honey stop the car!

phew! took the big plunge today and put our house on the market. met with my aunt Denise today (she's a realtor) and signed all the paperwork, took all the pictures, etc. my mom and Grace took care of Colin and Elle for us as we went out looking at houses available for sale in Milan, as well as some of the new developments under construction. Ronni and i laughed at the signs in the front yards with slogans like "i'm gorgeous inside!" or "honey, stop the car!". then we realized we'll probably have one like that in our front yard :)

why the move? space. more specifically, the need (desire, really) for more since our family has grown. another bathroom with three of us and four in the not to distant future competing for one would be great. another bedroom for Elle when she outgrows her crib, too. and if we can swing it, a room where Ronni can teach piano lessons and put her computer. figured now would be a good time to go for it, since interest rates are still so low, and as we've prayed about it gotten nothing but green lights as best as we can discern.

there's a lot we're going to miss (assuming our house sells, of course). we've got awesome neighbors that we really love. we've got a great yard, the likes of which is hard to find in the new construction areas. and this has been a really happy house for us. bright and open, trouble free, with lots of unforgettable experiences taking place inside. bringing Colin and Elle home from the hospital for the first time, for example. youth team and high school kor group meetings. parties. gaming fests. sweet times of prayer. etc, etc.

strange combination of joy and anticipation / fear and trepidation / bittersweet feelings brewing inside. have to spend some time talking with Jesus about all that, do some surrendering, let him do some sorting. should be fun :)

no idea how quickly or slowly this process will go -- never sold a house before!

as an aside, we've been so busy i haven't had time to blog about the full motion flight simulator i got to visit, or the pistons, or our come from behind softball victory, or my old man / clumsy injuries, or the fun outreaches at church, or the upcoming week in Cincinatti (leave tomorrow) with the middle school and high school students for the summer of service, or our amazing board at church, fathers day, etc. etc. oh well, better busy than the alternative.