Identity Part 4: Residence

     I know you are thinking, "what does residence have to do with identity?" I believe you will find yourself falling into one of these four categories: small town girl, small town girl living in a big city, city girl or a city girl living in a small town. You follow?!?
     When I got married, and until recently, I was a small town girl living in a big city. For years I often pleaded with my husband to consider moving outside of the city. Maybe not exactly the same small town he grew up in (which is also where we meet), but somewhere between city and small town. He insisted all the jobs would be in a big city, so it only made sense we lived close by.
     Almost 8 years of marriage and 4 kids later, we were making plans for the purchase of our first home. Obviously living in a 2 bedroom and 2 bath apartment just was not going to cut it much longer. Next logical step was to rent or to buy a home. And reasonably one of the first questions we started asking ourselves was what location.  Before I even said a word he said, "I'm ready to get back to my southern comfort zone." Needless-to-say he still works in the big city, but with a 45 minute commute he is back to small town living! 
     Now mind you, we don't have any cattle or farm, but we have plenty of space for kids to run around. We love the bright stars at night. Being able to have our own fire going, and hearing the howling of the coyotes in the distance is just one of the luxuries. Boys have their own digging hole in backyard. Lightening bugs in spring. We often spend nice days outside as much as possible doing things around the house, or like recently clearing out our creek. When I wake up and look out my kitchen window I see cardinals and blue jays playing in the yard. For us it is like a little piece of heaven. Eventually I would love to have a few chickens and a small garden (don't worry I'll be sure to capture those adventures in a post!).
     As expected in a small town it has its down sides, like how fast news travels. We are still new and it takes awhile to get to know people. For parts around here there are about three important things; family, church and sports. Home is where the heart is.

Joshua 24:15b (NIV) "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Name: Jamie
Occupation: Mom
Marital Status: Married
Gender: Female
Residence: Small Town

                                                                        Our first fire!

                                                          Sam playing in the little creek.

                                            Josh got to be the first on our new tire swing!