Our New House

With two babies on the way, Am and I decided that it was time to put our townhouse behind us and look for something with a bit more space.  We really wanted something that we could keep long term so we started searching for a house with enough space for 3+ kids but also one that we could afford comfortably on just my salary.  Unfortunately that didn't leave a lot of options within the West End area of Richmond where we had been living.

We knew that with two munchkins we were going to need all of the help and support we could get.  We decided the ideal house would be one that was in between Richmond (where my mom lives) and Fredericksburg (where Am's parents live).  We have some friends who live in Lake Caroline in Caroline County.  While on a trip to visit them, I looked at what houses were going for in their community and found the prices were great!  We did some Zillow searching, picked out some houses we wanted to see and contacted a realtor to check them out.

After looking at the 7 that I picked out in Lake Caroline, the realtor took us to a house we hadn't seen in a nearby lake community called Lake Land'or.  We fell in love with that house and put in an offer the very next day.  It was a VERY long road with many delays but we finally moved into the house just over two weeks ago.

Lake Land'or is a gated community which helps keep crime low.  There is a sandy beach on the lake that will be great for the kids as well as a community pool and several tot lots.  The lake is large enough that you can take gas engine boats out but also quiet enough that we will be able to take kayaks out (that is on our purchase list for next summer).

A lot of you have been bugging us to take you on a picture tour, so here goes.  Explanations for each picture are below each shot.

We will start with an outdoor shot from the treeline right by the road.  As you can see, the house has a good size front yard with a little bit of grass and a long driveway (going to be great fun in the winter).  The backyard has a privacy fence surrounding it.  The front yard is surrounded by woods on one side, the backside of our neighbors privacy fence on the other side, and then right behind me in this picture is trees that separate the road from the yard.  We love the privacy and quiet of the property (the loudest noises are the crickets at night).

The backyard is in rough shape.  It is very private but the grass is few and far between.  Dogs, a big playground area, and what we believe was an above ground pool all contributed to the dirt patches.  This needs some serious work.  There is a patio out back that is uneven and really should be torn out and replaced.  This is on our list as a project for the next year.  Overall though the house exterior is in great shape and most of the needs are simply cosmetic.

Here is the view when you come in the front door.  To the right is a half bath and to the left is the office (it is really a dining room but we are making it an office).  The open doorway you can see on the right goes into the kitchen.  The first door on the left is a closet and the second goes to the basement.  At the top of the picture is a banister from the second floor.

Here is that room that we are going to use as an office/sitting room.  What you see in the dead center of the picture is the entrance to the staircase to the upstairs and beyond that an entrance to the living room.

Here's that staircase to the upstairs taken from the living room.

Turning around from that last picture is a shot of the living room.  We fell in love with the open floor plan that flows from the living room to the dining room to the kitchen.

Here is a shot of that living room from the other side.

Here is the dining room looking into the kitchen.  Right behind me is a sliding glass door out onto the deck.

And here is the kitchen.  One of our future projects is to put in a small island to add some counter space and a little more storage.  The previous owners took all of the appliances when they left (the house was a foreclosure).  This worked out well for us as the bank put in a new dishwasher, stove and microwave.  They painted the whole house a nice tan color and put in brand new carpet.

On the other side of the kitchen is a small laundry room.  This is a huge step up from having those items in our kitchen at the townhouse.

The final room on that main floor is a one car garage.  Nothing fancy but we love the high ceilings as it will allow us to put in a loft for storage.

Moving upstairs, this is the view from the top of the stairs.  You are looking at the entrance to our bedroom on your immediate left followed by the kids bathroom, the guest bedroom down the hallway, and the little girls bedroom to your far right.

Shooting from the doorway in our bedroom and looking toward the front of the house, you have the stairway to your immediate right and the banister looking down on the foyer straight ahead.  The door to the right of the banister is the little boy's bedroom and the door to the left goes to the little girl's bedroom.

Here is a shot of the master bedroom.  We love the hardwood floors.

And here is the master bath.  It has a shower to your left followed by a soaking tub, the toilet, our walk-in closet, and the his and her sinks (a must for Am).

Here is the little boy's room.

And here is the little girl's room.  She got the bigger closet...

Here is the kids' bathroom.

For many of you, this is the most important room.  This is what Pappa and Mamma Breen call the FROG (finished room over garage).  This room will be the official guest room once we cough up the money for some furniture.

Downward to the basement.  There is a huge open room with built in bookshelves that will be our den.  We are looking forward to getting some furniture for this room that will allow us to use this for family movie nights and Bible studies.  The door on the right goes to a half bath and guest bedroom.

Here is that second guest bedroom.

And here is the basement half bath.  We are hoping to find a way to squeeze in a shower to this bathroom at some point in the distant future.

That concludes our tour.  The longer we are in this house, the more we love it and the more it feels like home.  Special thanks go out to each of you who have helped us get the house up and running.  You guys rock!!!