Pictures of Our New House

We went to the house again last night to sign some paperwork. We talked to Joël again and met his family. His wife Lutgard is wonderful. Rachael loved playing with their almost 12-year-old daughter Jill, and we met their 14-year-old son Bole, too. The neighbor lady on the other side came over. Her name is Andrea (on-dray-eh), and her daughter Hannah is 10. She also was playing with Rachael. Together the two older girls took her around all over, looking at the horses and the fishes and just had a grand time. We fell in love with the house all over again and are thrilled that the neighbors are so nice. I think we're going to have a wonderful time living in our new home!

By the way, I had my camera with me and, this time, I had two new batteries in it =) So, for those of you eagerly awaiting a glimpse into our new abode, I give you my first photo blog. Enjoy!

The Exterior

   

 

  

 

This picture is looking into the verandah. These doors can be opened up on a nice day to let in some fresh air and make you feel like you're sitting outside on a patio. It's lovely!

The car is parked in front of the verandah doors and is facing Joël's stable.

Sorry, Shasta. No single house we looked at had exactly everything we wanted. Our compromise kept the family comfortable, but Shasta was left without a fenced in yard. This is what she gets. But, we did just buy a jogging stroller for me to use. Giving Shasta the exercise she needs will be my motivation for going out and running, or jogging, or just walking really fast =)

 The Verandah (My favorite!!)

Looking into the verandah from the living room.

It has a skylight! Big windows + skylight = light, airy, wonderful room!

Ok. This is a little odd. Just off the verandah is a toilet in one room and a sink and the only standing shower in the other room. Just kinda weird. =)

  The Kitchen

On the far left you see a handle which is attached to the fridge. I really don't know how these people eat. The fridge is so small. It has no freezer. Just above it is a nook with a microwave. Thankfully, Joël agreed to put in a oven/toaster oven/microwave 'whole concept' machine to at least let me do some baking. Bye, bye, Pampered Chef bakeware =( I guess the base will give us an American fridge to use, as well as a washer and dryer and wardrobes, too. That's good news.

A built-in dishwasher is a rare find in these parts. Awesome!!

 

The Living Room

Nice little gas fireplace =)

Cool lights from Ikea. Joël pronounced it Ee-keh-ah.

 

 

 Garage/Basement Stairs/Entry/Main Stairs

Oh, man! This garage is so Short! Joël's head was almost touching! There is no way the Odyssey will fit in here! Looks like our new Nissan Primera will find its home here instead.

These railings really make me nervous with Rachael and Zach. They are definitely not kid-proof. We'll have to address that quickly!

 That Very Interesting Flooring Upstairs that I Mentioned

(PS: I kinda like it now. It's tiny little black shiny rocks. Very smooth. Kinda neat.)

 The Bedrooms

Master Bedroom. PS: We have Air Conditioning! Also a very rare find over here =)

Rachael's bedroom. Love the paint! Hers is the only room with built-in closets.

 I meant to take a picture of Zach's room, but everyone was congregated there. Then, I forgot to snap a quick pic when they all left.

The Bathroom

I just don't understand why these people don't believe in stand-up showers. I have very long hair. It's going to be so hard to wash and condition it when one hand is holding the wand and the other is trying to clean it. I really hope we can do something about this soon because I don't want to be traipsing through the cold house naked to get to the shower downstairs!

There you have it! This is our new home. We love it. None of our furniture will match. The house is modern with very cool colors; our stuff is very warm with browns and reds. But, whatever! We love it, and we'll make it work! We are so excited that we finally have a place to call ours, to do our own laundry in, and to just really start getting settled in. We will move in on May 23. Hopefully our unaccompanied baggage will be available by then. We'll be taking a trip to Ramstein to check out the mall and buy rugs, towels, sheets, pots, etc. - all that good stuff a real house needs! I hope you liked the tour. More to come later! Ta ta!