More Options

So yesterday after church and a lovely lunch out with my husband's parents and brother, we looked at a few more houses. We were just going to go straight to the one that we are so interested in, but one thing led to another, and we thought we "might as well go look" at a couple other things on the market.

In-laws and brother loved the one we've picked out. We talked in detail about how we'd finish the basement, and the kids showed "their bedrooms" to their friend who'd come along with us. (Over the past year, many of our kids' friends have taken turns spending the night with us, getting up before dawn, and trekking the endless highway to attend our little church plant. Most of them have been at last twice now!)

It was only as we were leaving that a significant red flag was unfurled. It had been colder on other days that we'd visited, but because of the warmth, we were all standing outside on the small deck off the family room when Chicklet5 and Bantam3 joined us--and immediately climbed up on the deck railing. Suddenly we realized what a problem the heighth of the deck is, for our own and other people's children. In order to put full-size windows in the back wall of the basement, the distance between the main floor and the ground is quite a long way down. The only solution would be a huge tiered deck--expensive, and it would cut off the view from the basement windows as well.

Actually those thoughts didn't all run through our minds right away. But they did when we saw another house that we are now seriously considering--and it has a wonderful deck that would be much more suitable for indoor/outdoor gatherings. It also has a completely finished basement with everything we need in it--a bedroom and bathroom for Blondechick15, a storage/playroom, and an enormous (even bigger than in the other house) family room with full-size windows on two walls.

Overall, it's a house that would meet our needs and that we like a lot--plus it's a little cheaper up front, and we wouldn't have the back-end expense of finishing the basement or buying blinds for all the windows and rugs for the hardwood floors as we would in the other house. (This one has lots of hardwood floor too, but both living room and family room are carpeted.) The thought of moving right in and starting to live in it--without having to finish the basement or pick out window treatments and fixtures--is so appealing. I am so drained of decorating energy!

But it's hard to give up some of the things we liked so much in the other house. And the Bantams17, 12 & 9 would have to share a room--a huge bonus room over the garage, that hopefully we could subdivide to give them each their own space--but there are still some issues with that.

And after we got home, our realtor sent us another listing--very similar to the one with the finished basement, but significantly cheaper, with an unfinished walkout basement and a potentially better bedroom/office arrangement.

So now we need to see that one before we can decide anything!

We feel a little confused. These two new options are in a different part of town, an area we weren't even considering till recently, and it has its pros and cons, just as each house has its good points and its drawbacks.

Fortunately, it's a buyer's market and there's no real pressure to move forward on any of these homes. Though we're eager to get the ball rolling, we have time to process and seek the Lord's perspective on this decision--so that's what we're doing for now.

And I guess we'll see what else might come on the market before next Sunday!