My goodness, a whirlwind of a few weeks! With the planned move to Richmond Hill in 2023, and the building of our new house down there, we sold our beautiful white house in Dublin at the end of the summer. The family - some friends of ours - were gracious enough to let us rent it back until the first of December so that we could finish the Fall semester (and finish building the Barn out at the Farm - another last minute scramble!)
The Lord, in His great provision, answered a prayer we had about the Spring semester (of which I didn't want to spend actually living at the Farm, with school and sports and so much in the city). Some other friends were taking a 6 month extended trip to Colombia starting the first of January and intended to rent their house, fully furnished. Perfect timing!! We could move out of our white house, enjoy the Christmas season at the Farmhouse, and then get back into town in a rental house just in time for school. Maybe not the easiest way to do it but met all our needs.
The move out of the house went as well as expected. Especially since we expected - and got! - chaos and confusion, ha :) I felt like I packed up things for MONTHS prior to the move, but the stuff just kept coming as we loaded the trucks. Not to mention I had to pack and organize all the boxes and furniture so carefully (and with color coded post it notes): box for Farm, box for Carriage House, box for Rental House, box for Storage. "Storage" turned into THREE storage units. Geez Louise!
Saying goodbye to the place led to some tears - from the kids, and also from me. While it's the right decision and leads us to a future we're very excited about, the number of memories and milestones that took place in the house will forever make it a super special place for us. We arrived at the house with a 2-year-old and a 6-month-old baby, added another baby, and grew as a family (and I don't mean just in numbers, but as people, too).
We had to make several trips back in order to grab forgotten things (including a Christmas present that got left in the attic!), and actually went back to the neighborhood the day after the move for our annual Christmas brunch with the neighbors. Each trip became easier and easier, and slowly it feels like the home now belongs to someone else.
And, speaking of neighbors - that's the worst part of the goodbye. We had the BEST neighbors! The Vyas beside us and the Gardners behind us were our quaranteam during the pandemic, and the kids spent countless hours running between the houses and playing with each other. The full block has multiple families we've grown close to, enjoyed weekly Sunday Suppers at Paul and Sheila's with, and will forever be a part of our lives.
But again, the Lord is good, we've been blessed with a beautiful property and a wonderful Farm home that kept us safe and happy throughout December. This place is a sanctuary for us, and the "Christmas as the Farm" is the first of many memories and celebrations that we intend to experience here.
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