Goodbye to the Nest

street view.

The backyard.

family room in basement.
play area in basement
office in basment

stairs from kitchen area to basement
out to garage
kitchen and dinning


dinning room we used for desk and bookshelves
front door entry
front living room
downstairs 1/2 bath
M's room-

Kid's Bathroom
Kate and Sam's room
Master Bedroom

master bath

We have to be out of the house on Friday. The new owners will be here at 9:00 am. At the moment the house doesn't even resemble our home as it is filled with boxes and in chaos. In order to finish the packing and cleaning we are going to stay with my mom for the rest of the week, and come over and finish after the kids are in bed each night.

Saying goodbyes is not easy. We feel like we have been doing to for a few weeks now, and it is exhausting. And saying goodbye to the house is on the list of hard goodbyes.

We moved into this home mid Nov 2006. I was half way through a pregnancy and anxious to

be in a home so I could create a space to bring my 1st born home to. We had not even learned the new babe was a girl yet. We bid on the house in a silent auction, offering $246,000. Now that seems ridiculous, but it was a different time, and it was the only livable house we had found for under $300,000 in Heber at the time. I can still remember going to see a home we though might be a possibility listed at $215,000. From the outside it looked decent, but the inside didn't even have a floor, just dirt, and no recognizable kitchen or bathroom. Needless to say when we walked through this foreclosure, we happily bid that amount. And we didn't even actually win the auction, but the people who did weren't able to get the deal closed, and it was offered to us. We felt to lucky. I remember Jake came to lunch at my mom's, and when he told me I jumped up and threw myself around him pregnant and all I was so pleased. We moved in, the home had a lot to do, but we were excited about it. The 1st time we walked through it after it was ours I told Jake "I can't believe how big it is" and I had totally forgotten there was an unfinished basement too. We happily lived in the finished 1600 square feet and slowly finished that basement ourselves. By the time all 2400 square feet were finished our three children and all their stuff had filled the house just fine, we were starting to feel like we might like a bit more room even.

The 1st surprise of the new house was that the garage door wasn't automatic. That was changed the 1st week. The the water heater and kitchen sink both broke within the 1st week. Next we started with a fence and lawn. Though the home was four years old, it had not been landscaped. We painted rooms, finished a bedroom in the basement, and of course there were tons of small repairs along the way. The new light fixtures, kitchen sink, cabinet hardware.Then came the dreaded tile of most the main floor, a bathroom remodel,new blinds and screens, and eventually the completion of the family room in the basement. It changed the way we lived- no more toys every where. Then new appliances and lots of decorating. And new carpet for most the house. This past spring it started to feel like we had imagined it could.

I named the house the nest this past year. When the birds again built a huge nest on the front porch. It seemed fitting not only because of the bird nests, but because it was where all three of the children came home from the hospital too. When we moved in we had no children, and now leaving it we have three. Three children in just five short years. With all the newborn memories, it can't be named anything else. Though Jake says we should call it "stairway to heaven" because of the millions of stairs we feel like we are constantly climbing in a three story house. I think leaving the house full of all our children's memories will be sad for me. I don't remember things that well, but when I glance at the stairs I can remember Kate climbing them when she was just 8.5 months old. I can remember laying next to her for months on end for our afternoon nap on the couch when I hear the gate slam because of the wind. When I see the glass sliding door, I have all kinds of memories of Kate and Sam staring out at the dog. When I look at the tile floor I remember we did that when Sam was just a few weeks old, and we could do it because he was such an easy baby. The current nursery reminds me of how happy Sam would be in his crib when I would come to get him after a nap. In the driveway I can picture Sam dressed up for Halloween as a fireman. Marianne won't have too many memories here. Perhaps my bedroom and the hours I spent sleeping there before and after she was born, so sick I felt like I was going to die and the bathroom where I took two or even three showers a day just to feel kind of normal during her pregnancy. A short memory of her happy in our master bathtub, and laughing at herself in the big mirror. And oh the office, which gave us Jake everyday all day long. And how awesome it feels to know he is downstairs. I won't hear his muffled voice through the floor when he is on the phone, or get a skip in my step when I hear him open his office door to come up for lunch. The sound of airplane over head in the summer mornings as the kids played in their pool and I tended the garden, shouldn't be missed too much.

It is funny how many gifts we have to leave behind too as we move. The tree Jake bought and planted for my birthday, the tile floor was a mother's day gift, the super powered shower head another mother's day, the painted office I did for Jake as gift, the stainless appliances we got each other for Valentine's Day. How silly.

This was the 3rd time we attempted to sell the home. The 1st time I can't really remember I just know that we did. The 2nd time was shortly after Sam was born. Jake was not loving his job, and we figured there wouldn't be another one for him in Heber. We had the house under contract, but after something like 45 days if fell through and we didn't want to start over. Jake's own business was starting to take off around now too, and the 1st thoughts of quitting his law job came. A few months later he would decide to go for it and we wouldn't be moving after all. This time it sold ridiculously fast, faster then we expected or even wanted.

As we pack and clean it is crazy how much stuff we have now. I guess adding kids, 3 kids, will do that to us. We have only moved once in our marriage, from our Provo House to this home. We don't like moving. It is hard work.

Jake says he has never really like this house, because it trapped us for so long. We couldn't sell it, refinance, or leave because it wasn't worth nearly what we paid or owed on it. It still is not even close, but I guess now we are at a point where we can afford to take the loss. I'll be sad though. I like my house. Sure it is not my favorite style, the yard is a little small, and I do hate all the stairs. But it has been such a wonderful , safe, warm home for me and all my babies. I'll miss it.

Goodbye Nest. I'm sure when we are in town to visit we will drive by and wave hello- and see if the new owners are keeping you as kindly as we did.