Another update without pics. I know that's not much fun so I apologize, but I'm holding out for when we get our siding.
Drywall was up in one day! Utter craziness. Now they will move on to mudding/taping and hopefully siding soon. It was so much fun to walk through yesterday and be able to envision everything better. We took the girl through with us for the first time and she waved bye bye to the house when we left.
Onto the amazingness bit. We have renters!!! Our friends sold their house way faster than expected and still aren't able to transfer where they want yet so they are moving into our house. They might be able to close right when we move and if not we still have room in our place to get their stuff in and it would only be a week overlap. It feels like a weight is off my shoulders and I'm light as a feather. They might only be here for another month or it could be a year. So we have our property management company at the ready for when we do need to find someone. It's nice not have to worry about them yet though.
Now I'm packing, painting furniture and just being excited!! Come on May 29th!
Oh and for anyone else who might not know it's the Sherwin Williams 40% off paint sale this weekend. I think I've settled on a few colors for the nursery, playroom, family room, morning room, master and big girl bedroom so I'm going to get it while it's cheap. . er.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
A Meeting and a Closing Date
We had our pre drywall meeting this morning. Thanks to our first sales rep we had a few more mistakes. At our very first meeting we chose a gas stove, but somehow it was incorrect on some of the paperwork. Thankfully it was right on the gas guys paperwork so we are still good to go. We had moved one of the ceiling fan hookups to the playroom so we wouldn't have to worry about lamps and cords, but it wasn't changed. Our pm said he can get it done. Everything else was great. Friday the drywall goes in and should be finished one week later. Siding goes in next week and the front steps are about to go in. It is still amazing how quick it goes.
Our final walk through is set for May 28th and closing on May 29th!! We really wanted a midweek closing so we could start moving stuff out of our storage units when we could use their truck for free since we didn't use it when moving in. I also want to get the nursery painted a few days before we move in. When we move on that Saturday we will be able to use the truck from the realtor that sold my Mom's house. . . for free!! I feel like God is really working in all the details.
This weekend we are having a moving sale and it will feel good to have that done. Whatever doesn't sell is heading straight to Goodwill! We are doing final touches on our current house and I emailed our property mngmt company so next week we will sign paperwork, take pics and start finding a renter. That will be the last big box that needs a check mark. Then it's all sunshine and roses . . . and more packing, but I will be dancing as I pack.
On April 14th I celebrate one year as a stay at home Mom. It was a decision made with honestly quite a bit of fear. God has always provided for us, but this was the first time that I really had to learn to trust Him with our finances. He is so good to us. Just like the song says "You are good, You are good, when there's nothing good in me." I feel so undeserving sometimes. I am totally making a sign for above our front door that will hold my knickname for our new house. It will say,
"Grace Abundant!!"
Our final walk through is set for May 28th and closing on May 29th!! We really wanted a midweek closing so we could start moving stuff out of our storage units when we could use their truck for free since we didn't use it when moving in. I also want to get the nursery painted a few days before we move in. When we move on that Saturday we will be able to use the truck from the realtor that sold my Mom's house. . . for free!! I feel like God is really working in all the details.
This weekend we are having a moving sale and it will feel good to have that done. Whatever doesn't sell is heading straight to Goodwill! We are doing final touches on our current house and I emailed our property mngmt company so next week we will sign paperwork, take pics and start finding a renter. That will be the last big box that needs a check mark. Then it's all sunshine and roses . . . and more packing, but I will be dancing as I pack.
On April 14th I celebrate one year as a stay at home Mom. It was a decision made with honestly quite a bit of fear. God has always provided for us, but this was the first time that I really had to learn to trust Him with our finances. He is so good to us. Just like the song says "You are good, You are good, when there's nothing good in me." I feel so undeserving sometimes. I am totally making a sign for above our front door that will hold my knickname for our new house. It will say,
"Grace Abundant!!"
