Within the Walls of Our Home: The Preliminary Tour- edited for more pics

Edited Mon morning to add pics that refused to load last night of laundry closet, kids bathroom, kids bunkroom complete with beds, dining area with table, and office area with furniture.

And on a completely different, unrelated topic....18 wks and 2 days now. I love this part of pregnancy. Size is still pretty minimal and I'm still able to fit in stretchy, non maternity 7/8 jeans. Everything feels exceedingly good and I'm beginning to feel baby move more and more often. It's reassurance that all of life is well and baby grows and thrives within.



Due to the overwhelming interest and numerous requests for a tour of our new home...here it is. This would be only within, as I'll get to exterior of home and street hopefully next week at some point. These are the very 1st pics we took upon arriving and a few of the rooms after getting somewhat settled. We still have a long way to go but it's a start.


It's 3 bedrooom/2 bath, 1500 sq ft of living space nestled on one, very forested, hilled, fenced acre. It also has a cement, unwalled, massive basement space that is unusable for bedrooms though it has proven to be amazing for laundry/closet and for children to rollerblade, scooter, ride riding toys, run and play games. As stated in the previous post, washer and dryer hookups will be moved to basement sometime in the near future. For now, they are located within the middle of the kitchen, which is entirely workable but not optimal by any stretch.



Pics of the basement to come also. It's not quite ready for a picture tour, as it became the catch-all for boxes that did not take precidence. Granted it's 1500 sq ft down there so the boxes are stacked neatly under the stairs and don't really put a dent in the space. But it's still kinda messy from the rummaging through as people have searched for items.


I have no desire to take the time to put these pics in order from empty house and taking our 1st look upon arrival to furnished rooms. So, the order's a little backwards...but you get the general idea.


Kids bunkroom. We offered to make the office area into a 4th bedroom for them but all declined. They have always had a bunkroom and it's been a celebration every time a new sibling...or two....has graduated up into it from the nursery. They thoroughly enjoy being together and chose to continue staying together. Every night is one big party...and sounds like one big party.....before everybody ends up falling asleep. Due to the fact each bed is maxed out and the room can only hold 8 occupants, once baby gets here and little twins graduate up into this room the 3 girls will move over into a full twin bunkbed in the nursery/girls room while the 7 boys have this room as an all boy room.

Two of the 3 top bunks have not been made up yet so they're a little messy. The one you can't see actually did get made up and looks great! Sleeping arrangements are by choice.....Grayson on top wood bed/Aubrey below, Evye on top red bed/Gavin and Ivye below, Garrett on top black bed/Garrison and Grant below. And yes...we've already done fire drills at this new house and everybody CAN make it out of the room despite the obstacle course that it appears to be. Personally....the whole room arrangement kinda makes me claustrophobic. Given the size of the room this is the ONLY way we found to be able to make 3 beds work in there....but it works and they love it! And yep...two of the 3 top bunks still need sheets so they're still sleeping on top of sleeping bags. Supposed to be in their line up of to-do's today.

Brad's and my bedroom. So romantic with the air mattresses and decor. Still waiting for the new bed to arrive...which is just a king mattress on a bed frame. It'll still be simple but we won't be doing the two different bed thing anymore.

Dining room. Still looking for another hook-on table highchair. They seem to be rare these days. So, for now, one sits in the highchair and one sits on the table in the Bumbo with a tray for mealtimes. It works! Crap in the corner like crate storage will probably go to the basement for organizing stuff and laundry hamper full of hangers needs to be put in the bedroom closet. So, it won't be there for long. Through the door is the office. It's the only place we could find for the ET center but has ended up working exceeedingly well in there for storage since it doesn't need to house a TV. Eventually the shelves on it will be cleaned up and organized but, for now, at least misc stuff has a place to go.

Children's bathroom. One of the huge advantages of this house.....double sinks!

Opposite the sinks...the bathtub.

In the office from the computer desk looking into the kitchen....our dirty clothes line up.

And the infamous laundry closet in the kitchen. Once laundry operation gets moved to basement this will be converted into a pantry. Our two biggest obstacles right now are laundry and food storage. Laundry has been overcome for the most part and we've figured out a system that works for now. Once interviewing husband returns from his interview today he and Grayson will work on putting the metal shelving together for the closet below. Tackle box on shelf above is multi purpose, as it houses all medications. It keeps them out of reach of children and up out of the kitchen cabinets to conserve on space.

My love gift from a very devoted husband.









Working on getting settled. The living area. We have no couch yet since we sold...or trashed....all but the beds before moving. Space on the bottom right made a great changing station since it's centrally located and there was room for a changing pad, and diapers and wipes to be stored. So, that's what the white thing is.




When the basement clothesline didn't exactly go according to plan. Little humid and a little cold down there. The deck has proven to be an amazing space. It's like one giant, outdoor, play yard for babies....and makes for a great laundry drying station until husband can put up an outdoor clothesline. The clothes are kinda crunchy but they smell really good and fresh.

The beginning of many clotheslines going up in the basement.

I'm thinking she looks pretty thrilled.

The hallway from bedrooms looking into the living area and kitchen.

Checking out what will be the bunkroom.

The nursery.

Master bathroom. Shower's to the left.

Master bedroom. Not exactly sure whether the pants were going up or down.....but whatever the case, he seems to be getting the job done.

The view of the master from the bedoom door. Different kid but apparently the 1st one wasn't the only one having jeans issues.

Looking down the hallway towards the master bedroom from the living area. If you take a right at the end of the hallway there's the other 2 bedrooms. Door on the right next to baby is a coat closet. Door on the left is the children's bathroom. Grayson seemed to be excited about the house....obviously.

Living area standing at bookshelf looking at the kitchen.

Room located on front of the house that we decided to make the dining room. Through the opening is the office/dirty clothes collection for now.

View from the dining area from the office doorway.Door on right is front door. Door on left goes into living area where bookshelf and fireplace are.

When we first arrived.

Standing in the kitchen. Cabinets are a little low. Makes for some comical attempts at conversation.

Kitchen...rockin' the yellow countertops and brown paneling. Frig is on the left and immediately follows the washer/dryer.

Standing in kitchen looking at office area.

From San Angelo, Texas to Raleigh, NC. We're here now!