Another home adventure in the books!
Whew! We did it (again). We packed up our house in less than 30 days and slipped into a new place right before Thanksgiving. It seems that each time we move it happens right around this time of year. We tend to get in and settled before the holidays each time that we move.
So why again?
Well, it’s actually very simple. We got an unexpected offer we could not refuse. That’s it! We had only lived in our home for a little over a year and it was not on the market. We have always built and flipped homes, so capitalizing on the current market was a discussion that was had, but that was the extent of it. One afternoon we got an unexpected call that someone had seen our home and wanted to go through it to check it out and if it was what they thought it would be they would make us an offer. They did and they loved it. So one thing led to another and here we are!
The question we have gotten is “your house is so pretty…why would you move?”
Well, we have lived in new construction, the basement of the family lake house, my sister’s bonus room, a trailer turned house, and a home built in the 1950’s. We have moved many times and lived in many different homes. Of course I loved our home that we just left and the property was gorgeous, but it had served its purpose for our family. Just as each and every home that we have lived in has served its purpose.
Each place that our family has settled in has been unique in size, space and completely different from the next. We have had to find new ways to organize and set up our home in each location. However, no matter the size, space or lack of storage, each home has brought memories that are specific to that home.
We lived with my sister in a season that Michael was gone late into the evenings with ministry doing ball practice and Bible studies. My brother-in-law is a firefighter, so that left us with many nights with just my sister and I at home. We watched as many Hallmark movies in sweatpants as our hearts desired! I would not trade that time for anything in the world. Home number 6 (which was a rental) will forever hold a special place in our family. It was located next door to my Meme and Granddaddy. That home brought Meme’s homemade biscuits every Saturday morning, time in the garden with our oldest son and his Great Granddaddy and candy every time our kids walked through their door. Not knowing that heartbreak was right around the corner, my Meme passed away from an aggressive and fast diagnosis of breast cancer four months after we moved there. Those four months in that rental are precious to me. That home served a tremendous purpose. That home held the couch that my sister and I hugged and shared great joy on when she told me she was pregnant and cried together moments later when we got the call to run next door because Meme was gone. Our family will be forever grateful for our time spent in that home.
I will leave you with this last special story. Home number five not only served its purpose for our family, but for dear friends as well. In that home I started a monthly girl’s night in that home because it was located in a new area to us that was away from familiar friends. I knew I had to step out and have people in our home to build relationships that I was longing for since the move. Every month a group of us girls would get together and eat as much chocolate as we wanted and drink Dr. Pepper and coffee until our stomachs were full of goodness. We would stay up well into the night (the record still holds at 4:45am) and just love, laugh and make memories that none of us would soon forget. When we moved from that home three years later, I will always remember a friend telling me that that sweet little place (the smallest home we have lived in to date…but not lacking a bit of charm) held a special place in her heart. As she and her family had just moved from Texas to be on staff at our church, she and her husband had prayed diligently for her to find friends. Not just ladies who would have small talk and brunch every now and again, but deep meaningful friendships. She had had those in Texas and her heart ached to leave them. She deeply desired to have more of those bonds here in the sweet southern state of Georgia. Home number five was where those started for her. That home served a deep purpose for someone outside of our family that didn’t even live there day in and day out. That home started friendships that are day-by-day stronger even six years later. That home was a place of comfort for so many. Not only did it host monthly girl’s nights, but countless bible studies and pizza sessions with high school ball players that Michael was in ministry with. That home definitely served its purpose, as did each and every one we have been in.
Houses are more than just pretty. They are more than just four walls. Houses are created into homes when life takes place within them and memories are made. Our houses become homes when they serve a deeper purpose for not just your family, but for others who encounter it. So as we settle into this new rental home and look towards our next home adventure, I have confidence that this home will serve a great purpose as we look forward to making it less house and more home.
Vintage Arrow Homes 