Jared and I have been married for eleven years and our happiness is always under construction. Journey with me as we move from place to place creating memories along the way!
August 1996
We started out in a 30 foot travel trailer. We thought this would be the perfect place to start out our marriage and was quite affordable while both of us were determined to continue our education. It ended up being "not-so-perfect" when the sewage tank needed to be emptied and you knew this because the smell seeped through the drain in the shower and the toilet. We had to use a special toilet paper that would disenegrate and not stop up the tank. My menu consisted of spaghetti and hamburger helper every night. It was inconvenient to try and cook on a two top stove and find something to eat in the mini-fridge. Hardly anything fit into the mini-microwave. It wasn't long before we realized why this was meant for traveling and not necessarily for living. We have some great memories from the trailer. I took my first pregnancy test there (negative) and we enjoyed watching TV on the sofa that made into a bed but the confinement took hold.
September 1996 - February 1997
Less than two months after we were married, Jared was accepted into the Kilgore Fire Academy and he moved into a dorm there. I tried to be a big girl and stay in the trailer but it was lonely and even the slightest rain caused it to move. Jared's parents offered us two of the rooms in their house. One we made into a bedroom and the other was our living room. Jared was gone all week so I spent late nights with his mom and Ralph. D'Uan and I started scrapbooking while Ralph worked on his gourds. It was a lot of fun. We laughed and we cried and in the meantime created memories that still make me smile. I was going to school every day and some nights. I worked at Countryside Homes on the weekends. Ramen noodle soup and baked chicken were on the menu a lot. Jared and I spent weekends together either at his dorm or in our rooms. We spent many nights watching TV and laughing. As soon as Fire Academy was over we decided to find a place of our own.
February - December 1997
We found a two bedroom house to rent in Seagoville. While the people were moving out, we were moving in (literally). The rot and the roaches could not keep us away. We made so many changes and improvements to the house. Jared worked at The Body Shop and then at Albertsons while I went to school and babysat on my days off. Shortly after we moved in, we found out that we were pregnant. It was so much fun to decorate a Noah's Ark nursery. I remember our late nights at Kroger buying the store brand can goods and other groceries and using our coupons. We got a rotweiller puppy from First Monday and kept it in the garage until it was big enough to go into the back yard. While living here I graduated from college and Jared was offered a job by the Ennis Fire Department. This was great news except for the fact that he had to live within 20 miles of the first station so this meant that we would be moving to Ennis shortly after Clayson was born. The adorable nursery would only be in pictures.
December 1997 - January 1999
Another rent house came our way in Ennis. It was a cute house, three bedrooms with one bath, a kitchen and a dining room. I remember the floor sloped in the kitchen, the dining room smelled like cat pee, the living room cable did not work so almost the entire time that we lived there was spent in the master bedroom. We ate in there, watched TV in there and slept in there (all three of us). I was through with college and would babysit occasionally. I continued to work at Countryside Homes on the weekends and when Clayson was four months old I worked during the week while he stayed with my Papaw and Granny. Clayson's first Christmas was in Ennis but because of an ice storm we came up and stayed at my mom's on Christmas Eve. The house here never really registered as home to me. I would rather have been at my mom's than stuck in the master bedroom all the time. I can still see Clayson eating his eggs in his highchair and Jared puking into the large pot, normally used for making spaghetti. (Don't worry, it was thrown away after his illness.) I remember taking walks and feeding the ducks in our own front yard. I remember listening to the police/fire scanner and following Jared on an ambulance call. I remember the Ennis tire fire that he fought. I remember in July we found out that we were pregnant again. Clayson and the baby would be 17 months apart. After much contemplation we decided that we were ready to move back closer to our families. Jared was offered a job at Seagoville Fire Department and this was a true blessing.
January 1999 - April 2001
Home, home on the ranch was where we found our next house to rent. It was three bedrooms with a bathroom, kitchen, dining room, living room and even a laundry room! It was on a 10,000 acre ranch and we were two miles off the main road with no one to bother us except the horses, cows, possums and snakes. Jared worked at the fire department and built fences, I babysat six to eight kids everyday. Trey had a Winnie the Pooh room that he loved to be in, he loved his baby bed. Clayson still slept with us. We made one of the bedrooms a toy room. Internet was becoming popular so I spent time in my room on the computer. The kids loved to play outside in our little yard that I loved to mow. We had a lot of water leak problems including the hot water heater going out and flooding the hallway. We recarpeted the entire house and put down new flooring in the kitchen and bathroom. If the landlord was moving the cows you were out of luck until he opened the gates. Allison almost picked up a rattlesnake thinking it was the water hose and out of the blue some man came up and wanted the snake. We saw a bobcat. We had possums looking in the back door. We had mice. We had crickets and grasshoppers. We had a dog named Boomer that ran away. We could go out and feed the horses. Jared had a tractor that Clayson was obsessed with. I decided that I was ready to go to work and I got a job at Crandall Intermediate School. This was a house that brings back a lot of memories. We were happy here until we heard they were going to sale the ranch so it was time to pack up those boxes once again.
April 2001- February 2002
We moved to Crandall. Once again, another rent house. This one had two bedrooms, a small bathroom, a living room, kitchen/dining and an enclosed garage. It was right across the street from the Intermediate School which allowed me to spend many late nights at school getting my classroom ready. We took bike rides. We walked over to the school playground. We played in the front yard. We were here when 9-11 happened. After settling into my new job and realizing that there was a chance that we could stop renting and save money to buy a house, we moved in with my parents.