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Lily of my Heart
Today I am not posting about our house. My heart is full of much more important and eternal things. This is all very personal and honestly quite sad so I understand if you choose not to read it. I just really need to put my heart into words today.
Sunday is the third birthday of my daughter Lily Arabella which means "an innocent and beautiful, answered prayer." I was thinking yesterday that I don't have any plans of how we are going to celebrate yet. You see, she is not here running under my feet, tugging at my shirt, shining her smile everywhere to remind me. If she was I would have spent months coming up with a theme and planning out every second of the celeebration. I feel so horrible for not having plans. So in honor of her, I want to take a moment and run through the memories of all that happened three years ago.
In May 2009 my husband and I went to visit my sister and her family in England. They have three kids and my husband told me that we would come home either ready to have a kid or never wanting one. I came home ready. Sometime in June I was sitting on our backporch and telling God I was ready. it's not often that I feel like I'm certain of His presence and His voice in the exact moment, but that day I felt Him and it was like I could feel Him smiling with joy over the mother I would be. I cried. The next month we started trying and on August 1st we found out we were pregnant. We were shocked, amazed, scared, excited all at once.
At 9wks along we were on vacation the first time I bled. It wasn't much and I didn't feel pain. The next week I was letting the dog in from outside when I thought I'd peed my pants. We are getting nice and personal here. It was blood. The doctor said the pregnancy hormone was still high in my system, but there was nothing they could do if I was losing the baby. The next day on ultrasound the babys heart was beating and it was wiggling about, but something didn't look quite right. At 12wks and another ultrasound we were told that no skin had formed from right under her ribcage down to her pelvic bone. We could terminate right then or wait and do an amnio at 15wks to find out what happened and terminate then. They said our baby was a girl. They said she wouldn't live. The only life she'd ever know was in my womb. Terminate. . . terminate. . . That is me choosing to take my own babies life. That is me taking God out of the picture and out of control. That is me making the choice. No. No I coudn't do that.
One month later we find out her spine is bent at a 90 degree angle. We find out her precious feet are clubbed. Her heart is still beating. I felt her move for the first time on Halloween in the Taco Bell drive thru while singing along to Taylor Swift. The doctor said terminating a child who has no hope is different. I've never loved my husband more than we he asked her how she really knew there was no hope?
We buy a crib. We decorate the nursery. We paint her name on the wall. We show faith in the God who makes all things possible since she is showing the doctors wrong with every heart beat.
Months pass. She kicks like a beast, 90 degree spine be screwed. At 32 wks we are transferred to another doctor at a hospital with a NICU that can handle her care. Her heart still beats. Her body still grows. Our doctor is the head of labor and delivery. When I call for her the receptionist asks why I got her as my doctor. I tell her it's because my babys organs are growing in a sac created by the umbilical cord outside her body. I guess that answers her question. A csection is schedueld for 39wks. There is a high chance of the sac bursting since it is such a thin membrane. There is also a chance that the umbilical cord is short since Lily is still high up on my right side. They may have to do a vertical incision to get her out.
The morning a day before our scheduled csection I wake up to contractions. This is happening. My husband says no its not and go back to bed. I actually try. Nope we have to go. My contractions are three minutes apart on our 30 minute drive. I didn't think I'd have to go through this. The nurses don't check me or call my doctor right away. When they do I am 5cm and my water is about to break. The doctor lives 40mins away and might not make it. They call her and she tells them to give me the epidural, but they have to wait for her. Yes, I agree. We need her. The contractions have pushed her down far enough that a normal incision is done. There are about 40 people in the room ready to welcome our girl. There is silence. There is beeping. There is a plastic surgeon student who stitches me up. The crowd walks to the door while I still lay there holding Jasons hand. A girl holds up a tightly wrapped bundle of baby and I see her face. She is alive. Her heart beats. She is rushed out the door.
