new house

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Dear Holly: Your Special New Bedroom with a Vaulted Ceiling

7 years, 9 months.

Dear Holly,

In our new house in Alabama, there are three rooms that have a vaulted ceiling:

The living room, the dining room… and your bedroom!

I was relieved that your brother didn’t mention it, knowing that your room is technically bigger than his, because it is taller.

Everyone in our family is getting new beds for when we move in to our Alabama house this summer.

You have chosen pink bunk beds… which I did not realize existed.

I keep telling you, “Holly, your bedroom is like its own little house for you because it has its own roof. It’s Little Holly’s Little House!”.

Clearly, I am just as happy as you are about your new bedroom!

 

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: You Had No Complaints about Our New House…

13 years, 2 months.

Dear Jack,

Over the course of the past five months, our family has driven to Alabama several times to view houses for sale. Through the process, you openly announced your issues with each one we saw.

Fate would have it that the house we ended up buying last Friday was the one house that you and your sister didn’t get a chance to see.

So a few minutes after walking into our family’s new home, as the ink was still drying on the paperwork from us closing on the house, I asked you:

“Jack, what is your favorite part of our new house?”

Your response: “All of it!”

This marked the first time we visited a house that you didn’t even have one complaint about.

What a relief!

Our new house in Alabama is only 50 square feet bigger than our house now in Tennessee. However, our Tennessee house has 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a bonus room; whereas our Alabama house has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and no bonus room.

That means that literally every room in our new house in Alabama, including your bedroom, is bigger than our current house; even all the closets!

And your “second bedroom”, the garage, where you are often slipping away to work on your projects, has much more space for you in your Batcave/Fortress of Solitude.

So yeah, you’re going to like our new house.

 

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Holly: Mommy’s Now in Her 3rd Trimester/We’ve Been in our New House a Year

Dear Holly: Mommy’s Now in Her 3rd Trimester/We’ve Been in our New House a Year

28 weeks.

Dear Holly,

Yesterday evening as Mommy was preparing dinner, she pointed out that you were tucked all the way over to her right side.

It was undeniable. There was no doubt her tummy was lopsided.

She explained to me when she was pregnant with your brother Jack nearly 6 years ago, he was always sitting on her ribs; way up high.

But you, you’re so low; that’s not a problem with you.

As of today, Mommy is officially in her 3rd trimester with you. She is 66% through her pregnancy with you. In less than 3 months, less than 90 days, you should be here.

It’s funny to think that a year ago this week, our family moved into our new house.

Life is at such a great pace now: We live way back in the suburbs. We have a garage. We live in a cul-de-sac near a park.

Those are things I didn’t realize how much I would appreciate. Being able to work our way of debt a few years ago and save up for the down payment on our house was totally worth the discipline and sacrifice.

We knew at the time when we moved in our new house, that at some point in the next few years, we might have another child.

But just 6 months into life in our new home with 4 bedrooms, something just finally clicked:

One of those rooms is for another child.

And so of course now, that guest room has now been converted into your nursery and bedroom.

I’ve mentioned before how supposedly age 34 is the best year of your life. That’s how old Mommy and I both are.

We are so happy to know that you are on your way. You are wanted. You will be loved.

I can’t guarantee that you will be born into the most normal of families, but I can tell you this: We’re going to have a lot of fun!

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: 6 Months of Living in Our New House

4 years, 8 months.

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Dear Jack,

As they say… time flies when you’re having fun.

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That must be why it definitely doesn’t feel like we’ve been living in our new house for 6 months.

A week ago made 6 months that we began moving in our stuff and began sleeping there; but it took a solid week after that before it felt like we truly living there and not simply still moving in.

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As of today, I wanted to document what our house looked like at this point in history; so I walked around room to room, taking pictures.

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One of my proudest decisions in staging our house is that we purposely don’t have a TV downstairs in the living room. It’s important to me that conversation is not stolen in our house.

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If I could come up with a theme for our house, it would be this: Quality time.

That’s so important. We have to make the most of our time together despite our busy schedules as individuals.

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As you read this years from now, I want you to hear me say this once again:

We worked very hard to get into this house.

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It required paying off all our debts (including cars and student loans), then living by an extremely strict budget (including no smart phones), in order to start saving for the down payment on our house.

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Something that was very important to Mommy and me was to make sure we raise you (as well as any future siblings) in a good school system. To do that, we had to move to the “right” county: Williamson.

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We pour our lives into you. We want the best for you. Being able to live in this house makes me feel like our family is exactly where we need to be.

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Living in this house has truly made us happy, content, and at peace. Our quality of life has never been better.

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But again, this wasn’t handed to us.

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And it’s not simply about how much money you make, as much as it is how you manage the money you do make. We worked very hard to get here… and still do.

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: You, As Green Meanie, Jr.

4 years, 8 months.

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Dear Jack,

This week on our YouTube channel we launched an official new program, The Green Meanie Show.

We will be resuming Jack-Man next weekend with a new webisode, #18, since your preschool has asked me to film another episode there. I don’t mind at all, since our last Jack-Man filmed there was the most popular one we’ve ever done; not to mention, the fast-growing one we’ve done, if that makes sense.

In other words, it hit 100 views in less than 24 hours.

But in the meantime, I’m creating some quicker content with my new spin-off; featuring Green Meanie as the host, with you playing his son, Green Meanie, Jr.

The Green Meanie Show contains its own original theme song and opening montage. Here are the lyrics:

“He is green, he is mean, he is Green Meanie the villain

He makes money from anyone and everyone who drinks his soda

But you should know that he tells his secrets

On The Green Meanie Show”

So far, we’ve done a Lego unboxing video together…

And I made a brief, educational video where Green Meanie explains the 3 “right ways” to eat a banana:

  1. Eat it brown (it contains more nutrients as it begins to ferment).
  2. Open it from the bottom, which helps prevent smashing it.
  3. Mix it smoothies and oatmeal to prevent “banana boredom.”

Then last night, after we made our 2nd Lego unboxing video (which I haven’t published yet), I let the camera roll as you declared a “pants party”.

You had a lot of fun!

I’ve got a trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan coming up soon. Scion (a division of Toyota) is sending me (or is it Green Meanie?) there to preview their newest car models.

Also, next week makes 6 months since we’ve lived in our new house. I guess I better put together something for that, featuring pictures of our house now that we’re definitely completely settled in.

Love,

Daddy