Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Bye to Creekstone Court-Our First House

Well after 4 wonderful years we have closed the door to our FIRST HOUSE! Below are the latest pictures of our house. We had to move a lot into storage in order to de-clutter the house. We also had to keep it in pristine condition for 3 months as we would get a call from the real estate office asking for a showing and we always wanted to be prepared. We baked cookies as often as we could in hopes of increasing the attractiveness (ha-we thought it might work). After being on the market for 76 days and having 22 showings we sold our house! There were 3 houses in our neighborhood all for sale at the same time AND in the same cul-de-sac. The worst part was both of them had gotten jobs in other cities and HAD to move (meaning there were asking a lot less for their houses than we were). In the end we sold our house before both of theirs and it was probably for the best. I was very sad to be saying by to the house, the location, the memories, and the day to day schedule that I had come to rely on more than I realized. My schedule was like clockwork-- wake up-go to the gym around 5:30 get home and showered-get to work in 10 minutes-come home on my lunch break to see Craw- and then home by 6:10 pm. It was all too convenient and comfortable and it was a decision I had a hard time swallowing. I was 1.3 miles to the gym, 3.6 miles to work and 2.4 miles to the heart of downtown. However, we are now about 2 miles to bom-paw (aka the most wonderful man in our life other than Crawford) and 6 miles to work and about 10 miles to downtown. We are still trying to figure out which set up works best for us. We are enjoying some relaxation now and not having to keep our house in pristine condition 24 hours a day! Here are some pictures of our house as it appeared while on the "market."
















 
Now I just wanted to document some memories and dates about our house so that I can always remember this special place we called home for 4 years!
We found our house right before our wedding...we were soo excited that we found a brand new house close to downtown. We left for our honeymoon (Oct. 20 2008) we 2 houses in mind.  When we returned we found out that this one was still available. We contiued to look for a week or so before we decided that this was our perfect house. We negotiated for a short time and officially closed on our Creekstone Home on 11.29.2008.  We enjoyed having dinner parties and being close to great restarants in the first 2 years. We traveled all the time those first two years but still managed to keep the house neat. We had fun buying new furniture (a new couch, our king headboard that we had made) and decorating for each holiday and season (think matching plates and table scapes)--oh the free time I had. Brad had his tv downstairs for relaxing and I enjoyed my tv upstairs for my girly shows. Then in December of 2010 we got to bring our first sweet baby home to our house! Oh the wonderful memories we created. We had this emaculate home that where we had only really lived in 3 rooms and then Crawford came. His toys and supplies quickly took over the house. Clutter seemed to accumulate much faster and we asked for help from a sweet cleaning lady to help keep our house in order. We got to see Craw go from swinging all day in his swing to crawling all over the house at 7 months old. He then quickly mastered the stairs both up and down by 9 months. He celebrated his birthday with family and friends and then started walking a month later. The memories I have of him peeping around a corner or climbing his way onto our bed will last a lifetime. He could get into trouble in a matter of seconds and always had his hands full whether toting around a giant toy that was too big for him to carry or sprinkling baby powder all over the carpet after reaching it off the counter while standing on his tippy toes. I have found bowls and silverware in the garbage (thank you Crawford) and he's sweet grimy hand prints all over the doors, windows, and furniture throughout the house. I have memories of him playing in the cul-de-sac in his cozy coupe and wagon and so many memories of pulling him through the neighborhood in his stroller. He loved to close the garage and turn off the lights and even figured out how to move boxes and climb on top of them to reach the fireplace switch. He would greet me each morning with a smile from his crib and then would pull his own chair up to the island to help me get his breakfast ready. Bath time was always a hoot as he would splash, blow bubbles, sing songs, and practice his numbers and alphabet.  He knew where he shoes, diapers, and pjs were kept and could get them for us whenever we asked. He knew where to put his books away and where we kept those cookies hidden in the pantry. I am most sad to leave behind all this precious moments with Crawford. He was always so curious and just a delight to see around each corner of the house. He has adjusted just fine to his new home and is sleeping well and likes taking visitors to "his" room. We are now in the transition period and just renting until we can decide a) what side of town we want to settle down in b) find the "perfect" lot to build on c) build our next home which I am sure we will create just as many memories in as we did our last.
 
the pictures below are from our house back in January 2011.









 
 
Outside our house Halloweed night October 2010

 
Our Master bedroom before our switch to the King bed.

 
before Brad added the deck out back
 
Coming home from the hospital with Crawford on December 18th, 2010

 
Halloween 2010





 
 
Our last picture at our house January 30, 2013. We closed on Thursday January 31, 2013. Crawford is 2 and running all over the place and just the happiest little guy!