Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Moving On

We sign on our new house in about 36 hours and then move-in the following day.  We are filled with excitement and beyond tired of living out of boxes.  :)  We have lived in our current home for 10 years.  Our oldest son (now 12) turned two the day we moved in.  It is crazy to me just how much "life" has occurred in this house.  Some our highest highs and lowest lows have happened within these walls.  I continue to consider this house a true blessing.  When we became a one-income family a few years ago, we thought for sure we would have to sell this house and move somewhere else.  But God had us in His hands and kept us right here, all along. We have completed countless projects in this home.  We have basically changed every room except the two upstairs bathrooms.  Capet and tile ripped out, walls and cabinets painted, back splash added, downstairs bathroom gutted, ship lapped a wall, designed a built-in classroom, added a large pergola, extended the driveway and back patio, ripped out and re-built every step of the staircase, and lets not forget the pool!  This house has been a labor of love and really a canvas for us to find our style.  The funny thing is I won't really miss the house, but I will miss the memories we made and the hours of work we did as a family.  When I stop and think about it there is only one tiny part of this house that really pulls at my heart strings. This...

We placed this at the very top of the extension to our driveway.  Lauren was so tiny, just three months old.  The boys were 5 and 2.  Oh!  This just melts my heart every time I pass it.  We tried to figure out a way to remove it, so we could take it with us.  However, we are too afraid of causing damage to the extension or even breaking the prints into pieces.  I decided to take a picture of it and have it blown up.  It will hang in the new house.  

I've been told the new owners are starting their family.  I hope this house is a much a blessing to them as it has been to us.  It's a great house, with a lot of wonderful features.  It has also been lived in by 2 adults, 3 children and many pets.  There are too many scratches, dents, chipped paint spots, etc. to count.  But it has also been loved and taken care of.  We just love hard, that is all. :)

I wonder which home my kids will consider their "childhood home"?  I bet it is the new one.  My parents moved into their house when I was 9 years old.  To me, that is my childhood home.  Isn't it funny that something which has been such a huge part of our marriage may actually not be such a huge part of my kids' childhood?  I love watching God works things out.  I thought it was going to be heart wrenching to leave this home.  But He has allowed my heart to slowly disconnect.  Well, to everything but this little piece of cement... :)

You know the picture will last a lot longer than the actual  piece, anyway...

And let me just say, it feels so good to write again!

Elizabeth