This beautiful place has been my home for 17 years now.

To some, this may just be a collection of walls and trees, but for me, it's so much more. This house was my first home, and gave me my first sense of security. It has been my "base" in the game of tag.

The home, nestled in the woods, gave me a privacy I had never experienced. It taught me to appreciate the beauty of silence and nature. It's where I learned the value of hard, honest work and family.

I watched my baby brother and sister grow up into amazing young adults here. Maybe we had to grow up fast, but this home made it easier. I watched my grandparents learn how to be parents again, teaching us what a hero...what courage, really looks like.

Home is where the heart is.

For me, my heart has always been here, but now it's time to let go. What a hard lesson this is! Of course, if home is where the heart is, then it's wherever my family is going. It's where I'm loved and valued.

There was a time when this place was as unfamiliar and alien to me as it must be to you right now, but it became home. Now, it will be your home. It may be exciting, new and different right now, but pretty soon, you'll be making memories.

You'll teach your children to swing on the swing set my father and I built while he was home on leave. Your children will play on the treehouse where my dad and I used to climb and eat donut-holes, while seeing how far we could throw the tree bark we picked.

You'll probably watch the gardens, my family spent day after day tending to, bloom gorgeous flowers. Maybe you'll even get to feed the deer we've come to love so much.

This is a new chapter for all of us.

For you, you'll gain more than just a house and land, but a home full of laughter, tears and love.

These walls have seen a lot, and they'll get to witness another family grow up. For my family, we now have the opportunity to live closer to even more family, and see where this new chapter takes us. God has His own plans, and we trust that they are good.

Now, it's time to move to another house and make it our new home.

As Swedish writer Henning Mankell said, "You can have more than one home. You can carry your roots with you, and decide where they grow."