Favorite Fridays~Our House

We moved in the week after returning from our honeymoon in Quebec City.  
I got tendonitis in my arm during the move,
I felt awkward and foreign in our new home.
But then we painted, 
And soon I learned that the faucets in the bathroom turned the wrong way.
We got two black kitties.
It became our home.

Swirling staircases,
Peeling paint on the porch,
A country kitchen,
With a window to the north.

A window; right next to my coffee pot, 
The first thing I see in the morning is:
Snow flying, 
Rain pouring,
Fog rolling,
The sun or moon glowing.

An office; still painted mint green today,
We thought we'd change it, but never did.
In that office I heard dad say that Grandma Ev was no longer with us;
And years later, my mom say that my dad was now gone too.

A living room; with the grape vine stencil border~my labor of love.
I also labored there for 17 hours before going to the hospital to have Evie.
There we rocked Evie when we brought her home,
Brought her home from specialist appointments,
From surgeries, 
From chemo.  
In that living room we felt the joy and pain of love.

A bathroom upstairs; once Pepto Bismol pink,
I was in there doing my hair when Jeff told me
Grandpa Turk had suffered a stroke, 
And just over a year later, it was in that same room he told me
Our niece Emma had been born.
Kitties rattle the door knob to get in to that room,
But then "meow" with agony when the door shuts them in.

The kitchen with floor to ceiling cupboards and ceramic tile counters, 
It's the first room I fell in love with.
Carving pumpkins, doing crafts on snow days, making popcorn.
Success with a recipe; and failure at times.
I was never afraid to fail in that kitchen,
It was a place where you could just try again.

The front porch...a small room filled with Oz;
Coffee in the morning, and a good book in the evening.
A place to listen to church bells, 
To smell the summer rains,
To sleep in the cold, crisp air when Evie had croup.

Our house felt like a stranger 12 years ago;
But feels like a best friend today.

We have grown up here;
Woken up to dark days, and suffered through painful nights, 
But felt God with us through it all...
Here, in this house.

We have celebrated here;
Enjoyed the company of friends and family; laughed, sang, and danced,
And known God was the one who blessed us with it all...
Here, in this house.