Oh man, what a crazy few months it’s been, the photos above were taken from September until now, the time we’ve been in the process of buying this home and selling the old. On Friday we officially (and finally) closed on our new home in Fort Atkinson! It was so bittersweet to see our first home empty and ready for the new occupants but it was super exciting to get the keys and finally feel a sense of ownership on our new river home. Let’s call a spade, a spade, moving sucks. It’s been pretty stressful, super busy, and we’ve found ourselves living off of take out and digging through boxes to find the things we need! We are thankful we were able to get into the new place early so we could get the floors refinished and start moving over smaller stuff before the movers came on Monday! (If you’ve never hired movers before, it is worth every penny. That rumor is so true!)

So far we’ve got most everything put away (minus the basement that is filled with storage totes and my entire contents from my office) and we’re working our way through finding a place for everything! Moving from a new home to a home that is over 100 years old has meant some major changes: lots of stairs, no more ranch life, tiny closets, crooked walls, and so much charm. We are loving living on the water, late at night the ducks float on by, during the day fishing boats put along, and an occasional kayak floats on by! It’s also been crazy being so close to food, friends, and even a grocery store (after living my entire life in places that don’t have grocery stores, it’s incredible to be at a supermarket in two minutes flat!) My sweet dad (pictured above) drove the six hour drive to spend a few of his precious days off helping us settle in! That man is so crazy handy and boy did we put him to work! Since the home has been entirely flipped, we needed to put in fixtures (like toilet paper, towel bars, and closet organizers!) We worked him hard and treated him to some yummy meals and good conversation! Drew’s mama came down and was a champ and helping us clean out our old place, it was such a blessing since I had to work late on Thursday!

The dogs have been settling in, Chloe is adjusting to all of the windows and wood floors. We’ve met a few of the neighbors, walked to the coffee shop, ran a new running route, and are enjoying all of the convenience that living in town has. It’s been such a time of change and while I am just feeling a bit settled, I am off to Guatemala for a week of mission work before the year ends. We are feeling so thankful and grateful right now! Settling in for the holidays and always ready for visitors!

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