As I stated in the last post, our next move occurred the day that Easton was born. Our families were so wonderful to move us out and across town while I was in the hospital in labor.
I came home to a brand new (very very old) house with all of the boxes and furniture moved in.
Hills Cottage
This home will always hold a special place in my heart. Even though we didn't own it, it felt like our home. It was over 100 years old and situated at the top of a hill in a quiet little grove of trees.
This is a side view of the cottage. Our landlord told us that it used to be a log cabin. He was actually born there. Then when he built his home, they moved this house back to the top of their property, built the basement, and started renting it out.
Oh how I loved this little house....
The backyard. Complete with swing, porch swing, round picnic table, pathway through a flower garden, and a fun little ride for the summertime. The Hill's were so kind to let us use their yard at our leisure.
And now to the inside:
The Living Room
Our Bedroom:
Here is Tate's room (note: we were in the middle of packing hence the mess)
Can you see that old door knob? They were like that throughout the house. I think they were originals. So old and so beautiful.
The Kitchen:
I loved how the countertops were just my size...
and how the formicas didn't match...and how the cupboards didn't shut tight. It was such a homey place...warm and inviting. Here we shared so many meals together. I really miss our glass top stove. It was the best thing in the whole kitchen...
...except the double sink of course. It was the perfect baby bather.
Oh those long hours of washing all of the dishes by hand
Here is the laundry/storage room:
And last, but not least, Easton's room:
The carpet was amazing...samples put together of every color you can imagine.
Don't you love these old doors? I really miss them.
Here is the view from behind the cottage (on a rainy day):
Special Memories of Hills Cottage:
*Bringing Easton home from the hospital
*Crying on the green floor with him on his first night. (I didn't know how to help him and I was completely overwhelmed.) *Hosting a dinner for our families on Easton's blessing day.
*Reading the last two Harry Potter's as we got up to feed Easton every night.
*The peace, quiet and stillness that permeated everything about the home.
*Patrick being called as 2nd counselor in the singles ward bishopric.
*Having the students over every Monday evening for Family Night
*Walking up the rickety steps to get inside (and always by myself on Sundays).
*Driving (or walking) up the dirt road and parking under the sappy pine tree. Ick!
*Walking to the park across the street.
*The wobbly toilet that threatened to tip over when you sat on it.
*The ever-increasing hole in our bedroom purple carpet.
*Teaching Easton to sit up, crawl, and walk here.
*Playing outside in the snow with Easton for the first time.
*Going through morning sickness, pregnancy, and delivery of Tate.
*Pacing the living room and bedroom floor when I started having contractions.
*Bringing Tate home from the hospital
*Taking care of our little glow worm when he was hooked up to the bilirubin blanket.
*One wonderful Christmas all by ourselves (right before Tate was born. We were asked not to leave within 100 miles. It was a good thing too since he was born 4 days after Christmas)
*Tate's Blessing
*The horrifying but hilarious day when a little boy came into our house (a story much too long to go into detail here) *The squeaking sound of the swing rocking first Easton and later Tate.
*Listening to Josh Groban and Enya while doing our homework
*Easton dressed like a Dalmation one Halloween and a Jack-o-Lantern the next.
*Riding our little four wheeler back and forth between Easton's room and the laundry room and then later outside up and down the big dirt hill.
*My First Perm
*Getting my hair cut so short and donating it to Locks of Love. I don't think Easton recognized me.
*Swinging outside...
*Picnics and rides on the old metal airplane
*Indoor Balloon Volleyball in February
*Easton playing cars by himself (in the storage room)
*Easton looking longingly out the window in mid October... *...and me too one day
*Me graduating December 2008 from the best University in the whole world...just three weeks before Tate was born.
*And Patrick graduating July 2009 right before we moved on to the next home, our next chapter.
I miss everything about this home...the old squeaky floors and doors. The quiet. The peace. The privacy. The quaint old antique cottage that held so many stories from so many families.
And to think...we are one of those stories treasured up in that little old cottage.
I hope our little white home will never forget us
because it will always hold such a special place in our hearts.
