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Dear Holly: A Father’s Letter to His Daughter on Her 8th Birthday

8 years old today!

Dear Holly,

This will surely be a birthday you will never forget. Today, you turn 8 years old, in the midst of our family preparing for our big move to Alabama.

Over the weekend, we had everyone up to celebrate your birthday, and mine, and Nonna’s; as our birthdays are all within a 13 day span.

It felt like we were in Alabama. What I mean by that is that time seems to pass by more slowly, in a good way, when we are together in Alabama.

The main reason we are moving there is to make life feel more like that on a daily basis.

And your 8th birthday will be remembered as your final birthday in Tennessee, before we finally moved to Alabama; which is one of the main things you have talked about this entire school year.

It’s a pretty big birthday wish come true!

Love,

Daddy

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Our House is Now on the Market for $485,000! Spring Hill, TN

As of today, our home in Tennessee is officially on the market! We are so pleased and  impressed with the hard work our agent Josh Fulmer has done so far in setting up a professional photographer and videographer to take amazing photos and video footage of our home.

Click here to view our home for sale.

It feels like an out of body experience to see our home from an outsider’s perspective. I think, “Wow, somebody is truly going to get an exceptional home!”

After seeing the photos and video for the first time, my wife and I had this moment where we looked at each other with the same reaction, “I would totally want to buy that house!”

It only went on the market a couple of hours ago and we already have our first two viewings booked for tomorrow!

This positive viewpoint is not only based on the final sale prices of homes near house, but also in knowing that the many new upgrades including shiplap we have invested in our home over the years.

We have also replaced the roof, the water heater, and the heating/cooling unit, the HVAC, and the back deck help to make our home really stand out for the value. Not to mention, there have never been dogs nor smoking inside our home.

Something else that makes it unique to most others in the market is our home is in a cul-de-sac connected to a nature walking trail in the front and has an open field behind our fenced in backyard.

I admit- this is a little sad for me. We have watched our two kids grow up here.

Well… game on. The free market speaks louder than words.

Let’s see if all those Californians who are moving to Tennessee will get into a bidding war of our home!

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Dear Holly: It’s Not Just Me, You Really are Good at Drawing

7 years, 11 months.

Dear Holly,

It’s not just me because I’m your dad: You really are talented when it comes to your drawing skills.

As we are constantly packing up our house and shipping out more boxes each couple of weeks we travel to our Alabama house, you have been taking it upon yourself to decorate the boxes first.

Not to mention, a decent amount of the time you are on your tablet, it is because you are watching videos on YouTube to learn to draw a new animal.

When I was a kid, I loved to draw as well. I even took art lessons for a few years during the summers.

This is something we instinctively share in common… the artistic, creative gene.

Now here in a couple of years, maybe you’ll take me up on my offer to teach you to play guitar… since your brother turned me down on that!

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: One More Month to Spend Time with Your Current Friends

13 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack,

Our house here in Tennessee officially goes on the market this coming Monday.

With your 7th grade school year coming to a close in about a month, these are the final weeks of you seeing and hanging out with your current group of friends everyday.

Often after school, you go to hang out with them; playing basketball or football in our neighborhood or one of the surrounding ones.

I’m not sure that you’ve really processed this yet, but even though you’ll still have their cell phone numbers and will be able to keep in touch with them after we move, you are facing a turning point in your life where you will be leaving them behind and making new friends.

So when I see this picture of you and your friends right now, this is what I think about.

 

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Holly: We Visited Your New School

7 years, 11 months.

Dear Holly,

During your Spring Break a few weeks ago in the midst of all the renovations we were working on for our newly purchased home in Alabama, we squeezed in an afternoon to take you to go visit the school you will be transferring to for your 3rd grade year this fall.

We couldn’t help but be thoroughly impressed by not only the building itself, but also all of the teachers and students, as we were given a personal tour by the principal.

I was waiting for any moment, that everyone would break out in song, as if we were in a musical.

As we were getting a tour of the library, a little girl walked up to you and said, “I like your shoes. My name is Isabella.”

Needless to say, you can not wait to transfer to your new school in Alabama.

Love,

Daddy