That Time When We Moved to Columbia, South Carolina

*notice the U-haul in the upper right!

This apartment complex, The Ashborough, in Raleigh, NC is where Scott and I called home for the first 5.5 years of our marriage.  We lived in three different apartments within this complex.  Both times I got pregnant, we moved into a slightly bigger apartment.  You can see why we had to get outta there.  I might have gotten pregnant AGAIN!

We were happy there, but eager to move into a HOUSE.

Scott got a new job in Columbia, SC.  We'd been saving for a while for a downpayment on a house.  In this case "a while" = 3 years.  We were ready to look into buying a home!  I'll write more about our home search and financing journey in another post.  Fast forward to the week of Thanksgiving.

My mom hosted an incredible Thanksgiving dinner.

Side note:  It stresses me out a little bit to think one day I'll be responsible for creating such holiday feasts on my own.  I'd hate for my kids to grow up telling stories about "Thank goodness McDonald's was open on Thanksgiving Day..."  a la Christmas Story type stuff.  But the gap between what I'm capable of making right now and what my mom or mother-in-law can make is Grand Canyon-esque. <sigh>

Scott made us his very first pumpkin pie (pictured on the right).  It was so.very.good.  Well done, hunnee!

Thursday we feasted, then finished packing.  

Friday, the move began.  Our goals for the day were 1) pack the truck, 2) clean the apartment, 3) drive to Columbia.  We had already moved most of our belongings downstairs into the garage for easier truck-loading.

Please take note:  The vast majority of everything we owned was in this garage when I took this picture.  Not a wall-to-wall-packed garage.  A stuff-loosely-stacked-and-scattered-throughout garage.  I know this will be the last time all of our belongings fit in a 17' U-haul.  That makes me a little bit sad, actually.  I'm the opposite of a hoarder/pack-rat.  I love throwing stuff away and getting rid of stuff.  The idea of accumulating MORE stuff makes me sad!  

Back to the move.  Friday we* loaded the truck and we** cleaned the apartment.  

*Scott, Scott's Dad Bruce, my dad Steve, my brother David.

**My mom Anne and I.

Can I just tell you how much husbands LOVE IT when wives walk around taking pictures of work instead of actually doing work? 

Nestle is soooo helpful.

This picture is to document where Reese slept from about 6 months of age until we moved.  Her pack-n-play fit in there nicely. Hey...some of our grandparents slept in dresser drawers.  My kids slept in a bathroom.  To each his own...

Despite James and Reese's superior moving skills, we opted not to employ their services on moving day.  Gail, my amazing mother-in-law, and my amazing mom were on kid duty at my parents' apartment while the move took place.

About 3 pm on Friday, November 29th, we turned in our keys to our apartment and began our drive southbound to Columbia...Scott, Steve, Bruce and I, all driving separate vehicles (because we LOVE to waste gas!).  Anne and Gail stayed with the kids in Raleigh for one more night.

We arrived around 6:45 or 7pm.  Yay!  Goals met!  We didn't unload much at all that evening.  That's what Saturday was for!  We did take a few minutes to set up our brand new king sized bed.  We love it, by the way.  If you come visit us, there's room for a whole 'nother person in between us!  That's where you can sleep. :) 

Walking into the house from the garage.

The living room.  The walls are "softer tan" from Sherwin Williams, not yellow as they look in this picture.  I'm happy in this house, but not yellow-walls-happy, not THAT happy, sheesh.

Saturday's goals were 1) unload the truck and return it, 2) get the kids' beds set up and functional.  That morning we got the truck unloaded quickly.  It was fairly easy to do since we put most of it in the garage until such time as we figured out where to put it all.  The beds didn't take too long to locate linens for and assemble, so we were all set! Saturday goals met!  Yay!  I seriously should have printed out agendas for us all.  Next time...next time...

The grandma brigade arrived with children in tow in the early afternoon.  James immediately loved the house.  He ran around looking at stuff and pointing at it all and squealing.  He also loved the outside.  The fact that we can go outside now without being in a parking lot is pretty amazing to me too.  Reese seemed less phased by it all, but she's only a year old.  What does she know. :)

Here we are a week later and we are feeling fairly settled.  All the urgent boxes are in from the garage.  There are some we may never bring in from there.  The house to-do list is a mile and a half long, but the initial funds for such are gone.  We'll have to save for stuff and budget accordingly.  You know...the Dave Ramsey way.  It's how we do.

I absolutely love this house.  Just being in a HOUSE is so amazing to me!  

• No neighbors upstairs to hear morning and night.  
• No downstairs neighbors to worry about hearing us as my toddler practices Dora-the-explorer marching around the house.  
• I have a mailbox at the end of my driveway!
• I have a driveway!
• I have a great garage for storing all the don't-need-now-things.
• I have an attic!  I've put a lot of stuff up there just because it's there and that excites me.
• I met a neighbor and her little boy who is James' age while we were playing outside in the cul-de-sac.  Yay for meeting (nice) neighbors!
• I have a deep enough sink to wash high chair trays in.  This singular fact makes me blissfully happy.

The list could go on and on, but needless to say, we are happy.  We're getting settled and we're happy.  I'm still in the interview process with a couple of local hospitals, but it looks promising.  I'll get a job soon, at one place or another.  Scott has a long, grueling 10-12 minute commute to work to a job he is loving so far.  Pray for him.  There is a Krispy Kreme donut shop less than 10 minutes from my house.  Pray for me.  And for the nutritional status of my children.

If you need my new address, please email me at baacuff at mac dot com.  How do you know if you need my address?  If you are reading this, you need my address!  You need to send me a Christmas card!  Or just a note to say hello!  My preferred love language is quality time together or receiving snail mail.  Please love me.  Come see me.  Send me mail. Or both!