Love at First Sight

I'll never forget the first time I felt it. It was something I thought I would never believe in. Things like that don't happen in real life. At least not to real people. The day that it happened was just an ordinary day. Nothing special going on. I wasn't looking to fall in love on that particular day, but boy did I ever.

My firt experience with love at first sight came a little over three years ago. It was about the time Dave and I had decided to begin looking for a new house. His mom called one afternoon and told us about a place she had just driven by. It was a little place she thought we might like. He came and picked me up and off we went to investigate. The first time we drove by it sparked my interest just a little. Enough spark that I asked him to circle the block so I might have another look at it. We sat in the car and called the number on the sign out front. How was I to know that the very next day I would fall in love?

The minute I stepped into the little yellow house it happened. Instantly I fell in love with what I saw. Dave knew. He knows me very well. Wood floors. All throughout the house. It was what I had been hoping for. As I stepped across the threshold I could hear it. Memories in the making. The sounds of footsteps running through the house. As we toured the rooms of the house my mind was flooding with plans. Plans for our future inside the walls of this house. I came to what I knew would be Blake's room someday. I could picture him in it. Laying on his bed, looking up at the ceiling, dreaming of the day he would be drafted to play ball in the major leagues. I couldn't wait to lay next to him inside this room. At the other end of the hall was my Allison's room. It was perfect for her. I began to see puffy white clouds painted across her ceiling. Bunny faces peeking out from behind her armore. The closet in her room held my attention. It was big. Big enough to someday become a nursery. I looked at Dave and whispered, "This would be perfect". I know he thought I was crazy. A nursery inside of a closet? Trust me, I had a plan in mind and so did our God. As we continued to walk from room to room my love for this house was deepening. I could hear the children playing inside the walls of it. I could picture Christmas' and birthday parties in the dining room. When we entered the kitchen and saw the old ceiling that went straight up to the rafters I could barely hold my excitmetn in. As I was thinking to myself, "I bet you could really hear the rain in this room as it falls on the roof top", the owner began to describe how wonderful it was to listen to thunder storms while standing in this kitchen. I just knew it!

The little yellow house had its faults. It was 60 years old. The paint was peeling and the walls were crooked. It was by some people's standards not what they would want to call home, but to me it was just that. Our home. It had charm. It had a history. It had potential. It had all the makings of what I had envisioned for my family. Sure we could have had more house. We could have bought new, but I loved this house. Something about this house had me hooked.

Over the last few years we have changed many, many things in our home. I have left no wall untouched or un painted. I dare you to find a white wall inside of this house. I love color and I love to paint. I have made this house ours. The rooms fit each of our personalities. It is comfortable. It is welcoming. It is open to our friends and family. It is full of all the things I pictured and more. It is a fun place to be.

This is the house that Allison paints her masterpieces in. This is the house with the yard that Dave and Blake built his pitching mound out back. This is the house where Allie started kindergarten. This is the house that Blake told his Dad late one night as he slipped out of his room,"I love ya more than baseball." This is the house where I listen to the kids run and play with their friends slamming doors and shaking the walls. This is the house where we first found out our sweet Ashley Kate had been born. This is the house where I cried out to the Lord and prayed that if it be His will she might live. This is the house where Dave stood over a sink full of dishes and broke before our God as he begged for her life. This is the house that we first brought her home to. This is the house that we call home. Perfect it is not. Priceless it has become.

As we plug away at our bathroom remodel an hour at a time, I long for the day that we move back in. The day that the five of us are inside of our little yellow house just hanging out and being us. The day that my Ashley sleeps in her crib, in her nursery, in the girls room again. Tonight I swept floors behind Dave as he worked and I found myself just being thankful. Thankful for this house that God gave to our family. Thankful to be here next to Dave working on it. Thankful to have the opportunity to bring our Ashley back home where she belongs.

God has been good to us. This house has been good to us and I am so happy I fell in love at first sight. Good night and God bless you. Trish