Homeowners...at last!

Tonight is a big night for the hubby and I. We will officially be homeowners. Wow...it even feels weird to type that.

It's been a long road to homeownership. Is that a word? I'm making it one! It started almost six years ago when we got married. At that point neither of us was ready nor wanted the commitment of owning a home. We thought about it though, and dreamed about it.

When I got pregnant the first time, we thought about it more seriously, however, the housing prices were pretty tough, and we knew we couldn't get in at that point. We had to wait.

Honestly, the wait has not been difficult. Yes, we have watched friends buy and move into homes around us, but despite what some people may have thought, we were never in a big hurry to own our own home. There is something so final about it. The buck stops here, as they say...no calling the landlord to say that this or that is wrong, it's now up to us!

A few months ago, though, after a talk with our financial advisors-Kev's parents-we decided it was time to start looking in earnest. The journey took us into and out of a few different options, but nothing ever felt quite right. We were looking for that perfect house-the perfect one for us.

What did that perfect house include? Well, in our dreams it meant:

• a big backyard with room for Rusty to run and play, all while being safe. He loves to be outside, and I could imagine him playing in a sandbox or swinging on his swing set in our dream backyard.
• Plenty of rooms for us. Enough bedrooms for a guest room. This wasn't an absolute must, but hey, we ARE talking about the dreamhouse here. I hoped that when family or friends came to visit, we would have a place to host them in comfort, in our own home...thus the guest room.
• A family room where we could crash in comfort and Rusty's toys would not have to be picked up and put away in their little bins EVERY single night. If there was a night where I am simply tired, I could just walk away!
  
• Room for storage! I have felt bad about the fact that our storage space has been Kev's parents' basement ever since we were married. When we moved to the place we are currently in a little over a year ago we did a good job of paring down the things that we did not use, but there were still several things hanging out in their basement.
• A place with a decent kitchen. I like to cook, and I have been spoiled in our current home. The kitchen is massive and gorgeous, especially for a basement suite. I wanted to at least find something that would not make me feel totally cramped.
• A quiet street. After years of living on a VERY busy street when we were first married, we KNEW that we wanted a quiet, friendly, family-oriented street.
  

We have found it! We found our dream house and it really feels like God placed this one right in our laps. It was a private sale, and Kev's parents have been amazing in helping us to figure everything out and to help make things happen. They were the ones dealing with the woman that we bought it from, and they surprised us by letting us know that the house was ours on Christmas Day, what a special gift! Kevin's mom even wrapped up an old Lego house that Kevin had built as a child with the address of our place inside to tell us the good news!

We sign the papers tonight. Tonight we officially become homeowners. We are a little scared, a little nervous, but VERY MUCH excited and ready for this challenge. We are ready to make this home our own. From the moment we walked into this house it felt like home for both of us, bright orange carpet, blue toilet and all!

The house is roomy and open. It has room for us to grow into it as a family. It has a HUGE backyard, bigger than we even dreamed. The kitchen is 70s chic, but has the size and brightness and openness that I was hoping and looking for. It even has a living room AND a family room! We have that extra guest bedroom I was hoping for and for me, the most wonderful part about the home was that when we walked in Rusty immediately seemed at home and ran around the house with glee. I could immediately picture him in the house, growing up there, asking his friends over for a movie night in the basement family room, playing in the backyard. Another great fact about the house is that it is very close to Kevin's parents. They have been so wonderful with Rusty, and it will be great to be close to them. Some day when he is old enough he will even be able to walk over to Nana and Papa's house on the trails that lead from their house to ours.

We are excited. We have been patient, and we look forward to moving in and making the place our own, our HOME. Today, we officially become HOME owners!

Us and our little Lego house on Christmas Day!