You would think money is liquid the way it pours out of us! It's hard to believe we have been in Virginia for 31/2 years now... we have lived in two houses and will make it a nice odd 3 soon! Yes, our lease will end in July and it is time to find another dwelling place.
When we first came house hunting, I had certain things I was hoping for... a colonial style home, hardwood floors, lots of space around the house with a nice sized yard. We drew a circle on a map with the number of miles we would live from Michael's work, so that he wasn't commuting for hours a day. We found a house that had all my wants and it was gorgeous! We had great neighbors, kids to play with, 5 bedrooms, great study for homeschooling 2 of the 4 kids that year, 3rd floor room and bath for mom... perfect for all our needs!We traded Michael's truck and bought a Prius to save money on the commute and all was good.
Then the owners of the home (military folks like us), came back somewhat unexpected and we needed to find a new home. Of course staying in the same schools was the goal along with the criteria I had wanted to begin with... well, the house God led us to... and I mean this because it truly was the ONLY house that would accommodate a family our size with a price we were willing to spend, in the same high school district...wasn't exactly what I wanted. I have spent the last 2 1/2 years, mumbling under my breathe, I hate this house... I don't really... it just isn't my style. Don't get me wrong, I am truly thankful that God has provided for us! The market was crazy at that time and there were so few rentals unlike now. It is a contemporary style house from the early 70's, no hardwood in the house, we walk in circles looking for each other, no yard to speak of... and now for the positives...We are across the street from the high school, very cool for Shaun and when there are events. It is very close to the metro, so easy for Michael to get to work. It only has 4 bedrooms but we have managed with a large basement that could accommodate teenage boys, with weight set, ping pong table etc.
So here we are almost at the end of the 3 year lease and have to make some decisions! Kyle has moved back to Cali, Shaun will be a senior this fall and is looking at schools here in Virginia to possibly play football... I love watching him play football, I can't even imagine being far away and not being at the games... whether or not he plays or is on the bench... I want to be there!
Mom is still living with us and it is great to be close to my sisters. We all have really enjoyed being able to visit and spend time together, living 3000 miles away is hard... as Michael now knows since we are away from his family! Jacob will be going into 6th and final grade of elementary school and Rachel will be a 3rd grader. Jacob had to change schools when we moved to this house and if we move again I feel pretty confident he could stay at his current elementary school to finish out 6th grade. We have been looking at houses to buy for the last couple of weeks... very stressful!
Goals are still the same, and we are willing to make a couple of sacrifices if the property is right! Which brings me to today... we put an offer on a property... the house is cute, the land is GREAT! The house isn't quite big enough... YET! It has porch, it's a colonial, it has almost 3/4 of an acre, it has a beautiful deck with a hot tub, it's a neighborhood that has a nice feel to it... you drive down and say "I could live here". One down side: we aren't in the same elementary school district again... still don't think it is a problem for Jacob, but what to do with Rachel? I believe God is preparing just the right home for us and will work it all out! It may be this house or if not it is my prayer he quickly redirects us! Here are a couple of pictures of the potential new home...
The down sides...
3 bedrooms, yes that's right we went from 5bedrooms to 4 bedrooms to 3! (Only lost 1 kid)
1 car garage
The up sides to our down sides...
Easily can be made bigger...just need more money!!
There is ample space next to the one car garage for a 2 car garage, we are thinking this is the first thing to do and change the 1 car into more living space inside the house.
Eventually we would like to put an addition over the 1 car and possible push out the back a little. Then we would have lots of room, hopefully by then all the kids won't be grown and gone! HA! We have no idea how long we will be on this side of the world but it is something we can live with now. I'm always shocked when I see these older neighborhoods with little cute cape cod homes lining the streets how these families had lots of kids and 1 bathroom!! We can make this work!
What do you think of my potential new home??
