Journey to a New Home

It's been a LONG time since I've made any blog entries here. So much has gone on that it's difficult to know where to begin. Last December we made the decision to move half way across the country from bustling Chicago to the quaint little town in Maine where I grew up. Within a matter of about 3 weeks, we packed up all our worldly possessions and made all the other sundry arrangements that go along with moving. Then, four days before Christmas, we loaded up our trusty little Corolla and my Handyman's work van with our two cats, Sweet Pea, and my mom (who graciously flew out to Chicago just so she could make the LONG drive back with me and Sweet Pea). With two U-haul trailers in-tow, we set out for Maine. My sister and her husband have showed us immeasurable generosity in opening their home to us and allowing us to live life with them for the past year while we got established here. It has been such a blessing, and part of me isn't sure I want it to end (although I'm sure they will be happy to have their house to themselves again!)

Now my Handyman has a new job working for a home building company, and we've begun looking at our options for having a home of our own. We checked out a cute little house that was ultra cheap but in desperate need of renovations, but traditional banks are leery of that sort of thing, so getting financing was an issue. After looking at several different options, we've decided to build a new home on the land we bought from my grandfather several years ago. There are many factors that weigh into that decision, but a major one is the desire to live close to my sister and her family (did I mention we'll be right next door??), across the street from my grandparents, and just up the road from my parents. It's such a blessing to have family close! That's why we made the move in the first place, and it has been so. good. The thought of Sweet Pea living right next door to her three cousins, who have been like siblings to her for the past year, is really exciting.

We've decided to have the company that my Handyman works for build our home for us, and they will allow him to do a lot of the work himself, which will save us some cash. The process of choosing a house plan was 3 parts fun, 1 part overwhelming. There were A LOT of plans that we really liked the looks of. In the end we sent 4 plans to the construction company. They came back to us and very bluntly told us that our number one choice was way out of our budget. That was fine. Actually, we really appreciated their up front communication. Our second pick was ruled out too, since it had a garage incorporated into the design, and our budget doesn't allow for that right now, either. That left us with the choice between a really cute cape or a really pretty ranch. We went back and forth a hundred times between the two, with my Handyman leaning more towards the cape and me more toward the ranch. In the end, this is the one we decided on:

We came to the conclusion that the ranch would give us more finished space than the cape, and it is a lot closer to our target price, as well. And I LOVE the floor plan. I think it's going to suite are family really well. It won't have the garage, which, I know, changes the look of the whole house, but someday we'll be able to add that too.

We just told the builder this morning that we've decided on this plan, so now he will work on getting a contract proposal drawn up. There's sort of a time crunch, because the town will post the roads the first or second week of February, meaning they can't bring in the heavy machinery excavate and dig the basement after that happens. So, if we can get everything together (get the drawings, bank appraisal and all paperwork done) in the three weeks or so, they can start to dig before the roads are posted and we'll be well on our way to a new house! If things don't come together fast enough, then we'll have to wait until April when they open the roads back up. That wouldn't be the end of the world, but it sure would be nice to start sooner rather than later!

It's kind of surreal that this is actually coming together. I'm already having so much dreaming of how to decorate our new home! (You might have caught that if you follow me on Pinterest...)