Saturday, June 23, 2012

Farewell K.C.!

It was bittersweet last weekend when we moved the remaining items from our old house. We were preparing for the big day this past week when we signed our first house baby over to a new owner.

It was sad to say good-bye to the house and yard that we had poured so much work into fixing up and renovating. It was Erik’s and my collaborative design endeavor, a sort of multi-year creative project of sweat, tears, and pride. But even more precious are the memories that the house holds of so many family firsts. Bringing Luke home from the hospital and giving him his first home tour together. Lying newborn Eleanor on the rug and calling Luke to come over to really meet his sister for the first time. First steps, first solid foods, first words, and so many other tender moments are layered into the house’s history with us. It was not without tears that we packed up her contents and bid her farewell!

But enough with the bitter, sniff!, let’s focus on the sweet…

- Getting two offers and lots of showings the first weekend she was on the market. Our closing was less than a month after the house was listed, so we’re back to one house even before the first mortgage payment on our new house is due. It was gratifying to see other people appreciate the work we’d put into her and such a blessing to have everything play out smoothly!! Special thanks goes to our wonderful realtor friend Christa and her office for taking such good care of us.

- Knowing that we won’t have to maintain two houses any longer. We enjoy home projects, but one house is plenty for us to handle! Plus spending afternoons repairing a house that you don’t live in and are trying to keep in pristine condition is a bad combination with two little troublemakers. You end up with them out in the garage playing with ‘toys’ like these.

- Renting a U-Haul truck again. Last night, a week after the move-out, Luke included in his bedtime prayer, “thank you God that Luke got to ride in a U-Haul truck…”

- Getting our furniture back. It had been over a month since we’d eaten at our kitchen table or slept in a bed! Camping-style living in our new house had its charm but we were ready for the moved-all-the-way-in chapter.

- How much Luke loves his new house. After the closing (during which he and Eleanor were remarkably well-behaved, I’m not sure what came over them but we need to find a way to tap into that on a regular basis!), Luke asked Erik why he gave the title lady the keys to the KC house. After Erik explained, Luke seemed a little sad but just mildly. He remains head-over-heels about everything pertaining to our new house which makes the move much easier on his sentimental mommy.

- And last but not least, the smaller scope of stage 2 of the move made it less overwhelmingly chaotic and afforded me the opportunity to snap some pics of my darling moving men…

Stage 1 took place on Mother’s Day weekend. Stage 2’s timing was just with the second U-Haul rental and final move-out happening on Father’s Day of course! So our gifts were straightforward this year. I got a new house for Mother’s Day and Erik got his bed back for Father’s Day!

3 comments :

  1. Congratulations on finding a house and selling so quickly!

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  2. Thanks Emily! We can't believe it happened so fast and are so thankful. I've been loving your education blog and should be commenting over there but it's so inspiring and thought-provoking. Thanks to you and Sam for sharing and sometime we'll have to chat about some of those thoughts in person! (:

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  3. We are sad you are no longer in our neighborhood:-(, but what a blessing it sold so quickly! I would love to see pics of the new home! CONGRATS!

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