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It started with an innocent look. Devin saw "model homes" signs on his way back from work one day. We decided to take a look, just for fun. They were small, split level houses that were nice but not suitable for us. The agent in the office suggested that we visit another model location close by to check out a few models that had more to offer.

While Devin grabbed a brochure outside, I walked right in the first house. I immediately fell in love with the space, motioning excitedly for Devin to catch up to me. He turned the corner, saw the kitchen and open layout, and immediately talk went from "This is nice" to "This is what we could do for this room."

It was a great ranch-style house with an equally large basement that had huge potential, offering two decent-size rooms, plus a bigger finished-living-space option.

We could see ourselves there, but the reality was we likely couldn't afford a down payment and we still had several months on our apartment lease, which we still planned to be in for at least another year. Oh, and then there's the wedding we've been saving for this October.

***

In January our garage rental went up. Again. Devin dropped off our rent check and asked when our lease was up since we couldn't remember what month they started us. The lease was up for renewal at the end of April. Oh, and our rent was naturally going up--more than three times as much as the previous year's increase.

And that's when talk of a mortgage versus a rent check sounded more appealing. We started looking at other builders, asking questions about the process and trying to assess if we could really afford it. One builder opened our eyes to how little we would actually have to put down to secure a house. Although no other models compared to the initial house we loved, we gained some valuable information--most importantly that we had the money to make this move happen.

***

There were three neighborhoods with our model in which we could see ourselves, location-wise, all in southwest Omaha or Gretna. All were way more convenient for Devin to get to work, but living in Gretna was just not at the top of the list, mostly because we didn't want to sacrifice all the nearby places we like to frequent. And only one out of the remaining two neighborhoods had three-car garages AND no walk-out basement. Perfect.

Our agent gave us the keys to look at two remaining houses on a street, just one house apart from each other, still in the building process. We couldn't pass up the corner lot option and loved that the backyard met up with a field! Plus, we knew we were in for some amazing natural light potential. Early that next week, we took the house off the market and that weekend we picked out our tile, countertop, carpet and cabinet options.

We're big kids now!

And then we waited, like two months, to see how it would look. We drove over to peek in the windows a few times to check the progress and just see what it would feel like driving to what would be our new neighborhood.

***

The timing worked out so well. Our apartment lease was up at the end of April, and we closed on the 19th, giving us a good amount of time to move out. I'm so glad this is the last time, for a long time, that we'll have to box our stuff up and load it on a truck. I'm so over moving every two years.

Putz is also tired of moving all the time. This is her third move with us!

I never expected buying a house to happen so quickly, but here we are, almost two months later, in OUR HOME. We're excited about decorating (Devin has planned woodworking projects) and making the space our own. A little bit of new furniture and a gradual moving-in process (we have a whole unfinished storage room for all the unpacked boxes!) still has us giddy about our purchase. Not as giddy as the Putz, though. She ran around the house for days, meowing with excitement and practically smiling. Chef is coming around, just beginning to get comfortable. I think all he cares is that he still has windows and his basket in front of the fireplace.

Check out our new couch! I think Chef likes it.

Devin loves his kitchen! More details on that to come.

We still have a pretty nice view, and although we can't see the lake, there's one just across the street. Better yet, our new view actually gives us amazing sunsets. Hard to beat. We haven't seen deer yet, but we still have a good amount of wildlife to keep me entertained.

Looking forward to many more of these.

I don't miss hearing people through the wall or floor, the garbage man slamming dumpsters outside our window at 5:30 a.m., the non-stop roar of traffic on 180th St. and struggling to find a parking spot where someone isn't parked on or over the line, or diagonally in the space (trust me, it happened on several occasions).

So here's to us: Building a dream and putting our money into something that's ours. Something we can be proud to own. *Cheers*