We find out she is huge. 9lbs 2ounces and looks like a wee little Michelin man. Rolls aplenty. Jason goes to see her. Jason doesn't tell me the whole truth of her condition. His eyes are red. I can't finish this story the way I want today. Not the details of the end. Her organs not growing in her torso didn't allow her lungs to fully develop. There was no hope for them to grow. One of them was almost non existant. We got 16 days. 16 days of shared life. 16 days that we were told would never be. We prayed everyday. We continued to believe everyday. I feared how I would react if she wasn't healed. If she didn't live. We feared for our marriage if she didn't live. We felt what we felt and we weren't afraid to be honest with God. He listened. He held us in His presence. Her room was full of HIm. Daily scriptures on her incubator. Loved ones filing through to see her sweet face. I sang to her. We read the Bible and childrens books to her. She held our fingers. Her Daddy bonked her nose. She had his angry face. She folded her amazing beautiful feet on top of eachother just like me. She looked into my eyes when I kissed her tiny fingers good night. We got to sleep in her room. I left only once to see our dog and shower in our own house. I fled her room when things got tough. I still don't know how I feel about that. I was there when she left us. My Mom was too. And my sister all the way from England who made it just 5hrs before her departure. The night before my sister came I told Him that if He was bringing her just to be here to comfort me after the death of my daughter that I was not okay with that. That was not a good gift. Immdiately after I started to sing Great is Your Faithfullness. He is good. Always good.
I held her once in life and once after death. My amazing baby girrl. Today I just needed to pour my heart out. I needed to feel the excitement, pain, sorrow, joy all over again. I needed to say that sometimes I'm still not okay that she isn't here. Sometimes I still ask why. Sometimes I just say thank you. Thank you Lord for 16 days of shared life. Thank you Lord for my good, good gift.
Sunday is the third birthday of my daughter Lily Arabella which means "an innocent and beautiful, answered prayer." I was thinking yesterday that I don't have any plans of how we are going to celebrate yet. You see, she is not here running under my feet, tugging at my shirt, shining her smile everywhere to remind me. If she was I would have spent months coming up with a theme and planning out every second of the celeebration. I feel so horrible for not having plans. So in honor of her, I want to take a moment and run through the memories of all that happened three years ago.
In May 2009 my husband and I went to visit my sister and her family in England. They have three kids and my husband told me that we would come home either ready to have a kid or never wanting one. I came home ready. Sometime in June I was sitting on our backporch and telling God I was ready. it's not often that I feel like I'm certain of His presence and His voice in the exact moment, but that day I felt Him and it was like I could feel Him smiling with joy over the mother I would be. I cried. The next month we started trying and on August 1st we found out we were pregnant. We were shocked, amazed, scared, excited all at once.
At 9wks along we were on vacation the first time I bled. It wasn't much and I didn't feel pain. The next week I was letting the dog in from outside when I thought I'd peed my pants. We are getting nice and personal here. It was blood. The doctor said the pregnancy hormone was still high in my system, but there was nothing they could do if I was losing the baby. The next day on ultrasound the babys heart was beating and it was wiggling about, but something didn't look quite right. At 12wks and another ultrasound we were told that no skin had formed from right under her ribcage down to her pelvic bone. We could terminate right then or wait and do an amnio at 15wks to find out what happened and terminate then. They said our baby was a girl. They said she wouldn't live. The only life she'd ever know was in my womb. Terminate. . . terminate. . . That is me choosing to take my own babies life. That is me taking God out of the picture and out of control. That is me making the choice. No. No I coudn't do that.
One month later we find out her spine is bent at a 90 degree angle. We find out her precious feet are clubbed. Her heart is still beating. I felt her move for the first time on Halloween in the Taco Bell drive thru while singing along to Taylor Swift. The doctor said terminating a child who has no hope is different. I've never loved my husband more than we he asked her how she really knew there was no hope?
We buy a crib. We decorate the nursery. We paint her name on the wall. We show faith in the God who makes all things possible since she is showing the doctors wrong with every heart beat.
