Our Home in Ashburn, Virginia

Seven years ago, Don and I went to visit our friends Dave and Nelly Connolly in Ashburn, Virginia in search of a new home as Don was taking a new job in Washington D.C.  We spent one day looking at a ton of homes in the area and found the perfect home for us on Kings Crossing Terrace. 

Over the past seven years, we have called our townhouse home and settled in as our family grew... now, as we get ready to start on our adventure in Germany, we leave our townhouse with 2 dogs and 3 kids. We have made some great memories at this house and it will be the first home since my childhood home that I will be somewhat sad to part with. It has been more than just a house. We have welcomed 3 new babies home from the hospital in that home, we have planted and enjoyed lots of flowers and added our personal touch to many areas in our home, and we have made some incredible friends who we have been fortunate enough to call our neighbors as well. Those neighbors were great support during Don's deployment in Iraq and I always knew I could call on several of them whenever I needed to. 

We knew for a long time we'd have to put our beloved home on the market but didn't actually put in on the market until one Friday in July shortly after Grace was born. We left the house 

early that Friday morning for doctors appointments as well as a trip to Baltimore to drop our vehicle off at the port for shipment to Germany. It was a long day but the kids were great. When we returned home around 5 p.m. we were surprised to find a realtor with a client leaving our home. But as we actually got into the house we were even more shocked to see how many people had come in to see the house that first day on the market. We had 14 messages on the answering machine and the phone continued to ring. We had two more showings that evening. Overall, we had about 12 showings that day with more showings lined up for the next day. 

Our realtor called that very night that we put the house on the market. He was pleasantly surprised at all the traffic our home had received that first day as well. That night when I was up feeding Grace, I checked my e-mail. We had received an e-mail from our realtor around 10:15 p.m. We had already received an offer! Don, of course, was half asleep as I told him the news. It appeared to be a full price offer but I thought for sure I was reading something wrong. Too good to be true. A full price offer on the first day our home was on the market? The guy was pre-approved for a loan and asking for nothing... no contingencies. Nothing. hmmm. Was I dreaming? After all, I was running on little sleep.

Our realtor called in the morning and by noon we had accepted and signed the contract. We were thrilled to say the least. And our life could return to a little more normalcy as we didn't have to rush out the door for more showings. Phew!

We feel so blessed how well everything went with the process of selling this house. Our realtor said he hasn't sold a house in the same day it went on the market since 2005. When we initially met him, he had said if we priced it right we shouldn't have any problem since the market is really picking up for first time buyers and our home was a "starter home." Apparently, he knew what he was talking about!

Now, on August 28, we are officially homeless! We closed on our beloved home today and although we will miss our home and our neighbors we are looking forward to starting our adventure in Germany. And as we left the house one final time this morning,  Benjamin said it best when he said, "Goodbye house. I will miss you. I love you house."

Overall, it's been great living where we lived.