Those who are familiar with "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," will remember the song Adam Pontipee sings as he goes around town looking for a wife. Well, this week I can identify with him, because I've been going around town looking for a house.
"Pretty and trim, but kind of small. Heavenly yard, but ugh, that house! Gotta be right to be the place for me."
There are plenty of houses in the valley that would do the trick for us, but we're kind of hard to please, because we'd like a bigger lot to go with it. We'd like to have room for a big garden and several fruit trees, room to keep chickens, room for the kids to run around, room for Nathan to tinker, and room to escape the claustrophobia of life without neighbors breathing down our necks. (I love living around people, but I don't like having to listen to their music all the time, and I don't like having five different families able to see into our yard at all times.) If we really want that, we're probably going to have to go south, but David doesn't want a long commute everyday. Decisions, decisions...
Yesterday was a turning point for us. I had been house hunting for most of the week, and was beginning to realize that we couldn't have a nice house with a big lot, close to work, for the budget that we have. (Unless the Lord decides to grant us a miracle, which I am not ruling out.)
We drove down to Springville and Spanish Fork, where lots of big, inexpensive houses on big lots are going up. As we looked at all these fancy new houses on fancy streets with fancy cars and toys, and kids in fancy clothes playing outside, we realized what was most important to us, and the deciding factor among all the other criteria we've set.
What we are really looking for is the right environment to raise our kids. David can live with a slightly longer drive to work. I can be happy with an older house that doesn't have a beautiful, modern kitchen. For heaven's sake, we can even remodel if we need to!
David often says that the best thing that ever happened to him as a kid, was moving away from all the "stuff" and living a simpler life. Spending more time with family, learning to work hard, and finding joy in things that money can't buy. THAT is what we want for our kids.
That being said, I also want our kids to look forward to coming home from school everyday, and their friends to enjoy being with us, so the house needs to be decent.
Anyway, we won't be buying anything until we can sell our house, so it may be a while. In the meantime, here are some of my favorite pictures from our week of house hunting:
Love this yard! 2/3 acre, fruit trees, gardens, sheds, llamas in the lot behind. BUT, the house that comes with it needs A LOT of work!
You always hear that bathrooms can be a selling point. You never know what you will find when you look in a bathroom.
What a great laundry room! You can't see it, but there are also shelves and counters.
Another great bathroom.
We'd have to get a moving truck to move all the junk out from the previous occupants.
Am I in a time warp?
This looks exactly like the kitchen I had when I was a little girl.
This is how Nathan felt after a week of house hunting. He got to go with me so that we wouldn't wear out our welcome with the wonderful people who watch our kids.
5 comments:
Oh, man...I don't envy you. I always thought house-hunting would be so much fun until I actually did it, 2 seperate times and it was pretty stressful both times. Although it sounds like you are much easier to please than I am. Good luck, and know that you will be led where you are meant to be!
We had the same priority when we were house-hunting. The house and the yard are things that we could work with and change if we had to. But if you live in a neighborhood that wouldn't be a good place for raising kids, that's not something you can change. We looked at a short-sale in a fancy neighborhood, and were really turned off by the feeling there.
You have to wonder when house hunting what the heck were they thinking when they put _____ in?? Seriously, here in the Atomic City there are some very strange tributes to asymetrical-brick-sculptures that we'd all rather forget.
I, of course, meant a Bigger kitchen. Sorry.
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