Notice anything different about this site? I gave it a mini-makeover, a freshening-up for the New Year, which for us will be momentous! There are moments in your life when you realize something BIG is happening, something that marks major change going forward. Getting married, adopting a dog, finding out you’re going to be parents, a new home. John and I have been through so much together, and we’re about to start a new chapter in our book of love. We bought a new house!
It’s with mixed emotions that we move on from our current home. I confess I get choked up when I think about what we’ve experienced here. First, we built the house, and anyone who has built a house knows it’s an adventure of its own. We watched it come together, piece by piece. We chose finishes and furniture and hung art on the walls. We combined two lives into one here in February of 2012, bringing our floppy baby Cholula along with us.
From the get-go in our marriage, we wanted a baby. The first few years here in our home were pretty focused on that goal. There were so many tears shed in this house as we struggled to get pregnant, hundreds of fertility injections, multiple failed IUI and IVF attempts, and even a couple of miscarriages. There was incredible joy when we called family members and dear friends from this house to tell them the big news that we were finally…finally going to be parents. My belly got big and we decorated a nursery for the baby that would join us in March of 2016. We brought (big) sweet Oden home here and he soon let us know who is in charge. He slept next to me in our bedroom for 7 months. We bribed his first steps with bacon in the living room. In fact, many of Oden’s “firsts” have happened right within these walls. (Sob….)
We watched our dirt lot be torn up and restructured with landscaping and a patio and a firepit. We built a lovely garden and planted vegetables and herbs in our backyard. We counted the flowers as they bloomed in spring, each year more lush and robust. We hiked straight out of our back door. We welcomed deer, elk, fox, porcupine, a few skunks and even MOOSE in our yard. John even skied on the back hill when we had big snow years!
John has had professional successes and struggles while we’ve lived here. I started this blog here and revived my love of writing, publishing work and contributing to various websites. I learned to be a pretty good cook in this kitchen. We shuffled around like zombies as new parents, figuring things out day by day. We’ve hosted countless friends and family here, from intimate dinner parties to blow-out bashes of 50 people. We’ve opened the patio for summertime fiestas and filled the house to the brim for Christmases. We’ve had full guest rooms for ski visits and fired up the grill while little ones splashed in the kiddie pool. We’ve laughed, cried, yelled, hugged, danced, sung, and loved here. Oh, if walls could talk.
A home is an interesting thing, an entity itself, holding us all in its arms as we live the ups and downs of our life here. Sure, I’ve cursed the fluctuating hot water and or the floor heater that switches off when we need it most, but we’ve loved living here. It wasn’t until we had a child that we realized it was lacking some of the things we want for our family, namely a safe yard, a flat driveway, and a family-friendly layout. We went back and forth whether we could make changes to this house to make it work for us. We put out the feelers to see if a “perfect” property came onto the market, just in case…and, wouldn’t you know it? The perfect property did.
These things aren’t ever convenient. Our new house came on the market the day John’s dad came to visit. By the time he left to go back home to Connecticut, we were under contract. This Christmas is unique because while I’m trying to maintain The Magic for Oden (and ourselves), we’re living among boxes as we pack! Just after we ring in 2018, we’ll be caravanning our life deeper into Park City to settle in to our new home. It’s got a huge yard, a flat driveway, a fabulous location, and is laid out well for a family like ours. There’s room for more animals and even a little house for Oden to play in. We’re excited!
It won’t be easy to say goodbye to this lovely house, where we started our life together and have made so many memories since. I’ll cry multiple times before we leave, I’m sure! The current owners of our new home have lived there for 29 years. When they moved in, their daughter was Oden’s age. I love the idea of making 30 years of new memories there… and also the thought that a young couple or family might have their beginnings here, like we did.
Cheers to new beginnings for us all in the year ahead!
Now, time to enjoy our last Christmas season here. It’s going to be an extra special one!
More about building our house and making a home.
the usual bliss 
Congrats on the new home, I wish you many happy memories there!
Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Wow! This sure is emotional. I almost feel like I was there walking your halls and looking at the sunset from your patio. That is how close I have grown to your familiar ground, so I can only imagine how much more precious it is for you. I’m glad you are taking a new step though. Much love to you as you make the shift. Let’s look forward to all things good and new.😊
Thank you for following along all of these years, LynAn! The change is bittersweet but we are looking forward to fun times ahead! Merry Christmas!!
A very merry Christmas to you too!😊