This House, Part 1

At the end of 2011 I was looking for a new home to be my fresh start after the end of a relationship. I wanted something affordable, safe and homey and with a yard for my dog to serve as my first house that didn't include a roommate. A good friend of mine's mother owned a nice piece of land with a trailer that she sometimes rented out, so I called him and jokingly mentioned that I would love it if his mom would let me rent the trailer. I figured it was a long shot but worth asking. He checked with her and the stars had aligned, her previous tenants had recently left and she was having some work done on the place but it could be mine if I wanted. It was available for me and I moved in on approximately January 4, 2012.

I brought my pets, the furniture I had, used some old stuff that had been left behind and bought 1 piece of art. It was a shadow box from Target that says "Life isn't about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself." This was fitting given the season of life I was in. Andrew and friends helped me move in and it became home. Over time I never bought any more art, I only hung photos of us or things that I've painted myself. It truly is my house. It isn't the most picturesque or matching decor, but I put a lot of effort and love into every piece of refinished furniture or painting on the wall.

 A few months later Andrew and I had started dating and he was spending more and more time at the little pink trailer in the woods. He officially moved in in mid 2012 and we made it our home. Over the years a kitten adopted us, our dog Sidney ran after tennis balls in the yard, we painted furniture on the back deck, read books in the sun room, changed a guest room into a nursery. We've watched the leaves fall and the grass regrow many times now, and this house has been good to us.

Our relationship grew from friendship to a deep love while we lived here.
We celebrated our engagement, newly married life and pregnancy here.
We welcomed home our first child during our years here.
We watched our daughter crawl and laugh and talk while we grew here.

This house became our home. 

But there were also hard times.
We said goodbye to our beloved dog while we lived here.
We grieved the loss of multiple family members during our years here.
We experienced a difficult pregnancy and hard recovery here.
We work too much and often miss spending enough time together, but we still grow here.

This house is still our home. 

Our landlord, who was once 'Zach's Mom', became Paula, our friend. She watched our family grow and helped us along the way. We will forever be grateful to her for her generosity and kindness.

Our family outgrew this house, and now it's time to make a new home. We are excited for the new adventure and extra space, but it's hard to beat the quiet that comes with the beautiful plot of land. I'll miss watching the hawk that lives on the left side of the yard and the momma deer and her twin doe that crunch the grass along the back treeline. I won't hear the squirrels that rule the entire property and like to run along the top of the sun room when the weather is nice. 

This house will always be where our family grew and our love flourished.