We've moved!

Moving is stressful...and expensive.

Saying goodbye to our "old" house was much harder than I thought.  But thanks to a supportive, understanding husband, I was pried away and we began the process of settling into our new house.

We had friends take the kids for several chunk of time so we could work on some much needed projects.

First on the list was Colin's room.  The colors were so bright that it made us literally sick to our stomachs.  It had to go, and fast.

Colin's room before

Colin's room after

Sunday was moving day. 

 After church, 10 wonderful men came to help us move.  I'm not even sure I can say "help" because they pretty much did all of the work.  They were beyond amazing.

And what's moving day without a little drama?

Ben went to pick up the truck, only to find they lost our reservation and didn't have a single truck on the lot to give us.  So while Ben scurried to find a truck (which he miraculously did!), his friends started loading our stuff up onto their own trucks and trailers.  Ben made it to the old house just in time for the furniture to be loaded on.

Here are some snidbits of our new house:

 

Alison's pink princess room

The music room/library/Ben's office

The living room

There's a giant hole above the fireplace, that we could not figure out how to make pretty.  Pictures were too small and we didn't want to put the TV there.  A friend suggested hanging fabric on a tension rod and that's just what we did.  I think it gives the room a nice "pop".  

The kitchen

You can see into the carpeted dining room (why do people think this is smart?)...our table will venture there this week when our new "breakfast table" arrives.  We added the barstools and LOVE that the kids can eat there.  They climb up there when we're getting dinner ready and it helps them feel involved with the action, but at a safe distance.

Entryway

Ready to go the pool!

We upscaled a coffee table we weren't using to a bench.  We hope to add a coat rack above it with a few shelves.  Each kid has a basket underneath that they can throw shoes in or any toys that need to go back upstairs at the end of the day.

Master bedroom

The absolute best part of this house is the sitting room off our master.  I've claimed it as "Jen's room".  I hope to put a comfy chair and end table in there, but for now it just has a desk and all the million pictures that need to be hung up.  It's so refreshing to have a little space to escape to for a few moments.  

Eliot's room

We got Eliot some new Thomas sheets and a train rug (unfortunately the train table did not survive the move).  I have no idea how to decorate his walls, but I don't really think he minds...I love that about boys!

Settling in was hard.  It took me a week to find Alison's clothes.  Seriously.  

The kids were great, but juggling their needs and unpacking was no small feet.  

And the stairs?  They are kickin' my booty!

A couple days after we were in our new house, Irma (I'll do a post about her another day) asked me "So, was it worth it?".

Great question and I was thankful I could confidently say 'YES!'

I can tell a big difference in the kids.  While they miss having another person with them during the night, they love having their own space with their own toys.  They are calmer, sleeping better and playing better.

Even more worth it, is having this to go to every.single.day:

Just down our street is the most kid friendly pool ever.  It's perfect for my scared-of-water kids and is really helping them come out of their shell.

But that's not all.  Behind the pool is a park, tennis courts, mini golf course and a pond to fish in.

It doesn't feel like home quite yet, but it's getting there.  I definitely like it and am so thankful that we get to live here.