home sweet home

What a weekend! The closing went very well (other than Lyle running circles around the big table at the lawyer's office while we tried to sign papers...) and we spent Friday evening relaxing with our friends at the house.



You'll notice I did not say anything about moving any furniture. We decided to wait until the weekend to do that. You can do that when the woman you buy your house from practically leaves it furnished for you.



Seriously. She left us So. Much. Cool. Stuff. She is moving to the Solomon Islands next week and was not taking much of anything. So she let her friends and family have what they wanted and then left the rest for us. It's been like an entire estate sale, all for free! Since we are lovers of cool secondhand stuff, it's been so much fun discovering new things in every room. This made things so much easier for her too, since she did not have to spend her last few weeks in the country packing up her stuff for donation. I love when things work out so nicely for everyone.

And, lastly, I cannot close without mentioning our first big milestone in the new house.



Hazel spent her first night in her new room, and woke up to a bright and beautiful Sunday morning- her ninth birthday!



Since we've already given her the house we bought her, ;) she has been very understanding about the lack of fanfare on her big day. We pushed back the date with Daddy to Monday since we had to get the furniture moved today. And the rest of the celebrating will have to wait a few weeks until we are settled in. So watch for cake, ice cream, balloons, and streamers around the end of March or so. Until then, Hazel can be found picking daffodils and climbing trees with her friends. Just like a nine-year-old should.