And, we're in.

No, we didn't get lost on our way to the new house. We've just been SO busy. But, we are in! The last month has been absolutely crazy, but at least we are past the most intense parts now. And we are very thankful to finally be in this home that we have been working so hard to make real for the past year and a half. Praise!

I have a lot to catch up on, so bear with me...

The house was officially finished on March 15, so even though we weren't actually moving in for another week, we decided to have a little celebration out here that afternoon.

The media/exercise room was a big hit for all of the boys (Mason included, of course!)



Auntie very sweetly got us balloons to celebrate :)

and we had celebratory pudding pie on the back deck!
We opened our first box (toys, of course!)...

...and it didn't take long for the great room to looks like this:

We also got to see the bathrooms totally complete, clean, and uncovered for the first time:

Mason had been busy filling up the attic with as many boxes as we could, so here is a look at the attic at its fullest point:

March 22nd was moving day. We had been busily moving boxes and things all week, but the movers came that day to take all of our furniture, and we brought the remaining essential items over. It was the first night we slept in the house.

Thanks to my amazing mom (and sister-in-law), who let us use her van all week as well as watching the kids most of the days so that we could focus on the move, everything went very smoothly. We worked really hard, but it was satisfying work. I had a few emotional meltdowns about leaving the old house (it was, after all, where we moved in after we got married and where I brought both of my babies home from the hospital... I have a lot of memories wrapped up in that special home), but I was able to push through, and since arriving at the new house, I really haven't looked back all that much. I am so thankful for the 7 1/2 years we spent there, but I'm also looking forward to many, many more wonderful memories here at the new house :)

Once the movers got all of the furniture in place, Mason & I finally took a break to eat some lunch. It wasn't our first meal at this house, but it sure was nice to be able to eat at a table!


This is what the house looked like when we moved in :

And this is what the inside of the house soon looked like - boxes & toy chaos!

I actually became quite fond of our "box pile" - at its finest, it was much, much bigger than this, but I forgot to take a picture then.


Here are the boys checking out their furnished rooms for the first time:

One of the best things about those early days (aside from having lots of family around to help!) was having lots of "projects" for Mason & the boys to do - there were plenty of things to put together, and little boys like tools.

Our new furniture for Ryan's room (as well as some others) arrived a couple of days after move-in, so we had fun setting up his new room all over again. Here's what it looks like now (more or less):

... and some of our other new & exciting furniture:

That first week or so was a stressful, busy time for sure, but I have so many great memories that I want to write some of them down so that I don't forget them. Here goes:

- driving down our driveway on moving day and seeing a deer in our front yard

- baby turtles!

- sitting out on the front porch with Mason after the boys went to bed, checking our email (we didn't have wi-fi at first) and looking at the stars.

- waking up to the sun rising over the creek and seeing the silhouettes of the trees through our bedroom windows

- watching the kids dance and play in the rain

- the red buds:

- our first dinner party to celebrate Bunny & Mason's birthdays; eating out on the front porch!

I have to say that we do already feel completely at home here, and despite all of the work and stress and small irritations, we are thrilled to be here and enjoying the house very much.

And we even have grass :)

Carpet

Nothing makes a house feel like a home like carpet. Okay, so maybe some furniture would help too, but the carpet does make a huge difference. It feels much cozier now :)

They carpeted the upstairs last week and we went out on Saturday with Uncle Bret, Auntie, and Atticus, and had so much fun exploring :) They have been working on the rest of the carpet this week, and we went out this afternoon, hoping they'd be done. It was all done except the media room. According to the very experienced carpet guy, "It's gonna be a job."

Anyway, we'll go chronologically and start with the top floor.

Here's the master bedroom:
and Ryan's room:

Atticus especially enjoyed the new carpet...

...and eventually all 3 boys got in on the action:

They also had a lot of fun playing on Kaeden's window bed (as usual!):

Atticus is finally starting to return some of Kaeden's affection, and it is super sweet. I love watching these two boys together!

Moving on to today, here is the carpeted great room:

The fireplace is also finally finished... mantel, doors, etc. So fun to finally see that room complete :)

Here's the carpet runner going upstairs:

And finally, on the bottom floor, here's the play room:

and looking down the hallway from the mudroom to the guest bedroom:

...and the beginning of the media/exercise room. This is the ceiling. Yes, it's carpeted. Yes, the rest of the room will be carpeted too, walls and all. Yes, that is metal hanging down for Mason's pull-up bars. Yes, I said barS. Let me introduce you to my husband.

So, that's it for the new carpet. Here are a bunch of other miscellaneous photos from the past week.

The front walkway is finished, grass seeded, etc. :)

A family photo opp in the breakfast nook

Door hardware is in

Pantry shelves in, floor & countertops stained

Dining room with stained floor

Office cabinetry completed, floor stained

And finally, we have refrigerators! The kitchen appliances are complete :)

We were hoping to pass the final inspection today, but as usual, there are nit picky things to fix up for that. Once that's done, we can start moving some boxes in to the attic and all that's left on the house is some little details and cleaning. 2 weeks from tomorrow, it'll be done. We can't wait!