{a home tour: texas edition}

 I joined Rick in Houston again this past week in order to finalize our house plans, along with about a million other things. I'm happy to say that we accomplished everything we needed to, and I'm feeling good that my list has gone down a little bit.  

We now have reservations for hotels both the week we move (we need to be out of the house for three days while the movers are there), and the week we arrive (where we will stay until our things get there), rental cars on both ends--since our truck is being shipped at the same time as our house items, flights for all seven of us to Houston (which was quite the feat, I have to say!), and closing dates for both homes (and even on the same day!).  

Finding a new home was a huge project, and one I'm glad to say is mostly finished.  The Woodlands is a booming area, and we found it more difficult to find a house than we had previously thought it would be.  Due to a high water table, there aren't any basements, which really threw us for a loop. We've never been without one (at least since our apartment days)!  Rick has a lot of tools that are all in the basement workshop of our home now, and we had to have a place for them.  That meant only being able to look at houses that had a 3 car garage, and it really reduced availability.  After looking at several houses, we realized that not many people have 5 kids and 1000 pounds of wheat, lol!  Without a basement option, we also needed to find a home that had enough storage space on the main floors to house all of our food storage

Finding a home with good-sized yard was really important to me.  I know that I'm really spoiled right now--our house sits on almost an acre in the country, with tons of beautiful trees, and I absolutely love it, but I knew I wouldn't be able to find anything like it.  I really wanted room for my kids to run and play, and since we are are going to be outside a lot, I wanted to give them plenty of space! Texas is wonderful for other reasons, but in the area where we will be living, large lots just aren't available. It's all about master planned communities (which definitely have their upsides), but it's just not the same. 

 In the end, we totally lucked out and found a brand-new house on a decent-sized lot, and although the footprint of our house takes up a lot of space (it's 3800 square feet, with 3100sq on the main floor, along with a 3.5 car garage), it still left us pretty good-sized backyard.  It's on the very back street of the community, with a greenbelt across the street, which means lots of trees!!  There is an Olympic-sized pool, splash park, fitness center, tennis court, and playground, just a 5 minute walk from our house, and the elementary school is just another minute or two past that.  Our new church building is within 10 minutes, and the ward has a huge youth group, with an even bigger Primary and nursery.  

So, without further ado...welcome to our new home!  (I did have pictures of the front, but my hard drive crashed, and they were lost.  I'll add them once we move.)

View from the front door, into the house:

On the immediate right is the study, followed by the formal dining room.  The hallway to the left (just after the closet) leads to the laundry room, garage, guest bath/Ryan's bath, and Ryan's room. 

Study:

Formal Dining Room: 

Laundry Room:  

(I'm really going to miss the laundry room I have now!  Out of all the houses I looked at, none of the laundry areas were much bigger than this.  I would have given up my formal dining in a heartbeat for more space in here!)

Guest/Ryan's Bath:

Ryan's room: 

Kitchen:

Dining Room: 

(The blue tape you see on the floor is to mark where they are removing the carpet and adding more tile.  Carpet under an island where little boys and girls will be eating?  Not such a great idea!)

Family Room:

Children's Retreat:

Yes, that's what it's called!  In the photo above, you can see two arched doorways. The one on the right leads to the master bedroom and bathroom, and the one on the left goes to what the builders have called a "children's retreat". which is like their own little wing of the house!  It has a small playroom, which we'll use for books, puzzles, and games, along with two bedrooms and a bathroom. It's perfect for my four little ones, and one of my favorite things about the house.  

Small Playroom

Jack & Henry's Room

Kate & Emma's Room

Kids' Bath

Master Bedroom:

Master Bath:

Master Closet:

Upstairs: Playroom and Bath

Back Porch & Yard:

(Ceiling fans will be installed on the porch as soon as we arrive!)

While we love it, it doesn't feel like "home" yet, but that's okay.  

Home is where our family is, and right now, we have a few more weeks to eek out all the enjoyment we can here in Michigan, in the house we love and call home.