Months pass. She kicks like a beast, 90 degree spine be screwed. At 32 wks we are transferred to another doctor at a hospital with a NICU that can handle her care. Her heart still beats. Her body still grows. Our doctor is the head of labor and delivery. When I call for her the receptionist asks why I got her as my doctor. I tell her it's because my babys organs are growing in a sac created by the umbilical cord outside her body. I guess that answers her question. A csection is schedueld for 39wks. There is a high chance of the sac bursting since it is such a thin membrane. There is also a chance that the umbilical cord is short since Lily is still high up on my right side. They may have to do a vertical incision to get her out.
The morning a day before our scheduled csection I wake up to contractions. This is happening. My husband says no its not and go back to bed. I actually try. Nope we have to go. My contractions are three minutes apart on our 30 minute drive. I didn't think I'd have to go through this. The nurses don't check me or call my doctor right away. When they do I am 5cm and my water is about to break. The doctor lives 40mins away and might not make it. They call her and she tells them to give me the epidural, but they have to wait for her. Yes, I agree. We need her. The contractions have pushed her down far enough that a normal incision is done. There are about 40 people in the room ready to welcome our girl. There is silence. There is beeping. There is a plastic surgeon student who stitches me up. The crowd walks to the door while I still lay there holding Jasons hand. A girl holds up a tightly wrapped bundle of baby and I see her face. She is alive. Her heart beats. She is rushed out the door.
We find out she is huge. 9lbs 2ounces and looks like a wee little Michelin man. Rolls aplenty. Jason goes to see her. Jason doesn't tell me the whole truth of her condition. His eyes are red. I can't finish this story the way I want today. Not the details of the end. Her organs not growing in her torso didn't allow her lungs to fully develop. There was no hope for them to grow. One of them was almost non existant. We got 16 days. 16 days of shared life. 16 days that we were told would never be. We prayed everyday. We continued to believe everyday. I feared how I would react if she wasn't healed. If she didn't live. We feared for our marriage if she didn't live. We felt what we felt and we weren't afraid to be honest with God. He listened. He held us in His presence. Her room was full of HIm. Daily scriptures on her incubator. Loved ones filing through to see her sweet face. I sang to her. We read the Bible and childrens books to her. She held our fingers. Her Daddy bonked her nose. She had his angry face. She folded her amazing beautiful feet on top of eachother just like me. She looked into my eyes when I kissed her tiny fingers good night. We got to sleep in her room. I left only once to see our dog and shower in our own house. I fled her room when things got tough. I still don't know how I feel about that. I was there when she left us. My Mom was too. And my sister all the way from England who made it just 5hrs before her departure. The night before my sister came I told Him that if He was bringing her just to be here to comfort me after the death of my daughter that I was not okay with that. That was not a good gift. Immdiately after I started to sing Great is Your Faithfullness. He is good. Always good.
I held her once in life and once after death. My amazing baby girrl. Today I just needed to pour my heart out. I needed to feel the excitement, pain, sorrow, joy all over again. I needed to say that sometimes I'm still not okay that she isn't here. Sometimes I still ask why. Sometimes I just say thank you. Thank you Lord for 16 days of shared life. Thank you Lord for my good, good gift.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Lightspeed!
As I'm sure you can tell, I am not a daily blogger. . . or a weekly one. Things are really rolling now so hopefully my excitment over all that's happening will keep me posting more often. My main love is in decorating so I'm sure I will post more once we are in our new house. I am looking forward to the challenge of making our builder grade box into our very own personalized home.
Last week we left for vacation with the foundation poured and the brick up. Within the week we've been home all of the framing is up. We got to walk through the house for the first time on Friday when we did our walk through with structured cable. In two weeks all of the behind the walls stuff will be in and we will do our pre drywall meeting. It is crazy how fast it all happens once they start framing.
