SOLD

Hooray, our lovely house sold in 20 days.  Joshua was (of course) the champ of cleaning while also managing the children while I worked.  And now he has become the champ of packing while also managing the children while I work.  (You may start sensing a theme here.)  We move out next week and close the following week.  I'll be commuting to work and probably staying in the empty the house the week in between.

Joshua and I are on the same get-rid-of-stuff team so more than 1/3 of our things are being shipped (through multiple full carloads) to the local Goodwill donation center or put on the sidewalk with a free sign.  It feels good to purge and it is also interesting to see what each of us puts in our must-keep pile:

me = super old, well-loved dolls from my youth;
Joshua = certain music tapes;
Alma = everything she has ever come in contact with, including the generic plastic Halloween pumpkin that has her name written on it which she "rescued" from the recycling bin;
James = his 50+ Matchbox cars and trains (and nearly nothing else -- he happily put his own plastic Halloween pumpkin in the recycling bin).

We will rent in Malvern for a year so that we can learn about the area, find a good house (nothing was quite fitting when we looked this summer) and make sure that Joshua and the children adore the school before doubling-down by purchasing a home.  The school sounds so amazing; I would be shocked if it was not.

Beyond the never-ending packing, school preparations have begun: Alma's uniforms have been ordered, James got a haircut and we are planning on a school supplies trip in the coming week.  Alma is very excited about the prospect of the new school.  I am still shocked by this from my normally slow to adjust child.  James is still a little oblivious.  For example, the other day we walked a block to a friend's house to get a key so that we could look in on their cat while they vacationed.  As we were knocking on their door, James turned to me to ask if this was our new house.  Um, no, buddy, this is not the new house. 

We have loved this house and will miss the sunny dining room, the perfect-sized backyard (perfect for playing, projects, gardening, and perfect for not overwhelming us with  yard work), the nice woodwork, the ridiculous amount of storage space, my person retreat (the extra bedroom and the craft room, both in the quiet finished attic space), Joshua's retreat (the detached garage which acted as his gym) and the long living room with hardwood floors where both children learned to walk, dance, play and hang out as a family.  It has been such a great house for us -- chosen a bit on a whim -- but loved with time.  I'm excited for the next adventure but I'll miss the daily reminders of the good times we had in this space. 

Some official listing photos: