This is in reply to Writing 101: Size Matters writing challenge.
The home I live in now is the same home I lived in at age 12. We moved to this home in 1972 when I was 6. It was a dream home for our family. It was your typical old farmhouse with land to build your homesteading dream. The original structure of our home was first listed in the Holland Register in New York in 1838. This home is located on an island between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, NY. Our island is 26 miles around. The only way on and off are via bridges.
view of Grand Island
Original structure with back addition and front porch addition
All of my memories include this house. Family, Holidays, traditions, gardening, farm animals, learning to ride a horse, falling off a horse, friends, first boyfriend, first love, miles of trails through the woods, open meadows filled with beautiful flowers, and a small creek running through. It was/is our own “Little House on the Prairie”.
My parents decided to sell and move to Florida in 1992. I sold my house to move into this house to fix up to sell. I met someone (the man of the house now) and we decided to purchase it and raise our family here. We have updated the house quite a bit starting with the foundation and the additions.
The house was put on support beams and a new foundation was poured to replace the original cellar which was made of dirt. It now holds our family room, extra bathroom and shower, and storage area.
Gardens were added, lots were cleared for a bigger lawn, 34 acres purchased and a porch to relax all were added.
The inside has been completely updated with keeping the character and country feel of the home.
bathroom
sons wall
sons ceiling
tweens room
faux paint to cover blemishes
our house mural on kitchen wall
new windows
new kitchen
kitchen finished
We have added a new barn, lots of animals, a pond and camping area you can see in my post here: Camp out
This house and land were a dream for my parents. It was a house and we made it a home. My father’s ashes are buried on this land. Every day I wake up and head outside still feeling like that excited 6 year old child moving into a farm house.
My dream is to keep this little country paradise in our family for the next generation and generations to come 🙂
chase n chance ranch 
Very well done. Interesting that my home at 12 was a throw away type place and yours is a keeper.