Our Soft Place to Land

My oh my, it's been a while. 

Well, we moved! It was a long, exhausting weekend but we are so happy in our new home and so glad to be out of what has now become affectionately known as "The Cave". It wasn't until we were sitting in our new living room after we emptied the truck and were taking a breather, that my Dad remarked, "I never realized how much of a cave you guys were living in before". 

This new place is so bright and airy and feels so much bigger than where we were before. We are thrilled at the promises of new memories to be made here.

We signed the lease and got the keys and officially "moved in" on the Saturday before Memorial Day. We brought over the bed my parents had been storing in their garage for our "someday guest room" (Dad was THRILLED that "someday" had finally come) and slept here that night. 

Sunday morning we got up, went to church, then to Lowe's to pick up a few last minute things we needed for painting, as well as some various herbs and other plants for our little garden. Then we came home and got to work taping, cutting in, and rolling. It was Mr. Ford's first time painting and he did a great job! We (I) chose a light grey color with some lavender undertones that really come out in certain lighting, and it looks FANTASTIC with the crown molding. I am so happy with it.

My parent's came by to see the place and I had sworn we would not make them work, but my Mom can't help herself. She VOLUNTARILY rolled an entire a wall. She kept saying, "Oh, I'll just do one little bit and then you can take over again". Nope...she did the whole darn thing. Thanks, Mom! 

That was a long day...we (I) decided at about 10:00 that night that we needed to do a second coat. So we were up until 2:30 that morning finishing that, and we still haven't even finished the second coat in the hallway. :/ We still have some odds and ends to finish up...

Monday was official "Moving Day". I dropped Mr. Ford off at the U-Haul pick up and I went on ahead to the apartment to finish packing up the kitchen. Mr. Ford's wonderful brother, Ben, met me there to help and we are SO grateful for him. We could not have done it without him. Mr. Ford and Ben worked so well together and were terribly efficient and Ben was the puzzle master that made everything fit into the truck. My parents showed up a bit later (they ran/walked a 5K that morning with my Dad's company), and we finished loading up the odds and ends in my car and their car. My parents are wonderful too, always willing to help us out with whatever we need. It is so nice to have them nearby. Then we all caravanned over to the new place to unload. Ben stopped by Grampa Ford's to pick him up so he could help with the planting, which was also an enormous help. That project would probably still be wallowing around if not for Grampa. That man's got a green thumb like nobody's business. 

Mom and I untaped the living room and I directed as the strapping men unloaded the truck. I was amazed at how quickly they accomplished it. I think they just wanted to be done with it. For all my effort to purge and get rid of junk, we still have a lot of stuff. Maybe I wasn't as harsh as I thought I was...

After everything was unloaded, we grilled up some bratwurst and had a nice little late lunch/early dinner, before everyone left and Mr. Ford and I were finally fully and completely IN our new home. We are so beyond blessed to have wonderful family so willing to spend their Memorial Day helping us move. We are grateful and do not take it for granted. And then it was time to start unpacking and settling in. I refused to stop until I had our bedroom and the kitchen more or less completely done. One thing I learned from my mother in all those years moving was always unpack your bedroom and the kitchen first. Those are the rooms you'll need/want to use the most. 

And then Tuesday we went back to the old place to clean and have an initial inspection. We learned in the initial inspection, that regardless of how clean we left the place they were still going to bring in a professional service to clean, as well as shampoo the carpets, and were going to charge us for that no matter what. So even if we had scrubbed our fingers raw to make it as clean as when we moved in, they would still take $70 out of our security deposit for a "light professional cleaning" because it was "policy". I lost any interest in cleaning at all, right quick and in a hurry. What a joke. And a rip off. So, we did the bare minimum to make sure they didn't take more than $70 and boogied. I was over it. 

We have spent the time since then trying to unpack and settle in and take care of all of the "other" moving stuff, like internet, change of address, insurance changes, etc. We found the exact couch I'd been wanting for a long time from IKEA for MUCH cheaper on Craigslist and are now trying to figure out how to get rid of the old one that is taking up an enormous amount of space in the middle of my living room and preventing me from really feeling settled. We also have to get all the stuff up on all the walls and finish the second coat in the hallway. Once those things are done, I'll share pictures. :) The next steps will be painting the bedrooms/kitchen/bathroom. 

We are so pleased and feel so blessed to be able to call this place home and we cannot wait to open it up for all of our friends and families to visit, break bread, and commune together. Ultimately, that was the driving force behind the desire for a larger place. We wanted to have space for people to gather, to get away, to laugh, to rest, and to recharge. 

Our guest room is open to you...yes, you...and our table too. Whatever it is you need or want, let us help you find it here in our home and at our table. If you need a calm from the storm, come. If you need nourishment for your belly and your soul, come. If you need a safe place to work out whatever it is you need to work out, free from judgement, advice, and blame, come. If you need a place to laugh and forget the hard things and remember the good things, come. 

We believe in the very depths of our souls that this is our calling and our purpose in marriage. To create and foster an environment where intimacy can flourish, for all who need it. We strive to make our home a soft place to land for each other, and all who walk through our door. We would be honored to have you here. And children are, of course, welcomed with open arms and open windows! ;) (Extra cookies when you come if you get that reference!)

We are headed to Napa this weekend for a Marriage Retreat with our church and are so thrilled to hear what God has in store for us. Clearly, it's something important...He's called us to Napa after all. ;) Our dear friends and mentors, wisely counseled us before we got married to find an opportunity once a year to intentionally focus on our marriage and that is what this. We are humbled by the generosity of my parents to gift us this opportunity, because it probably would not be happening without them. 

Y'all have a great weekend and start planning that trip to Hôtel Ford! ;)