All About the House . . . finally!

Hey everyone. I'm back! Did ya miss me? This week has really flown by! I can't tell you how many times I've tried to sit down and blog, only to have my attention required elsewhere. I have so many things I want to write about, so much I wish to share with ya'll. A week is a long time in Bloggie World; now that I have the time to sit and type, I hardly know where to start.

I suppose I could start with our house, which is where I left ya'll hanging the last time I really, truly blogged.

We are officially moved in! I say "officially", because all our stuff is out of storage and in our new home. Now I just get to put it all away. Yipee. ;) Actually, after a month of living in someone else's house using someone else's stuff, it's exciting to rip open boxes and see our stuff smiling back at us. It's like getting reacquainted with old friends. And on those days when I feel a zillion miles away from all things familiar, you'd be surprised how comforting a well-worn rocking chair or old coffee mug can be.

By the end of this next week, however, I'm sure I'll wish I were Mary Poppins, able to unpack a room by simply snapping my fingers. Just a spoon full of sugaaaaaarrr. . .

Ahem.

Where was I? Ah yes, the house!

Here's the quick facts:

• It's a four bedroom/two bath split-level house, totaling around 1700 sq. ft.
• It has a HUGE fenced back yard :) :) :)
• We're renting directly from the owners, who are super-nice, wonderful people
• We weren't looking for a place this large, but the price was right
• We have a cherry tree in the back and a pear tree in the front :) :)

Now for the story of how we found this place: we didn't.

Short story, right? Ha! *snickers to herself*

My MIL found this place, actually. Right after Whidbey Island Bank hired Jason, we started looking for a house to rent. We sorta knew what we wanted: enclosed backyard, 2-3 bedrooms, decent kitchen, since I cook and bake a lot, etc. Of course, price was a consideration, too. Jason and I spent one whole day looking and found zilch. My MIL and I spent five hours the next looking and found . . . not much. Good houses with no yard. Nice yards with icky houses. Nice houses with nice yards . . . for way too much.

Hot and dejected, we went home (to my in-laws) last Thursday late in the afternoon. I crashed on the couch with some NCIS. My MIL, undeterred, got back on her computer to look some more. She found this house for rent in an ad from the local newspaper. The ad had just come out, so she she wrote down the address and took my FIL to investigate. She called me ten minutes later.

"Nicole, I found it."

"Uhhhh?" (I'm not very articulate in the late afternoon)

"I found it. Your new house. I'm sitting in your backyard right now. You have to come see this! John's coming to get you and Caleb right now."

"Mmmmm, kay." What did I have to lose, right?

I saw the outside of the house and loved it. The owner's daughter came later that night to show us the inside of the house, and I loved it even more. So did Jason. So did Caleb. The rest is history. :)

So now we are all moved in and every day I fall a little more in love with it. The "upstairs" part houses the kitchen, livingroom, dining area, and our two bedrooms. Downstairs, we have a really large den space, which will double as our computer room and a play area for Caleb (Oh, the plans I have for that room!!). Downstairs is also the laundry room (quite possibly my favorite room in the house) and what will eventually become a guest room. I have a lot of plans for that one as well. ;) That leaves us with one room we don't know what to do with, so for the time being, we're using it for storage. The one thing this house doesn't have is a garage, so a storage room isn't a bad idea. We'll see how that evolves.

The Lord has totally blessed us. What else can I say? I'm saying "thank you Lord!" about 50 million times each day.He had this house picked out for us, and His timing was perfect. I don't feel like we deserve such a great house, but I'm certain that if God willed it, He must have plans for us and this place. I know I've over-used this expression by now, but seriously, I keep thinking to myself "We will see what God will do." Because He is just that good. :)

Pictures, my dear people, will be forth-coming. I have some house pictures on my camera, but the camera battery is currently dead. Re-charging it is on my To-Do List, but that list is quite long at the moment. So right after I find my large ziplock bags and handsoap, hang up clothes and wash blankets, unpack DVDs and pillows, I'll find some time for my camera. I promise. :)

Love to you all on this bright, lazy, sunny Sunday evening!