A home for our family

Being notified in early December that we would be moving back to Peoria in March/April was a bit of a shock (as we were kind of expecting summer 2009), but seemed to work out very well for us. Since we lived in Peoria and then were transferred to England (and didn't live in any other places in between), we aren't provided with a house-hunting trip. So on our home-leave trip (which falls in December each year), we decided to make the most of it. Arriving in Peoria about 10 days before Mike worked out well as I was able to view a good number of houses with a realtor and narrow it down to a select few. On December 23, my Dad and I drove to Chicago to pick up Mike (in the horrendous ice/snow storm) at O'Hare International Airport. (Unfortunately, they didn't have any flights coming direct from Chicago to Peoria on that night.) We arrived back in Peoria around 2 a.m. on December 24, went to sleep for a few short hours, and then met our realtor at 8:45 a.m. to start viewing my chosen few. With Mike having the beginnings of jetlag and me not having much sleep at all (which is most definitely not a good thing), I wasn't sure how the day was going to unfold. Much to our surprise, we were able to keep right on schedule and went through my final 5 houses before lunchtime. Mike and I enjoyed a quiet lunch together with just the two of us (where lots of caffeine was consumed) and decided on our top 2. We went back to the realtor's office after lunch and had him write up an offer. After several times of the realtors going back and forth (oh how I hate dickering!), we all agreed on a price. So, YAHOO -- we are now the proud owners of a house in Germantown Hills.

The house is located on Countryside Street in the White Oak Lake subdivision. It is situated on an acre of land, has 4 bedrooms, a good amount of space, and an inground pool in the back. We are all thrilled to be moving back to the Peoria-area and can't wait to receive our sea shipment with all of our belongings (it will take about 45 days after we leave England to arrive in Peoria) so we can start putting our new house together.

Here are a few pics...


(Sorry this isn't as clear as I would like -- it is a photo of a photo ... what can I say, it was winter when we viewed the house and the pool was covered with snow and ice.) ;o)