A Place to Call Home

When Jason made his first trip to New York a year ago, we expected the following eight months to be challenging for our marriage. In some ways, I feel like our separation was made easier for exactly that reason--we knew that it was going to be hard and did our best to brace ourselves and make the most out of a difficult situation.

In contrast, I don't think either of us expected the ensuing "house hunting" phase of our life to be nearly as emotionally exhausting as it's proven to be. As a couple, Jason and I are pretty accustomed to feeling remarkably aligned in our deepest desires and gut instincts. While we both still share the same ultimate goal--happiness and safety for each member of our family-- we've struggled to find a common vision of what this should look like when placed in the very concrete context of our future home.

And so, please forgive us if our joy is laced with a hint of reticence as we share these photos of what we think will be our future home. The home is lovely, the offer accepted, the inspection complete, and the closing date set. Yet if for some reason we back out at the last moment, please forgive us for our flakiness. While not written into the contract, move-in date is contingent on everyone's hearts and minds being at ease.

So without further ado, the fruits of our sub-zero house hunting!

From the front.  Pretty adorable with the porch swing and Narnia lamp post out front.  I also love how the street address is "2345," plus the home was built in the nice round year of 1900.  Just imagine all the history this home has seen.

The main floor has gorgeous maplewood trim and original doors. 

Papa Kay ponders the house for a moment.

Dining room.  (Sorry my photos are grainy.)

The kitchen is begging for a remodel.

Fortunately, I have a husband who's pretty handy.  :)  We really wish we could bump the kitchen wall out three or four feet to give us more space but unfortunately there's not enough room on the lot.

The home has two and a half baths--one on each floor.  The upstairs bathroom is actually quite functional compared to most older homes.

Master bedroom.  Decent closet space for a 1900s house.

This study will likely become Eli's bedroom.  I'm thinking I'd like to repaint--any suggestions on color?

The family has a daughter just a few months older than Annika.  I'm looking forward to finally setting up a nursery for my baby.

The built-in bookshelf is a definite bonus.  :)

The attic has been beautifully finished and will probably become Brooklyn and Talia's room.

It may look like everything is all finished, but I'm sure Jason will figure out a way to add some more insulation.

In the meantime, I'm sure the kids will enjoy the open spaces and chalkboard wall.

Peering out the attic window at the yard.  The 1.5 car garage, shed and the play structure are all ours.

Now a peep at the basement.  Popcorn and movies anyone?

The basement also has a lovely laundry room and bath.

And my personal favorite--a guestroom!!!  We can't wait to have a real space for visitors. 

One more peak at the play equipment.  You may notice the neighbors next door also have baby toys in the yard.  Apparently there are lots of kids in the neighborhood.

Oh, and let's not forget the concrete pad for basketball, bikes, scooters, and pogo sticks.  Plus, plenty of extra parking space for travelers who grow weary of I-80.  (Just in case you missed the earlier hint...)

And the back of the house with its small deck for eating outside.

A wide open door ready to welcome new owners.

Other positives: the neighborhood seems great--generally well-maintained homes with quiet cobblestone streets all around.  It's a really quick jump onto the interstate for Jason, shortening his commute time to Red Oak significantly.  There's good access to running trails, plus we're close to both downtown and the zoo.  As far as the girls' school goes, I'll have to drive them for the rest of the year.  Kind of tedious considering it's 20 miles roundtrip.  Next year, however, they should be eligible to ride a bus.

It's pretty amazing that we found the house at all.  I noticed it featured on zillow the day after it was listed.  When we toured it the next day, six people had already been through, a couple of whom expressed serious interest.  By this point we'd been through enough homes to know we'd found a unique home priced right, so we hurried and wrote up an offer.

Now for the kicker.  Just hours after we received word that our offer had been accepted, we got a phone call letting us know that this property was back on the market.  Back in the beginning of December we'd placed an offer but were outbid.  At the time, we felt so discouraged and disappointed.  We communicated with the realtor several times after the contract was signed to make sure the deal was still solid--it always was.  And so, if Jason and I seem slightly torn, perhaps we're trying to decide if God is giving us a second chance with the first home, or if that home needed to be unavailable long enough for us to find our "real" new home.  It's also quite possible that God may not particularly care--both are good options.  The first house has gorgeous views but needs a lot of work (and a bit of extra money) to finish the basement and add a garage.  It's easy to imagine our family settling into the second house immediately, but any changes we make won't be as remarkable.  I'm personally leaning toward the second option because I think we'll have a little less stress and a little more financial freedom.  Still, I'm totally willing to take a different cue from Jason, the more courageous risk-taker in the family.  In either case, it's up to us as a family to add the love that transforms concrete and wooden planks into a home.

Because today's a good day for a laugh...

We were so sad to put Aunt Callie and Zoe on a plane yesterday after several lovely weeks together. We will miss them both, although I dare say Talia will miss Zoe the most. She proved her puppy love again and again by volunteering to take Zoe for walks, no matter how frigid the weather. As for Zoe, she will most likely pine for Annika, a pug's best friend, thanks to Annika's newest pastime--purposefully knocking the food off her tray for Zoe to devour.

Here are a few photos of the partners in crime:

Say, baby, I'm hungry and you look rather tasty.

Mind if I have a lick?  You've got a little extra sweet potato on your face.

Mmmm, peas are tasty too.

