Memories of a Much Loved Home

As closing day nears and we move into our RV, our definition of "home" will change. But we also realize that, like this wall hanging states, having family and friends is the true blessing. I'm not going to lie, it is going to be very hard to leave behind our "home" of 29 years. But the memories of improvements, events, and gatherings of family and friends will forever be etched in our hearts...We have been truly blessed!

We were so young when we bought this house in 1986. And, much to my delight, I was about to find out how "handy" my handyman turned out to be as we slowly started to make this house our home. 

Getting rid of the "hard to mow" hill in our back yard and putting in a terraced garden was one of Doug's first projects. Kevin, age 1, made sure Dad figured out a place for a sand box! 

As Kevin grew, it was time to level off the back yard for a swing set. Once again he was Doug's consultant!

Power tools...such fun...helped produce a beautiful deck around our maple tree the next year.

Kevin commissioned Dad to build him a loft in the smaller bedroom so that he could have lots more room for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!






Kevin and newborn brother, Adam welcomed some real live turtles, Yertle and Swimmy, to live in the aquarium stand that Doug built.







With two boys, our house was starting to feel small, so I started looking at Open Houses. In order to avoid moving, Doug would find a solution for whatever I was finding dissatisfying. His handmade computer center housed our electronics as our world of computers expanded.

But try as I might, I could never convince him to replace the pink tile in the bathroom. I was very happy to hear that "pink" was back in style about the time we put our house on the market :-)






A larger entry to provide a place for shoes, coats, skateboards, and biking equipment proved so fashionable and functional that I stopped dreaming of a bigger house for a while...

...until the boys started hanging out with friends. The remodel of the basement family room became a comfortable gathering area and new home for Doug's pinball machine, big screen TV and Rock Band. Who says that men can't have toys also?

But the kitchen got smaller as my love of cooking and Pampered Chef products expanded...

...so our basement contractor and I drew up a plan to create my dream kitchen...much to Doug's amazement!

 Naturally, remodeling the living room would follow.

My BEAUTIFUL kitchen...a place for the creation of wonderful meals shared with family and friends.

Even Koko loved it!

Christmas, Thanksgiving, Sunday brunches....

...teaching special friends to cook...

...Homecoming meals, the Pie Ride and Chain Gang parties...

So many fun gatherings and wonderful memories...What can top this, we ask?

 We are hoping it will be when family and friends...i.e. YOU show up at our door...whether that door be just outside of Rochester, in Florida, near Yellowstone or some other spectacular place in this country.

Yes, I will have a few tears when we hand over our much-love home to the new owners next week. But I also know that:

Having a place to go is HOME
Having someone to love is FAMILY
Having both (even if the home is on wheels) is a BLESSING!


Doug and I hope that you will continue to stay in touch and join us wherever RVentures lead us! You can receive email notices of our blog entries by filling in your email address on the upper right corner.

Print this post