Sweet 16- we bought you a house!

 Macy's 16th birthday will always be a memorable one. Helen gave her this cute crown on her birthday eve-

And Patti took a little photo shoot of them goofing around together- so much joy!

Brian has more time than I do these days, so I put him in charge of getting some birthday balloons for Macy this year- a rare occurrence, but it was her 16th! And boy did he go BIG-

She came downstairs for school and noticed that Ms Sara had snuck over in the dark to make sure her day started off with some extra Leadbetter love- 

At some point this school year, I decided to channel my inner fun mom and decided to take Macy- and any other neighborhood friend- to Dunkin Donuts each Friday morning before school. Macy's birthday happened to fall on a Friday this year, and I got to capture the birthday girl in her crown with Helen & Drew!

Off they go to school... and off I go to BUY A HOUSE!

From my Facebook post June 1, 2025 

 

49 weeks ago yesterday we arrived in Connecticut from South Korea.  Brian had just accepted a civilian job with the Air Force a few weeks before. The job was a dream come true, as was the location- England!

We came to CT to wait on the logistics of the job to be finalized. We thought we’d be here for 3 months. Then 3 months turned into 6 months. Then in January came a new administration, a federal hiring freeze and in March, Brian’s job offer was rescinded.

For 9 months we had patiently been waiting and living week to week with stress and uncertainty like we’ve never felt before. We were confused and sad and mad.

All the while we were living in this lovely little town where we felt so welcomed and supported by the whole community. And we were slowly falling in love with the area.

Yesterday, exactly 49 weeks to the day we landed here, we closed on our new home and are starting a fresh new chapter. There have been so many blessings along this rough road, and finding this house in a crazy housing market, is certainly one of the biggest blessings of all.

It seems God wanted us in New England instead of old England. I guess it’s time for Clan McCullough to stop roaming the world, plant some Connecticut roots- and a lemon tree. Because when life gives us lemons, we make delicious lemonade.

Here she is-

Our closing didn't go as smoothly as it should have, as the homeowners were VERY difficult, but we tried to put all the aside at lunch afterwards and celebrate together after the closing- 

During negotiations, the homeowners picked May 30 as the closing date, and we were delighted because we could have a combo bday party and housewarming IN OUR HOUSE that night! 

We didn't think the homeowners would ever leave- they finally did less than an hour before everyone was due to arrive, and they kept coming back for weeks. It got so bad we had to have the police intervene! But we were determined not to let our day- and Macy's big day- be soured by them, so let's party!

Sara's dad was determined to help Brian figure out the pool- 

Macy really wanted to swim in her new pool on her bday, but the homeowners left us with a green pool, so there was zero chance of that. Sigh.

A big part of Macy being okay with our Plan B is because of these girls, who opened their hearts and arms to the new girl last fall-

A couple of our VIP guests- Sara's parents, Sue & Les, have loving adopted us as a couple of bonus kids and grandkids and we adore them, and so does Sparky-

All of these people- plus a few others who left early- were a HUGE part of why we fell in love with this little town. They show up for you. Perfect example was their being present on this night in our kinda dirty, mostly empty house. They have been cheering us on for the last 9 months of uncertainty and filled us with TLC-

Sneaky (and thoughtful) Sara planned for our friends to bring housewarming gifts. They were all so well thought out and personal to us. We will cherish them all for all the years that we are fortunate to live in this house! 

Carvel ice cream is a New England staple. And when I was a kid, I always wanted a Fudgy the Whale ice cream cake, but i don't remember ever getting one. So Macy had no choice in her bday cake this year- 

At the end of the night it was just the Leadbetters and the Cannys left with us and we went out to the firepit, which looks at the back of the house. All the lights were on and I could here Macy and her friends voices and giggles coming from the screened in porch. I had a thought "this place is great. It'd be fun to rent with friends for weekends like this for years to come." And then I had to pinch myself. IT WAS OURS! 

A quick capture of the moment. Such a special night. Such a special life. Never in a million years did I think we'd live in the same state as the Leadbetters, never mind the same zip code! How lucky are WE to do life side by side now? We appreciate all of this probably a bit more than if it had happened last summer when we first arrived in Canton because of all the uncertainty and uncomfortable days that we had to go through to get here. God knew what he was doing. It just took us a little while to realize it. Blessing abound!