Four years ago, my husband and I bought a new house.  Such a simple statement, right?  But boy, that house hunt took eight, that's right, EIGHT long months.  House after house.  We schlepped a 3 year old and an almost 1 year old around...weekend after weekend.  So painful, but oh, so worth it.  We didn't know exactly what we wanted in a house, but just figured we'd know it when we found it.  We were right.

After the months of searching, two houses came on the market the same day, both of which we loved.  There were pros and cons to each.  The basement in one was finished, but had little natural light.  The lot of the other was bigger but a bit hilly in the backyard with so many trees.  One was more updated (and a bit more expensive), the other had a view that couldn't be beat.  I loved them both for different reasons, as did my husband.  The problem, these houses were going to go fast and we didn't have time to ponder.  I told my husband to take his pick and we'd roll with it.  Today, I'm writing this post from the family room of the house he picked.  I'm so glad I let him choose.  I would have picked the other house but he made the right choice.

Over the past four years we have worked tirelessly to update it to our tastes.  We finished the basement, putting in a bedroom, rec room, home gym and a bathroom.  The basement project could fill pages upon pages of posts all by itself.  I'll leave that for another time.  Once that was done, we spruced up the railings and had hardwood floors installed in the family room.  We have painted and painted and painted.  We regraded the backyard not once, but twice.  We also expanded the patio with pavers, encased the metal deck supports in wood columns and had under-decking put in to keep the area below dry when it rains.  Our latest project was revamping the laundry room.

Each one of these projects takes more time and money than we anticipate when we start, but each one has helped to make this house a home we love and plan to stay and enjoy for many years to come.  We plan to raise our three kids in this house.  To have years upon years of laughter and tears.  So while the house wasn't perfect when we moved in four years ago, it is definitely perfect for us.