There is an old saying, “Home is where the heart is” and up until I moved, I thought I was where I'd always be - I thought I'd always be stuck. My heart was in Franklin County, Virginia and that's where I thought it'd always be. No matter where I was born or where I moved in the future, I considered Franklin County to be my forever home. I've lived in a few different houses throughout my life, and the house in Virginia is really the only house I have felt most at home in.

For the past 11 years, we lived in our little white house with the blue shutters and the burgundy deck on the back sitting on a cozy piece of land consisting of about 5 acres in a little part of Franklin County, called Hardy. Looking back now, I don't think we could have picked a more perfect house for us. The comfort I felt when I was home, the amazing views we had and the sounds you can hear when sitting on the back deck after a long day are things that I will always cherish the most about my little piece of Heaven. The comfort I felt when I was at home can't be explained.

I have lived in three different states before I moved here to Boone, which means I've lived in three different homes, three different weather environments and our house in Virginia was by far my favorite and the one I felt most comfortable. There is a lot of land in our area, our closest neighbors are the horses and we only hear them when they are running like the wind to their stalls for dinner. It was a very calm environment, during the day you see all the birds flying around and sometimes you can see a deer or two down near the creek. At night when we'd sit on the back deck, you could close your eyes and all you felt was relaxed. The sounds at our house were just simple, that is really the only way I can describe it. Sometimes you could hear a tractor in the distance at the field or you could hear the horses running to the stalls from the far side of the pasture. Any other time you wouldn't hear anything, it’s was peaceful. Everyone says after a long day at work, the sound of nothing is the most amazing thing you can hear. It’s the simple things in life, like sitting on the deck and listening to the frogs talk to one another or listening to the crickets sing, as my nephew calls it, that makes you appreciate the world a little more.

The views in Franklin County were probably the most beautiful views I had ever seen before I moved to Boone, so it’s just appropriate for me to love the views from my house. There were so many different things you could see, you could look in one direction and see the mountains, in the winter you could see the snow and it’s as if you are looking at a painting, they looked as if they were only a mile away sometimes, too. If you looked in another direction you'd see the woods, the big tall oak trees, with their wide outreaching branches - the trees are my favorite in the fall because of all the many different colors and leaves, sometimes you could walk up the back of our property and look down, and it’s as if you were in a big fire, a red and orange blast pool of leaves.

In the summer, I loved watching the sunsets. Virginia seemed to create some of the most awe-inspiring sunsets that you'd just get lost in with the rich pinks, purples and oranges. It was as if God spilled his watercolor set onto our sky. When most people think of their favorite place, they think of somewhere they have traveled or somewhere they dream of going to. For me, it was where I lived. I didn't have to go anywhere, I just simply had to walk outside my door and look at all the amazing things around me. I was lucky to get to live in a place as peaceful and calming as Franklin County. To be able to feel safe and comfortable in my own home is something I often took for granted. However, nevertheless, the peaceful sounds and amazing views will always be my favorite.

I loved Franklin County, I really did. I really hope everyone who read my article a few weeks ago didn't get the wrong idea. Franklin County will always be one of my homes, I'll never forget the memories I made there. But since I've moved, I've realized how my heart has moved to Boone. My heart is completely in Boone now and I'm beyond happy to be here. I really am, I can't imagine being anywhere else. Boone is where I'm happy -- but Franklin County will always be in my heart.