late night ramblings

So, it's not often I am stuck awake, trying to fall asleep. But so I am, here in the office, at 11:48pm awake with my mind racing. You can't really blame me though. I mean, we have a lot of big stuff going on in our lives.

The obvious- the house. Here we are, ready to move on with our lives, on to bigger and better things. I mean, we are going from 1190 square feet to an unimaginable 1900+ house (plus two car garage). It will fill up quickly, but we are so blessed to be able to make the move and "upgrade" our surroundings. I have told people from the beginning. A house is a house. It stays where it is and people move in and out of it. Your home is where your heart (and your family) is. It's where you live, breathe, sleep, work, play, laugh, and love. So, though I try to look at everything objectively and say "Eagle Road is just a house. We are taking everything we love with us." It's hard to make my heart believe that sometimes. I mean, Eagle Road has so many memories and a special place in my heart....
-It's our first home: Chad and I had only been married 9 months when we came upon home ownership. It was a scary and exciting time, and we were excited to have the opportunity to OWN, and not rent, so quickly after marriage.
-Brooklyn's first (and only home): She took her first scoots, crawls, and steps in that living room. She drank her first bottle on the couch. She cried for her mommy and daddy from her bedroom. She peeled the wallpaper from the wall above where she could lay on her changing table. She bathed (and peed) in the tub. She snuck in our bedroom at night. She moved to a big girl bed. She learned to use the potty. She played in the backyard.
-The backyard: Ahhh, it was our pride and joy. So lush and green. How we will miss you.
-My gardenias: I didn't even know what they were when Emily helped me buy them, but they are beautiful and bloom so often. And I don't even have to remember to water them. :-)
-Vaccuming: One plug reaches the whole house. Need I say more?
-The hole: That hole that my dad put in the wall between the dining room and the living room made all the difference in the world. It opened that space up more than I ever imagined it would.
-The Stevensons: Jon and McKenzie are literally a 58 second run away down the street. Close enough where they were our "go to" family for anything we needed in a pinch. I think we kept their flashlight for about 8 months. We'll miss sharing Eagle Road with you, and just remember guys, I have been scoping houses out in AF for you already!

So, I know that these are little things and I have taken enough pictures of everything to last a lifetime, and I have many things to look FORWARD to with the new house. To name just a few initial excitements:
-Duel sinks in the master bath
-Cool sink nozzle/sprayer in the kitchen
-Hardwood floors
-A place to have a big Christmas tree (in the LIVING ROOM)
-New carpet and paint upstairs (that I didn't have to do!)
-Side by side fridge with an ice maker (that's connected!)
-Retractable, remote controlled awning on the patio (cement, not brick- yay!)
-Neighbors with kids (three years old, too!)
-A dutch barn (as opposed to the "out house" looking contraption we call storage now)
-A bonus room (or as Brooklyn calls it, "her dancing space")
- CLOSETS (or as Brooklyn calls them, "her hiding spaces")
-A breakfast table (more chairs for everyone!)
-Surround sound

So, these are just things that I see from just a few visits....there will be more, I am sure, and I am sure I will lose sleep over the next week or so worrying about everything that will transpire over the next week: from closing back to back houses, to painting, to moving, to moving the BIG stuff, to remodeling, and finally, to closing the door to Eagle Road one last time with the keys inside and saying "Goodbye." It's an emotional time and I am not an emotional person, so this should be interesting to say the least.

Some prayer requests: Pray for us as we make this move. And please pray for me as I deal with some pretty complicated issues at work ("Stress at the Girl Scout office?," you might say, "Really?") You would be surprised. And finally, pray for our band, Grace Reigns Down, as we have been afforded some great opportunities over the next several months and we are working to discern God's path for us and how we can best be His servants.

