Remind me again WHY we bought THIS?

Since our house has been the topic of conversation lately, I've had quite a few requests for before and after pictures so people can see just how much we've done. Most of the "befores" are from the old owners, seeing as they didn't move all their stuff out until about 6 hours before we moved in.

Front Yard-Exterior Before

After: Painted, landscaped, repaired brick, took out ugly trellis, etc.

Kitchen Before

After: Refaced cabinets, new countertops, new sink, disposal, faucet, scraped down layers of moldy wallpaper, new paint, installed ceiling fan and new light fixture, new fridge, new microwave, etc.

Living-Dining-Entry Before

After: New paint, new carpet, new dimming light fixture, installed ceiling fan, new 2" blinds, created entry tile area, etc.

Master Bathroom Vanity-Dressing Before

After: took out ugly 80's built in fixture, all new cabinets, countertop, floor, mirror, window coverings, light fixtures, paint, etc.

Master bathroom Before

After: new toilet, vanity, sink, faucet, re-epoxy'd tile, paint, new light fixture, new mirror, medecine cabinet, took off cupboard doors and created open shelving, etc.

2nd bathroom Before

After: new paint, medecine cabinet-mirror, new light fixture, towel bars, cleaned grout, repaired tile, window coverings, etc.

Master Bedroom Before

After: glazed tile, paint, installed ceiling fan, painted brick fireplace, window coverings, etc.

Den-Hallway Before

After: took out old carpet- added cherry wood laminate floors, changed old florescent light for new ceiling fan and light fixtures, new blinds, paint, new floor trim, etc.

Backyard Before

After: leveled out, added sod and seed, took out clothesline, etc.

On top of all this we've taken care of broken sewer lines, foundation issues, cockroach infestations, pruned all the trees, fixed the roof and gutters, and so much more.

I look at these photos and I wonder why the Lord led us to buy this house. The only thing I can come up with is to teach us all the many many lessons we've learned in the last two years, and hopefully we have prepared a nice home for a family who will move to the area and need this.

There are many things I would have done differently, and quite a few things we never did that we wanted to, but over all, I'm really proud of the face-lift we've given this home.