Life & It's Little Miracles: An old house. A home.

Our House. April 1, 2008~ April 24, 2012.

So, I won't lie... I have been dreading this post. Putting it off for as long as possible. I try to fool myself by saying that it is because I will have to admit to much, but really, it just makes me sad.

Chris and I had been married for eight years before we purchased our first house. That seems like a long time, but with a military lifestyle it isn't all that surprising. We decided to buy for a few reasons; We didn't have any kids, and didn't think that we would for a long time. We didn't want to live on base in a house that was going to have "sinking issues". The waiting list for a house was longer than we could afford to wait at the time. We knew we could buy a house for the same price or cheaper than we could rent a house (with pets that we were NOT willing to give up). Last but not least, it seemed like a good idea at the time... haha.

Our first house had a lot of.... charm. It was a fairly good size, especially for us (no kids and all). We knew that there would be some work that we would want to do, but there was no rush on any of it. The house was solid and in great condition. It also had a lot of history to go with it. The only thing that we would have to do was put up a fence right away. I could go on and on about our adventures in remodeling really, but I won't.

The attachment to a house is... complicated. I will have to admit, I really felt at home there. I will not go so far as to say that there aren't some things that I am glad I will never have to deal with there again (showering in the basement really tops the list). I will also have to admit that there are many things that I miss about the place (like a large back yard with a good privacy fence and not having to worry about attached neighbors).

Our family has quite a few memories in that house. I have quite a few memories in that house. Some of our best and worst memories are there. All three children were born in that house. Chris and I learned a lot about ourselves and each other in that house. We learned about family, self reliance, the difference between a short and a long term 'fix' (and the many hidden meanings in that little phrase), we found some of our own personal tastes in life and the way we want to live, and learned the significance of ownership and the many different things that encompasses.

We only had four years in that house. Not long really, but it was life changing and unforgettable. It is funny to think that a house could have such an impact on one's life... but it did. I am sure that there will be another house for us... but our first holds a precious place in our heart.

I want to write more about it, but it really is sad... and hard. So here are some glimpses into some of the memories of the house itself. I am sure that there will be a post soon about Great Falls adventures, friends, and making a family, but for now it's about an old house and our first home.

THE WEEK OF MOVE IN

There was some work to be done. All of the carpet needed to go. Especially the carpet in the bathrooms and kitchen (gross). Lots of painting and little repairs. A fence needed to be put up around the yard asap for the dogs. But it now belonged to us. We could do whatever we wanted to it! The possibilities were only limited to our budget (so very limited, haha).

SOME DEMO WORK

There is no way to put a picture up of all the work we did in that house. Some of it we enjoyed, some we knew that we had to hire it out or it would never happen (like painting the exterior), and some of it was no fun at all. In the end it was all memorable. We were able to enjoy our house, for the most part. We had a very productive garden every year, and a large private yard that I really enjoyed. Along with a nice layout for the kitchen and dining room it really sold the house to us.

GARDEN and YARD

The garden was often a little... messy... but nice to have. We had a lot of great memories in the backyard. One of my favorite places to be. I am hopeful that we get another backyard as fun as that one someday.

Here are the last few pictures for this post. They are the pictures used on the site to sell the house as well as some after shots of projects that were finally finished. You will have to excuse the yellow grass in some of them. We had just shut our sprinklers off for the winter and then had an unexpected hot spell for a week.

JUST BEFORE WE PACKED UP