DECISIONS!!

I'm tired of being grown-up.

We have 3 more houses to look at today and Thursday, then we're DONE. For serious. D.O.N.E. We like all of them, but need to decide which one we can envision ourselves living in and raising kids for a long time. One of Dustin's cousin's (Suzie) advised me to not buy a house with 3 bedrooms because we'll outgrow it too quickly. After researching the market, it appears as though things won't be getting better here in Eastern Idaho for at least another 7-10 years, so when we find our house, it needs to last that long.

I, in no way, expect to find a perfect house, especially in our price range. But this is what I do want:
1. Quiet neighborhood and quiet street
2. Backyard, but not too big to need a riding lawn-mower
3. 4 bedrooms, or potential for at least 4 bedrooms (unfinished basement, etc.)
4. Neighborhood full of kids to play with
5. Somewhat centrally located in Idaho Falls

My favorite memories growing up were spent outside playing with Elise and Renee, our neighbors that lived 3 houses away. We spent all day outside with our friends and it was a wonderful childhood.

With that in mind, I'm hoping we can decide which house we love the most soon.

On another note, I'm debating on taking Spring semester off from school. Or maybe quitting work at the Temple. With buying a house and moving, the thought of also working at night, taking 15 credits, and driving to Rexburg every day seems overwhelming. It's like I'm setting myself up for a mental breakdown. I'm registered for classes already, but I'll need to decide soon what would be the best for our family. Sometimes I feel like I'm to blame for our family's chaotic lifestyle and high stress level. But hey, what's 14 more weeks?

So for now, I'll leave you with this fabulous quote I heard from my Teachings of the Living Prophet's class:

"Faith in the future is demonstrated by a couple sealed in the temple. They understand that by obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the plan of happiness of our Father in Heaven, they can have a joyous life together. They recognize that when the challenges intended to be growth opportunities come, they will find ways, as prompted by the Holy Ghost, to overcome them in ways that are productive and character building."
-Elder Scott, November 2010

Searching for a cheap/cute 4 bedroom house.

Well, apparently Dustin and I can buy a house. HORRAAAY!! We went to a mortgage loan officer a couple months ago to see what steps we needed to take to buy a house, and shockingly got approved about 8 minutes later. We had no idea we had already had enough saved and good credit scores (Let's be honest. Mine sucked, Dustin's was great.).

So, we got our search on.

What I thought would be fun, and exciting just like on "House Hunters," has turned into stressful, emotional, and exhausting. I'm considering just renting our little house for another year because it's not like things economy-wise are getting better anytime soon, and I feel worn out. After falling in-love with a cute house from the 1940's with built-in storage cabinets and original crowne molding a few weeks ago and being outbid (really? You offered $6,000 above the asking price? Loser.) we haven't found anything yet as close to as cute... or as afforable.

There's some great quote from President Hinckely that says to buy a modest house that you can afford because those mortgage payments never get easier (if you find it, let me know). So, that's what we're doing. However, with our desired price-range, it's hard to find a house that doesn't have baseboard heaters and wood-panaling through-out or that isn't located on 17th Street. Oh well, I'm sure we'll find something. If not, maybe we'll keep renting our cheap/cute 2 bedroom place. Or maybe we'll stop being cheapskates and up our price range a tad. We'll see how desperate we get.