A tale of two houses!

We will be married 4 years this September and will have moved 5 times. We have not stay in one place for longer than a year. 4 of the 5 places we have moved out before the year mark was up. The joys of renting...

And now we are in the process of looking to buy a house. We have spent countless hours in and out of houses that don't match our critera. Too old, too small, weird smell, no yard, teeny tiny kitchen, or weird floor plan. I am ready to give up. I remember thinking of this time in our lives when we were ready to buy a house, that it was going to be so fun and we would find the perfect house and we would both fall in love with it right away. Soooooo...not the case. I might love a house and am ready to put an offer on the table...then Adam says NO WAY! What?!?! or visa versa.

So it is down to two houses. Houses that I love, no. Houses that I like, sure. :) I don't want to be picky, but I don't want to settle either. Where do you draw that line? If I could draw you a picture of my perfect first home it would look like this. Older home, maybe from the early 1900's. Has had some updates but very little has been done. Amazing floor plan with cute little nooks and rooms tuck away for you to discover later. Needs remodeling but not too much that you can't live in it. 2-3 bedrooms close by each other so that you can get to the little ones fast. Has a decent size yard with a fence for our dog. And a porch would be nice to sit with my husband or friends and have a nice cup of coffee together. Sounds nice right? Maybe to some...to me, this is perfect. I don't need anything new or big. I want character! With these houses comes headache. Work that my main man doesn't have time for these days. If we got it cheap enough maybe we can contract it out....but that is a IF!!!

House #1

2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths with a full unfinished basement. Built in 1958. Attached garage. Den & laundry on main floor. Over 1500 sq ft. Front porch area to sit and watch the neighbors! Great lot with a lot of mature trees. Basement might leak and the overall house could us a little updating. But nothing you can't live with.

House #2

2 bedrooms, 2 baths with a full partially finished basement. Built in 1996. Dettached garage with a small yard. Close to neighbors and right across the street from a school. There is a 3rd bedroom in basment but not "legal" Room to grow for sure. 920 sq ft. (not including basement) Will not need any work done to it! Great condition...$10,000 more!

We go back and forth between these two. Older with more room or new house with less room? Which one suits our needs better. The 2nd house already has a 3rd bedroom...but would we use it? The first house has a small office...too small for a 3rd bedroom unless we knock out walls. I love the character of the 1st house but the newness of the second! Both have great to offer...but which one will be best for us in the long run.

The other option out there is that God might not want us to buy just yet. I am completely open to that. I am not going to force ourselves into a house and know that God didn't want us there. God has a plan for us and the perfect house for us. His will be done. We are open to other ideas God :)

So now we wait and pray for quidence...Do we continue to rent? Do we buy? God show us the way!