We are totally loving our yard and the layout of the house on the property. Our views for at least a few years will be all woods. There are plans to run another road behind us, but we will still have a 50ft stretch of trees behind our yard before the road. Much better than drinking my coffee whilst watching my neighbor through their kitchen window doing the same. I am still amazed that all this is happening. Almost a year ago exactly we made the decision for me to be a stay at home Mom and were worried about finances, ect. Now to see how God has provided and is blessing us beyond what I ever could have imagined is just mind blowing. I totally know God is giving us this house for a reason and am excited to see what His plans are. My Mom is going to be able to retire earlier than planned and just the awesome family memories we will make are some of the great blessings this house will allow. Well, anywho, that's what's up for now. And here are some pretty pics.
This last one is the family room. The fireplace will be in the hole between the windows and the door to the right of my hubby is going to be the girls playroom.
I promise to try and post more often now that we have reached warp speed.
Last week we left for vacation with the foundation poured and the brick up. Within the week we've been home all of the framing is up. We got to walk through the house for the first time on Friday when we did our walk through with structured cable. In two weeks all of the behind the walls stuff will be in and we will do our pre drywall meeting. It is crazy how fast it all happens once they start framing.
We are totally loving our yard and the layout of the house on the property. Our views for at least a few years will be all woods. There are plans to run another road behind us, but we will still have a 50ft stretch of trees behind our yard before the road. Much better than drinking my coffee whilst watching my neighbor through their kitchen window doing the same. I am still amazed that all this is happening. Almost a year ago exactly we made the decision for me to be a stay at home Mom and were worried about finances, ect. Now to see how God has provided and is blessing us beyond what I ever could have imagined is just mind blowing. I totally know God is giving us this house for a reason and am excited to see what His plans are. My Mom is going to be able to retire earlier than planned and just the awesome family memories we will make are some of the great blessings this house will allow. Well, anywho, that's what's up for now. And here are some pretty pics.
I promise to try and post more often now that we have reached warp speed.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Broken Ground and Tight Spaces
Yesterday my hubby and I walked the lot. It has been cleared and flags had been placed on the corners of the house so we could see where it would lay. We are happy with the size of the lot and that we won't have anyone directly behind us. At our current house we can practically wave at our rear neighbors from kitchen window to kitchen window. We are getting blessed with a new upgrade of sod and sprinklers in the backyard. A portion will be left for us to clear out twiggy trees and plant seed once we build a fence.
We've been super busy with getting our current house ready to rent as well as my Mom moving in since she closes on her house on the 15th. It will be a bit of a squeeze for awhile.
We met our pm the Wednesday before they broke ground and learned that our sa will be moving so another sa will be taking over. I think I've seen our new sa more than I had our old one since I've gone through the model so many times and he is always there. Our estimated closing is mid May which was super exciting! We had a few hiccups at our pre construction meeting with changes we had previously made not being documented and therefore no longer allowed. The biggy was that we had moved the fireplace from the rear wall to the side wall so the bump out wouldn't take up space on the back deck. I'm not too upset about it and we really should have paid more attention to all the update paperwork we were signing to make sure it was all covered. Another great thing is that our pm just finished working on another elevation N so he has experience and seems really nice.
I will post pics once we have more to show than just dirt, but I must say I am loving our piece of dirt.
We've been super busy with getting our current house ready to rent as well as my Mom moving in since she closes on her house on the 15th. It will be a bit of a squeeze for awhile.
We met our pm the Wednesday before they broke ground and learned that our sa will be moving so another sa will be taking over. I think I've seen our new sa more than I had our old one since I've gone through the model so many times and he is always there. Our estimated closing is mid May which was super exciting! We had a few hiccups at our pre construction meeting with changes we had previously made not being documented and therefore no longer allowed. The biggy was that we had moved the fireplace from the rear wall to the side wall so the bump out wouldn't take up space on the back deck. I'm not too upset about it and we really should have paid more attention to all the update paperwork we were signing to make sure it was all covered. Another great thing is that our pm just finished working on another elevation N so he has experience and seems really nice.
