The Last Three Weeks....

Three weeks ago, we were loading the moving truck and preparing for our departure from Vancouver, Washington. Today, we are about 80% moved into our home in South Euclid, Ohio. A lot has happened so I thought I would give you a brief update....

6/27 - Anne and kids leave PDX on a red-eye flight to Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Her folks have a cottage about 90 mins from there).

6/28 - Adam and his dad leave 7715 NE 55th Ave in a 26 foot Penske truck complete with a tow-rack for our Corolla. After only stopping for three overnights (near Salt Lake City, central Nebraska, and Davenport, Iowa) Adam and his dad make it to Cleveland by July 1st. (One day they put in 18 hrs of driving)!

7/2 - Anne leaves Michigan (without kids) and meets Adam in Cleveland. We had planned on leaving the kids in Michigan for at least a week with her parents while we house-hunted. We thought it would be easier that way. It was! We looked at five houses that first evening.

7/3 - 7/5 - We drove the streets of South Euclid, and walked through what we guess was about 20+ houses. We had already narrowed down our search significantly by location, which made the shopping around much simpler. Plus, South Euclid is an extremely small suburb which helps too.

7/5 - After viewing several houses, we decided the one we're in, was the one we liked the best. We began putting together an offer. The owners had already moved out, but they were still in the area, which also made the process a quick one.

7/6 - While negotiating, we discovered the house had an offer on it three weeks prior. Unfortunately (for the seller, but fortunately for us) the buyer backed out post inspection, and after the seller had already made the necessary repairs. This sped up our process even more, because we were able to obtain the inspection report, and waive another inspection (which could have made the process take longer). Once we were done negotiating, the seller agreed to let us move in on that Wednesday, 7/9, and rent it from them until we close (which should be by the end of the month). Here's one of the best parts....we didn't even have to move our stuff into a storage locker! We were dreading having to unload the truck into a storage locker, in the summer heat, only to load it all back into a truck a few weeks later once we located a place.

7/9 - We moved into our home in South Euclid! And, I must mention, that the kids were still in Michigan this entire time! Which, again, made the whole process much easier. They were spending the days along the shores of Lake Michigan, while we were moving into the house, cleaning, unpacking and setting up their rooms. Even with so many uncertainties coming into the situation, we have agreed that this has been the easiest move we've ever made!

7/12 - Anne picked up the kids in Michigan and brought them home. They were thrilled to see the house, and more importantly their rooms!

We've spent this past week making many Target runs, putting away lots of stuff, and getting to know our way around. I was hoping to have some pictures up of the house yet, but alas, the camera is still buried away somewhere. And, right now it would be hard to take a picture of anything without it looking like just a bunch of boxes. Plus, we've only had Internet for a few days.

However, I will let you know some details on our house. Its a two-story, split level with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, built in 1971. There's a bedroom downstairs, which became our office/crafting room. The basement has two good-sized rooms, one is now the laundry room and the other we're turning into a home gym. The kitchen is fairly big, and there's a separate living room and family room area. We love this feature, because at our other house there was just one great room. It did get crowded at times.

There are several features though that 'sold' us, and since I (Anne) am typing this I will let you know mine. First, there is a huge entryway. I think it compares in size to our bedroom at our Vancouver home. It has newer tiling on the floor, and a decent sized coat closet. We had none of this at our other home. You just walked in, and you were right on top of all the action. In fact, there were times that you couldn't even get the front door open depending on where the shoes and toys were strategically placed. Now there is a place for shoes and coats, as well as a place to greet guests.

Secondly, right behind our home are woods and the Euclid Creek. We both loved the idea of our children growing up playing in the woods. Plus, the wildlife is present! There is a mama deer with two fawns who make an appearance in our backyard at least twice daily. (I promise I will take pictures). We have a great view. There is a Euclid Creek Metro Park that is less than a half-mile away. At the park there is a 6-mile out-and-back bike path. This, too, was a selling point, considering we had the Padden Parkway bike path nearly out our front door in Vancouver.

We haven't closed on the house yet, but anticipate doing so by the end of the month. Everyone is moving very quickly for it, partly because they know we've already moved in, partly because of the situation with the seller and the previous offer.

More than anything, we know that this whole process has been very Divine. Everything has been so directly guided, that we are eternally grateful!

Check back for pictures.......