Well, it seems like I haven’t been on here in a really long time, but I guess that’s not really true. I know I made a post on the Fourth of July. Life has just been happening.

We had a video meeting with our realtor today to go over the timeline and everything we’ll need to do between now and next summer. Gary is so excited. Me being me, I’m excited too, but I’m also a little overwhelmed. Not because it’s happening too soon, but because it’s still far enough away that I know my mind is going to spend the next year thinking about it.

It sounds like we’ve pretty much decided we’ll rent for six months to a year while we wait for our new house to be built. Once the builder opens the next phase of the neighborhood, we’ll choose our lot, go under contract, and begin the building process. Instead of trying to perfectly time the sale of this house with the completion of the new one, we’ll move into a rental first. That gives us the freedom to sell this house when the timing is right instead of feeling pressured to accept an offer just because we’re on a deadline.

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. The last two times we moved were during seasons of stress, exhaustion, and complete chaos. I don’t remember much about either move except how overwhelming they felt. This time I want it to be different. I want to enjoy the process. I want to dream about paint colors, watch the house come together, and actually have time to appreciate what a huge blessing this new chapter is instead of rushing through it.

It’s a strange feeling. Nothing is changing today, but somehow it feels like everything has already started changing. I know the next year will be full of planning, dreaming, decluttering, and probably a little worrying too. But for the first time, I feel like we have the opportunity to experience a move with peace instead of panic, and I think that’s something I’ll remember for a very long time.

As excited as I am about a new house, that’s really not the heart of all of this. The house is just a house. The reason we’re making this move is because we want to give our kids every opportunity to thrive. We want them in a school system where they can feel safe and have every chance to succeed. Nothing is more important to us than that.

I’ve also always believed that home isn’t something you age out of. I have no intention of telling my children that they’re on their own the day they turn eighteen. Life is expensive, dreams take time, and sometimes people simply need a safe place to land while they figure things out. I want our home to be big enough, and our hearts open enough, that they’ll always know they have a place here if they need it.

No matter where life takes them, I hope they never have to wonder if they have somewhere they belong or somewhere they can go.

I’ve never been good at planning things for the future like this, because there’s just too many variables and too many things that could change course, but if you don’t make plans sometimes- then nothing will ever happen. It feels like the right thing to do and I pray that God blesses it along the way and that it will turn out to be the right choice for us.