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Our House // Before & After
Top: 2016 // Bottom: 2019 |
Working... all weekend on the finishing touches for our house. (Painting trim, touching up the kitchen, buying a carbon monoxide detector, etc.) Our goal had been to finish last Friday, but with me out of town for three days for my cousin's wedding, we got behind by two days. It felt so good to be working, though, with the finish line in sight.
Answering... lots of questions about why we're selling. So I thought I would address that here as well. It's actually kind of funny the way we came about deciding to list the house and look for something else. It started with us talking about refinancing to try and get out of our mortgage insurance. But then as we moved forward, Josh said, while you're meeting with her (our mortgage lender) ask her what would happen if we wanted to sell. (I didn't want to sell- I didn't see how we could financially.) I barely got the question out of my mouth before she said, "If you want to sell, sell NOW. Do it." Hah!
Then she talked to me about how we could pay off our debt with any equity and actually walk away with a better house and higher mortgage, but less other bills sucking our bank account dry every month. I couldn't believe my ears.
The reason Josh wanted to move made total sense to me, but I am really sentimental and the idea of leaving this home we have lived and loved and laughed in (not to mentioned worked really hard to improve) kind of broke my heart. (It still does...) But Josh is right.
We need one more bedroom. We need an additional living space and a bigger kitchen. It would sure be nice to have another bathroom, and to be able to park my van in the garage (especially during the winter months!)
and be able to fit the kids' crap in there.
Our family of 6 has just outgrown our 1300 square foot house. Simple as that.
House hunting... on Tuesday to get a feel for what we liked on the market before we listed officially. The two houses we loved both went off the market over the weekend as we slaved away on our current home, so while we were heartbroken over each losing our favorites, we decided to try and be open minded to what we were seeing.
Making... a (contingent) offer on a house that same day! We saw two massive fixer uppers (that could have been so cool if only we had an extra hundred grand sitting around $$$) and a HUGE house that was at the TOP of our price range... but the one I fell in love with is already fixed up (new windows, gorgeous granite countertops and new flooring) and was the perfect price for our budget. It's in a super family friendly neighborhood, and is going to be so perfect for us.
It has four bedrooms (the twins will still share) two living spaces, a two car garage (plus a shed!) and raised beds in the backyard for a garden for Wyatt, our little gardener. He's SO sad to leave behind our garden. Especially this year when it is doing so well. It helps him to know that we are inheriting a beautiful garden there (even though it doesn't have pumpkins- sorry buddy!) and that next year we will have room to grow even more things!
Putting... our house on the market Wednesday after filling out all the paperwork (dang, there's a lot of paperwork!) and being shocked when we had three showings that evening. We packed up our crew and headed to the water park (pool) to kill time until we could come home.
Grateful... that our dinner plate hibiscus chose to bloom the day our house went live. The plant is HUGE and kind of over taking the front sidewalk. But I don't want to cut it back for fear it will limit the number of blooms we get, so we have let it grow rampant. I kept praying for it to bloom before any showings because at least if people could see the flowers, they would understand why we let it grow so out of control. Sure enough, it did. And it looks amazing!!!
Selling... our house Thursday after six more showings and an "above asking price" offer. Our minds are blown. Less than 24 hours after we listed it, we got a message from the realtor telling us an offer would be on its way.
Laughing... out loud when Carly went to the dentist and climbed up (for the first time) into the big kid chair and said, "Hey! How did I get so big?!?" I was cracking up all morning after that little comment. I have no idea, Carly May, how you got so big. I guess I must have blinked or something.
Learning... that our offer had been accepted on our new home and we were definitely going to get my dream house felt like a serious dose of unreality. Then I talked to our agent and she told me that we are going to try and close (and be moved) before school starts for the kids, and I really felt like I was dreaming. It's a long shot, and I am not counting on it, but it would sure be great to be moved in before school starts. Especially since Wyatt will be changing elementary schools.
Feeling... so proud of the Before/After photo my sister created of our house. The first picture is from the original listing we purchased it from (in June 2016) and the bottom picture is from July 2019. Just three years between the two pictures, and such a change. It's truly amazing to see.
Reading... our local book club book
Moloka'i (which was my pick!) and loving it so much once I got started (do you ever notice some books are like that? you need to read 50 or 100 pages to really get into it?); and listening to
The Mother-in-Law on audio.
The Mother-in-Law was a classic whodunit that kept me interested and listening every chance I had. But it also made me think about things from a mother-in-law's perspective. It was very well written. I highly recommend it.
Moloka'i is unbelievable, yet based on historical facts, and reminds me what humans can endure and how far we have come in the last 100 years. It's about a leper colony they used to have in Hawaii, where they sent everyone who was infected. It's really well done.
Dealing... with jaw tension from all the stress of everything that's going on around me. I am trying to remember to walk or meditate each day, but there are only so many hours and with all four kids home, and the house to keep tidy and paperwork to do for the sale/purchase of the houses... it's been a LOT lately. Phew!!! {Prayers welcome!}
Loving... how in the parking lot Carly always wants to hold Wyatt's hand, not mine. Their bond is a special one. I hope it always stays that way.
Also loving... how the other night at dinner, even though she ate 5 slices of watermelon, she announced when she was done, "I still don't like watermelon, though. I still don't."
And loving... her pose at the pool when I was trying to get a shot of her "America" bathing suit. The girl is just a hoot. I don't know where she gets it, but I love every minute of it. She is 100% sass and attitude. Just how a girl with three older brothers needs to be. ;)
Going... to the pool with Josh and the twins sans Carly & Wyatt Thursday when Josh's mom had them. You guys. It was the thing I have been dreaming of my whole life. Logan & Jack swam, Josh and I napped in the sun, I read my book, we got churro's from the snack shack... it was the stuff dreams are made of. I can't wait to go back and do it again. Ahhhhhh! The sweet life!
Braving... the pool by myself with all four kids another day this week. It's such a relief that Logan doesn't have seizures anymore because I am able to confidently take all four of them by myself to the pool with no concerns of being spread too thin. It helps, too, that Wyatt has become (taller, and) a much more confident swimmer than he was last summer. I am so proud of him. Of all of them, really. Even Carly is a little fishy!!!
Paying... out the big bucks for Jack's teeth. That poor tooth fairy of ours is going to also need to refinance her house if Jack keeps this up. We went to the orthodontist to get his wire changed and his bands replaced and as soon as she took out the wire, he could feel that one tooth was loose, so we went over to the sink and he pulled it out. Then she noticed another one, so he pulled that out. He said the noise of them coming out is not his favorite. Then! She was putting the wire back in, and noticed TWO MORE loose teeth on the
other side of his mouth! So he pulled those ones out.
Creating a grand total of FOUR lost teeth, all with BRACES brackets on them.
Normally he would have lost them one by one, but the braces kind of held them in for a while longer. Kid made BANK when the tooth fairy came!!!
Enamored... after our first BBQ out at the land with Josh's parents & brother. After spending the day at the water park (sans Wyatt & Carly) we met up at Carol & Carl's 40 acres and had burgers & fries to kill more time as the last few people finished looking at our house. It was so fun to check out their garden, Carol's flowers and see the barn kitties that are currently living in the shop (and are so cute it hurts).
After dinner, the kids played frisbee with Josh and it was just the most wholesome family fun ever and it made me so pumped for all the BBQ's and family days to come out at their place. Their house is currently being built, and all the "future" things we've talked about are becoming very real. It's so exciting.
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Making me laugh:
{thanks, Roxanne, I needed that}
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| #accurate |
Meditating on this as we move forward...
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