Looking Back - We're Moving!
We're moving!
It has been the longest process ever but it's finally happening. Our family is moving to North Carolina! Andrew starts his intern year for his Pediatric Residency in the middle of June, so it'll all be here before we know it!
Sometimes, I think about the hard things that went on in this house we rented.
No AC for a summer, broken pipes, gun shots down the street, leaking roof, police cars outside in our neighborhood, no garage, never being able to take a walk outside with the kids by myself in the 3 years of living here, our power going out religiously on the coldest days of winter, and no pantry. We've had 5 people in this small home.
3 little boys in a small house. 3 boys that needed to "be quiet" when daddy had night shifts so he could sleep. No basement, no play area, and they even had to share a room. It's been hard. Probably hardest on me because the boys only know this house and think it's awesome. :) To them it's the best house they can imagine. I love that.
But, instead of focusing on the annoyances over the past 3 years, I want to remember the sweetest of times.
Because this place was our little cocoon. Our safe haven and the home where SO much happened. This place was small but cozy. These little boys are my besties and I loved watching them grow in this home. It will forever be sweet to us and I know I'll miss it.
In this house, Wesley moved into a big-boy bed. Reid learned to crawl and walk here. We brought Nate home from the hospital here.
All the boys shoveled snow, raked leaves, and mowed the lawn here with their Daddy. Wesley learned to drive his car in the backyard. Their imaginations skyrocketed when they dug in the dirt, played in their pirate ship, went on adventures in the trees, and had endless water fights and pool parties during the summer. They've been dirty and muddy and wet almost every day that we've lived here and I wouldn't have it any other way for my boys.
We've decorated for Christmas, learned manners, read books in our teepee, and made hundreds of cookies.
We've been forced to live in close quarters and because of that, it has forced us to be closer. If Nate cries, everyone is up. When Wesley has to go potty in the middle of the night, we all hear him. If someone is sleep talking, sleep walking or having a bad dream (*cough*...Wesley), we're all up. I hear every sneeze, laugh, and whisper through these walls. And the funny thing is, I know I'm going to miss it.
I'm going to miss not having to worry about stairs. Setting Nate down and being able to see him from wherever I am is a luxury at this point. I'm going to miss how easy this place is to clean and how if I light a candle for 10 minutes the whole house smells good.
I'm going to miss the boys covering every inch of the house with legos and blocks and dinosaurs, because at the end of the day I knew they were so happy. The boys would run up and down our hall tagging my hand at the end in the dead of winter to "let energy out" because we had no where else to go. I'm going to miss all the boys being in a small tub for bath time. I'm going to miss having the boys content in a small house.
Such good memories were made here and we learned so much. We learned to be thankful for what we have.
To focus on what God has given us rather than what we want.
We learned to make due and to work hard for what we want and to make believe outside almost every single day. We learned to downsize, sell what we don't need, and to only keep things that were absolutely necessary. We learned how to be content and rest in that.
I want the boys to remember all of these lessons!
I became a homebody here and this place made me realize that all I could ever want in this life is right in front of me....all my boys. Where these boys and my husband are, that is H O M E.
So with that, here's a little video of some fun memories made in this home over the past 3 years. Our home. A place we will never forget.