Six years ago

It's pretty surreal to think that six years ago today Mark and I moved in to our current home. This anniversary marks milestones in both my life and Mark's. This is now the longest either of us has lived in one home, one town, one single place since both of us lived at home with our parents as teenagers. And six years in the same house is a milestone I have not had since I was a very young girl in Houston.

When I really thought about being in this house for six years it made me think back to all the places I have lived - all the apartments, homes, dorms, etc. I am amazed that I have not lived in one single place for more than about four years (at most) since I was young enough to not remember. Coincidentally, one house I grew up in back in Houston was on the market last fall and the other one is currently on the market. And the home Mark and I shared back in Houston before moving here was just on the market about two months ago. Quite a trip to step back into those homes via the Internet to see what has changed and what hasn't. Each one has its own set of memories and it's true of our current home as well.

We have a beautiful tulip tree in the front yard that was in full bloom the week we moved in. And each March I am reminded of just how beautiful it truly is. We have a huge window in our living room that overlooks the front yard. The week the tree blooms I have witnessed people literally stop their car to either look at the tree or even to take pictures of it. I often see people on walks stop and admire its huge blooms and, again, take photos via their phones.

Our home is 40+ years old now and we've discovered some of the homes' quirky history on more than one occasion. The original owner was a woman named Ethel and we assume she has now passed. But Ethel still likes to play little jokes on us sometimes - or so we think. Our living room had an electronic ceiling fan that would "magically" turn on while I was away and would freak me out each time I returned home to find it on. We quickly replaced it during our first year here. And whenever something just plain strange happens we always joke that Ethel is letting us know she's here. When Ian was born I remember us commenting on how we are sure Ethel is happy to know there is a baby in the house.

When we moved here, we knew this wasn't our forever home but it was (and still is) all we truly need. Despite the annoyances of an aging home, there are little things about this home that have made it quite special to us over the years. The most precious memories are, of course, bringing each of our babies home. We've also celebrated milestone anniversary parties, the kids' first birthday parties, the kids' first Christmas, huge Thanksgiving meals where family consumed our formal living and dining room at one giant table, and so much more.

So until the Lord leads us somewhere else, 'I'll be here a while' as the song of the same title by the group 311 says. And as I look out the front window into our yard, it is a bit comforting to know that our beautiful blooming tulip tree welcomes us once again into another year of being home.