Ouch!

Ouch! That hurt! Today I saw some new recent pictures and a virtual tour of our Florida home, and it stung. Looking at the pictures made me feel a little bit sad. It made me miss the house and our life in it.

It looks so beautiful -- inside and out. I love what we've done with the place, if I don't say so myself!

On one hand, it was nice to see the lawn was green and the pool was blue ... rather than green, but, seeing all of our furniture and belongings there was difficult.

I know it's just "stuff" and that what really matters is we're all healthy and together. Most of the time I think positively like that, but sometimes it's difficult.

It's stressful that the house has not sold yet, because it represents a huge piece of unfinished business -- and our largest asset. Questions arise, like how much will it sell for? When will it sell? Will we have enough for a down payment for a new home? Should I buy Alyssa a new baby doll stroller since she keeps asking for the one in our Florida home? How much should we spend on decorating the place we are in now? How long are we going to be here?

I hadn't thought about how much I missed our house until I saw it in pictures today.

Seeing those pictures did more than make me feel sad though, it actually taught me something. I realized that although I always loved our home, I tended to look at its imperfections, rather than its overall beauty. Instead of seeing a beautiful family home, I often saw dusty shelves, vacuuming that needed to be done and kids toys that needed to be put away. Now I look at the pictures of our home, and I see beauty.

Today I acknowledged there are a lot of things about this situation I don't know, but I realized there are a lot of things about this situation I do know. I know another family will eventually walk through the front doors and fall in love with the house just like we did. I know God is in control and that He works in His own time. I know we are all together, happy and healthy. I know my family has been hugely blessed by the opportunity to live in my Grandmother's house during this time.  I know it's not the house that makes the home -- it's the people in it. I know I'm home as long as I have my family. I know home is where the heart is.

New Habits, New Fun

I knew from before we moved in that things would be different for us while staying at my Grandma's. First, the house is smaller than ours...no biggie, though, it has 3 bedrooms, so everyone still gets their own room!

Plus, it has no dishwasher. Yep. No dishwasher. I was kind of dreading that, but, as it turns out, it's just fine. I really don't mind doing the dishes, and it brings back childhood memories of us all chipping in after family dinners to get them washed and dried and put away. Not only that, but I have found that Tyler and Alyssa LOVE washing dishes!

It's not something I let them do a lot at our Florida home -- mostly because the counters were taller and the sink was deeper, so it was more difficult for them to reach. Plus ... we had a dishwasher!!!

This activity has also led to them washing the dinner table and helping set it and clean up. They did a little bit of that at home, but they are really embracing it now! What fun!

The other neat thing I discovered is that Tyler loves to make ice! Yes, the refrigerator at my Grandma's is so old it does not have an ice maker. I thought that might be a bit of a chore, but as it turns out, it's a great chore for Tyler! Yippee!

We are enjoying so many interesting experiences as a result of living at my Grandmother's house. These are just a couple of the daily ones!

Happy Friday!

A bit of Nostalgia

Well, we've made the "temporary" move to Illinois. It has been very interesting, going back to the place I grew up, now that I have children of my own. While we anxiously wait for our home in Florida to sell so we can buy a new home, we are staying at my Grandmother's house.

As luck would have it, she vacated her house just weeks before we needed a place to stay in the Chicago area. She is now living with my aunt in Wyoming.

I'm so grateful she is with my aunt and has care 24/7, and I know it is the best place for her to be right now, but on the other side of that thought is amazement at how life goes sometimes. I moved to Florida 15 years ago...never really thought I'd move back. But, here I come, moving back, and there she goes. On almost every phone conversation I've had with my grandmother over the years, she always said she wished we didn't have to live so far apart. I did too. I missed her a lot.

My grandmother has always been a very big part of my life. We spent almost every Sunday at her house growing up, and I would stay with her and my grandfather for a week or two during the summers. I have SO many memories at their house. Throughout my childhood, their house was a very comfortable place for me. How fitting is it that it is available to me now when I need it? It's really too much for words.

The experience has been surreal so far. All the memories in the house, the yard, the neighborhood. Driving down the street. I feel like I am moving in slow motion. I know part of that is because I just uprooted myself and my kids and moved across the country, but the emotions associated with staying here are impossible to ignore. I feel sad, because I miss my grandparents, but grateful that their home is available. I am also grateful, because it throws me smack in the middle of all these childhood memories that I can share with Tyler and Alyssa.

One of my most sentimental memories is of feeding the animals in my Grandma's driveway. She put bread out for the birds every day. We'd tear up the bread, then go inside to the window and watch them eat. Tyler and Alyssa LOVE this activity! I let them do the feeding, then we wait and watch! Birds, squirrels, bunnies and chipmunks all graze on the bread! What fun! It tickles my funny bone to watch Tyler and Alyssa enjoy this activity!

