Selling the Home we built in Delaware

It was four years ago today when we did something no one was prepared for. We listed our Delaware home for sale.

Adria sitting on a tricycle in our driveway on March 19, 2010. She actually just learned to pedal it last summer.

Back of our home in Feb. 2010 during one of the blizzards.
People keep complaining about the winter we've had but I remember that one as much worse!

It wasn’t just any old house. It was a home that we had built on property acquired from Adrian’s family. The home is beautiful and was situated on five acres of land outside of town. In early 2006 Adrian spent countless hours pouring his energy into the construction of that home.

Yet we had decided that we could let it go. Unbelievably, just 2 ½ weeks after listing the home, we did just that and signed a contract to sell it.  The speed and near miraculous way we sold the home confirmed to us we had made the right decision.

Though we had not talked with people about it ahead of time, it was not a sudden decision. There were many motivators, but behind it all we sincerely knew it was the right thing to do. And we still believe that.


Our beautiful home in May 2010 just before closing on the sale...



Our empty bedroom just before moving 



View of the Kitchen and Front door of our Delaware home

Even if we find ourselves back in Delaware and thinking about the wild journey we’ve had over the past four years since we put that home on the market. We relocated over 900 miles away to Indianapolis, built a home there, only to sell it too and move to Virginia, where we bought a home and eight months later found ourselves packing again to return to Delaware. Most people don’t move that much in their entire lives!

As I look back at my journal entry from those days, there is almost a sense of bewilderment as to why all this has happened. Maybe one day life will explain it better. Of course, much of it can be blamed our on crazy, adventurous tendencies.

So why did we sell the home we built in Delaware?

1.       Finances – The dominant reason for the move was finances. I was the sole bread winner selling homes on full commission in a high-end retirement community during a horrid housing market. I had sold nothing all year. Medical bills poured in from Adrian’s seizures, and the future looked bleak for continuing to afford our home.

2.       Limited Opportunity – Adrian had his first 3 seizures just months before. Not only did he lose his license, but he also lost the ability to perform jobs he had done in the past like construction and truck driving. He would struggle to find job opportunities in Del. to help our financial situation. However at that point, his tests all came back good and we didn’t anticipate the seizures would return.

3.       Need for Change – Life had brought us to a place where we felt somewhat desperate for change. We felt we really needed a fresh start in a new place. And we wanted a place that offered a more affordable but fun lifestyle for a young family. It turns out Indianapolis was perfect for that.

In the end, it all happened so fast it was almost a blur. Yes, it was incredibly difficult and humbling to sell a home on family property. That was not at all the plan when we built the home. We thought we would stay there and raise our family right around the corner from Adrian’s parents.

But God had different plans. We still don’t understand what those plans are but who really knows the plans for their lives?

Now, we just rent a cute little home in Delaware and wave to our blue house when we pass it on our way to visit Granny. We remind Adria that’s where we lived when she was born; she doesn’t remember it much as she was only 19 months old when we moved.

There are things I miss about the home, but we are not sad. It was not meant to be our “forever home.” And while we have traveled many miles on our journey, we will continue, never knowing where the road may lead.