House or Home?

Well for the first time in 7 years I feel like I belong somewhere. We've been in a lot of houses....I swear we're trying to set a world record for moving or something. We've been in 7 different houses, in 6 years. Some of them we've only stayed in for as little as 3 months, others for up to a year and a half. We've never spend more than 2 Christmas's in the same house. I don't even think it phases the kids when we tell them we're moving again. It's heartbreaking. I knew that it came with military life that's why I never really minded all the moves, and all the friends that you make and have to say goodbye to. Each time the goodbyes did get harder, and the friendships from a few moves prior started to fade away slowly. You feel like you're almost just going through the motions of living life. It wasn't even a house anymore.....they were all just a place to sleep until the next move came. I think that's why I always wanted to be out of the house doing something. The houses weren't permanent, and I never wanted them to be anyways because we never had that house where we felt like we were HOME every time we would walk in the front door. We finally have that. When I get home I don't want to leave. I love just sitting in the living room with music playing while the kids run around and play. I love my kitchen, and my bedroom, and bathroom. We have a huge backyard that the kids have room to grow in. The kids are happy.....and for once I feel like this could be more than a house, it could be a home. I am a small town country girl, and for the past 7 years I've been from one big city to another. The towns were crowded and traffic was horrible. It would take you an hour to drive somewhere that was only about 10 minutes away. The crime was horrible, and I never felt safe at night even with my doors locked and all the lights on. I am definitally not meant to live in the big city. The house we're in now is more country, but not completely deserted to where you don't have any neighbors. We have neighbors, and they are the kind that come over to introduce themselves with a plate of cookies. I never realized how much I missed this type of thing, such a small gesture, but it makes you realize that you can feel at home in a town like this. Through all the moves everyone would ask me where home is. I would always say, "I'll always consider Michigan home." I think it was because it was the only state I was in for more than a couple years, and it was where my family was. Now....when people ask me where home is I don't have to think twice about it at all. We've only been in this house for a week, but I've never felt more at home in any of the houses, or states that we've been in. Yes my real family is back in Michigan, but our home is in Arizona. When it's more than a house, and it's a home you feel it. You know it in your head and your heart every time you walk through the front door. I don't know if this will be our home forever. But it's just nice to know that through all the moves, and all the states, we've found one place that feels less like just a place to sleep between moves, and more of a place to build a life and just call HOME!