House or Home?

As I sit here in our 1200 square foot house and type this blog, I ask myself the question "is this house or home?"

Growing up, my family moved frequently. We never settled down in one house and my nature, which craved stability, always found it frustrating. Moving was never an adventure to me; it was never exciting.

Fast forward several years and I am divorced, single, and and living in a small town. I want to buy a house, but to me this is a huge commitment and I don't want in over my head. I choose a small, quaint house with lovely hardwood floors that needs some work and is a the perfect size for me.

I am content here. I am happy. I am doing what I can on my own to fix things up and be proud of it. Then into my life walks my future husband who has a daughter. We date, move in together, have a child, and then get married.

So, here we are three years later in this 1200 square foot house with four of us looking for a little extra room. We have tossed around the idea of moving, but decided to stay put for the next few years. It's tight. It's cramped. There is so much we have to do here, but there are many reasons this feels like home to me.

This is the place where we are learning to be content with what we have. We have a very modest house payment, so we are making a financial decision that will allow us to get ahead in other areas of our lives. We are learning lessons from our mistakes and changing our future with our finances. The girls will share a room for a few years and will have the chance to deepen their already wonderful relationship.

I think, most importantly, this place is only full of memories that we have made. There are no memories from the past, but plenty of dreams for the future.

This place isn't just a house. It's home. It is often hard to see that we could move somewhere with more room, or a bigger yard, or something newer - but for the next few years, this home is where our hearts will be.