In this house...

Well, I guess it's official. Our home is up for sale. I've been thinking a lot about the last four and a half years we've spent here. I've loved it, almost every minute of it.

When we walked through the front door of the house for the first time I about died at the mess I saw. I almost wanted to turn around and walk right back out. But I didn't. I closed my eyes and found my happy place. I fell in love with the layout of the place. I love the vaulted ceilings, the tile, and the master bath. Oh the master bathroom! (It quickly became mine) I loved what would soon be our bedroom. The mirrors on the closet doors and the windows. I just fell in love! As we stumbled over the piles of boxes in the basement we discovered that we could easily fit 4 or 5 kids in this house by finishing the downstairs. That was it. I wanted this house. Over the next year, we started stumbling on some road blocks to our happily ever after. It was in this house that we discovered we wouldn't be able to "have" children. And few short months after that we learned that Tim was in the beginning stages of kidney failure and would eventually need a transplant. We lost jobs, we lost family, we endured trials. We learned, we've grown, and through it all, Tim and I only have become closer. It was in this house that we found out Alyssa was quickly on her little way into our hearts. It was here where we prayed for her safe arrival, the strength of her loving birth mother and birth family. This was where my family awaited her arrival just 6 days after we found out she was coming. In that 6 days we cleaned out her bedroom, painted it yellow and purple, bought the crib, dresser, bottles, clothes, diapers, binkies, blankets and everything else a little baby girl needs. We brought her home and became parents, in our home. A few weeks ago, we learned that it's now time for Tim's kidney transplant, right in the midst of losing jobs, losing family and even more trials. Again, all this has made our family stronger, and closer together. But even with that, we could not have endured as we have without our ward family. The love and support we have felt from our ward members is more that amazing. The phone calls that have come in on just the perfect day. The long walks and talks. The kind and compassionate words are forever embedded in our hearts. The children in the ward will forever hold a sacred place in my heart. They have kept me going on more than one occasion. Their sweet smiles, their tender knowledge of the gospel, their loving arms and their contagious laughter. As I think of all the wonderful and memorable times we've had here, it makes me think that we are crazy to leave! But I know it's time. Time to move on and learn something new. Time to make a different house our new home.