Can Any House Be A Home?

Have you heard that our nation is suffering difficult economic times...of course you have, we all have. But I see it a little differently, I see it as families suffering the difficult times!
We can look around and see many that we know and love who have lost their jobs, some their businesses, some their homes and for some their Hope.

Over the past many months, our family has been right in the midst of all of this turmoil and change...change can be hard and devastating OR it can change us for the better and make us stronger. But I believe that one of the things that has to happen is that we have to reach the point where we know that all hope is not lost, that whatever comes we can survive and we will be happy if we choose to be!

For me, I've had to stop listening to all the people "out there" who have their judgemental opinions of the housing crisis. Well, I am here to tell you that it is only a crisis if you are truly in the middle of losing your home, that is a crisis, sometimes it feels like the end of the world. I've had to get over the comments that you hear from the news, from the media, from the "know-it-all's" that people losing their homes are only losing them because they couldn't really afford them to begin with....

WELL, I have a thing or two to say about all of that!!!

We searched long and hard for the perfect house to make our home...we found it, put down a large downpayment, purchased it, moved in, filled it with children and love, and made our payments (thus, we could afford this dream of ours) Our home is nothing extravagent, not a mansion, just a sweet, simple older home that had the perfectly wonderful huge kitchen made just for a big family who all cook together, one bedroom for all the boys and one bedroom for all the girls, lots of open space for kids to be kids...it was simply the perfect, beautiful, wonderful home made just for us.

When my husband and I bought our dream home, the home where we dreamed of raising our children and providing what we could see as the best possible upbringing for a whole crew of kiddos, we intended to be here "forever". It felt like the most perfect piece of heaven meant just for raising kids who needed to learn to work and to serve and to run, to play and explore, to build tree forts, see the hawks flying overhead, to see the wonder of openness, baby kittens everywhere, the beauty of a country life, to raise chickens (and learn to run from roosters), to experience the frustration of plugging all the holes that those sneaky little pigmy goats could escape from, more baby kittens everywhere, to enjoy the peacefulness of laying out on the grass looking up at the clouds, watching the breeze blow through all the leaves on the trees, crossing the creek (occassionally falling in while trying to save their fabulous boat they set a sailing), loving more baby kittens (yes, they just kept showing up, much to our little girls' delight!), learning to raise a garden, riding their horses, falling off and picking themselves back up and climbing right back on, and learning the responsibility of caring for and loving and sometimes having to say good-bye to the animals they nurtured. All the things we felt were essential in building the character of our children.

Well, as most of you have probably already figured out, this dream of ours seems to be coming to an end...

And the sad part is that we truly feel there is nothing more we can do. We didn't lose a job as so many others did, we just own a service business ~ often thought of as a luxury, not a necessity, and so with others losing their jobs, we in essence lost our job, as our level of work has dropped substantially, we've done (I should say, my dear husband has done) all the odd jobs, creative work he can possibly find, which has provided for our needs, but hasn't quite covered our dream home.
BUT we are still working and we still have hope and we will not give up because we are not quitters! But we will be moving on and we will be okay, we will be exploring new lands, conquering old fears, building new relationships, and learning new things about ourselves.

With all of this, what I have to come to accept and this is truly a blessing for me, is that we can still have our dream home in any house we live in, in any area, in the country or in a subdivision. It's really in how we look at it and how we portray our love and excitement of change to our children. And if only for a time, our children did get to live the dream my husband and I desired for them...and that can last a lifetime for them and for us!

So, can any house be a home?
With a little love, unending hope, smiles and occassionally tears, yes, I believe it can!