***This obviously consumed my mind for the first part of the year, because I've done two blog posts unknowingly about moving.... oh well, I'll keep them both.
We've lived at 373 Bayberry Way for nearly 6 years. About 3 years in, we knew it wasn't our forever home and we started looking for something else. But with no pressing need to move, we were really picky. After living in 5 homes, we really knew what we wanted and didn't want in our forever home. We looked at 100's of homes, nothing really that made my heart sing. Our realtor was extremely patient with me. We would go through periods of being really serious and zealous in our searching, to periods of no interest in moving.
But over Christmas break, we felt strongly it was finally time! We knew moving was what we wanted and we took a giant leap of faith and decided to put our house on the market. Right after the new year, we started cleaning out the house like crazy! The poor garbage guys really loved us. We put everything we didn't really need in a POD and kept only the basic necessities. We painted and repaired most everything! And we got that house looking in tip top shape.
This paining was being finished minutes before a showing! We had to tell the clients not to touch the walls because the paint was still wet...
It was so hard to me to see my home "depersonalized" and the paint color was so boring to me.
What do you do on a Saturday morning when you have a showing? Go to IHOP!
I don't remember the exact day we listed our house, but we got an offered that same day! It was all crazy fast. We still had no clue where we were going to move because we figured we'd have some time to keep looking.
Here's an excerpt from my journal about the whole ordeal:
We just put our home on the market. It's kind of a bitter sweet feeling. I love this home. We've lived here for nearly 6 years. It's the only home Charlotte and Dallin know. Charlotte was much to young to remember ever living in California. And of course this is the home to which we brought Dallin home from the hospital. So many amazing memories here. And we have put an incredible amount of work into it, making it better and more beautiful.
But, we feel strongly that we need to be somewhere else. We aren't sure exactly where that place might be, but we have a general idea. We want our kids to grow up surrounded by stronger youth from church. We want them in better schools as they enter middle and high school. And we want more space. More house, more land.... I'm worried that this house is going to sell faster than we planned. It just went on the market today and we've already got an offer. Where are we going to live now?! A hotel, an rented townhouse or home, someones basement? We have nowhere to go. I'm also worried that I'll regret moving. I don't deal well with change....
I've learned a lot about us as a family since we've listed our house. Although just listed today, we've already had 4 showings in the past week. I've learned that I really do have time to keep a clean house, and exercise, and grocery shop, and keep up with laundry and read my scriptures. ALL things I've neglected greatly in the past several years. I always used the excuse that I never had enough time. And my kids too! They can make their beds every morning, and keep their floors clear of clothes and crap. I've also learned that my kids need very few "things" to keep them entertained. We've pack up most of their toys and all of their personal treasures.... their rooms are bare, with only their beds left. They have a few toys, which they could play with, but they want so badly to keep things neat and tidy. This past weekend the kids started a make believe game in which they are ALL playing together. They had never really included Dallin before, but now he's willing and happy to play right along with them. And they've played for hours and days this make believe game. It requires very few "things". Just their imagination. And my, how they have gotten along! It had been incredible.
That's not to say that listing our house hasn't been stressful. It's one of the craziest things I've ever done. And often time the stress level associated with keeping the house in "showing condition" is not worth the frustration is causes between us all. And I have to let things slide bit. But we are quickly, with a moments notice, back to "showing condition".
So, although seeing the "For Sale" sign is the front yard makes me really sad.... I am eager to know what our future holds for us. And I know that we can make just about any house our new HOME.
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