We have been in our new house for about three months now and I can’t believe what a gift it is to us.

When our realtor asked what we wanted in a house, we talked about a fireplace, a tall ceiling in the living room, lots of windows for light to shine through, a kitchen window that looked out on a backyard, maybe even a window seat or two. We also wanted to have a place all on one floor to accommodate our weakening knees and our diminishing energy for cleaning.

I wanted a yard for some garden space and room to run through the grass. It would be nice to have some space for a grape vine and maybe even a location for a beehive. We would also like to put up a basketball hoop for the grandkids in the driveway.

What we got is a place with a tall ceiling, painted dark brown (not our favorite light color), a gas fireplace with no vent, therefore only to be used a couple of hours at a time.

There are two window seats which have nice cushions on them, but then we realized if we are going to sit on them we can’t put any of our plants or bowls of intricate shells or artistically shaped rocks on them.

The kitchen faces the living area and the only window in the kitchen is in the pantry, which does face the backyard, but we can only see it if we keep that door open. The yard out back is skinny and raised beds would make the grassy area even smaller.

The driveway is long, but curves and there is not a lot of straight space for any games with a basketball, currently we have to get permission from the HOA (Home Owners Association) to put up a backboard for basketball. The space is probably too small for a stand alone hoop on the side.

All that being said we have been given a home which has well functioning appliances. There are four bedrooms, two downstairs, which one of those is ours, and two upstairs. Joan can use the larger one upstairs for her studio and there is a loft connected to the hallway upstairs for a place to play games or watch television.

The study is down stairs with six IKEA book cases, all the shelves are full, a small desk, two easy chairs and room for the cat tree. It also has a closet for a file cabinet and room for any overflow of coats that need to be hung up.

The window treatments are customized to the spaces they cover and we now have two and half bathrooms, with additional closet space. We actually have our printer in a small cubby under the stairs along with the easy to carry vacuum cleaner.

The bathtub is so big that the hot water does not last to fill it up and the shower seems a bit small, height wise, but there are walk-in closets and already built shelving for clothes.

We have a few disappointments, but we have learned to be creative with the configuration we have in this place. We did not get all that we wanted, but we have something which won’t need repair any time soon, what a blessing that is.

We are learning that some things we wanted may not have been the best for our needs, but certainly what we have is far more than we expected. When your dreams don’t match reality we are learning to adjust our thinking and notice the view of what we do have.

Looking at the houses in the neighborhood there is no other house I rather have than here. We are thankful to the one who provided us with this amazing place. It will be a good place to be, maybe even a very good place. God is good. Thanks!!!