Location, Location, Location

Ok, so I haven't quite done the best job of recording all the fun pregnancy moments we've experienced this time around. I'm afraid our family photo albums might just have to settle for my Facebook updates. After all, this is child #4; she'd better get used to it. Besides, research shows she'll be the better for it, as latter children tend to be better adjusted to life, right? #justdoingmypart

Whatever.

I'm finally taking time to write a real update, because we haven't had enough dramatic change in our lives so...it's time to announce another one!

No, it's not twins.

And we're not moving to Maryland, as we thought there for a while. (Whew)

But we are moving! Right now, we live in downtown Franklin, about 20miles south of Nashville and in the heart of Williamson County. And we have loved being able to walk downtown (it's Mayberry hipster-style), participate in small town life, enjoy the nurture and diversity of the local public school, and get to know our awesome neighbors.

We've also loved this house. Even when it was a vacant, dirty, dark-brown foreclosure, we could see its good bones and hang on through the endless short-sale process. This house has seen our children born and growing, Josh finally done training and working his first fulltime-paid-for-real-non-student job, and me finally exploring the world of home decorating with more than duct tape and Target. We've transformed each room (and even the back yard) in the 8 years we've lived here. I would occasionally have nightmares about accidentally selling this house.

Which is why I refused to put it on the market. Even when I could see the writing on the wall.

It all started with potty training. That's right. Once we were potty-training Isaac, we couldn't keep him in a crib in the nursery with no access to a potty, so we put him in the bunk beds with Aaron, giving them both direct access to the restroom. This ousted Noah -- who was just fine with turning the nursery into his very own big-boy room where he could protect his precious lego creations. Perfect! Right?

We thought so, for about a week. By the time 6 months had passed, and we'd tried every trick in the book to get the roommates a decent night's sleep, we knew it had failed miserably. On the nights we moved Aaron to the guest room, we had a pleasant, age-appropriate, meaningful nighttime routine with each child. On the nights the two monkeys were together, no one heard the bedtime story, no one talked seriously about their day or said a heartfelt prayer, and momma never really left happy.

The solution may seem obvious--we do have a 3rd bedroom upstairs--but I've always been a big believer in siblings sharing rooms. We know awesome families who have recommended it as a bonding experience that builds flexibility. I don't want to spoil our kids! Plus I love having guests, and I know it's just not as welcoming when you get to stay in a 6-year-old's room as it is being in an honest-to-goodness guest room for grown-ups. Bottom line: I'd been reluctant to give each boy his own room and give up the guest room.

But out of desperation, we had just decided to do it. Right about the time we found out about baby #4.

That's when I started to feel the niggling notion in the back of my head that our home was perfectly suited to us as a family of 3-4, maybe 5. But it was not really built or bought for a family of 6. Ever.

Could we do it? Of course. People have 4 kids on a postage stamp. But do we have to? No. And how best do we think our children will thrive? What will provide the best environment for us to build relationships with them, disciple them, help them grow more independent, etc? What is the best use of our resources right now?

With time, the answer has become clearer to us, based on our knowledge of our particular mix of personalities.

It became even more obvious when we realized we might be able to simultaneously improve another sore spot in our lives: Josh's commute. It has always bothered both of us, but we were too attached to our neighborhood to do anything about it. Now, we could kill two birds with one stone. Which really is the worst expression. Who came up with that one??

We started looking just after New Year's, but our hearts were still not in it. Several times I considered telling our realtor to forget the whole thing: we're staying put! After all, I am pregnant! I'm tired! I want to nest! The thought of moving made me want to crawl under the covers and cry. But then I tried to imagine life in our house as a family of 6, and I'd think, I'll give it another week. My paralysis climaxed at small group one Sunday night, when I told our friends how I felt completely lost as to what we should do.

The next day, we found the house. The House. I can honestly say it was love at second sight. I had driven by it before we really started searching, but eliminated it because it's built on a slope and has very little yard. Then we spent 5-6 weeks looking, and I started to realize we were going to have to compromise somewhere. On second sight (our first real visit), I started to feel like the big grassy field of common space in front of the house plus the walk-out basement behind might make up for its back-yard deficiency. Then we walked through the house, and I thought it had been designed with my family in mind. Finally, we started mapping how long it would take to get to Vanderbilt (1/2 his current commute) and our church (5 minutes, tops). That sealed the deal.

And magically, something in my heart shifted. I am still sad about leaving our house and being further from our neighbors (who I dream about recruiting to our new area). But something fundamental moved inside me when I saw our new house, something that has made me truly excited about the next chapter in our residential lives. And eager to invite all of you over to visit -- and even stay! Because...(drum roll) it has a dedicated guest room, just waiting for you! So come see us! Just not on June 23... ;)