I look around this house ALL THE TIME and think, Ooooh, wouldn't it be fun to make this? Or paint this? Or put carpet down here? Or put in a new ceiling in the down there (basement)? I find all kinds of ideas on the internet/in magazines and CAN'T WAIT to try 'em around this place. I see ugly light fixtures and aged carpet just waiting to be updated a la Josh and Jessica.
But it's important, too, for me to remember this:
Our house is great already. It's cute and warm and homey and provides shelter and has a spare bedroom for baby B and in general is a true blessing from the Lord. Even though it isn't "done."
This reminds me of a quote from of one of my favorite books, Cold Tangerines:
As we look forward to future home improvement improvement projects, it's good for me to take a step back and look at what we've accomplished so far. It goes a long way toward helping me be excited and content with the house we already have.
Our favorite projects to date:
6. The Family Room
Since this is where we spend a majority of our time, it's nice to have it put together.
5. New Light Fixtures (on the main floor)
Nothing says U-G-L-Y like a very outdated light fixtures. So we took almost all of them out and replaced 'em. And let me tell you - that job SUCKS. Holy cow tired arms. It gave me new respect for Moses.
4. The Half Bath
It took us a weekend or two, some You Tube video watching, and a trip across town to get the vanity top trimmed down. But we like it. And it's nice to have a decent looking bathroom on the main floor for when guests come over.
3. The Kitchen
This was a big, time-consuming job for us, but man we're happy with it now. It makes the entire first floor look much more updated. Not to mention bright and clean.
2. Paint
Oh, how I love the effect that a $25 gallon of paint can make. We enjoyed putting our stamp on this place by choosing the right tans, greens, blues, browns, etc. And having a free crew (our parents) along for the ride was great, too.
1. The Floors.
It's been awhile since I've thought of these, since we had them put in so long ago. Putting in wood floors was definitely an investment for us, but a worthwhile one. Never mind the small dents from me dropping forks on the kitchen floor. Or from when I fell on top of something hard and plastic and it made a long streaky scratch in the foyer. The floors are made of wood. It happens.
My next post? A few projects that are on our to-do list. We have some planned for the next few months; others for the next few years.
But it's important, too, for me to remember this:
Our house is great already. It's cute and warm and homey and provides shelter and has a spare bedroom for baby B and in general is a true blessing from the Lord. Even though it isn't "done."
This reminds me of a quote from of one of my favorite books, Cold Tangerines:
On my worst days, I start to believe that what God wants is perfection. That God is a new-house God. That everything has to work just right, with no cracks in the plaster and no loose tiles. That I need to be completely fixed up. I think that God's kind of people are squeaky-clean people whose garages don't leak, but really a lot of the people God uses to do amazing things are people who don't necessarily have it all together. A lot of the best stories in the Bible, the ones where God does sacred, magical things through people, have a cast of characters with kind of shady pasts, some serious fixer-uppers.
On my very best days, as an act of solidarity with my house, since we're both kind of odd, mismatched, screwed-up things, I practice letting it be an old not-fixed-up house, while I practice being a not-fixed-up person. I wear my ugly pants, the saggy yellow terry-cloth ones with the permanently dirty hems, and I walk around my house, looking at all thing things that I should fix someday, but I don't fix them just yet, and I imagine God noticing all the things about me that should get fixed up one day, and loving me anyway and being okay with the mess for the time being.
As we look forward to future home improvement improvement projects, it's good for me to take a step back and look at what we've accomplished so far. It goes a long way toward helping me be excited and content with the house we already have.
Our favorite projects to date:
6. The Family Room
Since this is where we spend a majority of our time, it's nice to have it put together.
5. New Light Fixtures (on the main floor)
Nothing says U-G-L-Y like a very outdated light fixtures. So we took almost all of them out and replaced 'em. And let me tell you - that job SUCKS. Holy cow tired arms. It gave me new respect for Moses.
4. The Half Bath
It took us a weekend or two, some You Tube video watching, and a trip across town to get the vanity top trimmed down. But we like it. And it's nice to have a decent looking bathroom on the main floor for when guests come over.
3. The Kitchen
This was a big, time-consuming job for us, but man we're happy with it now. It makes the entire first floor look much more updated. Not to mention bright and clean.
2. Paint
Oh, how I love the effect that a $25 gallon of paint can make. We enjoyed putting our stamp on this place by choosing the right tans, greens, blues, browns, etc. And having a free crew (our parents) along for the ride was great, too.
1. The Floors.
It's been awhile since I've thought of these, since we had them put in so long ago. Putting in wood floors was definitely an investment for us, but a worthwhile one. Never mind the small dents from me dropping forks on the kitchen floor. Or from when I fell on top of something hard and plastic and it made a long streaky scratch in the foyer. The floors are made of wood. It happens.
My next post? A few projects that are on our to-do list. We have some planned for the next few months; others for the next few years.
4 comments:
You guys have done a really great job! I'm very impressed. Hope you two are loving Ohio!
So, I am looking at pics of your incredibly cute and clean house (amazing job by the way) and thinking - my how things will change when Baby B gets added to this place :) as I sit and look around at my house with toys strewn all over and dishes that I still need to put away :) Amazing how one so little can make such a big change...
You do know about the "nesting" thing that expectant mommies have, right? Apparently it works for adoptive moms too! Love what you've done to the place and I have a new appreciation for it since I have been doing the same thing.
The properties turns out
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