Mission Move: Completed.

(p.s. that's not us)

We did it! With lots of help from my brother-in-law Mike and his good buddy Garrett, and many many back and forth trips, we are all moved out of the ranch and into the farmhouse. I'm actually quite impressed with our moving skills - C and I went from completely living in the ranch to packing, moving, cleaning, and unpacking - in essentially 5 days from start to finish. Of course, I won't go into great detail about the number of boxes in the basement, but what we actually live with is all set up! (Note to self: what IS all that other crap in the boxes in the basement?!)

Anyway - so far so good. It feels very much like 'home' - more so than I thought. We've been enjoying the space, having two bathrooms, early morning coffee with occasional glimpses of deer in the yard, and even the commute hasn't been bad - carpooling rocks. More time with my love in the morning and the evening to catch up on our days, evening if it is while sitting in stop-and-go traffic. We went for a run yesterday after work (thank you Daylight Savings Time!) and found a great, semi-hilly route that should prove challenging. Tonight we are going to take the pups to a nearby dog park and check out the situation there. Purchasing this house is definitely on the table, and GG has been praying for it...we'll see!

One of the things I love the most is how many little anecdotes and stories C has been recalling - it's so cool to be in the space where his memories live.

From Bungalow to...Farmhouse?

It's hard to keep up, I know.

1. Summer - we sold our house to my mother-in-law. She thought she might like an income generating rental property, and we were ready to move on. She sweetly allowed us to stay until we found our own house with the promise that we would help her find some good tenants when the time came.

2. November - we put our offer in on the 69th street bungalow, knowing short sales can take a while to close. We thought it would be convenient to close sometime after the holidays. Chris' mom decided she didn't want to be a landlady, understandably, as she had found a perfect house for herself, and that was going to be enough to care for. We thought - it can't hurt to put our house on the market now then, as it will probably take a while to sell. Go for it!

3. December - my m.i.l purchased her new little perfect home, and put her farmhouse (minus the farm) up for sale, along with our house, hoping one would sell relatively soon (that's a lot of real estate for one lady to keep under her belt!)

4. January - farmhouse still for sale. Our house still for sale. Still waiting on the bungalow. Tick, tock, tick...

5. Sudden interest in our house - showed it twice, got and accepted the decent offer. Score! This will be perfect! Just in time for us to close on the bungalow.

6. Tick, tock, tick, tock....

7. Times up! We have to move out of our house, the closing is quickly approaching, still no word on a closing date for the bungalow, where to go? The OTHER house in the family that is for sale. Nice.

So - that's the "short" version. And I am excited!

When GG, which I was I will call my mother-in-law from now on because typing that out is getting annoying - first decided to sell the farmhouse, Chris immediately pitched the idea that WE should buy it. I was firmly against moving into my husband's childhood home. I didn't want to live the same life his parents lived, and his grandparents. Too many memories, too much history, too far away, and on and on. And suddenly, unexplainably, I have had a major change of heart. We've been praying for God's will to be done in this entire house situation, from the beginning. And we kept trying to interpret what that might be - but I think I'm learning...it's not a foreign language. His will is apparent, and as Chris always says, usually -if you have peace about something in your heart, you are heading in the right direction. As soon as we put the idea of moving to the farmhouse back on the table, all of the anxiety and question marks in my mind disappeared. It just felt right.

What's so wrong with history and memories? Those walls have seen a lot. His grandparents, who are beloved to me, raised each of their children there when it really was a farm. Chris' father grew up in that house - raised Chris in that house. I'm suddenly feeling the value of all that history - realizing it's something that is hard to come by. Not to mention the space - it's on an enormous lot, by our standards - we are used to living on a postage stamp parcel within the city limits. So maybe we move in and live there for two weeks, or two months, or twenty years. Who knows? The fact is, it's a new option and it feels good.

p.s. I am way more excited about modern farmhouse decor than I am about decorating a bungalow. I already have a folder started on my desktop of inspirational imagery. More to come!