Woah! Long time no post!

wow just like the title says, it has been a very long time since I've posted to my blog. I bet everyone has long forgotten me now.

Seriously though it has been super busy and crazy. As many of you know Greg and I recently purchased a house. I would love to share our story of house shopping...

*Warning lots of pics and words*

It all started with a crappy economy and low home loan APR's/prices, Greg and I knew that this was the time to get a house. The housing market was at it's all time lowest and it was either now or never to jump in and start looking for a house. One of the scariest things we have done is make this big decision. Buying a house is a big gamble we didn't know if the prices were going to get any lower or higher. We knew our budget and what we could afford and couldn't. Greg started us off by finding our mortgage broker and getting an estimate on what we qualify for. After we found that out, and before we got a relator Greg and I just searched the net for houses in our price range. We did that for about 3 to 4 months, still not really ready to fully jump in to the house finding game. Until one day we just decided to go for it and do it all the way. We contacted our Mortgage broker again and set up a meeting. She approved us for both Conventional and FHA and we decided to shoot for conventional. The only thing was, since I hadn't been working for 6+ months they couldn't count my income. So she said to look for a house but we couldn't actually buy until September. (We were in the month of June.) She referred us to a realtor, we called her and instantly fell in love with her. The minute we talked to her she was very proactive in finding us a home that we love. She sent us over a ton of MLS listings and said pick out you favorite ones and we'll go look at them.
We found a few that we liked and set up a day to go look at them. The first one we were scheduled to look at showed on the MLS was a two story new home. It showed a finished house. We really weren't looking for a two story, we wanted a rambler, but we were open to different options. So we got the address and Greg and I beat the realtor to the house. Only one thing... It wasn't finished, it was still being built! We called the realtor and informed her and she apologized and said that if we didn't want to look at it then we could got to the next house. (Even she wasn't aware that it was a new build.) Since we were already there we decide to look at it any ways. So they, The realtor and her husband, whom is a contractor, came and we looked through the house. It was OK, not what we were looking for. As we were looking at the 2-story our realtor received a phone call from the builders assistant. informing her that the house, across the street from the 2-story, funding fell trough the night before and is now on the market. It was a rambler. So we crossed the street kids and all and looked at the rambler. Still in the process of being built. The second I walked in I fell in love, but I kept my poker face on. You see I never wanted a new build. I've heard too many horror story's about new builds and decided to never go through the pain and headache of one. Greg looked the same as me. He liked it, but didn't share much about his feelings... Until we got into the car to look at the other houses. Both Greg and I looked at each other with huge smiles and started talking, asking questions, and trying to decide if these feelings weren't rash, or if it was a sign from Heavenly Father that this is the house for us.
We went to about 10 other houses that day, and all of them had something wrong with them. In the last house our realtors sat us down and said, you liked that new build didn't you? So out came all our feelings on new builds and that rambler. With her husband being a contractor he answered all of our questions and really helped make our decision on whether or not we should put an offer on this house. We went to their house, which reminds me of  funny story....
Aliesha and Kenzie were with us the whole time, they were loving house shopping and every house that we pulled up to they had their opinions, well our realtors office was at their house, which is HUGE! So when we pulled into their driveway Aliesha exclaims, with a smile, ARE WE GOING TO LOOK AT THIS HOUSE!!! I LOVE IT!!!! And Kenzie couldn't agree more. We had to tell them that this was not a house we were looking at but that it was the realtors house. Their smiles were washed from their faces. HAHA it was so funny!
Anyways after we put the offer in we were having second thoughts. Was this the right house for us? Should we go through with it? Is this a rushed decision? Suddenly I realized that there was a problem. If we were to get the house we wouldn't be able to do the conventional loan cause I still haven't  been working long enough... It was still June... two days after we talked to the mortgage broker. The realtors called around and asked when the house was scheduled to be finished. They told her September 15th. Which is Greg's and my 5 year anniversary. And if fit the schedule for getting the conventional loan! It was perfect!
 After a few negotiation's and many prayers we got got the house! Now the fun begins... picking out the interior! Here are some pics...

This is what it looked like when we got into the house:

 Front of house

 Entry

 Bedroom windows (Front of house)

 Front room. (View from front door)

 Stairs to basement

 Dining area

 Master closet

 Master bathroom

 Master Bedroom. (French doors.)

 Hall way

 Kitchen area

 Girls' bedrooms

 Laundry room/closet

With the house all sheet rocked:

 Front room

 Pantry

Dining

Kitchen

 Master bedroom

 Hall way

 Kenzie's bedroom

 Closet/Liesha's room

 Liesha's room

 Laundry

Stairs

With stucco and stone

The Granite we picked out for the kitchen counter tops

And the Finished product... I'll have to take a few more pics I guess.

 

 Master bedroom

 Kenzies Bedroom

 Aliesha's bedroom

 Entry way into hall way

 Front room

 Kitchen

 Master bathroom

I love my house and I know I have a TON of decorating to do. Right now it's looking kinda bare but it'll be fun to decorate it with some time. I am so blessed to be able to have a home to share memories with Greg, Aliesha, and McKenzie.