Home. (By: Jess)

Today/tonight is our last day/night in our house.

It's a little bittersweet for me.

Though we only have lived here for 5 years, this house holds a lot of memories for Toby and I.

I mean, I'm totally not as sad as I was when my mom moved out of the house that I grew up in. I lived in THAT house for 25 years....imagine all those memories!

Nonetheless, I'm still a little heavy-hearted to say "good-bye" to the place where Toby and I began...

It was the 2nd "big" thing we did together. (The 1st was moving Toby to SC) Toby found the house and took me to see it. I was so anxious to find a house, that of course I loved everything about it! I remember the lady who walked us through the house didn't really seem to take us seriously. Maybe it was because we were not married or maybe it was because we looked so young (we were 26), I don't know. But I remember her attitude about us totally changing as soon as Toby said, "OK. We'll take it".  We went with her to the sales office and drew up the required paperwork. I was sooooo excited and Toby was sooooooo nervous. I think he almost barfed.  It was a big deal for us....as it is for most people when they buy their first house. We couldn't wait to make it our home.

It was the place where we brought home our precious Gertrude Louise.

It was also the place where we almost killed her! Bad memory..... moving on....

It was that place where we had many parties with our new found friends! I remember all the fun nights of  Taboo, Monopoly, Dinner parties, Flip Cup, and late nights sitting around the patio table laughing and talking for hours!

I remember spilling red wine on the brand new beige carpet and running around frantically with my friend, Jennifer, trying to find SOMETHING to clean it with!

I remember picking out paint colors for all the walls. It was so stressful! Some colors were loud and unique (turquoise blue, lime green, coral....) but i wanted to make it our own and far from neutral and common.

I will never forget Grandpa Ralph coming down from Ohio and painting our entire house for us! He took so much pride in doing this for us and did the entire house in a weekend! Bravo!

It was the place that saw many heartbreaks and tears.... both my grandparent dying, Gertie's accident, the death of a special student, ended friendships, suffering a miscarriage, several surgeries.

It was the place of complete joy and thankfulness...... many Thanksgiving dinners, finding out we were expecting a baby and then another baby, Gertie's homecoming, bringing home Leo, decorating year after year for Christmas, parties, baby showers

It was the place where Toby and I blew out our 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st birthday candles.
It was the place where Leo and Cece were conceived (TMI?), where my water broke, and where we brought Leo home.

It was the place the housed many fights between husband and wife. (The time Toby thought I threw out his nose-hair trimmer was a good one!!)

I remember my sister, Mom, and aunt coming to visit us when we first moved in and going on a HUGE shopping spree to Hobby Lobby for home decor! We all had a cart that was overflowing with stuff and I was as happy as a clam!

It was the place Leo learned to roll over, crawl, and walk.

We started our marriage here and grew in it.

It was the place that once held that distinguished "yard of the month" award for the neighborhood.

It was the place where we watched "Paranormal Activity" and my life was forever changed. From that moment on, I started hearing bumps in the night and i don't think I will ever be the same.

It was the place where all my wedding planning took place. A place where we left as an engaged couple and came home as a married couple.

It was the place of Leo's first birthday party.

Lots of memories...... leaves me a little sad..... but not THAT sad. Our new home on Lazy Willow Drive is ready to be filled with even more memories. Our new home will be our "forever home" and that makes me smile.