Goodbye, Carolina Avenue...

It seems so strange that tonight is our last night at 201 Carolina Avenue, Greer. I was trying to remember the exact day we moved in, but couldn't. I know we closed on the house 4 days after Noah was born, but the move itself is a bit fuzzy. I do remember that I was still in a fragile state, and didn't do a whole lot (when I tried, well, it wasn't good...I just remember thinking, "Uh Oh" and "Did I rip something?").

I remember it was very, very hot, and we had everyone pitching in to help move us in--Patrick, Mom, Dad, Dan, Janet, Rachel... We had Sonic for lunch (I think I still have the receipt we used to write the order down on), which again reinforces Patrick's belief that I only remember things when there's food associated. He may be right.

I remember the first thing to come into the house was Noah's Pack-n-Play--this was the only bed we had for him, since a true crib wouldn't fit in the apartment. Then the red sofa for a place for me to sit. Then I just watched our belongings being carted in by various family members.

We were so excited about the house, the yard, the location. It really has a lot going for it--lots of charm in the wood floors and original doorknobs; the large kitchen; the huge, fenced yard; the man shed that we had all sorts of ideas for (guest cottage was what we would have loved to have done. As it was, it was an amazing storage space). We loved the little dollhouse, and could just see a little girl loving it (at the time we made an offer on the house, I was still pregnant, and the sex of The Bean was still unknown). Then, when Noah made his appearance we thought when he got older we'd make some modifications to the doll house & make it a boy house someway--a barn-type house, maybe.

The house wasn't perfect, but I don't think any house IS perfect. We loved the porch, the deck, and the fact that we could walk to Downtown Greer. We really loved that last part when Greer went all-out and did a gorgeous park, and restaurants started moving in (then moving out...but then a resurgence, and more eateries are moving to Downtown). It had its quirks, as most old houses do.

I think I'll always have a special place in my heart for 201 Carolina--

It's the first house we brought our son to.

It's the house our baby said his first word, "Kitty." (Thanks, Mouse, for upstaging us yet again.)

It's the house our baby first crawled, and then rolled.

It's the house our baby took his first steps (finally!).

It's the house we took our Christmas picture in for the first 3 years of Noah's life.

It's the house that saw the transition from floppy baby, to baby, to toddler, to little boy.

It was our home.

I wish the new occupant many years of happiness, and hope that some of our joy we found within these walls will remain to bless the new families that will call this house their home.