As you all have figured out by now, we are moving! ;) We are still working on getting our house ready for sale. This is such a walk of faith - it feels like we are running out of time! We have always thought that we would be hiring a realtor and doing it the 'normal' way. However, we had engaged one realtor who was not very excited about listing our home. Weird, right?? We feel like this is the Lord and that we need to be listening. Maybe His plan is going to look different than we thought? Wouldn't be the first time!
So, we want to get the word out. If you do not live in the Omaha area or are not interested in buying a home, you can pretty much skip this post. Although if you could help us spread the word, we would really appreciate it. And if you would be praying for us, we would be in your debt . . . forever! ;)
We built our house about 11 years ago. The Lord led us to move when we least expected it. Our neighborhood is pastureland that someone purchased and divided into almost 40 lots. It is located about 10 minutes from the Irvington exit off of I-680 toward Blair. All of the lots are 2 to 3 acres. Ours is about 2 and a half.
Here is a picture of our neighborhood from the back of our lot. We live on a circle that is about a mile long. You can barely see the pond in this picture (if you know where to look) and the playset that are in the middle of the neighborhood.
Here is another view from the back in the other direction. We thought it was a cool picture and wanted to share!
Our house is concrete from the basement up to the 2nd floor. It was built with ICF and poured concrete. We constructed it this way mainly because of the energy efficiency benefits. However, the protection offered during tornadoes as well as the noise insulation were also factors. The outside and inside are finished as if it were a wood structure. The roof and siding have recently been replaced because of hail damage.
My husband always wanted to live in a 'state park' so we started planting trees on our lot before the basement was dug. He wanted a forest and an orchard in the back. We have apple, peach, cherry and mulberry trees. We also have blackberry bushes and a rhubarb patch.
Here is a close-up of the patio as well as the 4-car garage.
We wanted our new house to look 'old' so we modeled the blueprints off of a traditional 'four square' house plan with a few 'add-ons'. We added a first floor master bedroom on one end and a mudroom and powder room on the other. We also modeled our wood trim after our first home that was built in the 1920's. Here are a few pictures of the main floor to give you a feel for the inside.
Our favorite room on the main level is the back porch. We recently finished this project that was started when the house was built. It is a three seasons room that we open as soon as we can in the spring and use as long as we can in the fall! It is connected to the kitchen through french doors.
The 2nd floor has 3 bedrooms and a 'Jack and Jill bathroom'. We recently replaced all of the carpet as well as repainted the second level. Our kids share bedrooms so we use one of the rooms as a library/music room.
Another of our favorite rooms is in the basement. We finished this part of our house before we moved to Guatemala in 2008. We were gone for 7 months and thought we might be living in the basement when we returned. Don had to quit his job when we left so we wanted the option of renting out the main 2 floors while living downstairs. It turned out that the Lord provided a job in His perfect timing. The basement has 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, storage rooms, a partially completed kitchen and a family room.
The top two floors are about 2500 sq. feet. The basement adds another 1200 or so. We will be asking a realtor to do a market analysis soon so we have an idea of what to ask for our house. We plan to make it very 'saleable' as we are leaving for Guatemala in January 2015.
We may still engage a realtor as we continue to go as the Lord leads; however, we felt like we needed to start the process. We hope to have it ready to sell soon. If you are interested or know someone else who may be, please let us know. You will find our email address under the section 'about us' on this blog. We would be happy to give a tour!
