SOLD!

I can't believe it's SOLD!

As I type this the packers are inside this house boxing up all my parents' worldly possessions and soon our family homestead for the last 12 years will be in the hands of a different family. It's really bittersweet.

The whole process has taken a long time, in a sense, but in the end it was So Fast. My parents have tossed around the idea of moving to Kentucky to be near the grandkids for, what, years? They looked at houses online and when in town even visited a few with a realtor, but it always kind of seemed like a never-actually-going-to-happen thing.

Then Michael and I moved to Ohio and my sister Kim and Josh moved to Lexington, and before they knew it, all their kids and grandkids were living less than 2 hours from each other. And they were all the way down in Florida.

Don't get me wrong, Florida is great. To visit. And their house there is this beautiful oasis in a busy, over-crowded city.

I was with them when they first saw it with a realtor. We walked in the front door and were immediately drawn out the back door. We stood at the patio rail, looking out on the lake and agreed: "This is it." We hadn't even seen the rest of the house.

They took that house and made it their own. They expanded the back patio and upgraded the screened porch,

remodeled the center portion of the house, repositioning the kitchen and dining room and making it their taste.

They improved the master bedroom, put new flooring in the whole house, replaced all the windows and sliders, and upgraded all three bathrooms beautifully. They resurfaced the patio and driveway, painted the house, upgraded fixtures, built in storage in the garage, and added a garden. Whew.

It really is a gorgeous house.

But... I guess what good is a gorgeous house in a tourist state if you only get to share it with loved ones a couple times a year. So they got to thinking: Kentucky.

Before I knew it, they were listing the house on the market, and a week later they had an offer. So fast! I didn't even have time to publicize it to all my FL friends so we could keep it in the "family"! I must admit, I am sad to see that house go to a stranger, even though the buyers seem to Love it. I lived there for several years before I was married, and Michael, Adam and I spent many many weekends there, even though our own condo was only 3 miles away. (To the point that we even left extra clothes, pajamas, diapers and toothbrushes there.) It's surreal that I'll never be back to see it.

BUT.... we are Super-Duper Excited that our parents will be local again! While they haven't found a house yet, they're looking in Kentucky near my sisters. {It's clear where I stand in the rankings, haha!} They'll be able to be involved with us girls and the grandkids on a daily basis (if they want) and when we come to Lexington (which seems to be every other weekend anyway), we'll get to see everyone all together at once.

Find a big enough house for all of us, Mom and Dad. The Morelands are planning on moving back in!