Humble Beginnings

We're still in our beginning, only being married five years on August 7, but we definitely haven't stayed in the same place all that time. We haven't stayed the same physically, emotionally, spiritually or mentally either. That's another story for another time. This is about our home. The first two houses, which we rented, we lived in were both small and built before central heating and air was a common household commodity in the south...same story for the lack of dishwasher, washer and dryer units (luckily, these were added later, but not original to the house), and neither house had more than one bathroom. When we were looking to buy our first home we made a list of things we needed and things we wanted. On the top of my list was that we have more than one bathroom and that neither bathroom include PINK tile! Apparently tile came in two colors in the 1950's, blue and pink. We were "fortunate" enough to have pink tile in both rental homes. We did our best and made it our home. The first house (pictured below) was VERY tidy, VERY clean and definitely NOT baby-proof. There were no toys, except for the cat's toy mouse and I cleaned every week like I now attempt to clean every month. We both worked full-time, ate most meals out and went away for weekend trips often. We loved our little "dollhouse" and I still miss the way the floor furnace would creak and crack in the winter. I loved curling up with a book (which I was able to do often) while Toby the cat stretched out across my lap. I could sit on that little porch and watch the neighbor's kids play. We didn't have TV for the first two or three years we were married, and I recommend that for all newlyweds. We also have never lived less than an hour's drive from our parents, which I also reccomend for newlyweds :)

Awww...look at the newlyweds,

so unsuspecting (in a good way of course!)

Our second home was a last-minute find once we found out Jon was accepted into pharmacy school at UGA. He was put on the waiting list for the second year in a row and we didn't find out until July that he was accepted and we would be moving to Athens. I was in the second trimester of pregnancy with Mae and we needed at least two bedrooms. It took a lot of cleaning, clearing out and hard work (mostly by our moms) to get that place livable...but it's where we brought Mae home from the hospital, where I rocked, prayed and sang lullabies in her nursery before she was born that November. From our window I witnessed the farmer neighbors harvest their crops and watched leaves raining down from the surrounding trees. We caught up with those neighbors recently at the Farmer's Market. They said that little house has never been the same since we left :) My kitchen counter top was mostly the tops of the washer, dryer and water heater...In fact that's how the crock pot lid shattered into a million pieces, I learned NOT to use the dryer while also using it for a cook top!

I guess all who have "humble beginnings" are truly blessed. I am fond of my grandparents stories of their first homes, the basement one-bedroom apartment. And I love hearing my parents stories of how they robbed the pennies from their loafers for a run to the store. There's something about not having much that brings couples and families closer together. We still don't have much, or any money or possessions, to call our own. I look around our home and see that most of the furnishings were gifts from family or the bargain we grabbed. We don't have a garage, a pantry or built-in custom ANYTHING! I love our little yellow house and love the closeness it brings to our family. I know I will miss this much-of-nothing phase of life (if it ever ends!) just like I already miss our first two little homes and the memories made there for those short years. We give thanks for God's protection and provision over our home.