If you're reading this then you probably know us well enough to know that we don't stay anywhere for too long. Our current home is the longest we've lived in any one home since we've been married. That just seems crazy to me because I still feel like we
just moved here. In fact, I even say it all the time when meeting people for the first time. I guess 3 years doesn't classify as
just moving here, huh? I swear, time moves way faster once kids come into the equation! But, annnnyways moving this summer was certainly not on our radar. I was planning this fun filled, relaxing summer (which it mostly has been), but we always seem to like to keep things interesting and keep our plates full!
There's a street in our town called South Grandview. Since we first laid eyes on Dubuque, we loved this street. It's a main drag through town and seems like it's right out of Mayberry. It's so "Americana" and full of foot traffic. Any time of day there are people out jogging, walking, sitting on their big front porches, etc. It's known as the mecca of trick-or-treating, a very friendly and safe area, and zoned for a great school. We have day dreamed about the possibility of one day living on this street if we lived in Dubuque long term. Last summer when I was pregnant with Charlotte, we'd take walks together on that street and talk about what kind of house we'd want one day and how we'd decorate our porch, etc....all just kind of a fantasy for the long term if that were to come.
This year, Mat has kept his eye open for jobs that would allow us to move closer to family and friends in St. Louis as well as a couple areas in FL, too. Things just didn't pan out though and there was never the right opportunity that was tempting enough to pursue much beyond an initial interview. Mat loooves his job and is totally happy to commit to being here long term. While I do really like our town, I'm the one that struggles with that commitment. But, after this year of constantly looking for jobs on his part, continuing to feel somewhat unsettled, we made the decision this summer that it was seeming more and more like Dubuque is where we are meant to be, and stay, for now. I'm really wanting to feel settled and put down roots and I feel like God is calling us to stay here. Ya never know what could change over the years, but I'm trying to trust in this plan and have faith that it will all work out for our family and our happiness staying here. We knew that if we stayed here we ideally wanted to be in a new home before MJ begins kindergarten. We still have time of course, but we do not want him to attend the school we're zoned for, and so we'd begun just keeping our eye out or exploring different areas and neighborhoods a bit more closely.
There are houses for sale on that dream street of ours, South Grandview, from time to time. Many are too small or don't have a garage, or way over our budget, but there had been on the market for quite some time...in fact, off and on for the last couple years that was catching Mat's eye. Once the price began dropping and dropping, it was looking a bit more intriguing. We went to an Open House quite some time to look at it. Lots of space? Yes Great area? Yes Move in ready? Nope....so I kind of brushed it aside. I was determined our next house would be move in ready and NOT a fixer upper. Famous last words! Fast forward, another open house, more drop in price, a third viewing of the house, some serious discussing, negotiating, inspection, worry, fear, and prayers, and here is the house that we'll be calling home come August...
Helllo, South Grandview; I can't wait to sit on that big front porch and enjoy you! We ended up settling on a price (got an AMAZING deal) and will be closing by August 6th. We're then going to take a couple weeks to remove some very awful wall paper and carpets....case in point:
our future master bedroom
The plan is to remove wall paper, and carpet, and then paint have hardwood floors refinished before we move in. Luckily there are no huge projects. No walls to be torn down, no rooms to be gutted, but just lots of cosmetic worse. Mat's good at seeing a vision, but I'm usually not. This time though, I can. I can imagine how pretty this room will look when the wall paper is gone, the floors are shining, and that window bench seat is calling my name!
Another room I'm very much looking forward to is this part of the finished basement which will become the kid's playroom:
I can't wait to have a centralized place for the toys and for them to play as they grow bigger. Mostly, I think we're looking forward to much more space (over 3,000 sq ft.), a big porch, and a family friendly area. I look forward to raising our kids here!!
We're going to be continuing to own our current home and are going to rent it out to college students. We've already lined up our renters and have our fingers crossed that our first year as landlords goes smoothly.
There is A LOT to be done in the next month. We'd already planned to be in St. Louis for 2 weeks, so we're still taking that trip as planned, then coming back to try to pack up our current home, do some major cosmetic changes to the new house, and move all within a couple weeks. I'm so tired already, but really hoping it all pays off and will be so worth it. I'll look forward to sharing some wonderful "after" pictures in the months to come!
