Farewell my home, sweet home!

The transition ahead of us is full of many exciting beginnings, but there are also more than enough sad farewells mixed in as well. One of the hardest days for me so far was the day we closed the door on our moving truck and looked back at an empty house. I love our home! I have loved our house since the first moment we walked in with a Realtor three years ago. I have loved our home even more with each coat of paint, piece of new hardware, or frame that we have hung on the walls. I love the fact that most of our furniture was hand-crafted by family members, and now each piece supports or contains our new family memories. I have come to realize that staying in a hotel is less exciting to me than it was when I was a transient 20-something because I find our home to be nicer and more comfortable than most resorts, hotels, or spas. I love this home because it is the first one Jon and I bought together, and we have carefully turned it into just the home we've always wanted. I will miss the hammock in the back and Dewey will miss his floor-to-ceiling windows to the world in the front. Thankfully, we were not faced with the necessity of selling our house in order to pursue this new adventure in Qatar. Instead we are entrusting this precious place to the hands of renters over the next three years. I hope they will be as happy here as we have been, but I'm also glad we get to claim it again when we return in 2012. Since I'm already feeling a bit homesick for Sturbridge Drive, I thought I'd post a few pics we took before we packed everything into boxes. Then I can come here when I need a small glimpse of familiarity.









And, here are a few friends from our super-awesome packing/moving team! We had more than 20 friends helping us with moving over two long days. We'd still be packing today if not for their help!