Life Update: We Bought a New House!

It’s been quite a while—probably close to two years—since I’ve written a life update post. It may also be obvious that I’ve been a little absent from the blog this year. Well, there’s a reason for that!

My husband and I have had a busy first half of 2026. We put our house on the market, sold it, bought a new one, and moved across town. That’s a lot for any family, especially one with two working parents who travel often and two very active toddlers.

Since I’ve been a bit MIA, I thought I’d share a glimpse into what life has looked like over the past few months and what we’re hoping the rest of 2026 holds—including, hopefully, more blog posts. We knew this was going to be a big year, but I don’t think we realized just how big.

Deciding to Sell Our House

Last year, we dipped our toes into the moving process. While I absolutely loved our house—our very first home—we always knew it wasn’t our forever home. As our family grew, we found ourselves wanting more space both inside and outside.

We spent much of last year preparing our home, showing it, and learning what it’s like to live in a house that’s on the market. It was a huge undertaking, but if I’m being honest, we were only halfway committed. We weren’t sure it was the right time to sell, and ultimately we decided to take the house off the market and revisit the idea in the new year.

Fast forward to 2026, and we knew that if we were going to do this, we had to be all in.

One thing we learned from our previous experience was that we weren’t comfortable carrying two mortgages. So we made the decision to sell first and then focus on finding our next home. We accepted that we might need to live in an Airbnb for a while, and surprisingly, we felt at peace with that possibility.

Making the emotional decision to sell was difficult. This was the home where my husband and I lived as newlyweds. It’s where we brought both of our babies home. So many of our favorite memories happened within those walls, and it was hard to imagine another place ever feeling quite the same.

Once we committed, though, things moved quickly.

We rented a storage unit and packed away anything we didn’t need day-to-day to make the house feel more open and show-ready. We organized closets, cleaned out cabinets, tackled long-overdue projects, and packed up a surprising number of toys. Looking back, that early decluttering ended up being a huge help when it came time to move.

By February, we were officially on the market and hosting open houses.

 Starting the Buying Process

Once our house was listed, we gave our realtor the green light to start sending us homes to consider.

We had a much better idea of what we wanted—and didn’t want—after our experience the year before. We were focused on a few areas with great schools but remained flexible if the right house came along.

Almost immediately, our realtor sent us a house that I couldn’t stop thinking about. It was exactly my style and within our budget. We toured it and absolutely loved it.

Still, we tried not to get attached.

Our plan was to sell before buying, so we left reminding ourselves that if it was meant to be, it would work out. 

Surprise—Your House Is Sold!

About a week after listing our house, we received a full-price offer.

To say we were shocked would be an understatement.

One of our promises to ourselves this time around was not to overcomplicate things. We wanted to be decisive and trust the process. Even though the offer came with a relatively short closing timeline of about five weeks, we accepted.

 It was exciting, terrifying, and very real all at once.

God’s Perfect Timing

One thing this experience reinforced for me is that God’s timing is always perfect.

After a lot of prayer and discussion, we decided to make an offer on the house we’d fallen in love with. After some back-and-forth negotiations, our offer was accepted.

Just like that, we had a new house.

Even better, we were able to negotiate a closing date that was the day after we sold our current home. Looking back, it’s hard not to see how everything aligned exactly when it was supposed to.

The Moving Process

Once both deals were in motion, things became a whirlwind.

We had a very short runway to pack up our entire house, coordinate movers, close on one home, spend a night in between, and then move into the next one.

I’ll spare you all the details because you can probably imagine the chaos. We got it done, but those few weeks were exhausting. If you’ve ever bought and sold a house at the same time, you know it’s not an experience you want to make a regular habit.

The final few days were some of the craziest—and most memorable—days of the entire process. We took time off work, focused completely on the move, and somehow everything came together.

In the end, it was surprisingly seamless, and the kids thought our few nights in a hotel were the greatest adventure ever.

Now What?

Now that we’ve been in our new home for a few months, I can officially say that I worried for nothing.

 As much as I loved our old house and the memories we made there, this house already feels like home.

My husband and I regularly talk about how happy we are that we made the move. Even the things we thought would take time to adjust to ended up feeling natural almost immediately.

We love our new side of town, and we’ve already made some incredible memories in our backyard and pool—two things that were high on our wish list. The kids have adjusted beautifully to their new daycare, and watching them settle in so easily made the transition even sweeter.

We still have a few projects left on our to-do list, but for the most part, I feel like we can finally close the chapter on moving and start fully embracing this new season.

We’re looking forward to slowing down, making memories, and enjoying the rest of 2026.

And hopefully, I won’t wait another two years before sharing another life update.

Until next time, XXX McKenzie