Before

When we decided it was time to move out of our two-bedroom apartment in Crystal Lake and into a house, I never imagined that it would require Divine intervention, but it did.

I fell in love with a 1920s cape cod fixer-upper with a big yard located right off the bike trail (great for marathon training and walks with the kids). My husband feared the amount of work it needed just for us to live there–and there were other issues with it being in an unincorporated area, too. (It’s a bit ironic when we realize where we finally ended up, but I digress.) So, after much debate, we decided to wait. We prayed together for the right place. We knew we’d have to make sacrifices, but it wasn’t right if we both weren’t content with our choice. I cried and cried, grieving the loss of the house I thought I wanted (although more than anything Isimply wanted a house).

Less than a week later, we received a call both from our realtor and friends about a place in their neighborhood that went up for sale that day. We took a tour and knew that this was it! This is a big deal for us because we tend to be quite indecisive, especially the bigger the decision. But we walked through on Wednesday, made an offer on Thursday and finalized it on Friday night. We closed on March 15, 2002.

The farmhouse, built in 1892, is even older than the previous home and has many of the same unique charm that I loved about the other–hardwood floors, original doors, solid construction, two stories, two-car garage, beautiful trimwork. There’s not a right angle in sight, but we love it anyway. This was no coincidence! It also was right off the same bike trail but on the other side of the river and had an even bigger yard.

Of course, we have no idea what would have been waiting for us in the other neighborhood, but after almost 6 years here, we are in love with our neighbors. We have made many close friends here and have come to enjoy the close-knit community we’ve moved into. Our quiet (well, except during rush hour when people like to speed through our neighborhood as a shortcut!) location in our village’s historic district has led to many opportunities for friendships, neighborly advice and home improvement help. With a park at the end of the street that was recently renovated and homes constantly being remodeled, it’s changing all the time but for the better. As a historic community, there is respect for the homes and for the people and we couldn’t be happier located here.

Now, if we could just finish remodeling our home … We’ve completed two bathrooms (each complately gutted) but a complete kitchen remodel is currently underway, and we hop an upstairs addition is in our near future.