Wow. A lot has changed since my last post! ....
For starters. We no longer live here:
We put our house up for sale mid October. Two weeks later we received a full price offer, with a closing date 30 days away. Man were we ecstatic! But I will tell you what. NEVER again do I want to sell a house. Especially while pregnant. UGH! That was the most stressful 30 days of my life. Not too mention, perfect timing for our furnace to go out! I hope the new homeowner enjoys that expensive hunk of metal we installed. (plus a/c, stove, new electric panel, roof repairs, and closing cost! grr.) Luckily, we were able to get the buyer to come up on the price to make up for the expensive and unexpected repairs.
So now we live 40 minutes west, in the good ol' town of Wentzville. In the exact same house that I grew up in!!:
We have traded in the sounds of gun shots and barking dogs, for the peaceful sounds of the suburbs and a distant train. Don't get me wrong. I will miss the city. A LOT. We had one hell of a good time in our old house. But we needed something bigger, and safer to raise children. So here we are.
Here are the things I am missing the most:
1. Our city friends- obvi! Charlie REALLY misses her school friends- Elyn and Abigail. The other day she packed a "suitcase" and said she was moving back to the city to see her friends :(
2. My short commute. 20 minutes has now become 40-60 minutes. Boo!
3. My very deep, very comfortable, steel bath tub. Oh how I miss thee.
4. The convenience of being extremely close to the: zoo, botanical gardens, science center, city museum, any/all sporting events, etc.
5. My dang chalk board door! Where am I going to put Chuck's "Honey Do" list now?
But on the other side I am enjoying:
1. My new master bath for my many nightly pee trips. No more wobbling my fat butt down narrow stairs several times a night.
2. No stairs while bringing in groceries. (can you tell I really despise stairs at the moment?!)
3. Being able to leave my house at night without the fear of being robbed.
4. No worries about the South Grand protesters and helicopters hovering above our house.
5. Watching Charlie do the exact same things, in the exact same places, that I did growing up. For example, it was a bit sentimental watching her ride her bike in the neighbors driveway yesterday- the exact place I learned how to ride without training wheels!
One last thing I want to share. The first day we met with our realtor, she gave us homework: write a letter to the new homeowner. So here it is!
To the future homeowner of 2330 Arkansas:
This home has been our
"baby" for the past 6 years. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears have gone
into the house that it has become today. Seven years ago, my husband and I
graduated college, got married, and began our house search. We knew we
wanted to be near Tower Grove Park, but fresh out of school our budget
was on the low end which limited our options. Luck came our way, when
we met the previous owner of the home- Josepha. She was elderly
and could no longer keep up with the home and needed to move to an
assisted living facility. After viewing the home with my husband, he
became very nervous about the massive amounts of wallpaper, textured
ceilings, blue 80's carpet, and colorful paint choices. I on the other
hand become excited about the potential the home could offer- thank you
HGTV!
Thirty days later, we closed on our home, helped Josepha
move into her new home, and began our renovation. First, the blue
carpet was pulled to reveal beautiful wood floors that just needed a
little sanding and stain. A total of 7 different patterned wallpaper was carefully
peeled off the walls. Inch-by-inch of the ceiling was scraped to remove
the old texture. And for several years we have slowly rejuvenated our
home, one room at a time.
For awhile, the two of us felt lonely. Most of our
friends lived in the County, while we choose City Life. But since then
our friends have also grown fond of our neighborhood, and the
conveniences the City offers, and have since joined us. For several
years, we played kickball in Tower Grove Park, entertained in our back
yard, walked to nearby bars/restaurants, and carpooled to sporting
events. Go Cardinals!!
Four years ago, we welcomed a baby girl
into our family. And today we are expecting a baby boy to arrive early
2015. With our growing family, we need to expand into a larger home.
We would love nothing more than to stay in our current home, but we have
decided to move our family into the home that I grew up in and to
continue to build on my past family memories and traditions.
We
will greatly miss this home. As recent graduates, expanding in our
careers. As newly weds, continuing to build our love for one another. As
first time home buyers, learning the basics of home renovation. As
first time parents, watching our daughter take her first steps in this
very living room. And now we hope that you will make as many memories
here, as we have.
Cory & Chuck Dickens
Here are some flash back photos...
And then the very lovely pictures from our realtor:
Farewell Arkansas house!!