Back in 2008, and after 42 years living in Verdun... we made the decision to move to the West Island to be closer to our son and our grandchildren who live in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. Ron was working for the International Longshoremen's Association and I had just left my job at BMO to help look after the grandkids. We had planned to buy a home in Ste-Anne's, but at that time, there were no homes available on the market that met our needs. Our search eventually lead us to Pierrefonds West where we found a property that seemed to be a good fit for us. 

The first thing we fell in love with was the beautiful rock garden on the front lawn and we couldn't wait to see the inside of the home. When we first entered the house, we were very impressed with the open concept and all the natural light. We knew immediately that we'd found our new home and we couldn't wait to make it our own. Some of our favourite features were the big back deck, the backyard and swimming pool which our grandkids love, and the fact that the house was very well maintained by the previous owner.

We've continued to do extensive renovations and maintenance to our home over the years including a new roof, new windows and patio door, a new kitchen with granite counters, a new back deck and awning, a new pool, new ceramic floors in the basement laundry and storage room, and all new interior doors and trim. 

Our neighbours are very friendly and we're always willing to help each other out. We have one neighbour, Gerry, who puts out and takes in our trash and recycling bins for us! He's also offered us a wealth of tips and advice to help with our gardening. 

This area has everything we need in close proximity such as groceries, drug stores, banks, parks, schools, malls, you name it. We've also grown to love this street in particular. It's such a nice, quiet place to live and raise a family.

We've enjoyed countless barbecues with family and friends on the back deck. Pool parties, and 

Christmas dinners with our 3 kids and 9 grandchildren. Thanksgiving is also a favourite holiday for us as we give thanks for our health and our growing family. We had 17 people at our last Holiday dinner!

But of all the holiday's, our favourite has to be St-Patricks Day. We have become known as the official "Irish" household in our community and our house is always decorated with green shamrocks and Irish flags. We love having our friends Said and Liliane over every year to listen to Irish music and share a few Irish coffees with us!

We've made the decision to downsize to free ourselves of the responsibility of maintaining a home. We will be transitioning into a smaller rental but we'll be packing up all the big memories we've created in this home and taking them with us.

We will surely miss this home, but we hope it provides the future owners with the same joy and happiness that it has for us over these past 11 years. Perhaps this house will be home to a new family with young kids that can grow up here and enjoy some of the same good luck that we have.