Farewell Texas

Our neighbor, Kim, came out to say goodbye the morning that we were beginning our drive to Maryland and suggested taking a picture in front of our house.  I'm so glad she did!  With everything else on my mind, I would have forgotten, and would have later regretted it. 

 We moved into this house with a 23 month old (Elaina) and a 10 day old (Erin).  Wow, how our family has changed in 5 short years!

As our family gets bigger and older, I realize that this house, and our time in Texas, will represent to me the younger phase of our family's life.  I'll remember my young toddlers waddling through the house, waking up in the night with babies, comforting sick kids, playing in our backyard, learning to ride bikes on the street, covering that driveway in sidewalk chalk, running through the sprinkler and enjoying the froggy pool, finding dress up clothes strewn about the house, family game nights, figuring out how to become parents, sending kids off to school for the first time, making cookies with the girls in the kitchen, bedtime songs, bedtime stories, my kitchen windowsill adorned with vases of weeds and dandelions, preschool, play dates, learning how to manage a household, maintaining our first house, figuring out bedtime routines, potty training, and behavior charts, building traditions, and teaching opportunities with the kids.  I know I've learned and grown a lot as a mother during these years, and I think we've built many great memories in this house.  We learned a lot during this phase of our life, and I will miss these years.  I love this house because of all that it represents to me.

Now it's on to the next phase for our family!