Our New House!!!

What a journey we've been through for the past 6 months! We have been in the process of buying a short-sale home in Long Beach just off the 405 and 710 freeways. We finally moved in on February 19th, a very cold and rainy day! But thanks to much help from many members of our now, old ward, we made it in safe and sound in one day!


Our master bedroom and master bathroom





There are so many things I'm thankful for in our new house:
-My very own washer and dryer!!!
-More counter space and square footage in the kitchen!
-A dishwasher
-A beautiful tile floor in the kitchen/dining room
-Beautiful light fixtures throughout the entire house
-At least double the amount of living space in the house than we had in the apartment
-An AMAZINGLY beautiful master bathroom that has a separate shower, tub (with space around it so someday I can upgrade to a huge oval tub!!!)
-Master bathroom also has a double vanity sink with granite counter tops!!!
-Big huge beautiful mirror in the bathroom
-Beautiful tile throughout the entire master bathroom
-Did I mention TWO bathrooms!?!?!?
-A HUGE master bedroom!
-Kira's huge room!
-Zoey's own room so she doesn't have to sleep in our room anymore!
-His/Her closets!
-A pretty bay window in the living room, perfect for a Christmas tree!
-A really cool red front door with a peep hole!!!
-I love the steps leading up to the house. They are a really pretty stone. Also some in the backyard.
-The landscaping in the front yard is so beautiful. Pretty palm trees in the front and back!
-Double doors opening up from the master bedroom onto a wooden deck outside. So cool!
-Double doors opening up from the dining room to the backyard
-A garage!
-An automatic garage door opener!
-A big long driveway with plenty of parking
-A HUGE yard for the kids to play in!
-Fruit trees! Avocado tree from my aunt Eleanor, an orange tree that was already here and something else I'm not sure what it is yet... maybe lemon?
-The long driveway that the kids can play on
-A gate I can close so I know the kids are always safe
-I love how we don't have WALL TO WALL furniture here... It feels so much more spacious.
-I also love how mom can come over whenever she wants now because she doesn't have to climb all the stairs that we had at the apartment. yey!!!

Just a couple things I miss from our apartment:
-More cupboard space
-A pantry
-It was our first home so will always be special in our hearts. We started our marriage and our family there.
-I MISS MISS MISS VIRGINIA WARD. =( =( =( =( =(
-Living just a few houses away from Ian's parents =(
-Being right down the street from Chris and Rachel =(

Despite these few things, I absolutely love our new house! I also love that we are getting new carpet and new paint courtesy of the City of Long Beach for their Neighborhood Stabilization Program. We received a grant from the city for any upgrades that would be needed to make the house safe. Anything that was a health or safety violation would need to be fixed. We had about 20 contractors come to the house to submit bids to the city so they can pick a contractor for us. We are still not sure when the work will actually get done but it should begin within the next few weeks hopefully! The house doesn't need too much work... just a few things here and there. So far the neighbors all seem really great and friendly. There's also a good elementary school just down the street from us, in walking distance. We are so thankful for such a great home and big yard to raise our children in!