Saying Goodbye to 338 West

Saying goodbye to the only home that our children had ever known was hard.  We moved in when Jens was 9 months old - and SURPRISE! I had Sidney 9 months later.  We loved the comfort and joy we found here.  We loved the memories, laughter, fights, love and growth we had here.  It was a special place where everyone was comfortable and felt welcome.  I loved and will dearly miss the yard.  I loved the back yard with the beautiful big trees and the stream.  I loved the trees we planted around our yard, each of us having one that was "ours" and we even had a pretty little Laurel Cherry in the front in memory of Grandpa Gustin.  My kids were always entertained with fishing, building tree houses, playing hide and seek, selling lemonade, jumping on the trampoline, having camp fires and making s'mores.  We loved getting on the four wheeler and going across the street to the farmers fields and riding all over without a care in the world.  We loved going down into the fields on summer nights to watch the lightning bugs float around.  We even loved mowing the lawn!  Because it was our lawn and we liked making our home look pretty.  It will always be a dear place in our hearts.

Two months before we moved in, we poured the garage steps and wrote our names in the wet cement.

Our garage was a sad, little, ugly, unfinished place but I loved all the height measurements that we had of all the kids and their friends, cousins and neighbors that we had in there.  It was fun to look at and see the growth that had taken place over the years.

Three years after we moved in, we poured a cement pad on the south side of the driveway and garage.  We marked the cement again with our names and hand prints.

This little pad has always been my favorite because I love how it shows the difference in Jens and Sidney's hands.  Jens has always had these square, strong hands and Sidney's have always been long and lengthy.  I had Sid put her 15 year old hand next to her 2 1/2 year old hand print.

Ten years later - - We poured another big pad in the back and built a shed on it.  This time our family was complete but only Cade and Molly were the ones home when the cement was poured.  I had Molly place her 8 year old had next to her 2 year old hand print.

I did a couple re-create pics of the kids.  I had BIG, and I mean B I G plans to take them of all the kids but unfortunately we were so crazy and busy trying to get packed that I only got them of Cade and Molly.

So goodbye 338 West.  We may be gone from you physically but you live on in our hearts!  Thank you for the joy and all the life we were able to create there!