New Mexico Life - Part 2

Our home is amazing. I thought it was going to be just an okay house for me and Bob with the kids loving it, but in the end I think that we all love it equally. I might actually love it more than any of the other members of our household which is surprising since I didn't think that I was going to like it very much. ( I cannot wait to show you pictures!!)

Las Cruces is growing quite a bit which is evident in all of the construction seen throughout town. There are definitely the newer areas and the older ones. We happen to have a home in the older part of town which I thought would bother me quite a bit, but in fact is actually very comforting. We don't have the adobe style home that I sought after. Instead our home is constructed mostly of white brick. The development that we live in was constructed in the 1970's and because of its age has both homes in it that have seen better days and ones that have been kept up quite nicely. What makes this development so nice is that most of the landscaping is fully developed which means that we have a lot of mature trees in our part of town, and in particular in our neighborhood. The Yucca tree is abundant here, and I have fallen in love with the palm tree looking beauty. It is a completely exotic tree to me, and is like nothing I have ever seen before. Another benefit of living in an older part of town is that most people have in ground pools in their backyards. This is definitely not the case in the newer neighborhoods as many of the homes we looked at had no pool (nor space for a pool). I didn't want to be the only home with a pool in the neighborhood because I didn't want to have kids I didn't really care for asking to use our pool all of the time. In this neighborhood - I don't think it will be a problem.

When I first saw the home I was nervous because it lacked flashiness. Some of the homes that we looked at were so pretty and fancy, at least to me, that this one seemed so plain Jane. Upon entering the home I knew that the plain Jane look of the house was just what I needed. This home is really, really cool. Don't get me wrong it still has its quirks, but it is home to me.

The galley kitchen that I was so upset over is actually pretty cool, and it doesn't seem as galley like as I once thought it would. It is wide and there is ample room for multiple people to move around in. The best part about it though is that I can actually fit all of my kitchen items comfortably it in. In fact I still have a couple of extra cupboards with nothing in it. The kitchen is an amazing upgrade over what I had.

Everyone is loving having their own room. We have unpacked and put away everyone's toys and personal items. We have not painted yet as we are waiting to get a feel of each bedroom before doing so. (In fact we haven't painted any of the rooms yet for the same reason.)

The living room and family rooms currently sit empty which is to be expected when a family goes from 1120 square feet of living space to 3150 square feet of living space. We will get furniture when we can. I am on a cash only policy, and with our home in Ohio still on the market I need to be able to pay the bills on both homes. Once we sell our Ohio home I will furnish this one which will give me some time to think about what I want to do in each room here.

We have a school room and a game room as well as the 3 full bathrooms. The fireplace is beautiful and I am looking forward to being able to use it in another month or so. (Even though our days will remain nice temperature the evenings can get quite chilly in the desert.) Our old furniture is fitting well into our new home.It is funny, but it seems like our old stuff was meant for this house. The colors go very well with this home and looks perfect in each room.

There are so many cool features about this house. Things that may seem silly to so many, but to me are amazing. Having a master bathroom and a walk-in closet. Or a walk in linen closet in the hallway. Or an attached 2 car garage with an opener! Or amazing storage spaces in other parts of the home. Or a fireplace. Or plantation shutters. Or a laundry room. Or so much square footage that you cannot hear someone call your name from one end of the home to the other. Or 2 sets of french doors leading to the outside. Or a garbage disposal.  There are so many things that this house has that I never thought I would be able to have. I pinch myself often because this new life seems too good to be true. This home seems too good to be true.

Besides our master bedroom which has french doors that lead out to the backyard patio, the backyard is my favorite part of the home. I like having the pool, the fenced in yard, the built in playground, the patio, etc...but my most favorite part of the backyard is the view. Our home sits on top of a hill that overlooks the city of Las Cruces. Every night we have the opportunity of seeing the sun set from our backyard. We can then watch as the city lights turn on as we peer down from above. The mountain views from the yard are pretty cool too.

I never in a million years thought I would be able to have a home this beautiful. Every day I wake up so thankful that I have the opportunity to be in love with my home. To finally feel at home somewhere.  Maybe it is because I know that we will only be here for a few years, and then we will be on to the next part of the country, but I cherish everything about being here from the weather, to the landscape, to the house. I am happy here, but most of all I am grateful for what I have.

I cannot wait to show those of you who can make it down here all of the beauty that there is here. I cannot wait to slowly make this house a more beautiful home than it already is.