We built our first house when my oldest was five. We made mistakes…several. The entire experience from picking out cupboards and flooring to getting a mortgage was all new. We weren’t entirely sure what we were doing, it closed late, stress was high and in the end, we moved in feeling a great amount of…
Daily Living
10 Tips To Help You Enjoy Moving
So you are moving. Congratulations on; buying a new house, getting a new job, having a baby,finally moving out from your parents basement, finding a place that is cheaper/bigger/nicer/less drug lord infested! I am so excited for you. Well I am mostly excited for you. I am also somewhat sorry for you. Because now you…
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
I loved our house when we bought it, so why should I move? And should you move? Here’s my story and a few tips that will help you stay in your home! We moved into our 1930’s bungalow while I was 6 months pregnant with our first child. I finally had the old house that…
In a sea of action figures
From one end of the basement to the other and as far as my hands could reach–on all sides–any way I spun I was surrounded by toys. My husband Mitchell sat not too far away from me on the floor. In the middle of his own toy piles. I held up yet another action figure,…
Committed
My husband and I dated for five years before getting engaged, but it wasn’t a timeframe or financial security or a baby on the way that finally sealed the deal. It was a house. For me, the desire to be a homeowner came suddenly. I always figured we’d buy a house eventually but I had…
Houses That Aren’t Mine
I have a confession. Please don’t judge me. I don’t hurt children or animals. I don’t sleep around, steal (on purpose), or wear a regular bra with a strapless shirt. I do, however, wear white after Labor Day (I’m sorry; it’s a stupid “rule”). But. I stalk owners of the homes we didn’t get. We…
Chicken Coops and Other Homes
I tell people I haven’t moved much in my life, but that is not exactly true. The true part is that I haven’t moved permanent addresses very much. I’ve lived in four homes (all in the same small West Michigan city) my entire life, and one I was too young to really remember, let alone get…
Three Lessons Moving Taught Me
We moved a lot when I was a kid. By “a lot”, I mean we averaged a move a year. We lived in everything from apartments to mobile homes to houses. From two streets over to across town to across the state for two months one summer and then right back to the very house…
In Limbo
I keep opening the wrong drawers. I have checklists for my realtor, for the mortgage broker, for what needs to be packed for storage and what needs to be packed for the immediate future, and I think I have everything together — except I can’t find my underwear. My dresser has been organized in the…
When You Just Know
Editor’s Note: I am going to try to stay out of these posts as much as possible, however, I have to step in and say Congratulations Rach! Her baby boy was born yesterday morning and he is a doll! I definitely believe in the old adage that says you always find the one when you’re not…
Writing Home
For so long I have been holding onto a certain dream. Sometimes it felt like it was within my grasp, other times I felt it slipping through my fingers. Still other times, I had to forcefully forget about it so that I could be grateful for what I have. When I pictured my life, I…
