If These Walls Could Talk

They would certainly have great insight into the last four years surrounding our lives.

As we pack up our things and prepare to leave, I feel like this is an appropriate time to reflect on what we have been through at this house…

-       Uncertainty – So much of our time in Greenfield has been cloaked in uncertainty. When we first arrived in September 2007, we had just recently purchased the Epcon Franchise and had settled in on a construction site (which is NOT where we are currently building) and were just beginning to realize that the housing bubble had officially burst. Fortunately, our passion for building and our stick-to-it-tive-ness won out in the end and we continued down the path of Timber Run. It has been an incredibly long journey fought with fears, tears, uncertainty and a much doubt, but we are finally at a stage that we are comfortable with where we stand. Truly, I don’t think it has been until the last 6-12 months that we have felt at home here in Greenfield.

-       New Friends – Oh this is probably the best part! While we haven’t had the parties we used to have with our friends in Ohio, we have made some great friends. I think the lack of “parties” is so much of that is due to our having kids now. Jana, Tom and the kids have made some great memories in this house. Here are some pics of my favorite night in the backyard with Jana, Tom and the kids…

Then, there are the other friends we have made through Rotary, preschool and just being around town. I feel very lucky to have been welcomed to town.

-       Old Friends – We’ve had some great times with friends from our pre-Greenfield days coming to visit. My favorite visits are Eric and Sarah Baker. The first time they came to town was when Sarah was pregnant with Oliver. We call that weekend “flea-it-nam.” Trigger ended up with fleas and then Martini (their dog) ended up with them too. Of course, I had to work that day, so Sarah ended up doing laundry and Eric and Tom flea bombed the house and bathed the dogs. I can’t remember if that was the same trip that we decided to go the farmer’s market and drove in to find two vendors set up. Either way, not a super fun visit. We did manage to make it to Tuttle's though. 

The next time they came to visit was a little better except that Tom decided that was the weekend he was going to put in the firepit – with Eric’s help. I remember thinking “Welcome to our house…here’s a shovel…now get to work…” By now, Oliver was born, so the kids had fun with him.

On their third visit, Sarah was again pregnant, and so was I. We decided to make a trip to Conner Prairie (why not? We were 8 months pregnant and it was 95 degrees outside…) The kids had a blast and we did get some good pics…

The last time they were out to visit was probably the best visit. All five kids were here and out of the womb. The bigger kids played nicely and the adults were able to chat.

-       Politics – Tom will talk politics all.the.time. And, we are pretty staunch conservatives. However, I will say that during our time in this house, a truly historic thing happened with Barack Obama’s election to the highest post in the land. I went to a sales conference the day after he was elected and someone asked the trainer what he thought about the election (he was a known Republican) and he said something truly enlightening. He said, “Even though I may not agree with his politics, one thing is certain, a truly remarkable thing has just occurred in this country – a black man has been elected as President. No longer can any person say ‘I can’t because…’ Or ‘Things aren’t fair because…’ A black man was just elected as president.” We witnessed history. Plus, I can remember when Sarah Palin was running as Vice President too. While I didn’t necessarily agree that she was the right choice, she was a major motivating factor in how I decided to run and train for my first half-marathon. I decided that if she could do it with her five kids, running a vice-presidential campaign and parenting a special needs child, I could probably make it work.

-       Birthdays - Every one of the kids have celebrated all their birthdays here with the exception of Josie’s first.  While the big celebration may have been at school, in Ohio or elsewhere, they usually woke up here in this house on their big day.

-       Firsts – songs, words, smiles, steps, day of school – Josie was 18 months old when we moved here and Tessa was two months old. Josie sang her first song in our kitchen and Tessa and Jack both took their first steps here. I can remember first day of school photos for Josie at Bradley and tucking them into bed the first time out of cribs too. It’s amazing that four years later, we still have the same bedtime routine as four years prior, right down to the rainbow song that Tom made up one night.

