More Than Just a House

Our last week in our current house is here, which forces me to stop packing and just recall all of the wonderful memories we have had in this home.

This house is much more than just a house-so many things have happened within these walls over the last 8 years.  We welcomed our first furry friend a year after we moved in, and although he remained nameless for a few days, he became part of our family.  We've grown from a family of 2, to a family of 3, then a family of 5.  We've hosted holiday parties, tailgating get togethers, Bunco with the neighbors and baby showers.  The memories are countless.

Many firsts occurred in this home:  First steps, first birthdays, first smiles.  First dance moves, first somersaults and first flips off the couch.  Cookies for Santa were set out, pumpkins carved and Easter eggs dyed.  Tears have been shed, boo boos kissed and lots and lots of dirt has been washed down the bathtub drain.  We've had eight different Christmas trees, all chosen and cut from my dad's tree farm.  Each with varying decorations depending on who could reach the ornaments.

Each child has made numerous trips around and around our house, through the kitchen, into the dining room and through the foyer, pushing push toys, baby strollers or just running away from each other.  We've baked many birthday cakes, cookies and muffins, with each little one helping to add the ingredients.  Many bedtime stories have been read, songs sang and dances danced.  Justin and I spent hours and hours calming babies at night, walking around the house, to promote sleep before laying them back down.  Feeding twins in the middle of the night in front of the fireplace is a memory we will never forget.

These walls surrounded us when we gathered both families in the living room to discuss a scary health condition.  I can still picture where everyone was sitting when we made the announcement.  Justin's parents were told they were going to be grandparents for the first time in our living room.  Other important discussions regarding our lives occurred here:  Deciding to change jobs, picking names for our three children, choosing a daycare, and most recently deciding to move.

We have put a lot of hard work into this house.  Nearly every wall has been painted and every flooring replaced.  Updates galore have been done so we can enjoy this home even more.  It's hard to move away from a house you have put so much into.

Many balls have been kicked, thrown and hit in our backyard.  We've enjoyed hours of watching little ones run through the sprinkler, giggling and screaming.  Our three artists have made numerous creations on our driveway and sidewalk with chalk and sidewalk paint.  They've walked up and down the street in the rain, barefoot, carrying their umbrellas and splashing in the puddles.  Our Winters have consisted of making snow angels, being pulled around the house on a sled and building snowmen.  A few unwanted creatures have also enjoyed our place, living under our shed.  Over the years, we've trapped a raccoon (Rocky), a groundhog (Gordy), and a Opossum (Pete).  We delivered them all safely to a new home out in the country.  We've enjoyed the neighbors play set much more than they have and are so thankful they allowed us to use it.

Not knowing what the neighborhood would be like before we moved in, we definitely felt apprehensive.  We hit the jackpot with this neighborhood:  the people, the location, the parks, and the bike paths.  This is what makes it so hard to leave this house.  The day we moved in was the annual block party, allowing us to meet nearly everyone on the street.  We remember feeling a little overwhelmed that day, but looking back, that day demonstrated to us the type of neighborhood we were moving into.  We can't tell you the number of times our neighbors have helped us, (see previous post about 98th Street), and we know we will stay in contact with many of our current neighbors.

Today when I came home to an empty house and I had a mini breakdown-seeing the furniture gone solidifies what is happening.  Thankfully there was some leftover birthday cake to devour and cheer me up!

This move is bittersweet but we're looking forward to our next adventure.  We know the twins are too little to remember their first home but we'll have a plethora of pictures of help remind them.  Were hopeful Alena's little mind will recall many special memories.  Thanks for the memories 98th Street!