February - September 2002
We lived with my parents and got our new house underway. I don't remember much about living here except worrying about making a mess! I do remember running over my dad's good sprinkler and him telling me that he could replace the sprinkler but he could not replace the air conditioning unit if I ran into that. Jared spent many late nights working on the house, much of which we built ourselves. We made many trips to Home Depot and Lowes. American Idol was in its first season. We took a TV to the house so we could watch and see who won while working on the master bath. We were busy, busy, busy until we were able to move into the house we could call our own.
September 2002 - March 2006
1021 Oak Hollow Ln.
Homeowners at last! This house meant so much to us because of all the blood, sweat and tears we put into it. Mainly Jared - but my dad, mom, Ralph, D'Uan, Mylana and I....we all had a part in making the process complete. It was my dream house. The boys had their room with bunkbeds in western decor, they had a toyroom, we had two bathrooms, an awesome kitchen/dining and living room and a bonus room that we planned to complete and eventually made into a hobby room. Shortly after we moved in, we found out that we were expecting our third baby in June. The toyroom went from tan walls to pink with flower walls when we found out that we were having a girl. My dad came over and we painted our hearts out to make it the nursery of my dreams, and that it was. Jared built shelves and they became filled with girly things. The guest bathroom was red, white and blue and had brick countertops. That was my favorite part of the bathroom. The boys room was never used as a bedroom just a toy room. They slept in our king size bed until we slowly moved them to the couch, usually after they went to sleep. Ashlyn loved her room. She never knew any different. We wised up on the letting the kids sleep in the bed! Jared was very involved in our yard, he became a landscaper (at our house). He bought and planted flowers, kept the grass just right and had it looking like yard of the month, if we had had one. I kept the inside clean by sweeping, sweeping and did I mention sweeping?! With concrete floors that was the key to keeping the floor clean. We spent Christmas with the Davis family here, Easter with the whole family and enjoyed family time as we sat by many fires. As Ashlyn started getting bigger and the boys began wanting their own space we realized that this house may be getting too small for our growth. Unfortunate circumstances caused Jared and I to do a reevaluation of our lives and the direction we needed to go. Something was going to have to give. As much as I loved this house, I knew that it was a sacrifice I needed to make. I knew that Jared wanted land and a shop to be able to work in. In my heart I knew that I needed to offer this dream to him, as he had always aimed to make me happy. Unselfishly, I agreed that we should sell this house. Selfishly, I hoped it would take a very long time. We put the house up for sale and it sold within two months. We don't always get what we ask for....
March 2006 - November 2006
Shortly before we signed papers for the sale of our house we signed papers to purchase 4.8 acres of land in Combine. This became a new project for Jared. It was filled with trees, I did not have a vision for it ever being liveable but he did and that is just what happened. He cleared some trees, mowed the grass, had a driveway put in, had a pond dug and it looked awesome. When we moved out of our house we were in a transitional state. Our new house plans were not finished, so we moved into Jared's parents two bedroom house in Combine - all five of us plus the two of them. They were so generous to allow us to live there. Jared's parents were only home Sunday through Tuesday so we never really felt too crowded. It was a tight squeeze sometimes but we had fun times, especially in the pool! Our house plans were done in August but at that time I had gone back to school and did not have time to think about it, prices had gone up on building materials and it just did not seem to be the right time to build. We wanted to build it all ourselves and unfortunately, life got in the way and time was an issue. Jared had said all along that we should build a temporary place to live in the shop but me, being hardheaded, said that I did not want to move twice. I don't know why I thought it would be any different by moving in with his parents but that is neither here nor there. In September, I decided that since a house was out of question for the time being, maybe we should just build a living quarter in Jared's shop. I was ready for a change and felt like the walls were closing in on us once again. So, Jared being the great husband that he is, built a shop and built a place for us. He had a friend who spent many nights working on this with him. Robert's help and donations will forever be appreciated. It took them two months to have it ready to move into.
November 2006 - present
Some call it a cave, others a love shack ... we call it home. It's an 860 square feet, two story home. We have a small bathroom, a kitchenette, a dining area and a living room downstairs with a bedroom and closet upstairs. We share everything here. Ashlyn considers the closet her room, it is where all of her toys are. The boys have the rest of the big shop to play in. All I need is a place to sit and get on the computer and a place to sleep -- oh yeah, and a tub to take my bubble baths in! All of our basic needs are met here - food, clothing and shelter. It makes me thankful for what we have had and hopeful for what is to come. Some days I want out of here so bad but lately, I am okay with it. It is not the ideal situation but like a friend at church says, you can get bitter or you can get better. Have you ever heard the phrase - if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy - well, momma chooses to be happy. It's the easier choice. I know that there is a reason that we have not built a new house and I know that when we finally do, I will know the true meaning of being grateful. For now, the husband, the three kids, the dog, the two donkeys, the six sheep and I are creating memories to last a lifetime on 1785 Combine Rd. - in the corner we call home!
2 comments:
Wow! That was a very fun trip down memory lane! I had visions and my own memories in almost every place y'all have lived. (except the rent house by the intermediate school ???) You'll have to refresh my memory on that one.
Anyway, thanks for sharing. I'm glad we've all now entered into BLOGWORLD!
I remember that rent house. We had our own little Christmas party there one year. Speaking of, we need to get back to that:)
I remember using some of the crickets outside the ranch house and syrup and serving it to Allison after her trip to Tokyo. She had to eat the grasshoppers over there, but didn't worry about hurting our feelings and not eating our crickets:)
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