-       Births – Who could forget that Jack spent his first night home in this house? I remember the day before he was born like it was yesterday. Mom was here and we were working on cleaning the back porch and getting ready for the 4^th of July celebration we decided to have here instead of at the lake. I remember pulling into the driveway and seeing dad’s car and then having an extremely strong contraction and realizing I would probably have Jack very soon. Then, I can remember bringing Jack home to a back porch full of family. And, all the work that they had done – painting, cleaning, landscaping – and how full of emotion I was that I couldn’t even speak. Then, of course, just the memories of newborn Jack on the couch with me and in the little bouncer are enough to bring this mom to tears.

-       Celebrations – Aside from our birthdays and births, we have had so many things to celebrate here. Tom and I stood in this kitchen when we heard that Katie and Jason were expecting Clark and then again when they found out about the twins. The kitchen was also the gathering place after our Preview Party for Timber Run at which we took in reservations for our first homes. We’ve toasted every contract and every closing in this home too. We were also fortunate enough to host Christmas this year with all the fixings.

-       Business Plans – Oh boy. This is where I could go on and on, but I won't for fear someone may steal our ideas. :) Tom and I have probably solved the world’s problems 100 times over in this house. He especially, has enough good ideas to get a think-tank working overtime. For now, we’ve settled on kicking tail on Timber Run and working on a few things that are in the wings and may be discussed on a future blog post.  J

In the end, a house is simply four walls to protect you from the heat, cold, rain and snow, but really it is so much more than that. It is a place to capture memories with family and friends. Our house at 1122 E 500 N has been that memory catcher and virtually the foundation for starting our family and will not be forgotten. As much as I’m looking forward to building a new home and moving on to the next chapter in our life, I reflect with fondness on our days in this home and hope I can continue to cherish the memories built here.

You Don't Know How It Feels

Oh yes I do... (refer to post title - yes - Tom Petty's CD just happens to be one of the old CD's found at the garage sale that made it's way into my car)

So, we're always telling our customers, just list your house! Try it out and see how things go! Things will never change if you don't make the effort! Well, we took our own advice and got the house listed. And, it went well or so it would appear on the surface. Under contract in 40 days and closing about 30 days after that. Really couldn't have gone too much faster.

Now, to dig a little deeper. The stress of inspection issues, waiting on the appraisal and preparing the new rental house have been enough to drive a person insane! I'm still not ready to document all the back and forth and probably won't ever be ready. I'm shoving those memories deep inside my sub-conscience. But, it is a good lesson in patience and really good for us to see what our customers go through when they sell their home.

I've always known that moving is one of the top life stressors. There is no doubt in my mind now. I found this article discussing the particular stress on women and children to back up my stressful reactions to seemingly little things. I'm ready for next Thursday when we truly hand off the keys and can begin to get settled in the new place.

Now, about that new place... We are renting a house from good friends that were in the process of fixing it up. Tom and I just went over today and it looks great! Brand new paint job, brand new floors and I feel like I'll have a new house. It's just a little taste of how I suppose moving into the new house will actually feel.

We are in the middle of going back and forth on a building lot right now too. That paired with the closing/packing/moving of our house, closing on three Timber Run homes in July, starting to brainstorm on the new house and life in general have created a bunch of work, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. We'll get through this just as we get through everything and then we'll look back and say "I can't believe we did that!"

Success! In More Ways Than One!

I haven't written much this week because it's been a true roller coaster of emotion. We had some issues with the inspection report. I won't go into them now because they're all a thing of the past. But, needless to say, I wasn't too sure the house sale was actually going to go through. Finally, on Saturday afternoon, we received word that we would have official paperwork soon, which we did receive. We sent it back to the agent yesterday afternoon and are now official. Well, except that the appraisal has to go through. I'm not too worried about it but it's still one more wild card. Closing is scheduled for 7/22 and possession on 7/28.

I'd be worried about getting out, but I'm compartmentalizing and only thinking of a room at a time. We made awesome progress on the garage getting ready for the sale. Now, we just have to get all of that sale stuff out! I'm trying to decide how to handle it all - donate? auction? It seems like a lot for one organization to get and it would be so much better suited to sort it out. But, calling AmVets and having them pick it all up is so easy.

