11 Years and A New Adventure

Chris and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary this weekend. We spent the day by hosting a Yard Sale... It was actually a lot more fun than you might think.

We've sold our little house on Josh Drive. To be clear, we have yet to sign the final closing papers, so it is not all quite done as of yet. But we have completed all the necessary steps, such as completing the home inspection, appraisal, as-built survey, and accepting earnest money.

We have turned in our two weeks' notice at church, as we will be moving to a different congregation and our jobs in the old ward must now be filled by others. We have sorted and thinned our possessions and clutter, selling some, donating others, and storing only the most precious or necessary.

We have cared for the lawn, washed the windows, and tidied up the storage shed.

We should be closing within two weeks, hopefully sooner. I'll be waxing nostalgic for our cozy little home in the upcoming days, I'm sure, but for now, here's an overview of our time here:

When we first moved in, Brian was a young boy, Casey was just learning to walk, and Abby was still a twinkle in her father's eye. Brian has grown into a strapping lad capable of mischief, Casey is tearing around the neighborhood on her two-wheeler, and Abby pretty much runs the show most days.

We've painted the house, outside and in. We've updated lighting fixtures (thanks, TLD!) and bathroom details. We've planted trees, flowers, ferns, raspberries, rhubarb, and a wicked awesome strawberry patch that I will hate to leave.

We've made good friends in the neighborhood, great friends at school, and lifelong friends at church and elsewhere. We've found paths to ride and walk... To the grocery, school, store, library, and pool.

Not that it's always been sunny day experiences. We've also had to deal with just one tiny bathroom for 5 folks. And, a one-car garage that does not accommodate my sweet husband's vehicle on those -40 degree mornings when he is leaving to go to work at 6 AM and his heater does not work. And, don't forget about the neighbors' dogs, Cat Lady and her funky son, an impending road project, and teenagers skipping school to party at the freaky house down the street.

We are off on a new adventure. We'll be building our home this time. It promises to be a learning experience, hopefully one that we can all enjoy along the way and at the end. My thoughts turn constantly to details such as figuring out how to make our floorplan flow smoothly, how to create a warm feeling in our new home, and giddy excitement for the whole process. We'll be building a not-too-large home this time, but it will be on a full unfinished basement that we can grow into. Plus, we will suddenly have 2 bathrooms, 2 garages, and a full acre of trees to play in.

So, here's to new adventures, just across town.

And, here's to another 11 years and more with my sweetheart by my side for the journey.