Projects around the house

So, Caleb & I are so excited about our house! We're officially in escrow as of a week ago, 6 weeks to go! Our evening conversations are pretty much filled with thoughts of what we want to do to our home when we move in. We are so blessed that the home is so clean and so nice that we really can just move in and don't have to do anything. Even the paint is clean and nice, and neutral. Though, we can't just leave it as is because that'd be boring! So we have some plans.
First, there is a wall between the dining room/hallway/living room, so we are going to make it a 1/2 wall with a supporting column. We want everything to be as open as possible. Then, we are going to put in some dark cherry wood laminate "floating" wood floors. Not real wood, but they look just as good! We both LOVE dark wood floors. We're going to put them in the hallway, entry way, dining room and kitchen. Next is can lighting in the kitchen. The light in there isn't that bad but we love an updated look. We are also going to take 2 hanging cabinets out that kind of get in your way if you're in the kitchen looking into the dining room. In place of the cabinets we're going to hang 2 glass blown pendent lights. We are of course going to paint but the colors still have to be decided. Thankfully we both have very similar decorating tastes. For almost 4 years we've been living with tans,light greens,dark reds and kind of Tuscany villa type colors. We are thinking that we're going to go in a different direction this time to mix it up, but we're still looking for inspiration. The carpet in the house is really nice and neutral so we don't have to change that. We also want to update some more of the lighting and add a ceiling fan or two and also update fixtures in bathrooms. All in all though it's really not too much work. Oh! And I really want to change the kitchen counter tops. They are a light pink 4x4 tile right now. Not really my style =) Thankfully we can live with them for a bit if we need to, because they are in great condition, grout is clean and no chips anywhere. But we want to put in granite tiles. Cheaper than whole granite slabs but you still get the same look. Caleb also wants to re-stain the kitchen cabinets.
I never thought I'd get so excited about home improvements! Everything changes when it's your own home! This morning I saw that OSH was having a sale and I looked through every page! Last night Caleb & I went to Home Depot just for fun, LoL. He is so excited because in the past I've hated just looking at home stuff when we dont have a reason to buy it and now I'll go look with him. =)
One thing that we'll both have to get used to is yard work. =) The yard isn't huge but the couple kept it in GREAT condition. So, that means that the other thing on our list to buy? A Lawnmower! I'm sure Caleb is excited about that. Hehe. I'm going to have to start studying stuff on gardening (though I have my mother in law, my grandma and my dad to help me!) because the current owners of the house have tons of stuff in their yard for me to keep up. Lemon Tree, Fuji Apple Tree, Plum Tree and Lime bush! On top of that there is a beautiful trellace of a pretty flower I dont even know what it's called, and then about 6 rose bushes all in a row, pruned down perfectly and ready for spring. I want to keep it all nice!
We can't wait to do our projects in the first couple months and then host a house warming party and invite everyone to come see it!
I am such an over analyzer and over-worryer (I dont think thats a word) and if you would have asked me even 3 months ago what I thought about buying a house I would have laughed and said that we can't do that or handle that right now. I'm finding that when you give things to God it really does work out! Yes, that is such a simple thought I know, but it's funny how certain things come up in your life and you really do notice it. This whole home process so far has been easy and I'm almost holding my breath waiting for something bad to happen. To be able to buy a home that is in such great condition in such a cute neighborhood from actual people and not to have to buy it from the bank or anything is such a blessing. We have great families who are supporting us every step of the way and we are looking forward to the future! I am surprised at how calm I feel for this and we just keep praying that God will continue to guide us and that we continue to seek Him.

Well that's about it, just thought I'd put what is on my mind. I'll try to dig up some pics of the house and post them soon!
=)