In their lifetime my parents purchased one house. Back in 1958 the house sold for about $7,500. I'm told it was seven years old and in pretty bad shape when they bought it. My grandpa knocked on the walls and proclaimed it was made of cardboard, but my parents came to love the little house and turned it into a home.
A home is much more than just a roof over one's head. It is a place where family gathers, where memories are made, and where love grows. As the years ticked by, along with the family, the little house grew. Dad made a bedroom for my brother in the attic and, with my uncle's help, built a garage. A family room was added on the back of the little house making it big enough to shelter a family and welcome friends.
It's hard to believe that the little house we know as "home" may one day belong to someone else. If I live another forty years it will still be home. How could it be anything else?And hope... Hope is my mother's middle name. She was born with a rare type of spina bifida, high on her back between her shoulder blades. Back then the doctors weren't quite sure what to do. They told her parents to take her home and "hope" for the best.
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this is so lovely, wow you kept all those picutes ...all these time .. they're priceless..
ReplyDeleteHope you can drop by
My ABC Wednesday post here
I love home....
ReplyDeleteMay your humble house continue to shelter you and your family from the storms and bring you much happiness...Wonderful post :)
ReplyDeleteWhat memories these pictures must bring back. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteWe had to sell my parent's house years ago. I was 4 when they bought it, so it was "home" to me! But the memories live forever in my heart! I hardly ever think about the "physical" house, but oh the fun times & happiness will be alive in my heart forever (that's what's important).
ReplyDeleteAmazing that you have the pictures showing the expansion & the upgrades.
"Hope"...one of my favorites! My "hope" for you is that God gives you peace....a peace that passes all understanding...love you!
I love this story of home and hope Martha. You know my brother was born ten years after me when my mom was in her 40's...we only had two bedrooms. Mom and Dad's and mine and my sisters. So Dad built a bedroom in the attic for Hal.
ReplyDeleteI had almost forgotten that!
Your parents certainly added value to their house and home in more ways than one! Lovely post. :)
ReplyDeleteLove these three photos that show the passage of time.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post! Great choice of H-words---'house, home, hope'!
Best wishes,
Anna
Anna's H-word-abcWed
Lovely to see how this house progressed from just a house to a home (I can really see it in the photos)
ReplyDeleteThat little house is adorable...loved seeing the progression over the years. My family moved a lot while I grew up. It was always fun to drive by a house we used to live in and see it owned by someone else. I wasn't sentimentally attached to any of them.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, my kids have never known a different house than the one we live in now. I often wonder if we will live here our entire lives. Taylor will have the same feelings you are having! I hope we do...
Home truly is where the heart is. Mine changes but where I grew up will always be home to me.
ReplyDeleteThere's a song by Dionne Warwick, A House Is Not A Home, which it isn't without love. The story of Hope is inspiring!
ReplyDeleteROG, ABC Wednesday team
At first I thought this was Wanda's blog as I recognized the photo of the blueberries. I was one who too part in drawing them for her art challenge. Beautiful photo. Home is where I got the name for my blog and I haven't lived there for more than 50 years -- but it's still home. Flamborough Head,E.Yorkshire, UK.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you kept referring back to house and home. Great job on 'H'.
ReplyDeleteDonna - ABC Wednesday
Looks like about 20 years between each picture. The brown phase is totally missing!
ReplyDeleteClose anyway, Jim. They bought the house in 1958. I think the first picture was from around 1960, the second about 1973, and the third... what?... 2007?
ReplyDelete