Nothing's set in stone, but...

We made a bid on a HUD home in a really fantastic neighborhood.  And the bid was accepted!  I KNOW, RIGHT??  This is pretty huge.

Kay, so you know I've been sick of having just one six-foot-by-six-foot bathroom for six people, right?  We've talked about this.  Me hitting my head and crying all the way to church that one day?  Yeahhhhhh. And then the problem of two of my kids sharing a nine-foot-by-nine-foot bedroom.  They're just stuffed in there, like sardines.  Space has become an issue and will continue to be an issue as my kids get bigger and bigger (Parenthetically, Sadie's feet grew from a size 1 1/2 in June to a size 4 in August).  We have a living room, but I've often thought how nice it would be to have two living spaces.  So if we have friends over or cousins over, the adults could be like, "Go downstairs and play, kids," and the adults could hang out upstairs.  That's been a little dream of mine.

The other issue I have with our house is safety, or lack thereof, involving some of our neighbors, past and present.  (Who could forget the meth dealers we had across the street?  The bounty hunters who came for them?  The man beating up the woman on the front lawn?)  I can't talk right now about some other current things that have been a little scary for us, but rest assured, my Mama Bear instinct is out in full force right now, and I just keep thinking, "It's time for us to get out of here."  I'm not saying that the next street over isn't awesome, or that down the street a ways isn't awesome.  Just....our very current surrounding houses. There are a couple of issues there.  

Although may I just say that the Nappy Neighbors and I have made peace the past couple of years?  As the kids have grown up and learned certain things about interacting with people (No, we do not lick other peoples' windows.  No, we don't stand and watch them on their front porch while they're eating.), I actually really like them.  The mom and I have become better friends, and when their dogs run over to say hi to me, I pet them and hug them and chat with the mom.  Sometimes, the son, H.B., comes and asks Ben to throw the football around with him.  The dad and mom divorced a couple of years ago and the dad isn't around much.  I think it's cute that the neighbor kid essentially asks my husband if he can play.  And I think it's cute that Ben always says yes.

And obviously Nephi is a doll and a half.  He's been the best neighbor a person could hope for.  And he's become a dear friend.

Anyways, these factors, plus the fact that interest rates are so low right now, have pushed us toward looking to find a different house. 

So we got pre-approved and went on a hunt.  A longggggggggg hunt.  We probably looked for three or four weeks.  We really did try to find houses in our ward, because we are so in love with our ward, but we couldn't find any that were big enough for our burgeoning family.  We found one that was a really good deal, but on a little bit of a busier street, which made us a little uncomfortable.  Then we found one in a really great neighborhood, but they were asking a bit more than we were willing to offer.

And Ben wasn't a huge fan of any of them.  The man is pick-eeeeeeee.  Because he's an architect.  He really hates homes that look like all the other homes in the neighborhood.  And I kind of feel the same way.  But at the same time, I'm like, "As long as the sewer isn't backing up every three months, I can live without a sense of house identity."  Haha!  Anyways, nothing was looking right to him.  Nothing was making him excited.

And then he found this guy:

It has modern lines and looks different than any other house in the neighborhood.  Sorry the pictures are so small, dude.  Now that we've signed the papers with our offer and their acceptance of our offer, I can't find the picture online anymore.  So the picture on the left is the home.  And of course, the picture on the right is what Ben wants to do to the home.

See, since, it's a HUD home, we are going to rehab it.  A little bit needs to be done inside, but not much. We need to add one more bedroom in the basement, which will be easily done.  We might replace some carpets.  A little bit of plumbing.    And Ben wants to fix the outside - it's wood siding that was once painted a light grey, but the paint is peeling badly, and a few of the boards are looking worse for wear.  I think he wants to attach the materials in his drawing right on top of the woodwork.

Anyways, we really love the floor plan and the space inside.  Our kids will be able to turn into teenagers in this house and have a little more room.  We're so excited about it.  It will take 30-45 days to close, and then we have to hurry and rehab it within a few months.  And, obviously, we have to sell our current home, too.

So we've been busy little bees.  And we'll continue to be busy little bees.  But I feel like everything is going to work out, and I really do love the home and am excited to get to work on that poor, neglected garden...