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PHOTO KIRSTY GRAHAM 301012-KG-025
Home is where the heart is for Laura Jemmett and her two daughters, Katelyn, 4, and Alivia, 2.
uying her first home in Ashburton this year was the realisation of a dream for Laura Jemmett. The 25-year-old and her partner Scott Woodham and their daughters Katelyn, 4, and Alivia, 2, were previously living in a rental property. But with money from earthmover Scott’s KiwiSaver account under the first-home buyer scheme, and plenty of hard work, they were able to afford the 50-year-old weatherboard bungalow. They even had some money left over for paint, and plan to change the tired beige on the house’s exterior into a classy silver-grey. “We were lucky enough to get money back from our bond where we were renting previously so we have bought some paint for the outside,” Laura said. They expected to have help from friends of Scott’s who were painters. “Although they said ‘I might be away when you are sanding, but give us a ring when you are painting’,” Laura said. Laura is enjoying her busy life as a mother of two preschoolers, and works part-time as a beauty therapist at a town centre practice. It was a career which she took some time to decide upon. While at Ashburton College she had thought she would go on to study nursing, however, after completing Year 13 she had wanted to remain with family in the town. She continued her after-school job of working at the Regent Cinema, a job which helped her indulge her enthusiasm as a movie buff, and considered a future as a beauty therapist. Initially she baulked at the career option due to one item in the job description – waxing. “I was not so keen on waxing, I thought I’m going to hate it, I hated putting people through pain.” But she ended up undertaking a Diploma