What Makes a House a Home, Hurricane, WV

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Real Estate Shows

HomeWhat makes my house a home is the memories we've built over the years together.  The snapshots in my mind when I think of "Home" look something like this:

  • Looking impossibly young, shopping with my husband for our first home.  Taking my parents along because we have no idea what we're doing.
  • Walking around inside our 900 square foot brick rancher and wondering what we'll ever do with all that room.  Big yard, time to get my first dog.  Off to the shelter!
  • Finding out I was pregnant.  SICK.  Stretch marks.  Fat.  DELIGHTED.
  • Bringing home our  baby, rocking her to sleep every night in the chair Mom reupholstered for us.  Still so proud, I have a home, a husband, a child.
  • Watching my toddler run back and forth in the hallway, always full of smiles.  Wanting to give her EVERYTHING.  Smeary handprints on the storm door.  Feeding our yard squirrels and not minding when the birds stole a meal, too. 
  • Life is busy, both working full time.  Pizza delivery guy knows my name. 
  • Growing pains, deciding to move back to my hometown.  Needing that safe, warm feeling for my daughter to grow up in.
  • Happy just to drive down Teays Valley Road.  Home again!  Home!
  • Surprise, another baby!  God is good to us.  Quitting my job.  Up every two hours every night for 10 months, Little One wants attention.  So in love that I don't even mind.  I'll sleep when the kids are grown.
  • Chalk drawings on the driveway, dogs in the yard, "reindeer food" sprinkled for Santa's reindeer each Christmas Eve.
  •  Income edging up, equity is good.  Time for a bigger house.  Seriously into house shopping.  Hubby calls me "House Stalker", not surprised when I tell him I'm going back to work - in real estate.  Bless my patient husband!
  • In and out of the house all the time, the life of a real estate agent!  Pets always happy to see me.  Furry entourage follows me to every room.
  • Kids home from school, hubby home from work, blogging is done.  Evening on the couch watching TV and chatting about our days.  I am a lucky girl indeed!

There's no place like home, there's no place like home!  This house is a home because we're here together, and that's all that matters.

This is part of the "What Makes A House A Home" contest.  You can see the other entries here: What Makes a House a Home.

Comments (17)

Chris Griffith
Downing-Frye Realty, Bonita Springs, FL - Bonita Springs, FL
Bonita Springs Listing Specialist - Agent

Don't you just love sidewalk chalk!

May 23, 2007 08:35 AM
No Longer Active
Real Estate - Fallon, MT

Oh... you were an agents dream ( or nightmare ) - house hunting with the parents...  :-)

May 23, 2007 08:59 AM
"The Lovely Wife" (Broker Bryantnulls Wife) The One And Only TLW.
President-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc. - Kissimmee, FL

Sarah...

Awe. What a great post this is. I really enjoyed it. Good luck in the contest :)

TLW...ROAR!

May 23, 2007 09:24 AM
Sarah Cooper
Real Estate Shows - Hurricane, WV

Chris - I LOVED your post for this contest.  Hands down, you've got this one!!  And yes, I love sidewalk chalk!  Nothing like a big, "Hi Grandma!" across the driveway as a big welcome banner from the kids, either!

Dan - We were the dream.  My parents are really nice and we bought the first day. 

Billie - Thanks!  I think it has to go to Chris, but I enjoyed the memories when I thought about what to write.  It was worth it for that.

May 23, 2007 10:05 AM
Maggie Dokic | Miami, FL | 888.883.8509 X101
eXp Realty LLC - Miami, FL
GREEN, CDPE, SFR, Pinecrest | Palmetto Bay |
Sarah, this is such a sweet post.  I enjoyed travelling along with you all the way from your early marriage years to now.  You are truly blessed.
May 23, 2007 10:27 AM
Ann Cummings
RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine - Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth NH Real Estate Preferrable Agent

Sweet Sarah - I can feel the love and warmth and happiness through each step of your life as you wrote it.  What a happy life and what a happy loving home!  Thank you for sharing this journey of your life.

I really hope someday to be able to meet you.

