If you were here.

There's just something precious about going to a friend's house, you know? Cozying down for a few hours with your fuzzy-socked feet buried into the couch cushions, drinking something hot on a chilly Autumn day, and just chatting about life.

It even sounds inviting in print, doesn't it?

No matter how well you know someone, I don't think that you really get to know them into you step inside their world. walk through their door. and hang out in the very space that they've created for their family and friends.

For me, I'm all about making my house a home. It's one of my passions since it's my personal space. My domain being that, at this stage of life, it's where you'll find me a larggggge majority of the day.

between homeschooling, child rearing, and perfecting the art of hermitism. *grin*

I love putting my heart into the details...to reflect the personality of our family. All while not spending lots of money. My other passion.

So this week, I'm going to reveal a new side of me to the Internet: My home.

Got your fuzzy socks? Because me, I'm not a shoe kind of person. ...and your sweatpants? I am, after all, pregnant and rather prefer streetttcchhhy comfort over denim.

So let's get all cozy while I show you around my home. Because I just cleaned it for a party. And God knows, any other time it wouldn't look like this!! ;)

IF YOU WERE HERE...

This is where my girls, dressed in princess attire, would inevitably accost welcome you. Right after my rather harmless overgrown doberman alerted the neighborhood of your arrival.


See that flowerbed on the right? Yeah...it JUST got weeded and mulched a few days before the party. With mulch that my husband bought me monthsss ago.

Just keeping it real as I share another random thing about me: I hate weeding and will procrastinate until the weeds threaten to eat my children actually reach their growth potential.

And were you here...we may sit on the front porch and talk, while my children climbed the scrawny "climbing tree". All while yelling to make sure you didn't miss a second of their athletic prowess.

We'd probably have to talk loudly...and fast. *grin*

Those chairs were a present from my mom, the one from whom I learned the art of yardsale and thrift store shopping. Admittedly, I'm not one for floral prints circa 1975. But eh, I love the seating arrangement. It just inspires me to enjoy our front yard.

And one day...in a galaxy far far away...I'll find my inner Martha Stewart and re-cushion it.


And this, my friend, would be the view we'd have of Scrawny Tree from which my monkeys would be swinging...

And I just know time spent with you would be awesome! I can hear us laughing, as we secretly eat our brownies while giving the children their snack of apples. heh heh

And as long as the obnoxiously loud train (a few houses away) happened to NOT make its presence known, we may stay outside enjoying this weather for a while.

But if it did happen to blow past, we'd walk in the front door, to this...


My little entry way.

Back in the day (1905), there was a wall where that couch on the left is. Designating this a formal entry. And all the doorways had actual doors on them. And all the white trim would be exposed oak.

But thankfully, life (and a couple of skilled craftsman) changes things. And hopefully in the near future this room will continue to morph into something a little bit better.

Because see that Wall of Trim on the right? It. drives. me. crazy. White and tan. White and tan. It's migraine-inducing in its chaos.

Don't ask me why we painted it like that...I guess I've just never bought a house that had this kind of character and I wasn't sure how to interact appropriately with it. *wry grin*

I'm still learning. But one day "soon", I'm thinking it will ALL be brown. I don't care if the trim is expensive or "classic". Personally, I'd like to tear it off, piece by annoying piece.

But since I wouldn't know what to do once the wall caved down from my unskilled demolition, I'm thinking I better just paint. ;)

(And this is why you love me, Jet...because I don't hastily do these things myself. instead, thoughtfully tack it on to the ever-expanding Honey Do list. Your life would be so carefree boring were it not for me. I know...you're welcome.)

And one day soon, that oak peg hanger in the corner will be hung up...most likely on that "beloved" trim-packed wall...for the girls to use for their coats and stuff.

But for now, there's no class in this entryway corner. Just a gang of monkeys to greet you.

Kind of fitting since another gang of monkeys greeted you outside, eh?

But these monkeys are the official guards of all things Little People, hidden nicely in the basket given to me by my very generous aunt.

(FYI: 95% of our household items have been hand-me-downs via my aunt, my parents, and my Nana's generosity...oh! and some great yardsale finds)

This stairwell is the catch-all for the things that are supposed to be upstairs but haven't yet made it. It's usually filled with a host of single shoes, lost from their mates. toys that belong in the girls' room. and other odds and ends that just get tossed there as we go through the house doing one of our "10 minute straighten up times".

(FYI. This is where I put on the timer...and the little girls run frantically around the house giddily putting all the stuff away as fast as they can. I have to wonder how long they'll find this little game of ours fun. *grin*)

If you were to walk upstairs, this is one of the pictures you'd see.

It was one of the first things Jet and I bought early in our marriage. I saw it in some Christian bookstore in his hometown and loved it.

"God made us a family. We need one another. We forgive one another. We play together. We worship together. Together we use God's Word. Together we grow in Christ.
God made us a family. Together we serve our God. Together we hope for heaven. These are our hopes and ideals. Help us to attain them, O God. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord."

*sigh* Doesn't that just make you want to have a family? create little people that you can do all those things with?

Yup, that's how we felt too. Totally influenced by a hallmark-esk print. Such pushovers, we were. ;) And now, 8 years later, here we are with our 5th on the way.

I'm telling you, be careful what you buy and put up on your wall. Crazy things happen when you hang up such mesmerizing sentiments.

And here's the rest of the stairwell...where all those little bitties that make up our family...sleep. To be explored at a later date.


Yup. Were you HERE and not sitting behind your computer, this is the space you'd walk into.

Though it's not my favorite part of the house, it's what welcomes soooo many people into our home. A home that I've prayed will actually bring healing to people as they hang out within its walls.

Someone actually did tell us (not knowing my prayer) that every time he comes here, he experiences emotional healing. *contented sigh* Isn't God good?!

Life may give us a small home or a large one. A home filled with things we like or things we just are having to make-do with. But it's no matter because unless we welcome people into our homes (and hearts)... life, without real relationships, isn't worth living.

And people really don't care what your house looks like. just the way they feel when they're there. the way their life unfolds as they share that time spent together.

As the plaque over the entry way door says:


AND (I have to add) where you have opportunity to touch other people's lives.

I so wish I got to meet all of you...had the opportunity to really welcome you into my home...to hear your story and get a peak at your heart.

But for now...this week... I invite you to get to know me in a slightly different way, allowing you to see the home where MY stories begin.