I realized today that this week marks 10 years since we moved into our house.  Wow!  Time is a sneaky character.  When we moved in, we had a 10 year old and a 4 year old.  Davis had more hair.  I had more estrogen. Blair played with Barbies.  Carson slept with a blanket.   

A lot of things happen in a house over 10 years.  Some absolutely glorious.  Some pretty mundane.  Some totally devastating.  There were those moments that took our breath away.  Those that melted our hearts.....those that broke them.  Those that made us wish that time would stand still. 

This place has hosted countless sleepovers, birthday parties, Bible studies, and family gatherings.  It's where I talked Blair through those awkward teenage moments.  It's where we've recovered from surgery and broken bones and the flu.  It's the place where we've read the Bible to our kids at bedtime and tried to teach them right from wrong.  It's been the field for many a backyard ballgame.  It's where we brought our Sugar home as a puppy......where I've stayed up late waiting for lights to come up the driveway......where our parents come for Christmas breakfast.  It's where we've watched three presidential election returns and where carpools have dropped off and picked up.  It's been filled with the smell of a dozen sweaty boys and Big and Sexy Hairspray.  It's been thrown up on, backed into, filled with smoke, sprayed for ants, and rolled a few times. 

There have been sleepless nights and arguments and bad dreams and sassy mouths and sweet kisses.  It's where the first boy picked up our daughter and where she's posed with her dates for prom pictures. It's where Carson prayed the sinner's prayer.  It's the place where I got the call that my Daddy had passed away.....I remember the exact spot where I was standing.  It's where we learned that my mother-in-law has Alzheimer's disease and where we'd sit up at night giving breathing treatments to Carson and counting his breaths.  This is the place where we've had "the talk" with our kids and where Carson learned that there's no Santa.  It's the shelter where we hunkered down during Hurricane Katrina.  It's been visited by the Tooth Fairy and monsters under the beds.  It's where Carson nervously climbed in the car for his first day of kindergarten and where Blair put on her cap and gown and then drove away for college.     

This is where we come to when we're tired at the end of the day.  It's where we want to be when we don't feel good.  It's the bed we wish we could sleep in when we're away.   It's where we long to spend more time when we're overbooked.  It's where the kids know they can find a good meal.....where they know someone will always be happy to see them coming.  It's where we can have a good cry, let off some steam, speak our mind, and be forgiven when we're done.  This is where we know we can be ourselves.   

After 10 years, our house has started to need fresh paint.  There are updates we want to do.  There are some scuffs on the walls and a couple of nail holes that need patching.  The bushes have been pruned and pruned and the trees finally offer some shade.  The garage door has been fixed a few times.  The appliances have been worked on and parts have been replaced.  The shutters' color has changed more than once.  Furniture has been rearranged.  Dinosaurs have been taken off the wall.  Dolls have been packed away.  Christmas tree stands have leaked on the floor.  Door casings have been nicked.  Closets have been stuffed.  Drains have clogged.        
 
For everything that has gone on under this roof, we know that God is the giver of all that is good here.....and He has sustained us through the bad.  This is our home.....everything in it was given to us by Him. 

It likely will never be on a magazine cover or HGTV , but it is where we come to feel comforted and loved.  On days when we can't find that anywhere else in this world, we know we can always find it here.