Saying Farewell

This post has been a long time coming, but I really haven’t had the heart to write it—nor was anything close to finalized—and so off it was put. 

See that sign?

We sold our house.

We sold our house! 

We sold our house…

We sold our house???

We sold our house—and it’s so incredibly bittersweet that I can hardly stand it!

Hmmm…I really wasn’t sure how to write that sentence, but I think all of the above suffice.  For those scratching their heads and wondering where in the world this came from, let me provide a bit of background.  First, we purchased our little shanty back in 2010 to take advantage of the low housing prices and gain some sweet equity.  We had no idea what a whopper of work we were diving into.  Oh, how ignorance is bliss…

We had no idea how much we would love our neighbors and the trees and the quaint aspects of downtown living…how many “firsts” we would experience in this place. 

We had no idea how stinkin’ much God would bless our family in this home. 

Our hearts have become so tangled up in this lovely place we call home—lovely for so many other reasons than paint colors (um, beige, beige, and more beige—color phobia girl talking) and furniture. 

But, we also knew that a two bedroom, one bathroom house really wasn’t much to grow into.  Could we live here with more kiddos?  Sure.  Is it something we desire to do long-term?  Not really.  For a bunch of reasons, we really felt like it was time to sell.  After much deliberation, prayer, wheedling back and forth, talking with our realtor team, and just plain hashing it out late into the night, we put her on the market in September.  She went under contract in less than a month, and we were thrilled.  Then we got out of dodge and holed up in Hawaii, trying to forget the packing and planning awaiting us.  Then reality hit.  We purged, packed, and cleaned like mad.  And yesterday morning we officially closed on the house at 9 am.  While it was difficult to walk away, we are excited about the new homeowner.  He loves rock climbing and the tree-lined street—overall, he just  seems to appreciate the neighborhood and knows he got a great home.  We promised not to stalk the house.  : )

If you’re wondering where we’re planning to move to, well, join the crew!  We’ve kept a close eye on the housing market for quite awhile, and nothing has jumped out at us.  It’s possible that we’ll move into a new home build, but it’s also just as possible that we’ll find a pre-owned home as we continue to scout things out over the coming months.  For now, we plan to rent a home downtown (only a few blocks from our current place) from a family in our church.  But, at this very moment we’re living with friends while we wait for our rental to be emptied, which will happen toward the first part of December.

Life feels pretty nuts right now, but it’s good, because we trust in a God who is so good—all the time, as a dear friend so often reminds me.  I needed that reminder this past weekend when the realization hit me that so many of the things that have shaped my life are no longer going to exist.  Things like teaching, this home…two things that I’ve loved and honed and worked at with a great deal of passion over the years.  It’s a new season of life.  Sometimes that scares me—because I have no idea where we’ll land and what sort of vision I should have for what’s next—and yet it’s exciting to see what’s around the bend.  It’s also a reminder that no matter how important our daily doings are in shaping our identity, they are not ultimately where our true identity lies.

For those who’ve encouraged and helped us along the way, thank you!  And of course, we bid a fond farewell to the chic shanty that has given us some of our greatest grief (roof and rain post) and yet housed so much joy.