You're better than a chicken wing!

And oh yes, to top it off, a nice long lick of armpit.  My favorite!

Keep smiling!

Finishing off the Year with Fun--Wells Style

Well, Tanja--you guessed it right. The surprise carolers that showed up on our doorstep Christmas Eve eve were our "New York cousins."  The Wells Family who drove all the way from Long Island to spend the holiday together. I can't even begin to describe how utterly astonished and completely delighted we were to see them all. I will forever and always cherish the memory.

There's a lot that I'd like to write, but it's so late that a few pictures will have to suffice for the time being. One morning my father took the kids with him for their trademark bonding time--breakfast at Burger King. While the munchkins were gone, we big kid cousins had a photo shoot in the backyard.

In case you didn't recognize the participants, we have:

Amazing Alesia

Gregarious Gregory

Kaptivating Katelyn (okay, that's cheating, but as a fellow "K" name I know how scarce kool adjectives are to come by.)

Neon Nette (So her hair isn't quite as florescent as over the summer, but her personality still glows.)

 Plus all the way from Washington by way of Middle-earth we have:

Charismatic Callie

Admirable Adam

and last but not least,

Zesty Zoe.

The man in the frog hat is my husband. 

Jambalaya Jason

We're both kind of quirky.  It works.

Kooky Kara

And just for kicks and giggles, here's one last photo of the entire crew (minus Jason who was working.  Fortunately, he's the one most capable of photoshopping himself into the memory.)

I'll post more pictures later.  As Papa K was one of many who joined the Soggy Bottom club, I promise that they should be good.  :)

 

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

We, the Wheelers, hope everyone hung in there through the holidays and had a very merry Christmas!

So our holiday greetings are a bit belated...my apologies.  We have the most amazing excuse, though.  Check out this video:

Stay tuned to find out more about the world's best Christmas surprise. :)

Brooklyn's Birthday Bummer

I'm kind of having a lousy day. Can't complain though, especially considering Brooklyn's bummer of a birthday earlier this week.

It all started off so beautifully. When we picked Brooklyn up from school, our now nine year-old was all smiles, walking arm in arm with her sister and friend Claire.

By the way, have we shown you a photo of this munchkin recently?  All she wants for Christmas is her *three* front teeth!  (She lost yet another while eating an apple.)

Back to the birthday story, we took Brooklyn to the mall where this little cutie was waiting inside Claire's.

At long last, Brooklyn was going to get her ears pierced.  (Much to Brooklyn's chagrin, we actually let Talia be the first on this one--Tally got her first pair of earrings for her birthday last month.)

Despite the highly anticipated event, Brooklyn was a bit nervous--understandably.

Talia, on the other hand, was a great cheerleader and all-around distraction.

Before we knew it, the pain was gone and Brooklyn was all smiles.

With flashy new earrings, we continued our birthday celebration by heading downtown for ice skating at the outdoor rink by Con Agra.  The girls had been begging to skate and were so excited.


I was delighted as well since the bitterly cold weather had eased into a lovely crisp winter's eve lit by a full moon.


Watching my children and hubby happily skate, I recall marveling at the miracle of the moment.


Well, a moment is all it takes for everything to change. I slipped inside the tent to nurse Annika and was interrupted by a lady who told me that my daughter had most likely broken her arm.  Which one?  I asked.  The birthday girl, she replied.  I rushed outside to this heart-wrenching scene. 

Note: a bystander took these photos of the trauma and texted them to Jason because he thought we might want to have them.  Just don't want you to think I chose my camera over immediately embracing my baby.

One glance at the odd angle of my little girl's arm, and the paramedics were summoned.  She was loaded onto a stretcher.  Not every birthday girl gets her own personal ambulance ride!  Fortunately, they let me ride with her to the hospital.


Morphine was the top priority once we made it to the ER.  One Brooklyn was drugged, she felt well enough to open a few birthday presents.  The Kaya doll from NomiAnn and Papa Kay was just perfect for snuggling with in the hospital.  (I must say, their gift was a much better choice than the gift Jason and I planned--a session of swimming, basketball, or ice skating lessons. Sigh. )

 

As anticipated, they took some x-rays.  Talia was so worried that she wouldn't leave Brooklyn's side, even after we sent the rest home.

You don't have a medical degree to see this break! (A distal radial fracture, if you want to be more technical.)

Fortunately, they were able to set the bone.  We were a bit disappointed that they didn't have any colorful cast options, but grateful to be on our way home a few hours later.  Here's Brooklyn smiling once more the next morning.

That evening we enjoyed a birthday "redo" at the Pizza Machine since our previous birthday dinner plans were spoiled.  A broken arm didn't keep Brooklyn from braving the Frog Hopper.


Last but not least, we finally enjoyed Brooklyn's birthday cherry cheesecake.

Happy Birthday, Buttermilk!

Well Brooklyn, if nothing else, this will always be a birthday to remember. Thank you for being so brave and having such a good attitude through such a challenging experience.  I seriously thought my heart might rip as I watched you suffer--I would have given anything to take that away.  You are such a beautiful, inquisitive, intelligent, considerate nine year-old.  It's challenging to bridge the gap between young woman and child, but you are doing a remarkable job. 

I mentioned earlier that I was having a lousy day, but after taking some time to think and write about you, I'm feeling much lighter.  Thanks for brightening our lives, BMW.