Our new house

Well, since my last posting we've had Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Valentines Day. Tim and I continue to adjust to our new life in Michigan. I enjoy my job very much, and Tim is getting along better with the people he works with. The only gripe I have is that Tim's schedule is never the same, so we can't have a regular routine. At least they only have him work one Sunday per month.

Christmas with Tim's family was better than I expected, but not at all like home. I'm sure nothing can compare to going home for Christmas. I took it upon myself to make ALL the munchies my family normally has Christmas day. I enjoyed all the food, but I don't know if it was worth the stress and the mess. We had the missionaries (all four) over to help us eat. It was fun having them over. They were allowed to watch a Christmas movie with us.

One of our goals for 2009 was to find our own place. We didn't anticipate moving out until at least the middle of the year, but things got ugly living with In-laws. (Everyone knows that kind of arrangement doesn't work for long.) For me, it wasn't too bad. I was just dying to have my own kitchen and bathroom. It was actually Tim and his dad that butt heads the most. Long story short, the two had a final big argument and we went looking for the first place elsewhere that we could find. It took one week of searching. Nothing seemed right, and we had to find a place in our price range, and hopefully within our ward boundaries. By the end of the week, we had agreed on a place in our price range but out of our ward. The night before we went to sign the lease, we thought we'd check out one last place; a cute rental home near where we already lived. The price had come way down from what it had been listed on Craigslist. It felt right the moment we walked in the door. That was Thursday. We signed the lease Friday and moved everything in on Saturday with the help of our great ward members. It's taken two weeks, but now I finally feel settled. I can't live half way unpacked. I worked hard to get everything in order.

Our new house is tiny, but very cute! It's a one bedroom. I like the kitchen most of all, even though it has no dishwasher or garbage disposal. (Typical of an older Michigan home) I always love pulling into the driveway and seeing my new home. It's complete with a fenced back yard and patio, green shutters on the windows, and a white picket fence. The neighborhood is nice and quiet, and we've already met one neighbor next door. His name is Tim too, and already he has lent us stuff and snow plowed our driveway for us.

Andy loves his new house too. He has taken over the back yard and frequently reminds the neighbor dog that he lives here now. We can let him stay out for a while now, although I normally bring him right back in. I can't stand it when he barks. (and he knows it) We've got so many windows... (something I REALLY missed, living in the basement at my in-law's) We leave the blinds open while we're gone, and Andy hangs out on the back of the couch all day, watching out the window.

Our house is so small, we don't have room for a kitchen table. I don't mind too much though. We got a nice long coffee table that doubles great as a place to eat. Honestly, we didn't eat at the table that much at our old place anyway.

CLICK ON THE FLOOR PLAN AND ZOOM IN TO SEE IT!