Over Christmas break, Murad and I sold the first home we purchased. Our decision to sell was fueled by the proposal of an indoor gun range near Joely's elementary school. However, the truth is we have really outgrown our house. Luckily, the gun range didn't pass, so we decided to rent a slightly larger home for the next two years. We are moving just a little more west, but Joely will still be able to attend the same elementary school---this was really important to us, as we cannot imagine a more supportive environment for our son.
In two years, Lena will also be able to attend the same elementary school as Joely. At that time, both kids will be grandfathered into that elementary school, so obtaining a transfer won't be as hard. Then, we plan to buy a house near Wells Elementary school. Joel has soccer practice there, and we really love the large ranch homes and beautiful two story homes. Even though Wells is just two blocks north of where we live now, the middle school is different than what Joely would attend. This is something we prefer as we are not big fans of the middle school for which we are currently zoned. Fortunately, both of the middle schools will feed into Vines High School and Plano Senior High School, so he'll be able to reconnect with those friends in high school. Stability and consistency is such a big thing for us. We really do not want to have a bunch of unnecessary moves for our kiddos, nor switching schools a bunch.
We know we could probably get a McMansion if we moved north of 121 or south of I-30 or east of 78, but we are so vested in Plano. We go to church in Plano, our kids (and Murad) play sports at Plano Sports
Authority, and in less than two years Abi will attend Collin College here in Plano prior to transferring to a university. Murad works in McKinney and I work in Richardson, so Plano is a great middle ground for us.
Selling our home is very bittersweet. We bought this home almost nine years ago, and we've weathered many storms here as well. It's also the home where we brought home our babies from the hospital. It's the place where we've become a family. We started out as a married couple with two dogs, and now we're a family of five + two dogs!
If you didn't get our holiday card, the link below shows the pictures we took in December. We took these photos in our front yard. I'll treasure these photos forever. I also included a picture of our house when it was listed for sale back in January 2010.
