The Big Move

As of February 15, we are excited to call this place "home."

This was the first property we toured as our search began for "the house" - the one in which we want to raise our children, to live for longer than four years, and would allow us all some elbow room. I vetoed the place after the tour, thinking that for our price range, something better was bound to be out there. Turns out I was wrong. The search included hours of searching the realty website looking for places that would catch our interest, going back and forth over whether we wanted the perfect house or some property which would allow Chadwick the opportunity to fulfill his dream of playing landowner. How far are we okay commuting to work? Where are the decent school districts? Can we really afford the perfect place? It became the common joke that we had no idea what we did after the girls went to bed in the evening as it was now consumed by house hunting online.

Ten houses in three cities, a large spreadsheet designed to help us identify the houses that matched our needs and desires (4 bedrooms, larger than 0.5 acres, brownie points awarded for a jetted tub in the master bath), and hours thinking and dreaming and analyzing brought us back to this house. We closed the deal after an agonizing month of jumping hoops and worrying that our finances wouldn't allow the purchase of a new home at all. I didn't start packing until the deal was done.

My sweet dad flew up from Albuquerque to help paint the new walls with the assistance of Chadwick and Steve, I packed like a crazy woman and then Chadwick unpacked like a crazy man. Two weeks after unloading our 26-foot Uhaul, every box was unpacked and neatly broken down in a pile in the garage. The only ones left contain pictures which we aren't ready to hang just yet.

We love the space!! I can go for minutes at a time and not run into another member of my family (minus the dog, who is always underfoot). Darwin loves the freedom of the backyard acreage - 0.99 to be exact. We have raised garden boxes, strawberries, grapes, and a rhubarb plant. The landscaping is great and the fence good enough to contain our canine. The kitchen is the best part of the house with granite countertops, a French style fridge, and double oven. My mother informed me that I need to host Thanksgiving this year. Gladly!

View from the dining room window

Though the house is lacking my jetted tub and a den, we have the opportunity to create a den, to pasture the back half of the yard for sheep and chickens, and continue to expand our little family if we choose. The formal dining room will be our "cultural room" with books, the piano, stereo, and comfy chairs. It's a 10 minute commute with no traffic to work for Chadwick and has pretty easy access to the freeway. I love our new ward. The girls love the stairs in the house. And we love the country feel of the surrounding area.

We are home.