Farewell, Home

For the past 6 1/2 years, we have lived in this sweet house. And now we're about to bid it farewell. For the wondering minds, we are staying in Topeka but moving to a different house. We'll have more room for our people and more land for adventuring. To be clear, we didn't go looking for a different house. In fact, mere weeks before I said to Dan that I figured we had about 5 years left in our current house. It's funny, really. I'm certain the emotions will set in over the next few weeks as we prep to move, but for now, I'm only excited about a new house to make our home. As a practice of closure, here is my ode to our Birchwood Lane house. 

Both our babies came home to us for the first time here. This is all they've ever known as home. Every year we have about a dozen tulips come up in the ground covering. I can name at least 5 children who have plucked a tulip or two to give to their momma. When Bennett was learning to walk, we would spend time in the front yard while he would climb up and down the front steps.

 I hosted my first baby shower back here some 6 years ago. That little one is now in kindergarten. Many boys have climbed that ginko and made it way too high for comfort. We used to pay the nephews in Smarties to pick up all the corn cobs squirrels would bring into our yard.

 Pre-kids, I spent nearly an entire week painting these stripes. And they are PERFECT. I'm not a terribly whimsicle person, but they, along with the bright yellow interior door, add just the right amount of whimsy to an otherwise formal entry. I've never fallen going down the stairs but have fallen twice going up. Once with a full cup of steaming coffee. Bennett took a tumble halfway down earlier this year, but other than those mishaps, these stairs have surprisingly been free of casualties.

Piano lessons galore here. When I was pregnant with Finley, I think I had to take a bathroom break in between each student. And when we bought that couch 6 years ago, I swore it added equity to our house (spoiler alert: it didn't). Oh, and that yellow chair in the corner I purchased at a garage sale for $1 over 10 years ago. Still one of my favorite finds. 

When Bennett was a challenging newborn, I paced the house and this room, in particular. The floor is creaky, like an old house, and walking through this room helped calm him down. I'm going to miss the creaks that I know so well. 

Bennett's big boy room. He napped here for a year and then has had rest time for a year. He plays HARD and has a wild imagination. We've explained to him that at the new house, he'll have a smaller bed, but I think there will still be a transition period from his massive bed to a normal size twin bed.

Oh this room. It started as a screened in porch. Dan built a porch swing for me. Bennett and I spent HOURS out here the first few months of his life. It was truly his only happy place. Converting it to a 3-seasons room was the best decision we made - all Dan's idea.

What started out as a space floor-to-ceiling with wallpaper has now held dozens of people for meals. Another sweet old room with creaky floors and a swinging door that has pinched a handful of fingers.

I used to cook all the time. It was a calming practice. Then we had kids. Now meals are fast and furious and meal prep is even faster. But this is still such a sweet space.

I would guess that 90% of our living occurs here.  First steps, first words. It all happened here. 

Hanging clocks high is so fun. Except twice a year when the time changes. It took us an average of 2 months each time to get a ladder and adjust it. Lesson learned. 

When we moved in, I dreamed of spending hours on the window seat reading. I don't know about you, but I prefer a cozier spot to read, so that never happened. Nonetheless, it is a happy space.

I did some math the other day and calculated some obnoxious amount of hours spent here when the babes were little. Nighttime feedings, rocking sick babes, pacing until an infant falls back asleep. And the one time I saw a spider while nursing and proceeded to chase it down until it met its demise.

All the potty training. All of it. And all the learning to wash hands. And the constant presence of Dan and Heidi staring at guests in the picture.

Guess what?! A king-sized bed CAN fit in this room! Best purchase EVER. It's a Tuft and Needle and it's our favorite.

One of my favorite memories here is when my dear sweet bestie Andrea and I bathed our tots while our husbands were out of town. We were both massively pregnant but knew we needed to kill some time before bedtime. So we parked it on the floor and let the tots splash.

Bennett loves this space. Often during his rest time, I hear him telling stories in here. And stuffing all sorts of nonsense in the drawers. 

This has been a perfect starter home for our crew. But it's time to move on. We are so grateful for the years spent here and for the memories we have. New memories at a new place begin soon! And we can't wait.