Exactly 1 year ago today, my husband Glenn and I became first time homeowners! We were living in our camp trailer out on his parent’s ranch (hee hee!) until we got the keys to our new home on July 1st, 2008!  And the inside was so ugly and disgusting and un-livable that we still lived in the camp trailer in our driveway for a couple weeks, especially because they were tearing up ancient carpets, which is not good for a pregnant lady to be around.  Our daughter joined us in our home a month and 3 weeks after we moved in, which was an early surprise (Glenn painted half of her room the night before I went into labor – a month and a week after moving in) and while Harper and I were in the hospital for 2 weeks Glenn came home and worked his butt off to get the rest of it ready for us!

On first glance the house was a little scary, old and dusty – it had been sitting on the market for almost 2 years! – but we could see it’s potential through the smoke residue and dirt.  It’s a great first home for us, and we are enjoying being homeowners…except when you’re trying to move 7 tons of gravel one shovel-full at a time! 🙂  I kid, I kid…the main thing I’ve learned is how much time it takes to get to where you want to be.  I still don’t feel like a single room of the house is “finished” and I don’t know if I ever will, but I think we’ve made a lot of progress over the past year!  What do you think??

Our living room and kitchen before:

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And this was taken about 5 months ago…the dining room is different now and we have different living room furniture.

Living, dining rooms & kitchen

Living room:

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Another mid-work shot:

Dining room & living room from kitchen

And here are some new details behind the pool table (but I really want to get some new white (but light blocking) curtains:

New reading nook

Living room with flooring down:

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Living room

Kitchen and Laundry Room:

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Kitchen and dining room

Laundry room:

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Looks the same (no paint yet) except for my pretty new washer & dryer set:

Laundry Room 1

Main bathroom:

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And here is how it looks today…project is still in progress (new shower curtain, towels, mirror and light):

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Our bedroom:

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Like all the other rooms, a work in progress, but it is definitely a livable bedroom!

April 5th 2009

Remember, though, I have new side tables! No more baby bassinet in there!

Bedside Table 2

Baby’s room:

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A room I’d really love to “finish.” But it’s low on the list and has to wait…

April 5th 2009

April 5th 2009

Harper's Room

1/2 Bath in baby’s room:

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It pretty much looks the same, except for new flooring.

April 5th 2009

I’m always looking at magazines and websites, wishing I had a bazillion dollars to spend so I could finish the house exactly how I’d like it, but after reminiscing over these photos today I’m pretty proud of how far we’ve come in a year, and I’m actually very thankful that we even have a roof over our head at all.  I’m actually very, very blessed in so many ways. 

So happy anniversary to us, and feel free to leave a comment letting me know what you’re thankful for and celebrating today!  That reminds me…I’m celebrating my high school reunion this weekend, too!  Happy Independence Day, everyone!!