Building a House and Moving In

 The day finally arrived and we moved into our house!  It's been exactly a month now and we are so happy to be here.  I took these snapshots a few days before we moved in and although they have been sitting on my computer since, I've been enjoying getting unpacked and settled into our new home and the days have just flown by.  I wasn't exactly sure how it would feel moving into a brand new house, but the truth is it almost immediately felt like home and wonderfully us.     

 In comparison to some other experiences I've heard about, our house building experience was relatively painless and went quickly.  We liked our contractor and felt good about the quality.  It was quite amazing, seeing the progress of a house starting from just some blocks to a structure that became a home.  The decisions did feel overwhelming at times.  Some were easy, some were not.  The most worrisome by far was the brick.  The least fun (surprisingly) for me was picking out lighting.  The most fun (not surprisingly), picking out everything for the kitchen. 

Oh, we are so happy to be back in the country and so are the girls.  We love living far enough away from the road that the girls can run around without us worrying.  I love taking walks in the evening and letting Huck run free.  I love the trees and the quiet and the fact the girls can walk to my parents house now (with walkie talkies of course).  I love the hay bales that just surrounded our house as the hay was cut.  Not to mention being within walking distance of the flower garden.  It still feels like a dream living here. 

I get asked if everything came out perfect with our house and the answer is of course, no!  There are mistakes I made along the way, but the truth is, all the big decisions - those things that would be hard to live with if you didn't like, turned out just right.  And once we actually moved in, all those little things just faded away and all we feel is thankful. 

 One of our favorite things about the inside of the house is the open layout.  This certainly wouldn't be a layout for everyone, but we love it.  I did/do find it a bit challenging, trying to take three separate spaces (kitchen, dining and living) and have them feel cohesive.  But I so enjoy being in the kitchen, but still feeling a part of whatever is going on in the living room or dining room.  This large space also floods with light during all times of the day and you know how I feel about light! 

 I'm also a lot more motivated to keep the kitchen clean now, too, since it's so visible - ha! 

We also get asked quite a bit if we stayed in budget.  I'm sad to say, no, we definitely went over our budget!  There were a few things we splurged on, but there were also plenty of things we had to make compromises on.  We ended up finishing our bonus room along the way, a decision we do not regret whatsoever.  (However, it will be a while before we can furnish it - smile.)  I think there was a time that having a custom house could be cost saving, but in our personal experience, and in this area, this was not the case.  Of course, there are so many decisions that could affect this.  After having gone through this experience, I can see why there isn't a contractor out there that can or will easily quote a price per square foot. 

In the beginning, we really had to weigh out those things that were most important to us and other areas that weren't as high on the list, so we knew where we could save and compromise. 

 After years of house projects (actually, our entire married life!), I have to admit that it was so nice moving into a finished home, especially with young children.  Justus loves tinkering around in his garage and I love tinkering around in the kitchen and house.  It will be a while before we get our house completely furnished and decorated, but I enjoy taking my time and finding what works best.  

To the left of the staircase, you can see the bonus room, that we literally finished up days before moving in!  We did save quite a bit in this room by doing the painting, trim and flooring ourselves.  We are SO thankful to have this room finished though! 

 The girls love their bedrooms.  I wasn't sure how they would do after spending seven months  sharing a bedroom, but they each slept in their own beds the first night in our house!  It has been so much fun getting their rooms decorated!  I can't wait to share them!

 

 

 I just had to paint a chalkboard wall in the bonus room.  ;-) 

 A finished house we may have, but we don't have one speck of landscaping done - ha!  But we are having concrete formed tomorrow and poured this week for some of the driveway, patio off the back porch (above) and sidewalks.  So we'll get there eventually and enjoy it as it comes!  

I'll be back soon with some room tours and hopefully better pictures!  And feel free to ask any house building questions if I missed anything.  ;-)