The day finally came! We had been working towards this goal for the past 9 months! I can't even explain how stressful all of this has been. Any road block that could have come our way, did. We began to wonder if were doing the right thing? Were we not supposed to sell our house? Was this not the house for us? Everyone has told me that moving day is the most stressful, but after all we went through up until this point - moving day was the most relaxing! *sigh* Yep, my sigh of relief! Both closings went perfectly. I realized at some point that this timing for the house thing wasn't only God's perfect timing for us, but also for Brad and Amanda - our old homes new owners. God knew it was the home for them also, so we had to wait it out until BOTH of our perfect homes were ready and we were also. In the moment, it's so hard to concentrate on God's timing when we want OUR timing. Now, sitting here in my new home... things make a little more sense. God knew this was the home for us, he knew the original "dream home" had to be off the market for us to see that, he knew I couldn't have done this moving thing being pregnant, he knew that maybe we wouldn't have gotten it on the market by selling time if we had a 3 month old at home, he knew that our buyers weren't quite ready 9 months ago when we put the house on the market. Although we may never understand why God picks the paths for us that he does, we know in the result in the end is what it should be.
Anyway, back on the subject at hand. It's amazing how this ended up being what I hoped for. I hoped our buyers would be a nice young couple, like we were when we built the house, that would start a family there and take care of the place. They fit that perfectly. It is also amazing that when we sat down with our realtor for the first time we described this house perfectly in what we were looking for.
So, like I said, closings both went well. We had our POD all loaded and ready, and the UHAUL was ready to be picked up at 12:30 after closings were final.
Lu, Kim and Mykeila were there when I got there with the keys to clean the place before we loaded it up and Dad was there to paint the kids rooms. We feel SO blessed to have all the help we did this weekend and couldn't have done it without each and every one of you who helped. THANK YOU!!! (one of our neighbors said, "either you have a lot of friends or a big family because I've never seen as many people helping to move in and get it done so quickly!") Yes, we are very blessed!
Miss Ella along for the ride! She was so good the entire weekend! Bethy offered to have my kids over night that first night and where as we both went back and forth on wanting them there we figured they would 1. Have more fun 2. we wouldn't have to worry about where and when they were sleeping if beds weren't set up and 3. they wouldn't be getting yelled at for being in the way! Thanks Bethy for watching them and bringing them back the next day. Honestly, it was such a life-saver and made this momma's life a little less stressful that day! And thanks Leah for giving them a ride to your mommas!
Now for a few more "before" pictures that I hadn't posted before. Kason's room before...
Pop pop hard at work on Kaid's room... Thanks dad, I know you LOVE to paint. ;)
The master "before"
The spare room before...
The foyer
and dining room that we will be using for the office
and perhaps my favorite room in the house, the PLAYROOM (that should be the office, but since the doors CLOSE it will be filled with toys!)
The fun began at the old house as soon as Randy got the UHAUL there. Since we had most everything in the POD but the furniture they actually got it done in record speed! The started loading at 1ish and were over to the new house around 6ish. Randy's friends Chad and Jason and our Bro-in-law Chad helped the first day with the furniture.
Got to love Randy's wrapping and comments on the stuff. haha
I think the only picture of me during the move! Getting the kitchen together. What a mess!
The house really is in good shape. The guts are amazing! But there is some wallpaper stripping needed, some new light fixtures, knobs, etc.... but the biggest issue was the smell of the basement. The people before had big dogs (and 4 BOYS, but I'll leave that up for you to decide) that really made the basement smell awful! Add that to the house being closed up for the past 9 months and well... you've got a smelly basement! Mom spend a good part of the day on her knees scrubbing the floors with Scrubbing Bubbles, with the help of Lisa... It was amazing how much better it smelled. Although a week later I'm starting to smell that dog smell again and wondering what to do next to try to get it to go away for good. Any ideas??
Lu helping un-pack the boxes
Paul found a huge lawn mower for us, and they brought theirs along also so we could take care of the yard! Randy playing around with the mower. There was quite the fight on who was going to mow. EVERYONE wanted a turn (except me, I'm not going to go there!) Maybe they just didn't want to carry any more boxes? ;)
Chad too charge of the weed eater
Who looks more tired? Lu or Myk?
Then the kids finally got here!! Avery came along for the ride with aunt Bethy
I have been surprised at how well they have adjusted to the move. Maybe a little more grumpy because of the weird sleep, but really they have done well! Oh, and you must take note of Randy's hair. Awesome!
The kids went down to the ravine and some how Kason got left behind and was not impressed! Do you see him way back there??
Sad little guy
Mimi to the rescue.
Kirby and Lisa come to help! Lisa was quite the motivator! She was great at getting us going again after we all were loosing steam!
I am terrified of heights. Seriously, even seeing someone else leaning over a 2nd floor banister makes my heart flutter and stomach feel uneasy. This plant ledge would have gone untouched for quite a while had Lisa not been so excited to climb up there! There were many times I had to walk away and couldn't watch. They threatened putting something strange up there knowing it would be there for years on end. My terrified self is very glad they didn't!!!
The new owners of our house didn't want the playhouse and we were very glad not to have that expense here! With as wet as it's been we were very doubtful if we were going to be able to get it this weekend or wait until it was dry for a while. Thankfully we did. (they also wanted me to take my little garden which I'm thrilled about!!) I'm supervising with my hands on my hips while the guys do the work.
They did it!
Is she licking my window?? Wonder how long it's been since that's been cleaned. EWWW ;)
My photographer on the deck while we were doing the playhouse... Check out her shoes.
Oh fun times....Most everyone headed home on Saturday night, but Paul, Lu, Mom, Kevin and Lisa stayed for a little more fun the next day. As we were sitting around talking on Mothers day morning, Kason was in his favorite position on his daddy's chest. Paul said, "I wish I could still hold Randy like that again"
YOU ASKED FOR IT! We were rolling on the floor laughing!
We then headed over to the old house to do a clean and last minute things so we could hand it over to the new owners. That chapter in our lives is over, it's closed. And a new exciting one is beginning! So many people have asked if I cried and you know, not one tear. I'm so excited about this new home, this new life. I will miss things, mostly the neighbors, but since we are only 15 minutes away I know they will still be a part of our lives. We have had so many good memories in that house, but we've also had our share of heartbreak and part of me feels like we are breaking free of all of that. Starting new. Starting fresh. I think this is going to be a great move for our family. Just what we needed. A fresh start.
I know I've said it a million times, but THANK YOU so much for all of your help, your prayers, your support. We couldn't have done this without your love, support and broken backs and knees!
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