Category: Blog

Happy Valentine’s Day to My Home

I’m in love with my home.

Yes, I have an actual Valentine, and I have four children who are my loves but my home also holds my heart.

It’s my hope that everyone could find a true love like this:

  • We love spending time together. There’s no place else I’d rather be than inside my home’s four walls with the ones I love.

  • My home holds everyone and everything I love under one roof. {disclaimer: my parents don’t live here but I love them just as much}

  • I’ve made mistakes with my home; too many to count. I’ve painted the wrong color, I’ve chosen the wrong chair, I’ve hosted the wrong parties. But still my house forgives and lets me continue to pull and tug at her windows and floors.

  • We’ve seen our share of therapy and made it through the tough times: plumbers for clogged toilets, roofers for loose shingles, glass repairmen, heating & air specialists, and sink hole fixers {to name but a few}.

  • We’ve shared all four seasons together…summer running through the sprinklers with the kids, carving pumpkins on the counter in the fall, hanging stockings on the mantel at Christmas and coloring eggs at the first sign of spring.

  • I may try to change my home from time to time {I know what’s best, right?}, but she loves me anyway despite my constant nagging and second-guessing.

  • Sometimes we watch some racy stuff together after the kids go to bed. Mostly HGTV shows like Fixer Upper and Beachfront Bargain Hunt.  There’s no jealousy involved; we’re just gathering ideas to try out on our own.

  • My home doesn’t seem to mind if we are hard on her. A height chart drawn right on the door casing? Done. Spray paint on the front of the house? No problem. That’s unconditional love right there.

  • There have been a few (thankfully not many) sad days at our house…mostly just fighting between siblings {sister runs around pinching brothers because she hates loves them so much}. Oh and the long nights of strep throat or tummy aches, how could I forget? Those things only make us closer.

{imagine my surprise when I walked outside and saw this. scrub and scrub as they might, it has never quite come off. c’est la vie…} {imagine my surprise when I walked outside and saw this. scrub and scrub as they might, it has never quite come off. c’est la vie…} {…and yes, they’re scrubbing in bike helmets; that’s a whole ‘nother story} {…and yes, they’re scrubbing in bike helmets; that’s a whole ‘nother story}

  • My home brings out the best in me. The best colors, patterns and fun sides all wrapped into one.

  • We’ve had fun together, from dinners with friends to birthday celebrations to sleepovers to the usual nights of homework & Disney Channel.

  • My home keeps us safe and warm and shielded from the daily grind of the universe. She’s got arms long enough to wave lovingly goodbye in the mornings, welcome us back in the afternoons & hold us tight all night long.

  • I plan on growing old right along with my home. We’ll just have to overlook each other’s wrinkles/cracks in drywall and gray hair/faded paint.

  • We’ve created a family and memories together that will last a lifetime. And we’ve got the scrapbooks & photo albums to prove it.

Thanks, home, for being you! I wouldn’t trade my {valentine} for anything. Your home can be your Valentine too.  All that’s required is love inside. And remember: don’t ever, ever go to bed mad! Even if we have to be separated someday, we will carry her with us wherever we go.

{after all, home is where the heart is}

 

About Martha: Circa 2008

I’m the mom of four delightful little ones, all under the age of four (no, that wasn’t a typo). Actually, they are under the age of 8 now but when I originally wrote this it was 4, which sounds more interesting! Ever since I can remember I have loved making things. Early on I spray painted pine cones and sold them to neighbors (through an aptly named business I started in the 4th grade, The Pine Cone Shop), decoupaged rocks and made Christmas ornaments out of pipe cleaners. I like to think I’ve progressed somewhat since then but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Everyone says I should have been an elementary school art teacher. It’s true, I can’t live without my Elmer’s and glitter! Now I can do projects with my four little kiddies when the mood strikes me to paint or glue something.

I don’t believe in throwing anything away. I’ve been caught taking things out of the trash (even my father-in-law’s discarded jeans one time)! You just never know when you can use that scrap to make something cute. Repurposing things is just so much fun (not to mention economical)!

I believe my kids (and yours) should be able to express themselves artistically. I don’t get bent out of shape when they put stickers all over the windows or draw on the walls. A little elbow grease will remove it and the scribbles bring a smile to my face every time I see them. Of course, this might not bode well for any potential buyers should I sell my house…

I love flea markets (I’d love to have a ’72 turquoise Ford or Chevy pickup to haul all my finds!), yard sales (having them and going to them), ebay, organizing, making my home beautiful, making lists, taking photos and playing the piano, among many other things. If only there were more hours in the day!

Some of my must-haves include a glue gun, tape, staple gun and Sharpies (in bright colors only, please!).

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