We got an offer on our house in early June and have spent the last month. . . I guess just enjoying our old house as much as we could, and going on vacation, and then packing, moving, and getting settled into our temporary quarters.
Our house ended up being on the market for a little over two months. We essentially sold it on our own, and we are really just thankful that we got an offer because there are many houses on the market in our area and not a lot are selling. Tim did an amazing job of being our "realtor", although sometimes it was stressful for him, and stressful for us.
Once we got the offer, we got everything in order for closing and moving, went on vacation to Colorado for Tim's family reunion, and came home with only 2 weeks to get everything packed. Moving just makes me realize all that I have and all I don't really need. It's kind of sickening. We've gotten rid of lots of stuff and shared some things with friends, and on moving day, I found more boxes of stuff I need to go through, such as my journals from high school and college and my early teaching career. Do I really want my kids reading those someday? I have a whole crate full of journals. That's a bit much. Maybe I'll find one section that is an authentic and funny representation of who I was in my younger years.
We moved everything this past weekend, thanks to the generous labor and time of many good friends. We then had to clean our old house (because, honestly, I did not clean it from the time we got the offer until we moved, with the exception of sweeping and wiping down the countertops, and once cleaning the toilets because they were just gross and I couldn't handle it anymore).
Monday we closed, and I am truly excited for the new family who now gets to enjoy our old house. This morning I drove by and saw several contractor's trucks parked outside. A tiny, tiny part of me is sad, or jealous, or hurt that they couldn't live with some part of the house. But overall, I love it, because it's cool to move into a house and immediately fix something that is old and needs to be fixed anyway, instead of waiting for a while, and then wondering why you didn't make the fix earlier. My guess is that they are re-doing the kitchen or at the very least the entry/dining room floor. Someday I'll see them around town and ask what they decided to remodel, and how it looks.
One of the minor complications of moving was that the house we are buying is owned by some friends of ours, and their new house is not finished being built. When we put our house on the market, the completion date was June or July, so our closing date was right on target. :) BUT does construction ever stay on schedule? I would have loved this had our house not sold when it did.
So, the sellers moved their things to the basement and garage. We moved our stuff into the top part of the house, and are staying with Tim's parents for several weeks. At the end of July, the sellers will move the rest of their stuff into the garage, and we can then fully move into our house (except the garage) and start living there and unpacking.
You should see how cute our one-bedroom apartment is here at my in-law's house. Kate sleeps in our room, which typically I am not a fan of, but it is working out great. She falls asleep on our bed (a mattress on the floor), and we move her to her crib when we come to bed. Ethan sleeps in a bedroom upstairs. We have a perfectly-sized kitchen. Overall, I love only having a small space to keep clean.
This week Ethan has Vacation Bible School, and twice a week I send the kids to daycare in the morning so I can work at school. I am also moving classrooms for the fourth time in 11 years of teaching. The blessing is that each year I get rid of more stuff. The downside is that I'm spending a lot of time MOVING!
I have some great pictures of the past month. Last night I accidentally erased a few of the pictures, including Kate's 2nd birthday pics and a cute picture of Kate and Ethan and me going on our last mail run in our old house (one of my favorite daily traditions). Oh, well! They are just pictures, and I have many others to share and keep! Be watching! Can't wait to share!
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