House and Home

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!

Now that the news is out of the way, I want to get some things off my chest.

I never thought I'd ever be able to buy a house. When I was in my 20s, I didn't have 'purchase a house' as a goal - mostly because I never thought my finances would be stable enough to do it.

Crazy, right? I know some of you feel the same way.

I'm very proud of my family, right now.

Craig and I moved back to Michigan in August 2012 - just about 9 months ago. In that time we started saving, planning, and acting on our dreams. We held off on getting just any ol' job because we wanted jobs that challenged us and fulfilled us. We wanted careers. And we wanted careers that rewarded us financially.

In Israel,we lived paycheck to paycheck. We barely made enough to save any more and we barely made enough to live. It was hard. Granted, we didn't move to the US because life in Israel is harder than it is here - it's not. Life in the US is also hard. I won't get a Federally-mandated maternity leave. Instead of 14 weeks of paid leave (paid for by the gov't), I get 8 weeks and some of it is at 50% my salary. Taxes are high here. People are just as angry here as they are in Israel. The difference? Israelis voice their displeasure and move on. Americans? Not so much.

We left Israel to be closer to my family. I did not want my kids growing up the way my Dad grew up (with very little interaction between them and their immediate family). Granted, I have the luxury to make that choice - my grandparents did not.

Still, moving to the US enabled us to get better jobs (where we are appreciated and not 'used' for our English vocabulary). It enabled us to buy two cars, raise our son within a few miles of most of his cousins, and buy a house.

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!

I still don't believe it. Who does that in only nine months??? On top of it, I'm nearly 7 months pregnant now. I'm AMAZED that my blood pressure is at 117/71 (as of Monday). That's pretty low considering how much stress I'm under.

Yesterday, just before closing, we did the walk-through. And by 'we', I mean I walked through it with my Dad and the sellers. I like the people who owned this house. They took care of it. My dad said it's a lot of house for three and a half people but it's a house we'll grow into. It's a house we'll be able to have for many years to come. It's a house we can raise our kids in. And it's a house for parties. I like parties.

This is the house we get to call our own:

Courtesy of Homes.com

We are living the American dream!