My House

Buying a house is a big decision. After moving back to my parents house in 2006, getting my own house seemed to be the next logical step in my life. But, as with most life changing decisions, it was easier said that done. I had no job, no savings, and no prospects of employment. I was sort of just existing without purpose. I debated about going back to school. That seemed like a good idea. I only had my Bible College degree and my RCM music exams. That wouldn't be enough to be able to get a job that would support paying a mortgage.

But God always knows best. I was in town one day that July with my sister, and we stopped at the music store in town. I had a resume in my car and I asked Marci if I should take it in with me. I just needed to buy a book, but she said to take it anyways. So I did, and the rest is history. I was hired almost on the spot as a voice teacher.

That first year I spent driving back and forth from my parents house  four days a week. That was 3 hours round trip each day... way too much driving. I also tried to do alot of saving that year. I was determined to get a house. In April 2007 I contacted a real estate agent and began looking for the perfect house. Yeah right... another thing that was easier said than done. Teaching music lessons is a great job, but it is work on commission. It was hard to predict what my actual income would be the coming year. Therefore, I had a very limited price range when it came to purchasing a home. Most of the houses that feel in my price range were... to put it bluntly... junk!

We must have looked at 20 different properties. It was now near the end of June and still nothing. Then one day our real estate agent suggested looking at a house on _________ St. It was priced a little too high for me, but we thought we might as well look at it.

This is a picture of that house now, but believe me it did not look like this that day when my Mom and I drove up to it. That front deck had a roof over it and junk piled everywhere. The cobwebs under the porch roof were disgusting. Then we went inside. I'll use one word to describe it... dirt... everywhere (ok that was 2 words, sorry). But despite the grime it really was the perfect house.

I never knew there was so much stuff to look for when purchasing a house. Roof, walls, foundation, basement, fascia, furnace, windows, sinks, pipes, taps, wires, etc. And really that is just the short list. My Mom looked under the kitchen sink in every house we looked at... just to make sure it didn't leak. This one didn't, so that was good :-).

I had already made 2 offers before this house that had fell through, so when we saw this one my Mom and I decided to offer right away. That was a bit of a risk because usually my Dad wanted to look things over before we made any offers. But there just wasn't time. The housing market was so crazy right then that houses were selling withing a couple of hours of being listed. I didn't want to miss out.

We drew up the paper work, and I waited for the phone call. Would my offer be accepted? I had offered significantly less than the listing price because there were some major upgrades that would need to be done. I expected a counter offer, but I knew I probably wouldn't be able to afford it if that happened.

Around 6:00pm that night the real estate agent called. My offer had been accepted, no counter offer! I nearly shouted. I knew then that this was the house God wanted me to have, and He gave it to me.

I had to wait 60 days for closing, so I actually got possession on August 31, 2007. Then the work began. This window in my living room was one of the few things that didn't need to be fixed. I did end up painting the frame around it 4 times though. Everything needed to be cleaned! My Mom worked on the kitchen and I worked in the downstairs bedroom. My dad took the first week of September off to do my bathroom. He ripped everything out right down to the studs and gave me a completely new bathroom. The old one had the oringinal sky blue tub, toilet, and sink in it.. blah! I didn't even go in the bathroom until he had it fixed cause it was so gross.

We took off wall paper and panelling, filled cracks in the walls, ripped up carpet, covered old tile with underlay, painted, painted, cleaned, and cleaned.

It's still not finished, but I don't think you ever finish when it comes to a house. You just keep working and planning and decorating. It's fun.

I love my house. It's neat being able to tell people I bought a house. Apparently, that's a strange thing to most people I talk too. They always give me looks like "... you can afford a house? You really own a house?" Yeah! God provides for all my needs, and alot of my wants.

This is my favourite room. It was my bedroom when I first moved in, but now I've moved my bedroom upstairs and made this my tv room. I love my orange wall! It such a warm and cozy place to hang out.

Not only is my house great inside, it's great outside too. I have a lovely back yard with an apple tree and a garden. I tried growing some veggies last year... hopefully I'm more successful this year... haha.

I'm so thankful for my house, and for how God provided for it. He continues to bless at my job by giving me many students and lots of work. He is so good to me. I hope I can use my possessions for His glory.