The Search Is Over

"You were with me all the while."  lyrics by Survivor


We have bought a home.  Actually, more accurately, we are in the process of buying a home.  Even more accurately, we are in the obnoxiously tedious part of buying a home.  Paperwork, phone calls, scheduling, money, money money....but, still.  WE ARE BUYING A HOME!

Timing is a funny thing.  I've actually known about this home for awhile.  The sellers are friends of ours, and when they were first getting ready to sell, I walked through it and, well, kind of dismissed it.  The colors weren't right, everything seemed dated.  Nothing clicked.

In the meantime, I have looked at dozens of homes in our area.  I started to get used to what you could get for what price.   When we looked at the house across the street and really liked it, I considered the price.  At that home's listed price,  we could get a place that was pretty much move-in ready.  I didn't love the kitchen, but figured something could be done about that in the future.  Like all the lots in our neighborhood, it didn't really have a yard, just lots and lots of trees.  It included 3700 sq ft on a 0.33 acre lot.  Pretty solid numbers.  It was a strong, strong possibility.  Definitely the frontrunner.

Then, I remembered this house, which I hadn't really forgotten, but hadn't really ever considered a contender. It was listed for slightly more but was quite a bit bigger (although 3700 sq ft is definitely plenty) and had 15 acres.  A LOT more bang for our buck.  For Jay's sake, I wanted him to at least see it before I committed him to living in a neighborhood.

It was funny walking through it a second time.  The first time, I really was such an inexperienced prospective buyer.  The second time, however, I was much, much more buyer wise and my eyes were opened.  This home was awesome!  As I watched Jay adjust to the color combinations, which wouldn't be anybody's favorite except the woman who decorated with them, I urged him to look at the house in its essentials.  Size of rooms.  Layout.  Flow.  Function.  Even as he said, "But the countertops are teal." I reassured him that those these were cosmetic.  Changeable.  The kitchen itself was in a great location.  Behind a rock wall.  Windows facing south.  Open to a beautiful dining room and close to the garage.  He started to see it like I was seeing it.

And we both kind of knew.

We talked about it for a few weeks and Jay tentatively started looking for financing, an act which convinced me that he must really be serious about the property.  We went back and looked at it again and the boys ran through the house asking, "Can we live here!?"

We made an offer right as Spring Break was starting and had a contract on the home by the end of the week. Now comes the inspections and appraisals and all the yucky stuff, but I'm thrilled.  The move will be accompanied by a school and ward change, neither things we were looking to do, but accept as part of the package.  We will be closer to Jay's work, closer to family, and have some fantastically awesome neighbors(my friend, Michelle, who has kids my kids ages.  whee!)

I hope this doesn't sound like bragging.  I feel so blessed to finally have a house that we can call our own and to know that this home gives our boys so much room to explore and grow is wonderful. To know that we've waited until the time was right and we could move into something that will be the place we raise our boys is worth it because this is it - our home.  And in a few years, when we've saved some more pennies, we can say bye-bye to the teal counters and blue carpet.  We can even move the bathtub to the bathroom, where it belongs (you'll see).

Now, for some pictures.  Just a few.  O.K.  A lot.  I kept them small so there would be slightly less scrolling but you can always click on any of the pictures to see in greater detail.  Ready for the tour?

The front of the house.  The driveway extends to the garage but there is a small parking area and a circular drive here in front.

Another angle of the front

I parked in front of the garage so this is where the tour begins.  This is all the built in storage in the garage.  

The door on the left goes into the mud room.  The door on the right goes to the sun room.

This isn't taken from the garage door but from the entryway into the laundry room.  I'm looking at the mudroom (the door to the garage would be on the right) and the open door goes into the sun room.  Lots of storage and space for shoes, backpacks and miscellany.  

Turning around 180 degrees is the laundry area.  I love this room.  To the left is space for another fridge or upright freezer.  

The main floor guest bathroom.

This will be Jay's office on the main floor next to the laundry.  I've always wanted an office where he can come in from his car and put his papers in before they filter into the rest of the house (i.e. our bedroom.  I can't ever throw anything away, even post it notes or things written onto quarter-sized scratch paper because it might just contain that phone number that he needs next week.  Oh...it's happened) .

First view of the kitchen.  The countertops are  in excellent condition and a really high quality corian.  But, they are green.

The floors are Pergo, not wood (not my favorite, but again, perfectly fine...even nice) and the fridge is a humongous Sub-Zero.  Seriously, it's like a fridge and a half.  

This is the breakfast nook with a built in hutch.  

Taken from the breakfast nook looking into the kitchen.  

This living room.  

The dining room.

master bedroom from the doorway.  That entertainment center is built-in.  I'm not sure what to do with that.  

Opening from the left side of the master bedroom is the master sitting area.  The woman who built this house decided she wanted her bathtub in here, instead of in the adjoining bathroom.  More...sunlight?  Exposure?  Spokane girls, I am destined to have a mauve bathtub, no?  

Master bathroom.  Lots of changes in store but lots of space to work with.

Cedar lined walk-in closet.

View of main rooms as you come from master bedroom.

Main foyer

sun room

a real basement.  It doesn't have any windows, but there is a bathroom.

And a walk in safe.  You know...for all of our gold bars:)

A rock wall keeps the kitchen from being viewed as you walk in - something that I really wanted.  For some reason,  if I could see a kitchen from the front door, it was a big, big strike against the house.  Every house I've lived in, you can see right into the kitchen from the front door.  My kitchen is not my cleanest room and that has never made sense to me.  

At the top of the stairs just behind that rock wall from the previous picture is this landing including storage and a wet bar.  

Bedroom #1

An upstairs bathroom with a door to the hall and another door to one of the bedrooms.

This bedroom, in fact.  It's the largest of the three upstairs and has a large walk-in closet.  

Here's bedroom #3.

Turning around from the mini-bar is this hallway towards the deck on top of the garage.

It's the size of the double oversized garage and has fantastic views.  Here's Sam enjoying a bit of pre-spring doing his homework.

A view from the deck to the front yard and circle drive.

the stairs off the deck to the backyard.  

The back deck. Or stage for the family reunion:)

We are set to close May 15th but won't move in until the school year is over, two weeks later. We are hoping that moving locally will be less painful than the big interstate moves we are used to, but I have a feeling all moves are painful.

I'm surprised by how calm we feel. This really feels right. I always thought I'd walk into a home and just...SHABLAM! That would be the one. But, it took a couple of times with this property. My shallowness couldn't get past the mauve tub. But now me and that mauve tub have a date. May 15th!!!