About Us: Our Home

Wow! It feels like there is so much that I can say about our home. First, let's just get a few things out of the way: Yes, our house was a funeral home; No, we don't hear ghost noises; Yes, it is sort of a mini-mansion (10 bedrooms, 2 living rooms- you get the idea); Yes we are fully aware that our house would at least triple in value if we moved it, oh about 2.5 miles North, or 5 miles South; Yes, we do like it just where it is.

So, with that out of the way, here are the quick WHYs, HOWs and WHOs of it all.

I (Jess) live in this crazy stone Colonial Revival with my husband (Jake) our two children, Mowgli and Pocahontas (more on these aliases later) my parents, two friends and a dog. We made this leap 4 years ago when we realized that we have a deep and compelling need for community that just was not being met by our living situation. We were living in East Germantown then (we are currently in West Our house in the blizzard of 2010Germantown) and my parents were living in the Northeast section of the city. I had a 1 1/2 year old Mowgli in tow and would travel (almost daily) back and forth to their house to get some much needed grown-up time and to let them see their grandson. We were a 7-10 minute drive from our church (which to most people sounds close, but in our church, most members live within walking distance, making for easier relationship building.) One night, the idea came to me that we ought to sell our respective houses and buy a house to live in together with my folks. 6 months later, it was done. We bought this quirky and beautiful stone home right smack on Wayne Avenue- one of the busiest thoroughfares in the neighborhood.

4 years later we are enjoying (and sometimes complaining about) multi-generational family life. We quickly welcomed 2 more people into our home- our dear friends Ana and Heather who complete our ragamuffin group. We are walking distance from our church (though we drive anyway since we have our instruments to schlep!) and we love the community on our block. Our house is not quiet inside our out (Wayne Ave can be loud and so can my kids) it is not always tidy inside or out (Wayne Ave is a trash collector and our big house is a lot of work to clean!). It is not perfect or pristine, or pompous. It's just big, and full- of life, laughter, good smells (and sometimes bad ones, ahem, diaper day!) and great people!

Tell us what makes your home special- where do you find community?