WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

Since we just moved our things in yesterday, it looks like a cyclone (with a fondness for cardboard) attacked the place. But stay tuned for pictures—I’ll post some as soon as we get things cleaned up.

The house is beautiful and I love it. We closed last Monday (the 23rd), and it was a relatively seamless event. I remember years ago when we bought our house in Chicago. After all the signatures were signed, I remember experiencing a horrible feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. This was mostly due to both 1) our general fear being first time homebuyers and 2) the fact that as first time inexperienced homebuyers, we got fleeced pretty good.

But THIS time, Steven put in a lot of hours researching every possible detail, and we’re pretty sure we made a smart, solid investment. I walked out of the Closing feeling like I was walking on air. It was a beautiful thing.

The house is a two-story red-brick number with 4 bedrooms and 2 ½ baths. It has a good-sized backyard with lovely landscaping and even a lemon and key lime tree. It’s in a cute little neighborhood very close to the church building, and it has SIDEWALKS! Now I can take the kiddos out on their bikes without worrying they’ll be run over like Frogger. There’s also a nice little park down the street and a community swimming pool.

The only thing that’s REALLY going to take some getting used to is the STAIRS! Oh my gosh, you’d think I was a 400 lb, 85 year old woman to hear me huff and puff up those things.

My brother Adam came by a few days ago to check it out, and made the following comment: “Doesn’t it kind of feel like moving into a mansion?” he jokingly asked. I laughed. But in all seriousness—to me that’s exactly how it feels. This house is by NO MEANS mansion-esque. But I’ve never lived in a house this nice in my entire life—and so I guess that means I’ve got to figure out how to make sure it stays nice…a daunting thought but oh, so worth it.

Now to break out that snot-green paint!