Five houses. One home.

She’s a small-town girl. Born just 30 minutes from where she’s lived her entire life. Twenty-two years. Scratch that, reverse it.. Twenty-two LONG years.

She’s known the same friends since she was four. She’s known, perhaps, a little too much. About everything. Okay, not everything. But about Sharon Springs. And farming. And cows. And cow poop. Not that she’s ever lived on a farm, but it comes along with the territory.

She’s known five houses. The small yellow one – where a baby calf got stuck under her porch, where her older sister used to pull her around in a cardboard diaper box for fun, and where catching snakes at the well was something she actually enjoyed. The big yellow one – where she learned to ride her bike, where she used to walk around pretending she was Tina from Ghost Writer, and where she found a dead rotting cow in her backyard. (Anybody sense a theme here?) Then there was the little white house – where she had to share a room with her smelly little brother, where her obsession with Shirley Temple originated, and where she lived a happy little life with Sully the blue parakeet. Then of course, came the big white house – where climbing the apple trees out back was her favorite pastime, where she experienced the first death in her family with the passing of her grandfather, and where she suddenly wasn’t a kid anymore. And finally, the brown house – where she’s spent the past 11 years, where she became an adult, and where she’ll have to say goodbye.

Five houses. One home.

But Dylan and I will be making a new home in Houston, TX come late June. We’ll be leaving everything we’ve ever known. (Of course, Dylan’s had a head start by being assigned to Houston in the past.) But on the whole, everything will be unfamiliar. The heat. The big, modern city. And the lack of cows, (I think?) just to name a few examples.

We’re so ready for this change. Something completely different, in the southern 50, and something we can make our own. It will be lonely at first, I know this. But my all-time favorite part is that I’m going with my best friend. :)

So this is our announcement. Please note that if you’ve already booked your wedding with me later this summer, we’re still good to go! So don’t you worry!! Also, if you have ever lived in/visited Houston, do tell me all about it!! I’ve been researching for a while, but there’s got to be so much more. What’s your favorite thing about Houston? What’s your least favorite thing? Will I be able to survive the scorching summers? And will there be any cows? You just let me know! :)

Oh, and big thanks to Google for this rather unrealistic picture of Houston. I’ll take it. :)