Am I tired yet? Did typing a long post help? Kinda....but now I have to research baby gates for stairs. Never had to worry about that before, and even though Brooklyn is 3, I am dead set on having a gate at the top of the stairs for her "midnight visits." :-)

Reality

It's for real now...the paperwork has been signed and we are under contract....I am scrambling around now looking for a new home for the Johnson family.

update to the house update

So...where to begin...I guess I would just say to all you home sellers out there- "Take your house off the market!". As I said in my last post, we decided to take it off for a few weeks to "breathe" and allow us to just start over in August fresh and new. Well, this week I went home for lunch in the afternoon one day and found an elderly couple sitting in front of my house. Chad was inside trying to reach me on my cell (which was ringing as I was walking up the driveway). They approached Chad and asked if they could see the inside of the house. They were looking for their daughter and grandchild. Well, against my better judgement and how my mother raised me, we let strangers in our home. So, I sized them up deciding that I could take the older lady and Chad would have to get the man, had my phone in hand ready to dial 9-1-1 in case they tried anything funny, and positioned myself between them and the kitchen knives. We were ready for the house tour. It was quick, they were nice, said they would call our realtor, and left. Well, they did call Glenda, made an offer, we countered, they came back to look at the house, they accepted the counter-offer, they came back to look at the house, they signed the papers, we signed the papers, and the house is now sold- YIPPEE! It's been a whirlwind of a week, but we are excited about this new stage in our life. And when we return from vacation we will be in "find a new house" mode for a while.

So, the moral of the story is.....shake things up in the housing market and things will happen.

And now, I am in the "grieving for my old house" stage and thinking about all the things that I will miss....but that's for a future post.

house update

So, house selling lesson #8567: If you take your house off the market, people will come.

We have had our house on the market for 5 months now. The first 4 months were busy with activity and even two offers, but the last 4 weeks have been dry and lonely. So, this week we took the house off the market and then will re-list it as a brand new listing in August. Well, wouldn't you know it, this week alone our realtor has received two phone calls with people really interested in the house.

Hmmm.....what an interesting market we are in right now.

So....please think great thoughts for us as we continue to try new ways to sell our wonderful little home! :-)

TGIF!

So, within 8 days on the market, we have had two people come and view the house, and one person make an offer. It's pretty crazy! Now, it wasn't a great offer, so we are back in negotiations, but nonetheless, it's flattering to be wanted. :-) Keep your fingers crossed and the prayers coming as we embark on this new journey!

Tomorrow is our GRD show at First Lutheran's Chili Cookoff....it should be fun! There's rumors about white chili, dragon's breath chili, and many others, so it will definitely be a great contest!

Sunday is Brooklyn's 3rd birthday. That is entirely unbelievable.

update on eagle road

So, we were blessed to have two people come by and look at the house this weekend...not too bad after only being on the market for 4 days. It's exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time...now I want people to come by EVERY day and look! The house is so dang clean!

Chad painted the shutters and I worked on the kitchen and closets some more this weekend. Every little bit we can do will help with the sale I am sure!

number 11

11. I have found that if you conveniently forget to clean your kitchen, you may come home at 5pm to find your realtor wearing plastic gloves and cleaning it for you!

goodbye tv trays, hello candles!

So, we are either completely nuts or well....we're just completely nuts. We have decided to put our home up for sale and look for a larger one. Not that we are expanding our family anytime soon...we just think that the three of us have expanded ourselves a little too far in our current residence. I am full of mixed emotions now- excited, nervous, sad, nostalgic...just a mix! We bought our home 5 years ago with the intent on living there for 5 years. I thought I would want out after Brooklyn was born- I mean, how could we ever fit a BABY in this house with all our scrapbooking stuff and Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia- but we managed to make it a wonderful home. Though I know a new house is exciting and fun, I have this sense of "oh wow, that is where Brooklyn slept in her swing, started crawling, took her first steps, threw fish sticks on the floor"...the list is endless. BUT, we are excited about the adventure ahead and can't wait to see where God leads us next. I have found that working with a realtor is very strange. Here are just a few things I have discovered in the process:

1. You now share your house with someone else. It is not unusual for your realtor to stop by at 6pm with throw pillows and candles to "stage your house."

2. You may think the house is clean, but it's not clean enough.

3. Storage bins must leave the house. They belong in a storage shed, which I have had to purchase this week. A 5x10 holds a good amount of stuff.

4. Family pictures are great to have around- but they must be the right size, orientation, color, and amount.

5. TV trays must leave the premises immediately.

6. The Magic Eraser is your friend.

7. Greased Lightning is your BEST friend.

8. Parents are wonderful to help store your "valuables."

9. Children will get freaked out by the process of moving and a very perceptive two year old that I know has noticed every detail like the microwave changing counters, a stuffed animal missing, and the bed shifted over 12 inches.

10. Your home's sentimental value does not play any part in the "actual retail value." :-(