Once Upon a Time...

 

Today I thought I would tell you a story about what used to be. It's a story about an old farmhouse - the place where we spent about 17 of our 36 years together. 

This was David's grandparent's house and by the time we got married, it was empty of people, but still full of furniture and memories. David loved this house, as it was just across from his own house, where he lived and grew up. This house was the home of his grandparents, one of whom was his hero, his grandfather Owen. Every day David would visit his grandfather and they would walk and talk and just simply spend time together. 

When we got married, the house was available to rent, so we paid $100 a month and back then...$100 was a fair amount of money. 

We spent the first 4 years there, living with space heaters, no central a/c, old wallpaper, indoor/outdoor carpet in the kitchen and other outdated amenities, but we were happy to have a house. But one day we brought home a baby boy and the heating and air situation got the best of us, plus we kind of wanted a home to call our own, so we moved across town to our first brick home that we bought for $28,500, where we stayed for the next 6 years. Enter second baby boy and a few job layoffs (healthcare) and we sold our house, made a huge profit and moved again.

Eventually we made our way back to the farmhouse, where we spent the next 13 years renovating it from the studs, up. We tore it down and built it back up, with our own bare hands and 2 boys to help (as best as they could). 

We wanted to give our boys the dream life filled with grandparents, horses, land and plenty of space to run and roam.

Here are a few pictures from our time there...

We had the best two horses. As we would drive down the driveway, this was our view each day. This was their grazing field. Every year we would have to close off this field for a few months and plant seed. They had acres of land to roam in, but when the time came for us to open the gates to this pasture, they were the happiest horses in the world. They would run and kick and play and then bend their heads to start grazing. We looked forward to the scene, as much as they did. 

David's grandmother's azaleas were beautiful at the front of the driveway. They only bloomed for a short time each season, but when they did, it was a sight to see.

This was the grazing pasture before the grass grew. 

One year we turned our land into a photo venue for local photographers. We had fun doing it, but after about 6 months of strangers roaming our yard and porch, we decided the profit wasn't worth our privacy, so we shut it down. But we had fun and it was an experience we still talk about from time to time. 

We used to have "front porch singings" here, as well. We would invite other musician friends over and have food and coffee and sit on the front porch with guitars and sing until it was late and dark. 

David and I would sit here on Saturday mornings, drinking our coffee, talking about all the things that still needed to be done, like finishing the barn that was only halfway built. There was a lot to do here, especially after a few hurricanes, where we lost about 30 pine trees that needed to be cleared. But we did our best and made this place a beautiful home.

In 2014 our oldest son Ted married his beautiful girl Alex right here under the carport. 

They drove off in David's old '49 army jeep with a homemade sign saying "Just Married". It was one of the simplest, most beautiful weddings I've ever seen. The horses even made an appearance, just after they were pronounced husband and wife. Oh, and we forgot to inform our backdoor neighbors that we were having a wedding that evening, so they were out mowing their land during the ceremony, but oh well 😅 it made for some great memories. 

We had a lot of good memories in the old farmhouse, but eventually another storm came and it just became too much. With David being one man, having a full time job as an administrator, his dad was gone by then, Ted was married, and that left Collin and I to lend a hand, and David's mom's house to tend to, as well, we chose to say goodbye to the farm life and moved to town. 

We regret moving, but that's life. It often requires changes that hurt, but are necessary. 

I never thought we would go from land and horses to apartment life with a swimming pool, but here we are and we are actually enjoying this season. 

Life in the old farmhouse was a part of our story that we will always treasure. And who knows? We may end up on land again or we may keep it simple and just keep living the life of city dwellers. Either way, we'll keep counting our blessings and building our home wherever God leads. 

With HIM, life is always an adventure.

Until Next Time...

Blessings!