Moving thoughts

The thought of moving stirs up many emotions and feelings--excitement, sadness, nervousness, fatigue, being overwhelmed by the details. As the big day gets closer I thought I'd make a list of the things I'm looking forward to in the new house and the things I'll miss from the old house.

I'm gonna miss...

• Fenced-in backyard: We're going to have to really work on teaching Emily about boundaries and will have to always tie up the dog. I won't be able to trust Emily to go outside and entertain herself for quite awhile.
• Studio playhouse: In order to prepare our house for market we fixed up the studio house out back and staged it as the ultimate kids' playhouse, which was the original plan for it anyway. Emily has spent countless hours out there this summer, not to mention it being a great place to keep most of her toys.
• Great neighborhood: I love our neighbors and neighborhood and wish we could take them with us. I know there will be new neighbors to meet, but it took 5 years to establish the great relationships we have now. Plus we'll have to board our dog when we go places until we find someone willing to let him out for us. :o(
• Church bells: The Lutheran church a couple blocks away has a bell tower that chimes every hour and also plays hymns on Sundays and special occasions.
• "Finished" rooms: Our current house is finished and decorated just like I want. While it's sort of exciting to basically have a blank slate to do it all again, it won't feel "finished" for quite awhile.
• Home office: We have a great custom-built home office that we both spend a lot of time in. We will have a roaming office for quite awhile in the new house. We will eventually have it permanently set up in the front bedroom doubled as a guest room, but not until we're done using it as a nursery.
• Front landscaping: I have really enjoyed piecing together the front landscaping over the last 3 summers. Now that things are really starting to fill in I will be leaving. There are some opportunities to play around at the new house, though.
• Front windows: As much as they leak cold air in the winter, I really enjoy our huge, floor-to-ceiling front windows. I love being able to sit on the comfortable couch and watch the world go by. Our new house does have front picture windows, but they are smaller and there will really be no seating positioned to look out of them. I'll have to settle for sitting on the front porch in nice weather.
• Quiet street: We have a relatively quiet street in Denver. In Waverly the hospital is across the street with the main entrance to the professional building. The street also leads directly into the public golf course entrance, so anyone coming from the east, west or north would probably go past our house. I don't think they allow golf carts on the streets of Waverly. On nice weekends in the summer the golf carts sometimes outnumber the cars going by on our street in Denver. :o)

I'm excited about...

• Bigger rooms & storage: Pretty much every room will be bigger than in our current house. And the closets/storage spaces are unbelievable. We could seriously fit all of our current worldly possessions in just the designated storage areas of our new house. I don't even have a clue what to store in some of them! Austin says that's just fine, but I'm sure I'll think of something. ;o)
• Master bathroom: I'm just excited to have another bathroom, let alone one that's bigger and all our own. We're planning to eventually gut it, so I'll be able to design what I really want.
• Gas fireplace: I loved looking at the beautiful brick wood-burning fireplace in our Denver house, but we were too cheap to get it inspected, and it was too messy and just not worth it to use it. It will be nice to have a functional one.
• Awesome washer/dryer: The new house comes with a really nice Whirlpool front-load washer/dryer set. Our current washer/dryer set works fine, but when Austin bought them when he purchased his first house before we met he specifically wanted the ones with the least amount of options. He did a good job. ;o) Since I do 95% of the laundry, it will be nice to have a few more options. There is also the potential for a future main-floor laundry area in the new house. That's still in the planning stages, though.
• Newer windows: All the windows & doors in our Denver house leaked and really need to be replaced. They were sometimes difficult to manage, not to mention clean. The new Waverly house has almost all newer vinyl windows that flip down for easy cleaning.
• Less stairs for me: Although with a second floor and a full basement there are technically the same number of stairs in both houses, the distribution is much better. I'm REALLY looking forward to having a bathroom, master bedroom and office on the main level and maybe eventually laundry, too.
• Bedroom separation: We love our kids, but they can be noisy sleepers, and we like our privacy. We'll keep the nursery on the main floor next to the master bedroom as needed, but eventually all the kids will be in the bedrooms upstairs. This will quickly come in handy since Emily sometimes has a hard time being quiet when I'm trying to put Lincoln down for a nap and after he's sleeping--especially if I have to send her to her room for some reason where she cries and screams out her frustration. :op
• Hardwood floors: When remodeling the Denver house I was pretty adamant about having carpet in all the bedrooms and living areas other than the kitchen & bathrooms. Although carpet is nice for babies and warmth, hard surfaces seem to be more practical and easier for cleaning up toddler messes (including potty-training) and dog hair. We'll see if I'm just dreaming about that or not.
• Town amenities: While Denver is a nice little town with most of the basics, Waverly has a lot more to offer including Wal-mart, Fareway, a large hardware store, movie theater and an aquatic center, not to mention lots of fast food and other dining-out options. Many of these things are within walking distance of our new house. Emily is already in love with the "castle park" (i.e. Kids' Kingdom).
• Garden: There really wasn't any good space for a garden in our Denver yard, so I settled for a tomato plant in a pot and a couple pepper plants among the lilies. I already have a spot picked out for a raised garden in the new yard.

It's a toss-up...

• Schools: We're not to the school stage yet, so it's hard to compare. Both are great school districts. Waverly is obviously bigger, but that means there might be additional opportunities and activities. There was a Christian preschool at the Lutheran church right around the corner from our Denver house. I'm not sure what all our options are in Waverly.
• Garage: We have a nice, big, double attached garage in Denver. However, it is a looooong way both down and up stairs to haul groceries into the kitchen. The Waverly house has a double detached garage that is a bit smaller. It's only about 6 steps from the back kitchen entrance, but it's still outside. There is also a single attached garage, but there are only doors to the front porch, the backyard and a cement stairway to the basement. Nothing to the main level, and it's completely opposite the kitchen. It will function as a great super-sized storage shed for gardening equipment, tools, kids' toys & bikes, etc.

Regardless of all my emotions and feelings the move is going to happen. I'm looking forward to just being done with it and beginning the long process of settling into our new home!