The Big Move

After Ainsley was born and we found she still wasn't walking by age 2 despite years of physical therapy we knew we might need to move out of our 1919 Craftsman bungalow in the city with it's many flights of stairs. When you have an old house like that there is a lot of work. With Steve's intense work schedule over the past few years home improvements had been shifted to the back burner and the house wasn't in optimal condition to sell, i.e. we had more than a few incomplete projects to finish. Still we knew it would happen eventually so we worked toward that goal, having the house painted, finishing projects, painting the kitchen floors etc. I looked at houses on the internet but not seriously or with an agent. During those years I never found a single level home for sale that I wanted to live in. The few that might be okay had stairs in places, making them less than ideal for a handicapped child.

Then in October 2010 by random chance I found it. THE PERFECT HOUSE. Steve liked it but didn't want to go look, because there was "no way we were ready". Well, we went anyway and took the attitude that we would do what we could to get our house ready to sell and if it was "meant to be, it was meant to be".  I had misgivings about certain aspects of the house especially the upkeep of the huge but beautiful yard.  Having a special needs child with medical issues doesn't leave a lot of spare time. Even with all that, somehow some way it came together. The sellers accepted a contingent offer and we hustled to get our house ready to sell in January. The process wasn't easy, but our agent Darcy LaBelle from Windermere was wonderful and worked hard behind the scenes to make it "come together" as she would say. 

After a grueling move (THE BIGGEST HUGEST THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HELPED US MOVE!!! WE LOVE YOU!) we are now settling in and loving our new home. Ainsley especially loves it here and one thing I know is if it weren't for her we would NOT be here. This process has taken a LOT of time and energy. Now that it's mostly over (of course there is still unpacking and decorating to do) I hope to post more often to the blog. Steve's work schedule has calmed down and he is now less than a 10 minute drive to work. It is great for the whole family. We are making a fresh start in many ways and I look forward to sharing it with you as we settle into the neighborhood, new schools and make new friends (while maintaining old friendships). I want to say thank you to my readers for sticking with us during this period of few posts. And thank you for caring about our sweet girl.  I've put together a slide show of the move. I hope you enjoy it. (*Remember you can click on the arrows to view it full screen.)