Homestead

     I have been dreaming about our future house for months now.  I've kept myself awake at nights and have been so absorbed in thought during the day just fantasizing about what this place will be like.  Mike and I really love Oregon, and I am ready to permanently settle down in a house we will raise our family in and stay for the rest of our lives.  I'm still trying to convince Mike to settle down for good, since he likes the prospect of moving around and experiencing new places.  But we both agree that this is the best place we've lived so far, and personally, I can see us here long-term.
   
     I can't believe we've been here for over a year now.  At the present time, we are renting a house and our lease recently ended so now we have a month-to-month contract.  This is nice because, when we do find the perfect house, we'll be able to make the transition right away.  But at the same time, we don't feel like we are in a huge rush to make a decision.  Our next move is something we definitely need to take time to consider, particularly if it will be the place we end up forever.

     Mike and I have been seriously looking at properties for the past few months.  There is so much to think about.  Obviously, price is a factor.  But we also don't want a place that requires a lot of "fixing up."  Mike's work hours don't accommodate for a house that needs a ton of remodeling.  Probably one of the most important thing for us right now is land.  I have been envisioning a place with big trees for the kids to climb, and Mike has been romancing the idea of a pond or creek. We would love a place with plenty of space for growing a garden and raising animals.  Aside from a regular garden, I also want to build a greenhouse and have fruit trees and berries.  We want to have room for a chicken coop, and housing for various other animals.  We especially need enough open space for the kids to play and explore and for our future dog to run around.  I can't wait to get a dog!
     
     It's important for us to teach our kids how to grow food and take care of animals and be self-sufficient.  We want them to learn how to work.  We can't invest our lives in running a big farm, because that would be completely unmanageable for us at the moment.  But I can imagine us undertaking a small scale farming project to start and then someday building up to more grandiose ideas as we gain further experience and know-how.  I grew up in a small town surrounded by farms, but never actually worked on a farm myself.  However, I have family members who have shared bits of wisdom from their own farming background, and so I think it's a feasible ambition.
   
      There are other things to consider besides land.  For instance, we can't be too far out in the country that Mike has an insane commute to his office and back.  We also don't want to be a ridiculous distance from our beloved downtown Portland, where all the excitement, fun shops and delicious restaurants reside.  Right now we live in the suburbs.  Nothing great about that except for the location.  You see, we are only an hour away from the beach and an hour away from the mountains and the gorge and I don't want to sacrifice being further away from those things that I have grown to love so much since moving here.  So the question is, does the perfect house for us exist?  Does it meet all of our  requirements?  Probably not.  So now we have to brainstorm and figure out what things we're willing to give up, if we have to, and what things are an absolute priority.  Not easy to do for the girl who wants EVERYTHING.  :)

Rentals

We are deciding on 2 houses to rent.  I am torn about which one we should pick.  We're only planning to rent for a year and then get a place of our own, so I know it's not temporary and shouldn't matter so much, but it does!  There are pros and cons to each place.  Here are the deets on each one.   

House #1---

Built in 1967.  Completely remodeled, new hardwood flooring on lower level, new carpet throughout on upper level, new paint through out, large updated kitchen with maple cabinets and lots of cupboard space, large dining room leads to outdoor deck, living room with fireplace.   Upstairs features three bedrooms and full bath. Large fully fenced backyard surrounded by trees.  Pros:  Closer to Mike's office so less of a commute, allows pets, beautiful remodeling, large kitchen, large backyard for kids to play in and plenty of trees, 2 car garage, more square feet, slightly less for rent.  Cons:  Only 3 bedrooms which look very, very small, only one full bathroom, no washer and dryer (will have to buy our own). 