Ann

May 23, 2007 10:44 AM
Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman
Liberty Homes - Mililani, HI
(RA) AHWD CRS ePRO OAHU HAWAII REAL ESTATE
That was sooooo cute!  Yeah, being real and feeling the love is all that matters ....WooHOO!
May 23, 2007 10:51 AM
Anonymous
Liza
Your post is great! Brings back memories and a feeling of nostalgia. Delivery guys, pets, pregnancy, chalk drawings and more definitely make the smell and look of a real home. Add the smell of beef stew being cooked while I lie on the bed, ill, but ravenous with anticipation. I really am interested in homes and buying and selling them, and I'm know this is your passion, being a realtor and all. I recommend the show Bought and Sold from HGTV. It's a show that highlights the highs and lows of buying and selling a home, and all the dreams and drama that comes along with it. Check out http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_hbas for more info. I know this because I work with HGTV!
May 23, 2007 11:43 AM
#8
Thesa Chambers
West + Main - Bend, OR
Principal Broker - Licensed in Oregon
what a great post!  your heart always shows through - thanks for being you Sarah
May 23, 2007 11:50 AM
Danny Smith
DISCOVER TEXAS HOMES - Round Rock, TX
Sarah, I think that in a town named Hurricane, West Virginia that every single house there is probably a Home!
May 23, 2007 12:07 PM
Randy L. Prothero
eXp Realty - Hollister, MO
Missouri REALTOR, (808) 384-5645

Nice post.  bringing home the baby is when it really becomes a home.

May 23, 2007 01:20 PM
Don Fabrizio-Garcia
Fab Real Estate - Danbury, CT
Owner/Broker/Trainer - Fab Real Estate

Great post, Sarah!  Sidewalk chalk drawings in the driveway always make me smile...when I'm outs showing homes during dinner, sometimes the kids will leave me notes and pictures on the driveway.  Very, very nice way to come home!

May 23, 2007 01:34 PM
Cyndee Haydon
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
727-710-8035 Clearwater, Beach Short Sales Luxury Condos &Homes
Sarah, Great post! Wow, I'm glad I'm not judging - so many amazing stories and reminders about what really makes a home!  
May 23, 2007 02:51 PM
Sarah Cooper
Real Estate Shows - Hurricane, WV

Maggie - I know I'm blessed, I say Thank You for it every day.  No matter how bad things are, there's always something good in there, too.  I'm glad you liked the post, I wasn't sure about the style when I wrote it.  (I ran it by my best friend, but *shocker* she's not much of reader and couldn't help much.  But she liked it.)

Ann - I'd love to meet up!  :o)  If I'd been thinking, I'd have done each point in little frame like the edges of an old picture.  Probably a good thing I wasn't thinking, that might have been harder to read!

Sally -WooHoo!!  Glad you liked it!

Liza - Seen it!!  What do you do with HGTV?  Very cool!  Are you in Knoxville?  Mom lives here, I've driven by the offices there, big pond out front. 

Thesa - Aww, thanks! 

Danny - Nearly every one.  And we're currently working on the rest.  ;o)

Randy - Yes, before we had her I really felt her absence.  I still haven't figured out what to "be" when I grow up, but I always wanted to be a Mom.

Don - Oh, that IS nice to come home to!  Soak that up, they just keep growing!

Cyndee - I'm glad I'm not judging either!  And I haven't read them all yet, but of what I have read I'd have to give it to Chris.  That was a seriously good post!!

May 23, 2007 10:00 PM
Jeff Belonger
Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc - Cherry Hill, NJ
The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans

Sarah..... nice job. If I had to keep thinking about the topic and what you wrote, I agree, a home is based on memories. This is basically the same approach that I used for my blog. Thanks for sharing this.

                                                                                                           jeff belonger

May 24, 2007 03:23 PM
Robert Hammerstein -
Christie's International Real Estate - Hillsdale, NJ
Bergen County NJ Real Estate
Hi Sarah - Another wonderful post but this one is really special because we can enjoy your journey with you.  Loved the trip and thanks for sharing it with us. 
May 26, 2007 02:10 AM
Paula Henry
Home to Indy Team @ HomeSmart Realty Group - Avon, IN
Realtor - Indianapolis Real Estate - 317-605-4174
Sarah - I loved the way you put your life into this post. Thanks for sharing your life and home here.
May 26, 2007 04:59 AM