The Big Move, December 2014

In the Bay area, owning a home is a far-off dream for most of us. For almost seven years we've chatted with friends about how insane the real estate is here and how jealous (but obviously, happy!) we are of friends who are settling down in cheaper areas. (Until winter hits... Then their freezing Facebook photos remind me that the Bay area does have its charms!)

One by one, a lot of our friends move away to someplace more reasonable, and every time, I think, Why in the world are they not over-graming their new house?? I always figured I'd be bouncing off the walls when I got a house of my own...and I totally am!

So I'm gonna document. Document what it was like to get our first home...to hear the boys pray for it for months on end...to hold the key in our hands...to eat our first meal here...to live without a couch for six weeks.

Telling the kids that the previous owners accepted our offer! And celebrating with Martinelli's on our patio. This was a really happy moment.

Our first visit to the townhouse after getting the key!

At this point, we hadn't decided whether we were going to move right in or rent it out for six months. But clearly, we were a little excited! The kids slid around this bare floor for an hour.

At Thanksgiving, my parents came out to visit us and to help up move the first few loads of our things. We were so grateful to have their help! 

This is how the place looks today. We've got a rug! (It sheds like a blue dog. Hope that improves!) Plus chairs and a temporary table. 

This week, Ryan worked hard to figure out and set up this space for us, downstairs in the office. It's not quite finished, but it's a little bit of organization heaven. 

One of the best parts of living here is the grass right out front. Chase mastered his two-wheeler as soon as we got here, almost like he was saving the memory for our new place. :) The boys ride lap after lap while Quinn verrrry slowly toddles along on her balance bike, waiting for one of her brothers to catch up and chat with her before continuing his lap. 

On our second evening here, at about 6pm, Ryan was working with the internet guy and I found myself telling the boys to get on their bikes, when normally at that time, I would be telling them to come inside. Quinn found her stroller and started definitively patting it, telling me she wanted in (which she never does!).We had walked about ten feet around our circle when a mom and a couple of kids appeared. It was our new neighbor (an LDS family) who has a son in first grade. We ended up chatting all the way across the street to the park, and the boys hit it off right away. 

Later, I thought about how all those little stars had aligned to have us in just the right place at just the right moment. It wasn't a huge deal, but it was comforting for me to get talk to another mom and to see Trenton make a friend in his same grade. Just a little tender mercy I want to remember. 

Update! We've got a table!