Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

Sometimes, life can get you down. Things don't always go the way you plan them to go, and you have to learn to roll with the punches. I have had to do just that a lot in the past couple of years. Having rented homes my entire adult life, I thought owning a home would be fun and satisfying. And it has been for the most part. But of course, things always go wrong when you own a 50 year old home. We have lost water from the well more than once, power lines often get knocked down from the multitude of oak trees surrounding us, and then there are the never ending issues with the age of our home. We have floors that have sagged in several places, pipes that were not connected correctly and if they were connected correctly, they are beginning to rust out. We've had to update our windows and doors just to keep the freezing cold out, and we have walls that still need to be insulated and an electrical system that desperately needs updating. And I haven't even mentioned the snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, bobcats, and coyotes. Sometimes I feel like packing up our things and moving into a nice newer home in town complete with granite counter tops, inside laundry, and all the conveniences of a modern home. But then I remember why we are where we are and it helps me to relax and accept that someday, our home will be done being updated. We'll have added on at least another two bedrooms and another bathroom, and the outside will look as nice I imagine in my head. Someday.

In the meantime, I've created a list of my favorite things about where I live to help me keep my sanity and to help me remember that we have been truly blessed.

I love that this is what I see whenever I drive around my town-

Instead of this-

I love that the little man can learn all about nature, right in our own backyard-

I love that I can have as many of these cuddly things as I can afford to keep-

I love that I can own the most amazing little creatures in the world-

I love that when the little man gets bigger, he can have own his dream horse-

I love that this little guy-

And this big guy, have as much room to run as they could ever desire-

I love that it snows just enough here for us to make snowmen and snow angels, have snowball fights-

sled down our hill, and then it all burns off by the afternoon-

I love that the little guy will grow up wearing hats like these -

I love the views from my property-

And I love this swing-

And the sunsets I can watch from it-