The garage sale was very successful! We still have a bunch of stuff left but sold over $800 worth of stuff, so we must have gotten rid of a lot too!

Today has just been a recoup day for the kids (they're exhausted!) and a catch up day for me. Laundry, dishes and calling various places about the move has certainly kept me busy. Now, we're off to run a few errands in the scorching heat! Later, the girls will go to gymnastics. We'll probably do three classes this week since we've missed so many!

House is SOLD!

Yep that's right! After 18 showings, 40 days on the market and lots of crazy cleaning, the house is under contract (for 97.8% of list price)! We still have to get through inspections, their house has to close on 7/1 and they have to finalize financing. All of these things, I have been assured by their agent, are not a problem and we should be good to close on 7/15. They want us out by 7/21.

So, this creates a few obvious issues. Since we want to build, we need transitional housing. Originally, we thought, oh no big deal, we'll just stay in an apartment while we build. Now that the time is actually here, that's not sounding appealing AT ALL! I'm not sure how we would do. OK, honestly, we'd be fine. It's a fine backup plan.

However, today, we'll be taking a look at a friend's house that they're working to finish as a flip. It may just work. Double bonus - it's close to Timber Run and it's close to the site we're considering for our new house - in between the two really.

We're also going to walking the home site we're considering today too. Here's a map of the site we're thinking about... (You can zoom in to see it up close.)


View Larger Map

This is the floor plan that is my current favorite. It changes frequently though, so who knows...

This will give us a lot to talk about and think about while we're back in Ohio this week. My goal is to determine where we'll be living in the interim and then get to a 90% decision on the lot we're going to buy. Then, when we get back, we can put in an offer on the lot (contingent on our house actually closing). Also while we're gone, I'm going to be working on what goes in storage, what gets sold (yes, I'm going to plan a garage sale in the middle of all this), and what goes to the new interim spot.

And, then there's the issue of Josie and kindergarden. Poor girl is so excited to go to Eden and even knows her teacher's name. (Now, I haven't told her that teachers have been moved around anyway, but that's not important now.) I think after the buyer's house closes and we get inspection taken care of, we'll share the news with the kids and start talking about the new school, which is Mt. Comfort Elementary. I need to call the school and see if we can get her in school even though we won't be in the district at the first of the year and what we need to do to get that going.

I've started a new notebook for all of this. Someday, I'll blog about my notebook system, which is awesome. Well, I think so anyway. Usually, I do everything in one notebook, but I think the sale, move, build, etc. deserves it's own.

Nothing Says Monday Like...

8:55 AM dentist appointments! Both girls did great - no cavities. I'm still amazed at how well they sit there and let the hygienist work on their teeth. Josie even got a flouride treatment.

And, I've had two calls this morning for more house showings - one tonight and one tomorrow night. That makes number 16 & 17. Crazy if you ask me! The one tomorrow sounds pretty promising. They've already sold their house and have to make a decision fast. The agent asked me how fast we can be out. Well, that depends on the right offer. :) It's so funny to me that our lives could be turned upside down with a simple email or fax. Put us right into hyper-motion with the move and finding a place to live. Oh well. We've gone through worse. I'm really trying to see it as an adventure and not a stressful time.

Finally, I hit the scale this morning and was down a whopping four pounds!!!! As I mentioned last night, I knew I had some "junk" weight I had gained from bad decisions. I'm now back down to where I probably was last week, which is a good starting point for me. Ideally, I'd like to lose three more pounds this week to put me in a new 10's place. Plus, that would be my new, post-Jack low. Today's number puts me six pounds lower than where I was BEFORE I got pregnant with him. Then, I'd like to lose another 10 doing TurboFire. That would put me five pounds lower than pre-Josie. Honestly, I know it's attainable, but it's going to be a lot of work. More work on the diet than on the exercise. One of the things in the TurboFire book says, "The best exercise to achieve awesome abs is walking. Walking AWAY from the kitchen!"