OUR [NEW] HOUSE

We're so excited! We've known for several months that we would be needing to move, but with bed rest and Hazel finally making her appearance, we put searching for a place on the back burner. But a house fell into our lap like a week and a half ago...

Yes, that's a funny story. Mom was running down 172nd (I call her crazy for this) and decided to stop in at this little blue house which had been vacant for several months, but only IF A CAR WAS IN THE DRIVEWAY. Well, there was a car in the driveway! Leave it to my mom to be gutsy enough to walk up to a stranger's house and let herself in without knowing the situation.

But she was safe - the guy who owns the house was there with another man who works for him. Mom got some details on the house, like the all important fact that it was for rent. She ran the rest of the way home with the owner's name and number and called me as soon as she could. Nate and I jumped on it - I called the guy and we drove over and met with him about 30 minutes after talking to him on the phone.

[My kitchen, which I'm actually excited about! It'll look so beautiful when it's been painted...]

The owner's name stuck in my head as one that I recognized, but I thought that maybe that was just because it was an alliteration like both Mom and Dad's names are. When we got out of the truck at the house, though, I recognized the guy, but once more I didn't think too hard about it.

[Our bathroom.]

It was when the owner, Bruce, introduced us to his handyman that everything fell into place. Bruce indicated that his handyman works over at the golf course that the rental house backs up on - that fact was exciting to me because I worked at that golf course as a waitress in high school. The handyman pointed over at Bruce and said, "Well, he owns the golf course."

[Nate and Bruce in the garage - the breezeway is out the door behind Bruce, and then you can see the door into the house beyond that.]

Bruce and I looked at each other in a new light just then. I reminded him of my somewhat uncomfortable interview for the waitressing job, which he totally remembered - I had showed up at the golf course in my cheerleading warm-ups and with my hair stacked high in big curlers and covered by a bandana. He had thought that was hilarious at the time and got a big laugh out of it.

[This is the view from the bathroom. From left to right: A door out of view goes to our bedroom, a door slightly in view is the linen closet, the first open door looks into the dining room, the second open door looks into the kitchen, another door slightly in view leads upstairs to the finished attic/Nate's office, and the last door (out of view) is Hazel's room.]

What more could we ask for! Bruce remembered me and I remembered him and suddenly we were all at ease. That personal connection went a long way while we explored the house. I had told Bruce over the phone that we weren't out to be impressed - I understood he hadn't been in the house for the last 15 years, so it was dirty and cluttered with the previous renters' leftover junk.


[Nate's attic office.]

He showed us around, though, happily, and we fell just a little bit in love with the place! Yes, it's on 11 acres, with a creek. It has two bedrooms, a finished attic, and a huge basement with a bonus room. Nate worked out a deal with Bruce and we'll be moving in by the end of January latest (I think...) - Nate's doing the interior and exterior painting and cleaning the house and we get our asking price for our rent! This is a great answer to our prayers. God has really provided for us in a special way.

[Looking from the dining room through the little entryway and into the front living room. The sun room is through the glass-paned door around the corner to the left.]

[Looking from the far wall of the front living room back toward the kitchen, through the dining room.]

[The sun room, looking through one door into our bedroom and out the other into the hall and toward Hazel's room. Yes, it's one big circle.]

[Looking at the sun room from our bedroom.]


[My laundry space in the basement.]

[The basement bonus room.]

[Our basement storage - WAHOO!]

[The wood chute for our wood burning furnace; we're hoping to use the oil furnace as sparingly as possible...]
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[The back of the house and garage.]

[Our back yard.]
As you can see from the pictures, the house still needs a lot of work, besides Nate's painting - it's getting new siding in spots, a new roof, a furnace check, and cleaned or replaced carpets. Wanna help us clean???