 

 

 

 

 

House #2---
Built in 2007, hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, gas range, dishwasher & microwave, gas fireplace, large master suite, his & her sinks in master bath, washer/dryer, back patio, fenced backyard, and one car garage.  Pros: 4 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, washer and dryer included, a block away from Tualtin Nature Park which has lots of trails for hiking and walking, newer neighborhood with lots of young families.  Cons:  Small backyard, further away from Mike's office, no pets allowed, although there are more bedrooms than the other, the house is 200 square feet smaller, slightly more expensive to rent (about $55 more dollars a month, which isn't much), in a cookie cutter neighborhood, dining room and kitchen combined, only 1 car garage, less storage space overall.
 

 

  

 

The Trees That Had To Go

Not long after we moved into our new house, the city tagged our tree, meaning we had to cut it down because it had a disease caused by a beetle. We knew it was a pretty sad looking tree when we bought the house, so it didn't come as a surprise to us. So last Saturday our Bishop and our fried Russ came over to help us cut down the tree. It was actually TWO trees connected at the bottom.

Russ

Bishop

Russ climbed up to the top of the tree and tied a rope to it.

And then Bishop took a chainsaw to the first tree while Mike and Russ pulled on the rope in the direction they wanted the tree to fall.
The first one is down.
Russ climbs up the second tree.
Russ looking down at Mike and Bishop.

Sawing down the second tree.
Then they sawed the trunks into smaller pieces and hauled them off, along with most of the branches.

More aftermath.


Mike spent all morning Tuesday cleaning up the yard. What a great guy! We're also so blessed to have awesome ward members who volunteered to help us. Thanks guys!

The Bates Residence

So we've been in the brown house for about a week now. It's an older house and was built in 1920 but it's been fully remodeled top to bottom. New windows, new steel siding, new carpet, new drywall, new kitchen, new bathrooms, etc. It's got 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It's on a full lot so we've got a big backyard for Vessel to play in and we live 2 blocks from a really great park. We have an awesome attic for storing stuff in. I'm so excited to have more space and have my very own room for crafts, sewing, and scrapbooking!! We have nice neighbors on all sides of us. Everyone has been so welcoming to us, dropping by to introduce themselves, bringing us dinner or treats and housewarming gifts. It's in a good neighborhood on one of those streets that have elm trees lining the boulevard. I love it. Plus we're still in the ward boundaries so we don't have to leave! We have big plans for next Spring. We will be building a 2 car garage, extending the already existing deck, and adding a fire pit for night parties hanging out in the backyard and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. We will also plant a garden next Spring. It is so exciting to finally have a place to call our own. The house isn't perfect, but it will be a great 1st house for us. And I know we'll have a lot of good memories here. We have been so blessed and I can't thank the Lord enough for all He has provided us with. I will post more pictures soon. Please bare with me, as we are still kind of unpacking and all that fun stuff. Maybe I'll even make a video and give y'all a virtual tour. Here are just a few to get started.

Our street

Our House

Our NEW used bikes on our sweet porch

Back yard

Side of the house (we live on a corner lot)

Leading to the downstairs....pretty amazing, right?

Part of the family room I like to call our little reading nook. I want to get a big beanbag chair for the corner for sitting and reading. On the other side of the room will be our entertainment center, couches and chairs for watching movies.

Living Room

We were so happy to get our couches back since they'd been in storage for 3 months! It will be nice to get our end tables and lamps.

The living room extends into the dining area. I hate bare walls so I'm thinking we'll have to get a big piece of artwork for the emptiness on that back wall

The dining room
(we will be putting up trim around the windows and doors in the near future...)

The kitchen
We loved this built in cubby to put our cookbooks and medicinal marijuana in... ;)



Downstairs bathroom (guest bathroom)

I put all the shells we collected from beaches in Japan and the Caribbean in jars to display on this little shelf.

The upstairs bathroom
The color scheme I've got going is dark greens, gold, and rust colors. I've had quite the dilemma picking out towel color combinations.

Mike installed one of those curved shower curtain rods. It's awesome.

There ya have it. For now I hope this is satisfactory for those inquiring about the house!