On The Market
My life has been consumed this year. Consumed by all things house. I have so many things I meant to do. Resolutions. Goals. Thoughts and blogs. Updates. But nope. Just house. We debated, prayed, argued, and thought for about the last 6 months about putting it on the market. Not that we have to move. Or need to. Just that we want to. That is a very unique position for us. Some might say we have "the itch". This is the longest we have ever been in a house (almost 4 years) whew. There are 2 main reasons we are selling. #1. Justin needs a real office. #2. I need a real office.. aka.. play room for the boys "stuff". This house has been awesome for us but we are ready to move on.
Getting a house ready for market is no joke. Especially when you try and cram all the things you "wanted to do" for the last 4 years into a month. As we kicked the new year off, we also kicked off lots of work around the house.
The painting of the ceilings, bathrooms, and other areas that need refreshing was a little much on the toddlers. Fortunately Daddy has a ton of points saved up and got us a hotel. What a treat! Toddlers and paint do not mix well ;-)
The boys have been really big helpers around the house too.
I purchased a Living Social voucher for an interior designer to help us. During our consultation she gave me ideas on what we could do to "dress up" the house. That led to lots of fun shopping adventures.
I am kinda disappointed that I didn't get some truly awesome before and after pictures. She rearranged our furniture and told me to get new curtains. She changed around some of our rugs. Wow. What a huge difference. The room is bigger, more functional, and we both love it.
Always an adventure around here. We had the carpets cleaned and of course our luck something went wrong and it left spots everywhere. The guy came back out twice and worked on them. So for 3 days we could not get on the carpet. Justin's solution? Open the windows and go in and out. Thank goodness we have a one story :-) The boys thought this was awesome and are still asking to use the windows instead!
I think my favorite part of the whole redo is our bedroom and bathroom. We have this huge window seat that has been empty. We are using the same bedding we got for our wedding 8 years ago and at one time it was really nice. 8 years of dogs, moving, and toddlers did quite the number on it. This was a great excuse to update that. The interior designer was a huge help on advice. I never would have put the curtains on the outside like that. I am proud of how it turned and giving myself a pat on the back for picking it all out and coordinating it myself.
With toddlers can you ever have anything nice? What do you think Eli did as soon as he saw it? We have set up some serious rules since the first day.
We replaced the mirrors in our bathroom too. Such an easy cheap fix for a great update. We did the counter tops and sinks when we moved in.
Look how clean the playroom/extra study room is!
Do you know how we got it that way?
Oh yeah. Uncle Bob's storage. That's where all the clutter is. And all the big toys. The boys have been big helpers getting things moved in.
We also, at the recommendation of the realtor, added some new greenery.
So that's it! All clean, polished and shined.
A professional photographer from the realtor came and took pictures today so the listing will be active tomorrow.
I have to say that I have a lot of anxiety around selling the house. How will I ever keep it clean? Is it the right thing to do? Will someone buy it? Will they give us the price we need to move? So many things up in the air. The last few days I have really worked on turning this over and leaving it at the altar. God has a perfect plan, I know this. Whether it's staying or going it is in His hands. I was previously asking my prayer groups to pray for a quick sale but I know that is the wrong perspective. I am praying for God's timing. God's plan and the patience to wait on His time. Will you pray that for me too? I try to get ahead of Him so many times and take these matters in my hands.
The sermon series that we wrapped up last week was on Anxiety and Stress. The whole series spoke to me but I bookmarked these verses.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6-7
Lord I am grateful for the past 4 years in this home. For giving us a wonderful place to bring our babies home too. The friendships we have made in this neighborhood. The memories we have made here. I am trusting you for this next step.
Love,
The Riley's
Getting a house ready for market is no joke. Especially when you try and cram all the things you "wanted to do" for the last 4 years into a month. As we kicked the new year off, we also kicked off lots of work around the house.
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| goodbye ugly grey trim - hello bright white shiny new house :-) |
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| painting ceilings |
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| headed to the hotel with mom |
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| indoor swimming of course |
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| Dad took a break and brought us pizza |
I purchased a Living Social voucher for an interior designer to help us. During our consultation she gave me ideas on what we could do to "dress up" the house. That led to lots of fun shopping adventures.
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| bargain shopping of course |
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| new couch pillows |
Always an adventure around here. We had the carpets cleaned and of course our luck something went wrong and it left spots everywhere. The guy came back out twice and worked on them. So for 3 days we could not get on the carpet. Justin's solution? Open the windows and go in and out. Thank goodness we have a one story :-) The boys thought this was awesome and are still asking to use the windows instead!
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| climbing out after nap |
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| this is dirty mom |
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| great use of the truck as a step stool |
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| Doesn't everyone lay outside? |
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| my new updated master bedroom |
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| throwing my new pillows |
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| piling them up to make a fort |
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| oh and now I have a hard time getting him out! |
Look how clean the playroom/extra study room is!
Do you know how we got it that way?
Oh yeah. Uncle Bob's storage. That's where all the clutter is. And all the big toys. The boys have been big helpers getting things moved in.
 |
| what's santa claus doing in here? |
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| helping put things away |
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| shopping for greenery |
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| Our new plants - hopefully will stay alive until we sell! |
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| The boys room has never been this clean |
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| back deck painted too |
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| he said "are you taking a picture of me taking pictures of you?" |
The sermon series that we wrapped up last week was on Anxiety and Stress. The whole series spoke to me but I bookmarked these verses.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6-7
Lord I am grateful for the past 4 years in this home. For giving us a wonderful place to bring our babies home too. The friendships we have made in this neighborhood. The memories we have made here. I am trusting you for this next step.
The Riley's