Apparently when you put a For Sale sign in your yard and then neglect to tell anyone what's going on for several weeks, you're going to create a little talk. So to answer the obvious question, we do have some news to share: at the end of this year, we're making the move to Texas.
Depending on what day you ask, we are either, A. Completely Excited and Ready to Go, or B. Completely Freaked and Sad to Be Leaving. Most days, it's a little of both. Or maybe it's C. Completely Overwhelmed with the Amount of $hit That Has To Be Done Between Now and Then. Yeah, it's mostly just C.
While we are heading off into a great adventure filled with new opportunities, new friends and family to welcome us in, we are also leaving behind the comfort of what we know, amazing friends and family we won't be able to see as often as we do today. Our hope is that our "home" is just expanding by one more state, and we truly look forward to all of the good things to come for us and the kids.
Soooo, if you're looking for a fabulous homestead in the best neighborhood in Decatur, might we suggest 129InmanDrive.com? It's a peach. I only cried for about an hour the night we put the sign out front. Really.
In a nutshell, here are the rest of the details:
- We'll move over the Christmas holiday
- I'm staying with my company and Wes will be moving Manning Homes to Texas
- Ella will be going to elementary school where her cousins go/have gone
- Michael will be starting at a new preschool
- Henry will be staying home for a while before starting at the same preschool
While neighborhood-hunting over Easter, we stumbled upon a property that we couldn't pass up. So we bought it last week. (YAY!) The former owners are staying through October and we will begin some fairly extensive renovations in November.
We will ALL need therapy by the time this is all done. I'm researching where to go for those services, right after I finish researching pediatricians, door knobs, bunk beds, neighborhood covenants, pool fences, moving announcements, PODS, health insurance, state licensing requirements, vehicle shipping, desk chairs, eFaxing, FIOS, stair railings, mineral rights, landscapers and where the nearest Target will be. (That's Wednesday's list.)
Last weekend, we took a quickie trip out to the new house to meet with an architect, check out the boys' new school and look at about five flooring stores. Thank you to our chauffer-extraordinaires, Nana and Rocket and a big, BIG thank you to Poppa and Gigi for wrangling all three kiddos for two long days.
Without further ado, here are what will be affectionately known as The Before Pictures of our new home in Texas.
Picture the house painted white. (I know, shocker.)
This is what you see when you walk in the door. Picture the mirrored wall gone (the whole wall, not just the mirrors), less popcorn on the ceiling and hardwoods.
Here is the formal family room at the front of the house which we'll convert to a playroom as well as section off from the front entry with French doors.
The guest room is downstairs.
Along with its adjoining bath which will be completely redone.
The kitchen is currently closed off from the rest of the downstairs living space. We'll change that with opening up two walls. The first being the one with the ovens.
The second family room space will connect with the open kitchen, once the wall with the cooktop is also taken out.
Down the hallway is the office. Picture far fewer built-ins. I mean, we read a lot, but the number of built-in bookshelves in this home is outrageous. Is anyone else noticing the "Where's Wes?" theme?
Off of the office is a small courtyard. Future plans TBD for this space.
At the end of the hallway is the master bedroom. Again, picture less popcorn, more hardwoods.
The master bath and closet will be our second-largest renovation project. Since, ahem, we don't exercise, we won't need that space, but we do love to wear shoes so there will be more closet room in here, and a general layout overhaul.
Off of the kitchen is a pool bath that connects to the backyard.
And on the other side of the garage, there is a workroom with two large closets - one cedar and one for wine. We may make both for wine. We'll take votes. If you bring a bottle of wine, you get two votes.
Upstairs, you find three more bedrooms and one shared bath. Haha, this'll be fun when Ella hits age 14. It'll build character, right? This bathroom will be redone like the others in the house.
Here is the backyard view from a Juliet balcony off of Ella's room. Which will be dismantled before said girl turns 14 and gets any romantic ideas.
The real reason we fell in love? The outdoor space.
;)
I'm looking forward to discovering my inner green thumb. Or maybe Wes' inner green thumb.
Near the greenhouse, there is a garden with roses, vegetables and herbs. I'm three parts excited about all of this, and one part scared I'll kill it all. Okay, maybe switch that ratio around.
We learned on Saturday that there are also two pomegranate trees, and one peach tree. Found the pomegranates. Couldn't find the peach tree. Funny, right? The two of us have lived in Atlanta for a combined total of 55 years and could not identify a peach tree.
As we wander around, it's obvious this home has been well-loved and has been a happy family home for the past 25+ years. With their children grown, it's ready for more. We can already picture Michael going on major stick-collecting excursions and Ella living out her afternoons as a fish in the swimming pool, while Henry toddles around. We can't wait.
Over the past few months, we've stumbled upon some crazy coincidences (matching addresses, Georgia Bulldogs everywhere we turn, matching teacher names, matching neighbor names...it goes on) and near-constant deja vu. So even on a day when we may doubt the wisdom of all this uprooting and change, there are steady reminders we're doing the right thing and it will all end up for the best.
We look forward to making the absolute best out of the months we have left in Atlanta and know that we'll be back often. Cheers to the next chapter in our lives, and if you actually read this far...wow.
Of course, all of this assumes that the world doesn't end on December 21, 2012. Fingers crossed.