Bittersweet

Moving is bittersweet. Not a great revelation I know... but it's SO true.

Today I went to a real estate office and signed all of the paperwork. We officially sold our house. For a week we are homeless (not without lodging, just without a permanent place to land). As I walked through the house this morning and took out the last of the trash it was emotional. Everywhere I looked there was a memory. There was virtually nothing in that house that we hadn't updated or remodeled. As I looked around I was flooded by memories of countless hours and the blood sweat and tears that coincided with them. Justin and I did a lot of growing up in that house. We taught ourselves to repair and replace things, we painted more than you might believe, and we learned all about the true costs of homeownership.

But beyond the bones of the house there were so many memories. That is the only house Evan has ever known. I will miss how he learned where the cereal was and he would bring it to me every morning, and multiple other times during the day. I watched him today as he walked around with me and realized that he is just about the age Caleb was when we moved here... This is the only house Caleb really remembers, and the longest he's ever lived in one place. In his lifetime before moving here the longest he'd ever been in one place was 6 months... Such sweet memories of that boy around the house. (And the crazy ones, like the day when he was under 2 and he stood in the middle of the street and followed up that little stunt by putting corn up his nose, or the day he put beads up his nose.) And Elizabeth was so sweet and little when we moved here. She is still so sweet, and still little, but she has grown so much. She spent almost 3 entire summers outside running through the yards and playing with her friends. Unknown hours of pretend and riding and racing were seen by this house. I know this move is hardest for her. She understands what is happening. She understands what she is leaving behind. She has always had a hard time with goodbyes. Yesterday as we told our neighbor friends goodbye it was no exception. She hugged and cried, and hugged some more. My favorite thing was that she asked her sweet friend Samairee to walk her back home. This is what I caught:

For me? It's hard. I look around and see great times we've had a as a family. I see the place where I solidified my independence. I know I can handle a lot as a parent. I see the place where I learned to do it by myself and how to get through life without having my husband around. I spent a lot of time alone in that house. I missed family terribly from that house. I had great friendships form in that house. That house was a sanctuary for a friend in times of great trial. It was a wonderful old house.

That pretty much sums it up. It's hard. It's final. It's bittersweet. I'm almost in tears as I type this... and we are still in pittsburgh for another 26 days... Oh my this could get ugly...

Life long friends...

I'm a girl, so it's a given that I'm a social creature. But God knows me so well, and in every stage of my life He has provided amazing friends. The kind of friends you know you will have, and keep up with for all of your life.
I have girls from high school that I still get together with, ladies from Colorado that I'm currently playing fantasy football with, more wonderful women who share my heart in Iowa, and finally my 6 best friends from college.
Over Labor Day weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to spend the weekend with "the girls," my college friends. We've all been together only once since college graduation and none of them had ever met my sweet little Caleb. It was an absolutely wonderful weekend. They are just the kind of friends that as soon as you are together it is as if you had never been apart. The weekend was full of silliness, lounging, being loud, making fun of each other, and the most serious conversations about all aspects of life.
I love you girls! You are great. Thanks for being so wonderful to my kids, and making my life so much fun. I love all of you so much, and I hope we keep up these reunions forever!
I wanted to post a picture of the "Sassy 7" but my computer isn't cooperating. That will have to come on another day.

What I love about blogging

What I love about Blogging is that so many people are doing it. I just spent the last hour finding things out about old friends and acquaintances. I love that my college was small enough that I can find all sorts of people just by clicking links and following trails of friends. It's also fun to know that I can keep up with my friends from here once we move too.
The only thing I don't like is the debate to comment or not to comment. I spend time wondering if people I was not really good friends with are going to think I am strange to look them up after all this time. But to tell you the truth, I think it is neat to know that friends old and new, both close and casual can find out about me on the web. So no matter who you are, if you want to comment please do!
What is your favorite thing about blogging?