Staying put

With all the hustle and bustle of raising toddlers and the holidays, I completely forgot to mention that we have taken our house off the market and have decided to stay put for awhile or until the right opportunity opens up.

When we put our house on the market, we knew that we would only be testing the waters. We had no plan if it actually sold. We just thought that we should give it a try.

We had only a handful of showings over 3 months and no offers. Decent feedback that the house showed great, but that no one wanted to live on such a busy street, which we totally get since that would be the main reason as to why we would be moving.

If we moved right now, the truth is we would not be able to move into the type of house we would want. We would be settling and most likely having to move again sooner rather than later.

So, we have decided that it is best for our family to stay put. Is our house perfect, not by a long shot, but are we happy here, absolutely.

Our home feels like home and to me that is the most important thing.

I am not sure how long we will be here, but I know that I am actually very content being here. I figure until either our marriage or family is suffering because of this house, we are fine to stay.

Plus, I have no desire to clean a larger home at this time. I figure let me get a larger home when either A) My children are completing chores regularly and accurately or B) We can afford a cleaning lady. I will soon be taking care of 3 small children who need me and not a perfect home.

We will probably need to a add a second bathroom sooner rather than later, but other than that, our home is our home.

Probably a year ago, I watched this video of a family of 3 who sold everything to live debt free in a 320-square-foot home. In the video the mother said that in their home they have to touch each other. I loved that idea. In our home, we can't be so far away from each other that we aren't interacting. Family unity is very important to Bob and I, and I don't want it to get lost in a larger home.



So, unless the perfect opportunity opens up that works best for our family, we are very happy and content living where we live.

Home is where the heart is.

The Big Reveal

So, I have been running myself ragged. I have been cleaning our house from top to bottom. I have been organizing, storing, and staging our home. It has been a bit nuts, but totally worth it. Our house looks great.

And we are doing all of this because ...... We have decided to sell our house.

As of yesterday, our house is officially on the market. I have not wanted to share the news till it was completely official and because we have no idea what we are going to do if it sells. We are leaving a lot up to God.

You see we bought our house in 2005 in Michigan right before the housing market dropped, and as everyone knows, it dropped FAR. We kind of figured we were stuck in our house forever or at least until we could not take it anymore. But something odd seems to be happening in the housing market right now in Michigan, there is little supply and lots of demand and with low interest rates, we just think it is worth a try to see how it goes.

We think that the prices, while still less than what we bought our house for 7 years ago, are at a point where we might break even (losing any money we already put into our house, but being able to leave our house without needing to bring any money to the table).

So we have listed on a whim. If we sell, great; we will figure out the next step. If not, fine; we will enjoy a nicely clean and organized house for a few more years.

So we will wait and see.

We will officially start showing our house on Monday when I head up north with our kids for 2 weeks. We figured that will leave the house open to and available for anyone to come and see it.

However, we did have our first showing yesterday after an agent called asking to see it even though showings aren't suppose to start yet (typical agent). I accommodated the request and we got great feedback, so who knows this might just happen after all.

If you have ever wondered what my house looks like, here it is:

Front view of our house. The obstacle of our house is that it is
on a corner of a busy street. The house faces a side street, but our
 garage and driveway are on a busy street.

You open our house into our dining room. 

We redid our kitchen in 2007. I love having a pantry. Definitely a luxury in
a typical bungalow in our area. 

I love having this work space and pass through that opens into our family
room where I can watch the kiddos.

We mainly redid our kitchen to add a dishwasher. I
could not imagine having children and no dishwasher. 

Our family room with a fireplace that is off the kitchen. The storage is
great to hide all the kids' toys. 

Our partially finished basement is what sold us on the house back in 2005.
We loved the extra living space. 

We use to watch TV downstairs more than upstairs, but with the kids,
I am mainly upstairs in our family room instead. 

This is our only bathroom. Yes, it is small, but there
is a lot in that space. A linen closet is behind the door. 

Our master bedroom upstairs in the bungalow. We moved
our room up there last year, and I love it. We should have done it sooner. 

The nursery that hosts 2 cribs, a dresser, a changing table, a chair, and a table. 

Our spare bedroom, which just is what it is.  

So, that's our house. All we can do is wait and see. We are totally fine with staying put. We love our house and actually get a little sad when we think about leaving it, but we know that we need to move on at some point.

My fingers are (kind of) crossed.