A stroll down memory lane....

After almost nine months of waiting and wondering how everything was going to play out... we're down to four more days (including today) in Maryland. I've spent the last three weeks tied up in details of switching utilities, addresses, contracts, and weaving in good-byes. I'm exhausted- but room by room- our home of the past seven years is almost packed up. Its shocking how much we've accumulated- and we're the people who give away and throw away-- so, I'm not really sure how that happened. Regardless, the time is quickly approaching when we will pile our children into our trucks and make that 800 mile trek to Tennessee.

People keep asking if I'm excited- the short answer is yes. I'm excited about the prospect of the future- I'm excited about a fresh start with the man that God has given me and the children that God has blessed us with. Its been a tough few years- lots of struggles and bad days... and I am certain that there will be struggles and bad days in the south- but for right now- I'm hopeful that we'll weather those with renewed strength as a family. Chris's job layoff signaled a confirmation for us that we had been waiting for- the doors are closing for us here- and we are anticipating the opening doors that we'll venture into soon enough in Tennessee. It's exciting, at the least.

We will be leaving here 2 days shy of our 11th anniversary in Maryland. On August 1, 2000, we packed up two cars and headed up here from North Carolina. Its kind of funny looking back. We sold off or gave away the majority of our things- knowing that we'd be living with Chris' parents for awhile so we could save for a down payment to buy a house. We only had Nicolas- who was only 1 and few months old. Within the course of 10 months- Chris and I were homeowners for the first time at the ripe old ages of 21and 23. I remember our agent telling us back then how refreshing it was to see a young couple who "had it together." We loved our townhouse and worked hard to improve it- and almost three years to the day- we sold it for a huge gain and moved into 106 Williams street. While in our townhouse, we brought home two baby girls- first, Julia and then Emma. Within a matter of five months of Em's birth, we moved into this house. Its crazy, none of the kids really have any memory of the town house. Its okay- we have lots of photos and mine and Chris' memories are full. When we moved into this house- we knew that God had hand delivered this house to us- as we were in the peak housing market boom and homes were selling within hours of being listed. We looked and looked and really wanted to be in the neighborhood with his parents- but weren't able to find a place big enough for our family of five. Then, the day we were scheduled to sign to list our town house for sale- we went and looked at a home that we were settling on in Abingdon- a split level- that we were gearing up to put a contract on. Diane (my mother in law) had gone with us and was arriving back at home when she found her next door neighbors outside power washing their siding. Diane began talking to them and quickly found out that those neighbors were listing their house for sale that afternoon- Diane was listening to them talk as she was dialing Chris' cell phone. Within a matter of minutes, Chris and my mom were walking through this house and within a matter of an hour, I was also walking through with our agent. Long story short- the neighbors practically gave us the house for a price that was $25k UNDER appraisal value in a very competitive housing market. This home brought a third baby girl, and a fourth child to our family- and the official realization that we had outgrown our home.

As the past month has unfolded- it has become crystal clear that our direction is right. It's funny- we found the town and the exact neighborhood that we wanted to be- but I believe the Lord guided our paths to 1405 Peppermint Lane. It wasn't ideal- we lost our "dream house." However, while in Nashville three weeks ago, as we looked at what is going to be our home- we knew the house was different. Locks and gates put up high, a fully fenced back yard, details in the home that made it ideal for Sophie. When we talked to the owner and Chris discussed our family, Chris mentioned the security in the home being ideal for our little one with special needs- it was then revealed that the family who had moved out of this home had an autistic son. Crazy?! Upon another trip back to the home, we met the very friendly neighbors- who each have three children of their own- all the same ages as our children. We also find out that one neighbor is a special education teacher! What's further an interesting fact is that this house was only for sale- but when I contacted the owner asking if he would be interested in renting (as I contacted every other homeowner for sale in the neighborhood with 4 bdrms or more that had been listed for more than 60 days; a total of about 15 homeowners)--this homeowner was the ONLY one interested in renting. Once again, we felt our home had been delivered to us.

So, yes, we are excited. We will miss our family here a great deal- and we will miss our friends- the true ones. The ones who have stood by us and who have walked this journey with us- loving us and praying for us and with us. But what's great is knowing that those true friendships last through garbage and love reigns high--- and we'll have plenty of space for company when they come to visit. The most valuable thing I've learned from my 11 years in Maryland: God is faithful when we are faithless.

seasons change...

We've spent the past 8-9 months with our home on the market- looking for a potential buyer. We've had probably 50-60 showings in those many months. So, of course, you can imagine how frustrated we've become as we've had buyer after buyer come in the doors and then leave with no offer made. Over the course of those 9 months, we've made repairs to the house- some cosmetic and some major. We've done every thing in our power to entice a buyer- including drop the price some $50k.

In the meantime, we've been building our dream home in Nolensville, TN- in a development called Ballenger Farms. Nolensville is a great small town- that was the perfect compromise between Chris' desire to be rural and mine to not be secluded. WE love Nolensville.

SO- I'll fast forward to Wednesday of this week. Chris went to work and called me saying that something was "wrong" at work. He said he suspected that someone may be getting laid off. An hour or so passed and he called me. His exact words were "do you want the good news or the bad news?" Of course, I requested the bad news first. He continued to inform me that his whole department/office was being laid off. I said "what's the good news?" His response- "I'm on my way home."

For us- this week- even in light of this 'bad' news- has been a peaceful and enlightening one. We started realizing that possibly the reason our prayers for our house to sell hadn't been answered because we needed to wait... for Chris' job to disappear. Confused? As the last week has unfolded, we have had clarity. The important things in life aren't what house we're living in or building or what job you slave away at all day. The important things in life are the lives of those people who you come home to every day. For us, our address doesn't matter... our family DOES. So, with all of that being said... we will be moving to Nolensville in three weeks (7/31). After speaking to our agent and lendor in Tennessee, it became clear that due to Chris' job loss that we won't be able to secure a loan for our dream home at this point. We signed the paperwork to release us from our contigent contract on our house today. On the flip side, we were able (in a very short amount of time- Thank You, Lord) to secure a 4 bdrm 3 bath 3k sq foot home in the SAME development in Nolensville to move into in just 3 weeks. Not only did we find a perfect replacement home in Nolensville but also secured a qualified renter on our home in Bel Air to move in on 8/1. One year leases all around- and acceptable terms for everyone. The craziness of this twist of events may scare some people... but we are secure and living in peace.

Life will be nuts over the next few weeks as we transition- but we've known for awhile that we were headed for change in our family... and now, it is finally coming. It will be bittersweet leaving our home of the last 11 years but exciting to walk into the next chapter.