 Written in honor of my Grandmother and in memory of my Papa. Thanks for the memories...

Learning from the Kiddos

I thought I'd write a little about all of the goodbye's we are saying in preparation for our move. It's been an interesting experience.

Paul and I want to make sure Tyler and Alyssa have the opportunity to properly say goodbye to their friends, so we threw a going away party for them last weekend. Many of their friends came to celebrate and play. We kept the energy positive and fun.

We played music, the kids played on the playground, and our friends brought pictures to add to our SWFL memory books. We spent time talking and simply enjoying being together. It was wonderful. We were really grateful for everyone who could make it.

In addition, I've been setting up play dates for Tyler and Alyssa with some of their closest friends.

It is kind of strange setting up these "last" play dates. I'm trying not to look at them as "final." Because friends are always friends. Yes, things will be different when we move, but we will be back to visit. Plus, we can keep in touch with cell phones, email, text messages, snail mail, Skype and more.

I'm finding the play dates to be fun and normal. If you could see the kids at these play dates, you'd never know if they were feeling sad about moving. They're playing the same as they always do.

That reminded me that young children tend to live in the moment. They don't worry about the past or the future as much as adults. They are at a play date with their friends, so they will play and not worry about anything else. Isn't that a beautiful thing?!

I'm trying to keep that in mind as well. All we have is today. We do not have yesterday -- it is gone. We do not have tomorrow -- it isn't here yet. But, as for today, it is a beautiful day for making memories!

-- Written with love for all of our SWFL friends. xoxoxo

How our Realtor got the kids involved in the sale of our home

When we hired Sandee Bozzuto to sell our home, we were looking for qualities like her knowledge of real estate, the current market and our community, but what we were not expecting was the way she involved our children in this life-changing event.

To start, I must say the kids took an immediate liking to her and made her little gifts the first time she came over. It was so sweet!

The next day, when she brought Paul and I our contract to sign with her, she also brought Tyler and Alyssa their own Coldwell Banker folder with a coloring sheet and a Kids Contract.

She spent time with each of them individually going over their contract. It was kid-friendly and printed in full-color -- really cute! The Kids Contract is the official agreement between Sandee and the kids that they will keep their room clean every day, pick up their clothes, put away their clothes and make their bed. She told the kids that their efforts will help her show the house and sell it.

They ate it up! I think she could have gotten away with that, because they liked her so much, but she promised to give them each a $25 gift card for keeping their end of the contract. Wow!

It was such a fun experience for all of us. I really appreciated that this seemingly minor effort for Sandee was doing something so significant for our children. As we all know, moving to another state is a very big deal, and part of helping children cope with it is to make the experience an adventure. This experience with Sandee certainly qualifies as that.

Not to mention the fact that Tyler made his bed today for the first time ever!!!!! How cool is that! Thank you, Sandee!

Hold onto Your Hats! Windy City, Here We Come

It's been a very exciting time in the Haisman household -- we're M.O.V.I.N.G. -- to Chicago! Yikes!

Yes, I know it's cold there! That's the furthest thing from my worries at this point. It's the distance from my wonderful family and friends here in Fort Myers that has me most teary-eyed. Paul and I have been here almost 15 years.

The reason we are leaving is that Paul found a FANTASTIC job opportunity. He will be the top IT professional for the YMCA of the USA! Neither of us could be any more excited about this opportunity. It is amazing, and we are feeling very blessed. The opportunity is not just for Paul though, it is for the whole family -- because my family lives in the Chicago area -- what a gift! The thought of living near my family has me very excited.

Although Tyler and Alyssa are leaving Paul's parents, they will be closer to my parents, my brothers and their wives, my sister and her husband, their cousin, Katlin, and their two new cousins who will be born in July! Not to mention tons of extended family.

All four of us are excited for a change ... for a new adventure. And this is the attitude we will take with us and teach to the children. This entire experience is a teaching experience for them -- about the logistics of moving and the emotions that go with it. It seems unusual to be feeling happy, excited, sad and scared all at the same time.

We're working with Tyler and Alyssa to sort through the emotions and be present as the friends and family we are leaving behind express their emotions, as well. It's difficult to know a decision you are making is hurting other people. It makes the whole experience feel bittersweet.

We know how it feels to be on the other end of good friends moving, as we've had two families move away from us recently. It is heartbreaking, but life does go on. Thank goodness for cell phones and the Internet! It's not the same, but it'll have to do for now.

Although everything for us is changing all at once, one thing is for sure -- we love, love, love our SWFL family and friends no matter where we live!