband for being able to provide one for us. He is such a hard worker, and I am so lucky to have him. I definitely married my best friend.

feeling discouraged today...

Today....oh, today.

Waking up, both of the girls are running 100 degree fevers. And, this is the second day for it. This is when I wonder...do I take them to the doctor? I am sure many other mothers wonder this. When do you know that it is time for real medicine? I personally do not like medicine. I do understand that there is a time for it, but I also am very aware of the term 'overmedicated'. I try to ride that fine line, and use it when it is completely necessary, but I definitely do not rely on it. It makes me so sad to see my girls not feeling well. I am used to happy, bubbly, loud and crazy little girls, and when they are just laying around not up to anything but juice and Dora, it breaks my heart. Hopefully tomorrow will be a new day, and they will wake up feeling just fine.

I went to look at the house on Vintage Hill Cove with my mom today. I was aware before we got there that it was a short sale, but still went with an open mind. Walking in, and looking around, I noticed that this house needed a LOT of work. It makes me sad to see someone taking such a huge investment and just trashing it. The walls are scuffed up, there are holes in walls, the carpet needed replaced, doors on the cabinets were missing...it was a mess. On the positive side, the house is huge. It has over 2200 sf, and there is an additional 900sf in the basement, that we could finish someday. The yard is very large, and there are 4 bedrooms upstairs. But, we could easily dump 10 grand into it. Moving in the first year would be just us putting more, and more money into it.

So, this is the problem that I am facing. Do I pick a house that I am less than thrilled with only because it is in the right school district, or do I pick a house that I love, and live in the area that I know as home, and be in the wrong school district? What a hard decision. I want my children to go to a school were this is every opportunity for them, but in order to live there we have to live in a tiny house, or live in a house that is a neighborhood that has 1/3 of the homes in foreclosure or short sales. Do we buy a house there, and risk resale value?

These are decisions that are so hard to make.

But above all I must remind myself that two years ago today, I would have never thought we would have even been able to buy a home. We thought we would have lived in apartments or rented homes for the rest of our lives. We thought we would never know the satisfaction of owning something this important.... and now we can. So, more than anything I am thankful for that.

If we could do whatever we wanted, and sat aside logic, we would be living downtown around lakeside park. It is so beautiful down there. Saturated with culture, and individuality. Every house is different, and has a story. Each house has character... You can walk everywhere, there are parks and people that I feel I can identify with more than those in northwest Allen county. Living more downtown reminds me of who I am, and who I was, and who I want to be. I feel closer to people who are artistic and open minded, and live a different way of life. I want to be close to that again. We have a lot of decisions to make.

ts sounding like a wonderful night for a bottle of red wine and conversation.

On the upside, we went to the Mandarin today. Nothing makes me happier than a hot and sour lunch special. The girls had fun throwing coins into the fountain and looking at the fish tank. I love that they remind me that it is OK just to be excited about fish...and pennies. Sometimes I think my girls are wiser than me.

Just look at these smiles...

Bead Party

Today was an interesting day. Delaney woke up with a 102.3 degree fever. I gave her some Motrin, and now she is fine. As long as I keep that in her, she has no other symptoms. Hopefully she will feel better tomorrow, because she hates going to the doctor.

I am feeling frustrated today. We have been trying to buy a house for a long time now. Every time we find something we like, it ends up being a short sale, or a foreclosure, or something that requires jumping through red tape. We put an offer on a house about a month ago, and it is in short sale, so we are starting to give up hope. It was beautiful, and newer, and in the right school district, but it is just beyond our fingertips. We have diligently logging onto realtor.com to find something that will work instead, and last night we found it! It is a street over from the one we put an offer on, and it is bigger. We thought it was perfect, that is, until I talked to the realtor today. He said this house is a........SHORT SALE!!! I thought I was going to scream. We still want to look at it, but I am feeling discouraged today. Hopefully it won't be a horrible short sale like this last house. We are just ready for a home!

The home....

I had a meeting at Tangles today that went really well. I like when work meetings go well, so it made me happy.

Then, to keep the kids busy, and creative, just like my mom used to do with us, we had craft time. Today was beading 101. So fun to see Delaney's little fingers threading beads onto elastic. Its amazing how well they learn things like that. We made bracelets and necklaces for Delaney and Ruby, and they made bracelets for Jon and I. I will cherish this little creation forever. Jon has one more day to work, and then we get to spend some family time. And hopefully we can figure out something about a home. Wish us luck...we are going to need it!

Delaney and her beautiful necklace...

Ruby and her jewelry...

My most favorite gift....ever......

Dad...

What a Beautiful Day

Today was a beautiful day...and a long one.

Ruby is cutting three teeth, and she woke up with a fever. Delaney cut her teeth like it was her job, and Ruby is completely different. Every tooth is a painstaking feverish process, so I am hoping these come out soon. After some Motrin, she felt better, so we decided to go out on the town.

Heritage fabrics was having a wonderful sale today, so we went warehouse shopping for $1.99/yd fabric. I found some divine vinyl for my handbags that looked like leather, and some gray vinyl to recover a headboard for our bedroom. This is where I discovered we need a home. The girls were all over the place, with all the long isles, they just wanted to run. It make me realize how bad we need more room. This trip alone was exhausting.

But, what do you do? I am definitely not staying home all day because being a mother is work. I also found about 15 yds of black vinyl to recover some chairs at my salon. My seat is being ripped up, so it was time.

Then home for nap time! Ruby needed one so bad. When she woke up we went down to the park in our apartment complex and played....forever. I feel bad making them leave. My girls LOVE fresh air, so I stayed just long enough to push the boundaries of potty training, then we ran home!

Dinner is up next, and I am thinking curry chicken, so its time to make some more coconut rice. Then pajama time....from my head to my toes to my night time clothes....

Just another day that went way to fast. Two more years of days like these and I will find myself sending Delaney to kindergarten. I am not looking forward to the day where I am all alone in my house all day. I secretly love the sound of children's laughter, and even crying. I find comfort in knowing they are mine.

New Pajamas...

thank you Grandma!

Ruby is just too cool....

Ruby at the park

Sharing....WHAT?!They DO get along!