Puzzle Pieces

It was the spring of 2014 and we were starting to make plans to move back to our hometown. At that time we'd lived away for about 2 1/2 years and had recently spent about 6 weeks back home for the birth of our 5th baby. I had started searching the real estate website, one of my favorite hobbies! We looked at a true fixer-upper, which wasn't going to be the right fit for our family, but it was exciting to start the process of planning to move back to home.

There began a long series of house hunts and plans for the future. It was like a box of puzzle pieces had been spilled out, and we didn't know quite how to put them together or how long it would take. We looked at old homes, new homes, homes on acreage, and homes with guest apartments. In the end, when we finally moved back last October, we actually moved back to our old home (after the tenants left)! It was our best option at that point since our other house hadn't sold, and we figured we'd revisit our plans after settling in. 

As the months went by and our other house finally sold, we started to lean towards renovations of this older home. It was built in the 1970s and needs many updates. It's a bit smaller than we'd prefer for our large family, but I aimed to find contentment in this space and make it into our dream home. The location can't be beat.  But still there was a nagging that this wasn't quite the right way to fit these puzzle pieces together. My parents wanted to move near us and needed to downsize from their large home. Then my dad had a health crisis this summer. We were just starting the repairs on our home and weren't quite ready to make another big moving decision. 

We replaced the siding, we ordered all new windows, and we got a new roof. We went to a model home neighborhood and started working on a plan with our contractor. And then one Sunday morning before church we started thinking about that puzzle again in a new light. We spent a few days at the beach and considered it some more, letting the options wash over us with the waves and the sunshine while I worked some literal puzzles on the kitchen table with the kids.

We came home and decided we were serious about revisiting this different way to fit the puzzle pieces together. We were finally at a time when it would be possible for us financially to buy a bigger and newer home in our little city. We had looked at this house before, but at that point it was newly listed, and we knew that price negotiating wouldn't get us far. Now the sellers had moved out and were ready to negotiate.  It wasn't exactly what we had been looking for in a house, but it had exactly the right location. We made an offer the next day and finished negotiations by the next morning. At this point, it's looking likely that it'll go through, barring something unexpected!

I'll share some photos once we close, but for now I'll share a little more about this little "puzzle" as the pieces are mostly fitting together.  We love our little city. It's surrounded by a bigger suburb and has lots of great amenities. We also love our old home. It feels cozy and homey and we're excited to continue fixing it up. But now, we will actually be fixing it up for its new residents, my parents! It'll be a great size for them, and most importantly, it'll be just a few minutes away from our new home in the next neighborhood!

From our new home we can walk or bike over to the old home; the park and pool are about halfway between us. Our new home is only about five years old and is a very nice two-story with a rustic/traditional feel. It only has about 400 more square feet than our current house, but the space is utilized well and the layout is ideal for our family. It'll be similar to our home when we lived in Corpus Christi, with a nice dining room with french doors downstairs for homeschooling and the master bedroom downstairs too (with a great bathroom and a JACUZZI BATHTUB!). There are three bedrooms for the kids upstairs, two full bathrooms and a large gameroom.  Going from 2 to 3 1/2 bathrooms will be wonderful! There's an awesome covered porch that even has the hardware for our hanging swing! The yard is nice and green, but not very big. We do have a greenbelt behind us so there are lots of nice trees to look at!

We are getting really excited and should be closing on the new house in about a month. During that time we'll be getting new windows, new shutters, a new front door, and a renovated hall bathroom in the old house. After we move out, we'll be updating the master bath and kitchen so that my parents can move in.  I'll share photos along the way. We'll also be starting our homeschool lessons, ballet classes, baseball teams, and all the other excitement that happens this time of the year! It's time to gear up, because this is going to be a very eventful few months!

We're all so happy that the puzzle pieces appear to be fitting together and hopefully we'll have a whole completed puzzle of two beautiful homes to share with you soon!

Before and After, Backyard: Fence, Playset, Siding and Doors

We have finally started the first projects of our home renovation! We'd initially hoped to do this before, or soon after, moving back into this house last October...but things never quite go exactly as planned!

Our home was built in 1972 and we bought it from our friends in 2007. They had done a lot of work to get it functional, and they did a ton of projects like tiling, paint and other things themselves during the years they were here. Since we've owned it we've mostly only been able to fix what's broken, and the renters who leased it for three years while we had a job relocation did a great job at upkeep. 

But now we're at the point where we've pretty much decided we will stay here for the near future. We wanted to start with getting the exterior of the home weatherproofed and safe. Next we will finally be able to put our own personal touch on the interior of the house, namely the bathrooms and kitchen.

Right around Christmas we were finally able to put in a new fence, and in January we got the new big playset. Here are some "Before" shots...

BEFORE: 

When we moved back into this house (Oct 2014). Those bushes on the right were as tall as our garage!

BEFORE:

After we had the bushes trimmed and were about to replace the fence last winter (Dec 2014)

AFTER:

Our new fence! (July 2015)

AFTER:

New playset and fence

Next we had some major drainage work done in the yard, along with a lot of pressure washing of the house, porch, patio, and driveway. We had new french drains added, some trenches with bull rock put in, and we tore out a lot of landscaping in the front. These things will all keep the water draining away from our house and down to the street! We will be adding some new plants in the coming weeks, along with new front shutters and maybe a new front door too. I'll share photos of that when it's complete.

This summer we've been preparing for a refinance and the other things needed to start this renovation. About two weeks before closing, we found out the bank needed us to replace the rotten wood siding, so it was a very quick project.  I was so glad to have gotten an Angie's List membership (only about $7/yr), and I contacted about 7 different siding companies. Three of them came out on such quick notice, and one was a kind of creepy guy who kept asking questions about the kids and such. The other was priced really high and wasn't available for the work on short notice, and the last was this contractor who was wonderful and had a very reasonable price and quick turnaround. He got this done in less than a week and was a pleasure to work with. He will be doing our roof next week, our windows in a few weeks, and then will probably be our main contractor for the interior renovations.  He and his guys did an excellent job!

Here are some photos of last week's project:

BEFORE:

Apparently this wasn't even an exterior door. It was always getting stuck, was falling off the hinges, and it was allowing water to leak through on one side into the sheet rock.

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

This door was probably the worst part of the exterior of the house! It had a broken doggie door, was rotten on the bottom, and the knob was so close to the frame that everyone's hands would get stuck in the door!

AFTER:

This makes me so happy!

BEFORE:

PROGRESS:

This window area is one part that isn't finished yet. We're going to order a big no-pane picture window, and so they'll replace the framing around it when they replace the window. We'll go with all-white trim and all white on the fascia under the roof as well. I'm hoping to figure out a better patio furniture plan. Maybe I'll move the picnic table into the grass and find a wrought iron table set with chairs to go around Steven's fire pit. We will see! One thing I'm so thankful for is our local online classified website where you can find almost any kind of furniture in great condition at an amazing price!

Here's a little snapshot of what they had to face when they pulled off that old wood siding! Scary! They ended up replacing all the insulation.

BEFORE:

There was a lot of wood rot on the bottom of this wall.

AFTER:

They even added an electric outlet, so now we can use Steven's new grill over there!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

These projects felt like the big first steps in fixing up this house! It's so pleasant to walk into the backyard now or to open the back doors! Next week we'll be putting in the new roof, and then the windows. Hopefully soon after that we will start the interior renovations, which will be the best part! I can't wait!