I will post pics once we have more to show than just dirt, but I must say I am loving our piece of dirt.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Selections and Excitment
Well our little one year olds birthday celebration was so much fun. I am so glad that we were able to have her party in our first home. We haven't even moved and I am already feeling nostalgic. The day after the party I started pulling down pictures and packing up our first floor. My husband thought I was crazy since my Mom hadn't even sold her house yet, but just one week later she had an offer! After a bit of back and forth a contract was made and signed. The very next day we were sitting in our SA's office changing our contract from contigent to non-contigent!! I can't even believe it! Her house was on the market for less than a month and a half. So now we wait for permits and should be getting started soon. In the meantime I thought I would list out all our selections since we had to finialize them all when changing the contract. I will try to be organized about it all as I go along.
Exterior:
*Elevation N - We fell in love with the front porch, metal roof and the multiple siding colors/styles. This was one of our biggest expenses, but we felt it was totally worth it.
*Roof - black
Main siding - Irish Thistle
Shingle style siding - Sandy Tan
Shutters - Brown
Front door - Fiery Brown
Brick - Red (can't remember the exact color name since there are three versions of red)
*Garage door upgrade, sod, landscaping, sprinkler system were all incentives included in our hood.
*All lighting/hardware/plumbing fixtures throughout house are oil rubbed bronze
First Floor:
*Family Room/Study carpet - we upgraded to level 2 since it was stain resistant. I can't find our flooing paperwork with names of colors, but it is a version of tan. You will see pics below.
*All other flooring is the level 1 natural colored oak wood.
* Fireplace on side wall of family room with flat screen tv mount above.
*Five speaker in ceiling surround sound with all components for tv wired in the hall coat closet. Hooray for no wires or buttons for little hands to play with!
*Kitchen - Espresso cabinets, molding above cabinets, venetian gold granite, stainless steel appliances, gas range, recessed lights.
*Morning room add on was another incentive.
*Deck - I think its 10x20. It goes to the edge of the house. We also added stairs since we have a dog.
2nd Floor:
*All carpet is level 1. I tried to match it to the family room carpet as close as possible.
*Master bath - Ceramic tile floor and shower/tub surround was an incentive. Again no color names. We did upgrade to level 2 I think. We chose the set up with the shower seat and glass surround.
*Double sinks in both bathrooms in white marble.
*All bathroom cabinetry is also espresso color.
*Laminate flooring in hall bath and laundry.
*Pull down attic access.
Lower Level (My Mom does not approve of it being called the basement):
*All carpet is level 1 in the creamy color.
*Full bath with laminate flooring, espresso cabinet, white ceramic tub surround.
*One wall will have a rough in for plumbing/microwave plug/ect. After closing we are installing an ikea kitchen.
*Larger storage room will also be finished with bi-fold doors leading to the laundry/utility room. No closet will be added, my Mom will just be getting an ikea wardrobe.
*After closing we will finish off the second storage room ourselves.
*Recessed lighting throughout.
I think the only thing I left off is celing fan rough ins in every room except the living room and 4th bedroom.
This is our downstairs flooring. The granite is Tropical Brown which I decided against. Samples in two different model homes varied greatly and I was worried that the kitchen would end up being a black hole.
Here is the master bath tile. We decided to do the listello in the varied lengths instead of all small squares so that you will be able to see the materials and colors better.
And here is a rendering of Elevation N from the Ryan Homes website. The shingles that are scalloped in this pic will just be square on our house and of course the colors will be different too.
Once everything gets rolling I will be back with more updates!
Exterior:
*Elevation N - We fell in love with the front porch, metal roof and the multiple siding colors/styles. This was one of our biggest expenses, but we felt it was totally worth it.
*Roof - black
Main siding - Irish Thistle
Shingle style siding - Sandy Tan
Shutters - Brown
Front door - Fiery Brown
Brick - Red (can't remember the exact color name since there are three versions of red)
*Garage door upgrade, sod, landscaping, sprinkler system were all incentives included in our hood.
