Karla reporting. Well, we met with our Architect today, Matt Wiedenhoeft, of Martin Riley Architects-Engineers of Oshkosh. We signed on the dotted line for him to be a part of our team! He's a wonderful architect who I'm glad we have the chance to work with: his heart is in the right place. He really thinks about space and listens: I think we may be atypical: we don't want anything grand, and with the motto that EVERY space should be used. An architect Paul and I both highly recommend (we'll put a little plug for him at the end of this entry).
I can hardly believe this is a reality, but it's scary, too. All I see right now are dollar signs, and have to trust that how we live (frugality is our motto) that we will be just fine...I have to trust in the unknown.
 We have made some changes along the way, and I think a house you envision should breathe along the way, and not become static. So, we went from modern design to a more practical, clean, and european aesthetic (think Nordic with a Finnish twist). We will post plans when they come available. Also, we went from a story and half to one story (come people we need to be realistic..stairs with age is not a good idea!). So, here we are at the preliminary stages....and realize that this will be a long process, which Paul and I are very good at...waiting.
Then there is a part of me that feels guilty to be a part of this adventure. At times, I would have preferred to give all my savings to my brother who is going through so much right now (diagnosed with leukemia in May)..it's an internal struggle that I'm going through. I know I would be a phenomenal rich person, for sure...if I had a ton of money I would give it to people who need it more than I do....not sure how really rich people who keep it ALL for themselves deal with this: I guess they don't, right?
I digress. So here we are: in the middle of home that is "still" not ours, but will be. 

Finally, this image was taken from the Finnish Museum in New York Mills, MN. All the buildings there are original buildings from Finnish life. We love the clean aesthetic: symmetrical, clean, practical, and no frills....space is used and not wasted. 

Here is the firm and architect we are working with..click on the link.

http://www.martinrileymock.com/newsdetail.aspx?nid=f6805240-322b-4bd7-9add-8af1105d059a

Thanks for viewing!