Dream House

It happened.

Last December.

We found our "Dream House".

This is the model.

A ranch…all one floor with a huge finished lower level. 

We had talked several times before we retired in 2008 and after whether or not to move.

Either into a "55 plus" community (I wasn't ready to down size) or to another state or even back to Ohio where we have family.

So last Christmas on our way to Ohio to be with family I said to Hubby, "Well, you know what it will take to move back to Ohio…if I can find a house I love."

We had a couple extra days tacked on to our visit so we drove around the area I said I would like to have a home and saw this subdivision and this model.

I loved it immediately.

And that doesn't happen often.

There is always something I don't like.

But every corner I turned in this model it had what I wanted in my "dream home".

There were several lots to choose from…from ones with a farmer's field behind them (uncomfortable with that…if the farmer sold the land and something horrible was built there) to several corner lots.

We liked this lot with the trees behind it.  

There is a 50 ft. strip of trees that will be owned by the lots behind us but can't be built on nor can the trees be removed. 

A nice buffer to have to extend the look & feel of our small back yard.

This is the smallest yard we have ever had in a home.

It's .45 of an acre.

We wish it was a little wider but it is what it is.

We have made several trips back to Ohio to visit with suppliers and see the progress on our "dream home".

The lot was finally cleared on this visit. 

The basement dug.

The basement walls poured.

The outside framing going up.

We made a few minor changes to the model inside and out.

We added a slight bump-out to one bay of the three-car garage so we can park our travel van in the garage.

We had two windows added to the side of the garage and moved the garage man door to the other side.

This is a custom built home so the builder will do just about anything we ask for a PRICE.

The roof was going on when we visited in August.

Since this will probably be the last home for us we are putting quite a bit of bells and whistles in it.

I get my large screened-in porch and a deck off the back of the house. 

The garage is huge…three bays with 10 feet tall doors to accommodate our travel van and our pick up truck.

The basement floor was poured last week.

This huge room will be a combined hobby area for both of us.

I'm so excited about having an even bigger area for my sewing and crafts.

Through the double doors will be a room that we will use as a family room with a large flat screen TV.

There will be a bedroom with an attached bathroom down here too.

In the unfinished area we will have a room with a laundry tub, 9 feet of cabinets and room to put a small freezer and a refrigerator.

Plenty of storage room for all my kitchen stuff that isn't used everyday.

The front porch slab was poured last week too.

I love having a porch to protect the front entrance.

We had a Pella door put in the front….it's eight feet tall!

This is our fourth house and the second one we are building.

But…we hate to leave where we are now.

We love this area and especially our neighborhood and friends here.

But the pull of being close to our brothers and their families as we get older was too great.

Needless to say they are thrilled we are moving back to Ohio.

The day after we married way back in 1974, we went on our three-day honeymoon to Canada, and then moved immediately to Illinois…and stayed there for 26 years until we moved to SE PA almost 15 years ago.

So, it has been 40 years since we lived in Ohio.

It's going to be a new adventure for us.