*All lighting/hardware/plumbing fixtures throughout house are oil rubbed bronze
First Floor:
*Family Room/Study carpet - we upgraded to level 2 since it was stain resistant. I can't find our flooing paperwork with names of colors, but it is a version of tan. You will see pics below.
*All other flooring is the level 1 natural colored oak wood.
* Fireplace on side wall of family room with flat screen tv mount above.
*Five speaker in ceiling surround sound with all components for tv wired in the hall coat closet. Hooray for no wires or buttons for little hands to play with!
*Kitchen - Espresso cabinets, molding above cabinets, venetian gold granite, stainless steel appliances, gas range, recessed lights.
*Morning room add on was another incentive.
*Deck - I think its 10x20. It goes to the edge of the house. We also added stairs since we have a dog.
2nd Floor:
*All carpet is level 1. I tried to match it to the family room carpet as close as possible.
*Master bath - Ceramic tile floor and shower/tub surround was an incentive. Again no color names. We did upgrade to level 2 I think. We chose the set up with the shower seat and glass surround.
*Double sinks in both bathrooms in white marble.
*All bathroom cabinetry is also espresso color.
*Laminate flooring in hall bath and laundry.
*Pull down attic access.
Lower Level (My Mom does not approve of it being called the basement):
*All carpet is level 1 in the creamy color.
*Full bath with laminate flooring, espresso cabinet, white ceramic tub surround.
*One wall will have a rough in for plumbing/microwave plug/ect. After closing we are installing an ikea kitchen.
*Larger storage room will also be finished with bi-fold doors leading to the laundry/utility room. No closet will be added, my Mom will just be getting an ikea wardrobe.
*After closing we will finish off the second storage room ourselves.
*Recessed lighting throughout.
I think the only thing I left off is celing fan rough ins in every room except the living room and 4th bedroom.
Once everything gets rolling I will be back with more updates!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Begin At the Beginning
Well lately I am in an Alice In Wonderland kind of mood. Our daughter is turning 1 on Wednesday and her party on Saturday is a "Clara in Onederland" theme. She is the main reason we wandered over to a Ryan Homes model.
We've been in our current home for 9yrs. We built it and have been quite happy here until our used to feel large enough living room exploded with toys. Even bringing in a steamer trunk I refinished to corral all the mess didn't make much difference. Our first idea was to turn our rarely used dining room into a playroom. The only problem is I couldn't fathom selling my beautiful pottery barn dining room table. Who cares that it's only been used 6 times and if I put both leaves in I couldn't squeeze a toothpick between it and the walls? Right? Some close friends were looking to build and we found out about a neighborhood directly behind ours and decided to check it out. Just for kicks.
The first models we were looking into were the Milan and even the Palermo though it would have been a special request for the neighborhood. Then my hubby had the crazy idea to ask his parents if they would be interested in selling their house and living in our basement. They spend half the year in Florida so it wasn't too scary of an idea. They turned it down right away and we kept discussing our options. One day my Mom randomly asked if we would consider letting her live in the basement. She lives alone in a small house that I grew up in and it has a huge yard with trees and the yard litter they create. After much discussion we decided to go for it. She raised me and my sister on her own. This would allow her to retire when she wants and then spend more time in England with my sister and her three kids. It would also be a big help for us having Grandma so close since we plan on adding more to our brood.
Now our "just for kicks" fun has turned into the real deal. My Moms house is on the market. We have a great realtor so it will hopefully sell ASAP and we can get started on our Rome! After taking my Mom to visit the model home, which is a Rome, we decided that was the best option to give her the space she would need in the basement. So somehow I am now looking forward to having so much space and I don't have to sacrifice my table! I will even be able to use it with both leaves! Eek!
This is my first time blogging so please excuse any snafus. I have been loving reading about everyone else's journeys. This is such an amazing tool for us all to have the best experience possible.
Next up will be a post about our selections. Hopefully I can figure out how to add pics. ;)
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