It's my dream home because it looks so quaint to me. I love the white picket fences and the shutters. I can imagine 2.2 kids running around on the grass and Josh coming through the front door and singing, "Oh Honey, I'm home!"
It's also my dream home because I love the neighborhood.
There is a lake right across the street from the house.
And streams.
And A lighthouse looking thing. 
And ducks.
And cranes.
And turtles.
And walking paths.
And paddle boating in the summer, and bike trails, and bridges and fountains, and...The list goes on and on.
Everything looks so calm and peaceful. But this move has been anything but calm and peaceful. Hence, I also refer to this house as Josh's nightmare.
First, in order to get this house we had to sell the house that we were living in at the time. Selling a house is no joke: We had to make sure that everything was in tip top shape, which meant Josh's handyman hands were worked to the bones. We had to make sure the house was clean ALL the time since we had no idea when someone wanted to come look at it. We had complete strangers walking through our home. And the stress of offers and counter offers, and escrows, and fallen escrows, and agents and open houses took a toll on us not only physically but mentally and emotionally.
Second, purchasing this "dream" home took a looooong time since it was a short sale. We waited 10 months from the time we made our initial offer to finally getting into the house. All I'm saying is there is nothing "short" about a short sale.
Third, since we had sold our first home and was still waiting for the short sale to go through, Josh and I were "homeless." We didn't know where to go...Then our friends, Myle and Frank, came to our rescue and allowed us to stay with them for months! So here we were: Myle, Frank, Josh and me, four grown adults being roomies.
Fourth, when we finally did get into the house, we decided to do a complete renovation of the house. For those of you who don't know my husband, I will tell you....Josh is not the "Let's do it later" kind of a guy. Nope. Josh is a "We are doing it all the way" kind of a guy. So, when Josh says "remodel/renovation" he MEANS it.
And since Josh is a handy guy (I love it), he did most of it himself. Here are a few pictures of our renovation:
Family room:
Before
During 
After 
Powder room:
Before/During
After
Living room:
Before:
During:
After:
These are just a few pics. We still have a loooong way to go. In fact, these rooms are still not done. But slowly but surely we are getting there. "Rengo rengo pero vengo." That's a Spanish idiom. It means, "I'm limping limping, but I'm getting there."
All in all, this house is not a nightmare. It truly is a blessing and a dream come true, and I honestly feel like it is a gift from God and all that came/comes with it are gifts:
1. Josh and I really had to work as a team to get through this whole process. And it brought us closer together.
And we are having fun making this house our home. And we are making it just how we like it.
2. We found a deeper appreciation for our friends, Myle and Frank. We call ourselves "Four Peas In a Pod."
3. I again got to see how awesome my husband is. Josh is such a hard worker. He works all night (graveyard shift) as a CHP officer, and then works all day on fixing the house. He barely gets any sleep. He works on his birthday, on his days off, on holidays.
My husband is such a bad ass! :p He's a freaking machine!
And you want to know something else that's crazy? We moved in on Christmas Eve of 2012. Another reason I know that this house was a gift from God. A Christmas gift from God. :)
(Pardon my ensemble. It's my "renovation/all my clothes are in storage/I've been moving all day/Ajuma (older korean lady) look).
Thank you God for this gift. Bless this home-sweet-home.
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