heath and i realized that we've been in our london flat for as long, and longer, than our american home. we hadn't even settled into our marietta home when i began to go through the adoption process to find our girl. we had moved in in mid december and i started the process in february. i spent most of my days on the phone, filling out applications, researching, praying and wondering. reese, maddox and zane were ages 18 months to 3 years. i barely felt as though we even lived there. the chaos kept us from feeling "settled". not that we minded. our new american home was exciting, we were working hard to furnish it, tend to children and trying to add our newest family member. we may not have felt settled but it was well worth it!
before we even had the clear for who our little girl would be, we soon realized we would be moving to another country. talk about a whirlwind! all of the "moving in" that we had done became "moving out". what would stay, what would go? needless to say, trying to complete what we had started in our US home, came to an abrupt halt. we had to focus our eyes elsewhere. london elsewhere.
i clearly remember the excitement when we found this flat. it was all one level! with the small children, a place with no stairs would be perfect! at the time, we did not know if or how disabled our daughter, echo, would be. we felt like a one level home was a safe bet! i also remember loving that our children would all be sleeping so close to our bedroom. we would be able to be so close! we loved the idea of it.
fast forward to the here and now. we've been living in this flat for 19 months. this flat is very much our home. we have shared a lot of moments and memories within these walls and i can't help but feel that, with our time coming to and end, well.....it's a bit sad. we've had more family dinners here, in this home, than the other. we've spent more "normal" days in this home with a regular school schedule for the children and we've grown accustomed to size and scale here within this space.
don't get me wrong, there are things that we are looking forward to having when we get back. double paned windows, front and back yard, garbage disposal in the sink, an actual laundry room, enough bedrooms for all family members, central heating and air, toilets that flush properly...i could go on. these were things (or lack of) that i thought would kill me! i just knew that it would be difficult. but it's been fine. we adjusted to life over here.
i went around the house and took pictures a few months ago. i want to remember each room. i want to remember where life really happened in our short time here. because as cool as our holiday trips have been, as amazing as this city is, as exciting as life is over here....true life and love happens right within the home. the memories that we have within these walls are the ones that i want to capture and hold on to.
my favorite area to blog. it gets a little chilly by the window but it's a great spot to be inspired! |
our dinning room. the fireplace is mauve, one of my least favorite colors, and yet... it's grown on me. |
the living room, lots of lounging and dance parties with the kiddos have happened here. |
other side of living room. the kids have attempted many times to spin the chair and foot rest around and around. i put the kibosh on that every time. |
our entryway where i lay out the children's uniforms each night. reese is pretending to me "mommy" as she lays out clothes for the others. |
the playroom where much of life happens. we have the map above the couch to chart the countries we've visited. |
we call this the "tiny bathroom". only one at a time in this loo! |
the endless hallway! kids can run up and down at full speed. it helps when we don't have access to a garden. |
tiny kitchen but very functional. washing machine and dish washer are within one of the cabinets. i can practically stand in one spot and reach all areas at once. brilliant! |
echo's modest bedroom. i can't wait to get her into a bright and colorful room back in the states. |
heath and i actually have a really big room by UK standards. we all spend a good bit of time back in our room watching tv, bathing kids and hanging out. |
our flat is tucked back behind a gate. we have a couple of porters who watch over the building 23/7. yes, 23/7. an hour is spared for transitions. kinda funny. |
bottom flat is ours. home sweet home. |
4th photo is my favorite place in the house...love the chair, love the windows and love watching the kids in the living room OR the people out on the street/walkway....tell Heath you should just keep the flat so we have somewhere to stay when we go back! ;-) Make sure you put that chair somewhere good that I can use it in the GA house!! Love you and can't wait to have you back in the same timezone.
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