House Hunting

Wow! I just realized it's been a week since I posted last! Sorry. We have started looking for a house. We signed another 6 month lease at our wonderful apartment God has blessed us with. It should help with saving up a little more. Everything is so expensive around here! We've considered building out of the city but hate to go that far. It's not that it's THAT far, you have to drive a long way to get anywhere in a big city, but it'd be nice to be right in the middle. But, doing that means you have to get a fixer upper or stumble across someone who has already fixed something up who is desperate to sell so that it's affordable. We have started working with a realtor who is very nice and have gotten pre-approved for a loan. So, we'll just keep praying about it and I know God will provide above and beyond what we ask for. He always does and then I feel silly for asking for something so materialistic.

We LOVE our apartment. 4 years, or more, ago, Matt was looking for an apartment (when he was single) and didn't think he could afford one in this complex. I checked into it and they were running some really good specials and so he moved in to a one bedroom for a year. Then, we got engaged and picked out a 2 bedroom that he lived in for about 6 months before we got married and then I moved in. As soon as we looked at this 2 bedroom we liked it because it has kind of a house feel to it. The kitchen and living room are in the front and then there is a hallway that leads to the bedrooms in the back. It has nice high ceilings and is a fairly new property.

Next to it and across the street is some farmland where there are cows and horses. A little farther down the road there is an outlet mall that we powerwalk in everyday. It's so convenient when the weather is too cold or hot or when it is too dark outside. Behind us is a city trail that is about a mile long. It's got a wide cemented path surrounded by big trees and a stream with a golf course on the other side. We have easy access to the highway and are right in the heart of the metroplex.

The complex recently did upgrades in all the apartments who signed new leases. Last year when we signed, we got new carpet which came in time for Merrae's crawling stage, new kitchen floor that looks like wood, tile backsplash in the kitchen, new kitchen faucet, updated light fixtures in the bathrooms, and fresh paint that is a khaki color. When we signed a new lease yesterday they agreed to put new faucets, towel bars, and shower curtain rods in the bathrooms as well as a carpet cleaning. I saw all that in my neighbor's apartment and liked it. The shower curtain rod is the kind that curves out from the tub making it seem bigger. Everything is so nice and makes it hard to think about moving into an older used home. We've been spoiled. I know you can always do updates but we don't want to spend a fortune on that. It'll all work out and God will lead us to a great place that will work out. Meanwhile, I'm very content and blessed here. We are a little cramped and are having to constantly weed through all our belongings to make it work but that can be a good thing! It's amazing how much you can accumulate over even one year!