Good-bye

Today we finally said good-bye to our sweet little Spanish Fork home.

In December 2004, we arrived with one little 14-month-old toddler.  We left in January 2013 with a nine-year-old, an almost eight-year-old, a six-year-old, a four-year-old, and a two-year-old.

I feel totally ridiculous for feeling so broken-hearted about leaving our little brick house.  It is 69 years old, small, awkward, low-ceilinged, oddly wired, and drafty.  It is definitely NOT handicap-friendly.  The windows don't always close properly, and if you drilled into the outer walls upstairs, to hang a curtain rod, say, you discovered that the walls were nothing but brick covered in plaster.  No insulation.

And yet...we lived and loved in that little old house for eight years.  We brought four of our five children home from the hospital there.  We laughed and played and made friends and put down deep roots.

So my heart hurts a little tonight, to say good-bye to my beloved home.

And yet, I know that this is the right choice for us.  We put the house up on the market on a Monday.  By the following Monday, we had three good offers in writing.  Less than six weeks later, we signed the closing paperwork this morning. I am amazed that it all happened that fast.

But I think the Lord wants us here in Lindon.  Our buyers told us their story:  They had been looking for a home for their family since last October.  The wife kept getting an impression to wait until March.  So during the first week of March--the week I listed our house--she impatiently combed through all the listings, and found nothing.  Frustrated, she finally opened up the Craigslist ads and...found our house.  They fell in love with it at first sight.  After they walked through it on that Friday, she called me and asked, "What can I do to make this house mine?"

I'm so glad their bid was the natural (in other words, best) pick, because I just felt like it was Meant To Be.  They seem like such wonderful people, and will love my little house as much as we did, I think.  They will also be a good fit for the neighborhood, with a nine-year-old boy, almost-eight-year-old girl, and five-year-old boy.  :)

I will miss my sweet little house, but I'm glad to leave it in such good hands.  Thanks for being so good to us, Spanish Fork.  We love you!

Good-bye Grand Parade in our front yard

Good-bye Speedy Spaniard race ending at our front door

Good-bye gorgeous park outside my front window

 Good-bye beautiful orange-red bricks

 (Sniff!)