Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood

This week marks the one year anniversary of John and I buying our first home together.  I owned a home in the Waldo area for 6 years when single and sold it after John proposed.  I then moved into his Prairie Village home which he owned for a about two years by the time I moved in.  I always felt like the Prairie Village home was mine too because John made it that way, but it still was not really mine.  We put the Prairie Village home on the market on a Thursday last February, and it was sold that Sunday.  At which point we had to scramble every weekend to find something for ourselves.  We had a very specific area we wanted to stay in, and a very specific amount of money to spend, and it was the middle of winter - not the best circumstances.  We put offers on two homes and lost both of them.  Time was running out as our closing on the PV house neared.  It was all very frustrating, but interestingly enough, John and I were always on the same page, so it was great that there was no disagreeing to add to the frustration.

Then on the 12th of April, which also happens to be our anniversary, we jumped at a chance to view 3 new homes that appeared on the MLS during the week.  We took a lunch hour, viewed the homes, and ended up putting an offer out on the first one we viewed during that lunch hour.  It all happened so fast. 

Turns out the owner was going through a divorce and the house was not occupied.  They were looking for a quick sale and agreed to a two week closing period if the bank could get the paper work done.  We were on our way to buying our first home together as a family.

Our home was built in 1963.   We are in a well established part of town with older homes that doesn't see a lot of fluctuation in home values.  We are a little further south of the city than we originally hoped (only about 5 or 10 blocks though), but so far we really cannot complain about our location.  It is not the Village we grew to absolutely love, but our five bedroom house with finished walk out basement would have been twice the price in PV - if it even existed in PV.  John and I always like a project too, so we were actually in the market for a home that needed work, one that we could put our stamp on and make it our own.  More on that in later posts - its been difficult to get anything done with the babies coming.

What we didn't realize when we purchased this house, is the little pocket of houses situated around us is a very private and close knit community.  The area is about 3 to 4 blocks that are only accessible from two entrances off the main street, making this neighborhood very quiet.  A lot of the owners are original to the homes, which I think says a lot.  (The people behind us are 89 years old and he fought under General Patton in WWII!)  But the neighborhood is going through a resurgence and the original owners are turning the homes over to younger families, making this the perfect quiet spot to raise kids, especially since we are in one of the best school districts in the state.

When we moved in, we experienced something we had never known before - even in Perfect Village.  Neighbor after neighbor came to our door to introduce themselves and bring us some kind of edible gift.  We then learned of the neighborhood ice cream socials, mom's coffee meetings, progressive dinners, and the annual Halloween party with bouncey houses for kids and BBQ for parents.  We would go on walks and people outside would introduce themselves and invite us to bring Lillian over anytime to play with their kids or use their swing set.

She is excited, but yet has no idea what she's about to do.

Since some of our neighbors found out about the twins (usually in a conversation had when I was still able to walk around the block with Lilli and John in the evenings) we've had a couple offers of help after the twins arrive, and even one offer to keep Lillian when we need to go to the hospital.

This past Saturday was another check on the list of great things about our neighborhood.  They plan an annual Easter egg hunt.  If your kids want to participate, all you have to do is hang a flier on your door and hide 20-some eggs in your own yard.  Easy enough.  The kids start at one corner of the block, make their way all the way around, searching yard after yard for their little treasures.

This is the face I saw out our front window.  She's awesome.

I was so incredibly sad I could not participate in this with Lillian.  When the kids got to our house, I just looked out the window and watched Lilli having what seemed like the time of her life.  This was really Lilli's first Easter because last year we were in the midst of moving and she was only 10 months old.  But this year, boy did she catch on quickly.  Her Daddy said they would leave one house and she would repeat "more eggs, more eggs" over and over again.  She was the youngest to participate, but John said she ended up with as many eggs as the 12-15 other kids because they would help her out and even give her some of their findings.

Along the trip around the block, John had to mention my current bed-ridden status.  At which point we received offers of more meals and any other help we needed.  Amazing.

Then yesterday on Easter, our little retired lady next door wanted to come by to bring something to Lillian.  She gave her a little garden tool set and a box of chocolate from Laura Little's.  We assumed the box would just contain some fudge or a few candies.  Last night, after resisting all day, I had to open it, because Mommy was likely going to eat some of Lilli's treats. 

But this is what I found.  The woman actually had them put Lillian's name on this.  She was thinking of our daughter when she went into the chocolate shop and had this specially marked.  I couldn't eat this!!  And though I'm pretty sure Lilli can't eat it either (not after our experience on Saturday after 4 Hershey's kisses on an empty stomach - crazy child!), it was such a kind gesture, I cannot bear the thought of ruining it.

So although John and I might miss the Village, the convenience of the grocery store, Starbuck's, the bakery, Goodcents, and the local watering hole, the trade off we now have with neighbors like this is really priceless.  We may lack the material benefits of a town such as Prairie Village, but we now actually understand the meaning of the word community.

As I am finishing this post, 4 fire trucks and numerous paramedics are stopping at a house on the corner behind us where an elderly man lives.  My heart goes out to that family right now, but I have no doubt that whatever the trouble is, this community will be there to help.