Framing is done!

Joacim arrived in Minnesota this morning, and it seemed to take forever, but he FINALLY sent me some photos of the house.  Holy crap!  Isn't it incredible how FAST it's going up???

View from the living room

Laundry room and beyond that is the loft

I think this is the laundry room and then our room

And I think this is either Izzy's room or the spare bedroom

downstairs view of stairs and office from the kitchen

And the back of the house

I'm really glad Joacim was able to go up there and do a walkthrough with the builder.  He uncovered a couple of issues that we completely missed, and hopefully he's able to address a couple of things we forgot (like heat in the garage AND an electrical outlet in the master bathroom for a towel warmer.  I've wanted one soooo bad at our current home but there's no way to power one, and I'm GOING to have one in our new house.  SOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!

The beauty of a sunset never ceases to captivate me

And today was no exception. I was on my way back to Waconia to get something to eat, and I could hardly take my eyes off of the sky while I was driving. Finally, I took a right turn, followed this curvy road, and found THE PERFECT vantage point to take some pictures. How I WISH I would've had my DSLR with me, but I am thankful that I at least had my iPhone with me.










Look how BEAUTIFUL it is!!! And these photos aren't enhanced.this truly was the color palette. The sky....it just seems so big here sometimes. I'm looking forward to seeing more of these.....

We're moving......

Yes, you read that correctly.  We're moving.  To Minnesota.  In the winter.

Joacim's company is relocating to Winsted, Minnesota.  Where is that, you ask?  Well, I'll tell you..it's in the middle of nowhere...a little over an hour west of Minneapolis.  That's where his company is relocating, but we're looking to be a little bit closer to Minneapolis, so we're looking to live somewhere around Chanhassen/Chaska/Victoria.

I'm excited about the move, and a bit nervous, but luckily more excited than nervous.

Here's my list of things that make me nervous (and by no means is it exhaustive :)
1.  moving in the dead of winter (think this is pretty self-explanatory)
2.  selling our current house (which is in a state of utter disarray because we're getting new carpet on Saturday)
3.  finding a new house (finding one that has what we want and is affordable)
4.  finding a daycare for Izzy (the thing that makes me THE MOST nervouse)
5.  finding new friends in the area (I'm not exactly great at making new friends)
6.  finding an area :) (not sure where the best place is for us)
7.  our new mortgage payment (prices are more than double what they are here)
8.  starting a new job
9.  finding new doctors/dentists/hair stylist for the family and vet/kennel for our pets
10.  finding a new nephrologist for me

Now, here are the things that I'm excited about!
1.  The outdoorsy-ness of the area
2.  The cultural opportunities in the Twin Cities
3.  There's a Swedish language school for me!!!
4.  We can get a snowmobile (yes, this I'm excited about)
5.  Great schools for Izzy
6.  IKEA will be less than an hour away!!!
7.  potential for a photography studio in our new home and a chance to be more focused in my photography business
8.  Kowalski's grocery store!!!
9.  the potential to experience 4 seasons
10.  A chance to do something new!!!

Both of those lists change daily, but that about sums it up.  I will say that parts of the move are bittersweet for me, and that feeling will probably grow as our move date nears.  I never really thought I was attached to this house, but as we're getting it ready to put on the market, I'm finding out that I AM attached.  And starting over with a new doctor for me...well, it's just not easy.  And I really love the daycare that Izzy goes to.  It took us awhile to get there, but I'm 100% comfortable with it, and that's such a great feeling.

So, that's the big news that I wanted to share.  I've got a lot more to tell, but not tonight.  I'm exhausted from emptying our rooms for new carpet that's arriving on Saturday.