Plans Change

Joe and I knew pretty early on in our relationship that this was "it" and as more time went by, the more sure we were of it. I never thought you could know something like that so quickly. My sister moved in with her (then) boyfriend after a few months (I think?) and I was a little worried they were moving too fast, but the more I was around both of them, the more I could see that they were (are) perfect for each other :-). They got married this past Halloween (and had a costume reception...it was great!) after being together a little over a year. Now I can see that they weren't rushing things, but that sometimes you just *KNOW* that fast.

So anyway, our original plan was to find a house to buy and move in together next summer, a year from now. Somehow that all changed back in May. Joe had started looking online at houses, thinking maybe he could find a cheap fixer-upper and have a year to work on it and came across a nice one (move-in ready) for a great price in a great school district a few minutes from where he lives now (him and Cole are currently living with Joe's parents). We both went to see it (twice), but decided to pass on it, mostly due to the size (too small). But then we started thinking that maybe it would be better to seriously start looking for a house we *could move in to this summer so that Ryan could get settled in to a school that he would be going to for years, instead of getting comfortable in a 2nd year at his current school and then moving and having to get used to yet another school (and being the new kid is easier the younger you are, it seems). And of course there was also the fact that we really couldn't imagine spending another year basically only seeing each other on the weekends. The five of us feel like a family already.

So Joe contacted the realtor he worked with when selling the house he and his ex had and we started house hunting. We weren't asking for much - just something that didn't need major work, hoping for 4 bedrooms and 1 1/2-2 baths, a yard big enough for the kids to play in, and a good location. And of course school districts came in to play, so there were 3 or 4 we were looking in. We probably looked at at least 8-10 houses and it was starting to get discouraging. They either needed too much work, didn't have a yard, tiny bedrooms, etc. About a month ago, we went to dinner with his parents at P.F. Chang's and no kidding, my fortune said "You will move in to your dream house within a year." We were scheduled to go see two houses the next morning. The first one we looked at, we really liked. We went back to see it a second time and still really liked it. And that is the house in the picture in the post below! The only thing we had to "compromise" on was three bedrooms instead of four, but two of the bedrooms are pretty large and could possiby by made in to two separate ones in the future (and even the smallest bedroom is decent size). So for now at least, the boys will share and I think it will be fine.

The house does need a bit of work...things like carpet pulled up, wallpaper removed, some painting....nothing major. Also, a shower needs to be added because right now there is only a bathtub and a gas line needs run in the kitchen for a stove. Hopefully the home inspection doesn't reveal any big problems. I'm still a little nervous that it's not going to work out for some reason. I guess I tend to hope for the best and expect the worst? Anyway, I'll keep ya posted and I might wait to post pictures of the inside of the house until I can show some "befores" and "afters" :-).