I wanted to write a blog post about what has pretty much been consuming our lives for the past 6 weeks for many reasons (not necessarily in this order). First, to process some of my thoughts on what an extremely emotionally and physically taxing ordeal preparing to list a house is (especially with two young kids). Second, to reminisce about all the sweet memories of our first home together. Third, to ask for your prayers as we anticipate the Lord's provision for us in finding our next home. Lastly, to put down in writing a reminder to my future self to never move again.
When we found out we were pregnant with Norah, we casually planned in our heads to hopefully sell our house and buy a new one in the spring of 2014 in order to have enough bedrooms for everyone. We love this house, our first home, one we bought after literally stepping into 80 other houses on the market in 2008/2009. It definitely needed a lot of updating, and some rooms of the house I refused to use until they were remodeled, but it was mostly cosmetic updating we (and our kind families and friends) were willing to work on over the years. We love our neighborhood and have the best neighbors we could ask for. God planned for us to live here. He knew all along that the previous 6 other offers we made on various houses were not meant to be. This home was the first and only of 80 houses that Dan saw without me. He also offered on the house before I saw it in person, reasoning that the seller would counter (as all the others we had experienced). Surprise, surprise. Our first offer was accepted. We planned to buy our first home...one I hadn't even seen yet! To be fair, after looking at 80 houses together (and many more online) we pretty much knew what we were looking for. We ended up compromising on a some things, as you generally have to do while looking for a new home, but we know this was where we were meant to be for the past 5 years.
Things I love about our house and reasons it will be sad to leave:
* It is our first house together, after living in an apartment for our first year of marriage.
* It is where we put in so much time and energy to make it our home.
* It is in this home's bathroom where we saw two positive pregnancy tests (3 years apart) after many months of tears and prayers.
* It is where we brought Charlie home from the hospital and became parents.
* It is here in our bedroom that Norah was born! (We won't put that on the listing.)
* It is where we have grown and matured together in our marriage.
* It is where we have cuddled in the three-seasons porch and watched/listened to thunderstorms. It is also where we have slept a couple of nights with the windows open to pretend we are camping. I will really miss this porch.
* It is where we have owned 4 different cats at 4 different times...proving that perhaps we aren't pet people...for now.
* It is where Charlie took his first steps (in the kitchen...for a piece of beef. haha).
* It is in this nursery that I rocked Charlie to sleep so many times while doubting myself as a new mom and listened to Scripture Lullabies to calm my heart and mind.
* It is in this yard that Charlie first went sledding.
* It is here that Charlie experienced his first accident...falling down the basement stairs (to our horror) and came through without a scratch.
* It is in a beautiful peaceful neighborhood where we took so many summer walks down to the park.
* It is here that we planted three Korean Dwarf Lilac bushes that Dan bought me for our first anniversary. I will miss seeing them grow and bloom more each year.
Call me sentimental, but it will be a little hard to leave this home, as exciting as it is to think of our next one.
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