Taken from a vintage 1925 Better Homes and Gardens...

I Want to Build by Chesla C. Sherlock

I want to build a house to endure. A house of generous size and low-flung roofs, caressed by the gentle shade of great trees, where Permanence and Strength shall be reflected. A house where little voices may babble in the ecstasy of babyhood, and grow to the full blush of youth, and, in the fullness of Time, come to maturity and age, and grow old, and nod, and sleep. A house where my children's children shall be nourished and fed and protected by these same walls which have sheltered and protected me.
I want to build these little lives which have rooted in the garden-soil of my soul so that they, too, shall endure. Build them so that they shall know the glory that Love is, the joy that Happiness is, the peace that Contentment is. I want to root them in the eternal truths and nourish them with the true ideals of usefulness and service. I want to build them unafraid-gentle as the daisies nodding in the fields, sturdy as the rock-ribbed hills, strong as Love.
I want to build a garden where Loveliness dwells. A garden where the lingering pictures in Memory's eye come into being and all the dreams I have dreamed of Paradise nestle at my feet in my own door-yard. A garden where mine enemy dare not come lest he, too, be charmed into forgiveness! A garden where the divine laboratory of Eternity lies in my hand and speaks in untold tomes the delights, the mysteries, the wonders of the Hand behind it all.
I want to build a home where Love will dwell. A home valued not by the dollars it cost, or the richness of materials or furnishings going into it so much as by the happiness it has created. A home which has grown dear and near because of the stress and storm it has weathered, the tears it has dried, the smiles it has caused. A home where patience and effort and denial have brought their treasures of happines and contentment and peace. A home where Love comes like the fluttering dove, and perches and dwells- unwilling to search elsewhere.
I want to build a home!

Compliments of the lovely Andi over at Tales of a Crafty Mama