HOME… finally

We finally made it to our new home in PA.

It was crazy to see signs pointing to NYC on the freeway. 

Are we really that close?

It has been a long two months, since we moved out of our old house.  We have done so much since that time that it really does feel like a lifetime ago.

I am really tired…. but

happy to say we are finally settled.

As a mother, there is not a better feeling then having a home to raise your children in.  A place that feels familiar to them.  A place full of routines and continuity.

Jonathan picked out our house mid-June.  It couldn’t be more perfect.  I love this house, the area, and our neighborhood.

Jonathan you did a great job.

We moved in last Wednesday, the 11th of July.

We are finally settled, with every thing put away and where I want it for the time being. 

I am ready to get back to our summer. This summer has been so different.  I think summer should be memorable.  Kids only get a handful of summers.  This one has definitely been memorable.

Many of you have asked for a peak of our new home. 

I took a few pictures today, and want to document this time in our life as well.

I love this house.  We are renting it since we will only be here for a year. 

The home was built in 1940.

 

It is a cute cottage style kind of a home, with fun character.  It is located in one of those neat old established neighborhoods that never seems to loose it’s charm. You can tell it is rich with heritage.  A neighborhood with trees that line the streets.  I love that.

The owners have worked very hard to update and restore this home.

They also chose some very bright paint colors for the walls, but we are working with them.  The colors in this house are very rich.

 

They have done a very good job on the yard.

I love this yard.  We already have a garden.

…and I finally have that hydrangea bush that I wanted.

The yard is covered in flowers.

It also has a nice place for the kids to play with a great gazebo for me to chill under.  Now we need to get some great outdoor furniture.

We also have a nice screened in porch.

Here is a peak of the inside(BEWARE: PICTURE OVERLOAD):

The Den

this room is missing the railing on the stairs. They took it down so we could get our furniture up the stairs. We are waiting on the handy man to come put it back up.

The living room

The kitchen

The dining room

Main level bath

Upstairs bath

Master bedroom

Do you see some of the paint choices I am working with here? I am actually pretty proud of how well I have made things work against such rich paint colors.  

The girls room

The office

The boys room

The play room

 

Yes, you see it right.  Four colors on the wall in this room. I knew this room just had to be the playroom, and I actually like the way it turned out.  I think I might like it better with a more neutral color, but I am not complaining.

It’s amazing how all the things we had in our other house can look different and similar all at the same time in this house.

Visit our old house here.

I am so thankful for the blessing of a house.

I have already jumped in to making meals again, and spending time being with the kids.  I am in heaven.  I am beginning to feel more like myself again. I have already thrown a birthday party for my sweet husband.

 

Yes, he did turn one year older this week.  Happy Happy baby. We love you.

 

We love him so much, we put together this ice cream bar and made a homemade dinner. I am thankful for him and all his hard work. Throwing him a party brought the ME back.  I am feeling even more like myself then ever before.

The kids have made numerous friends, have enjoyed a few outings, and love the neighborhood. They are also so thankful to be reunited with their toys and bikes.

…and Jex has already spent this whole week at Cub scout camp.  I think we have settled in.

I think it’s safe to say that we love Pennsylvania, and we are happy to be home.

Thanks to everyone who has helped us the last two months.  Thanks for your prayers, thoughts and concerns.

Born in the USA…

Happy

Birthday

America!

We love you.

London, Stella, Angel Baby Ruby, Jex, Luke, Isaac, and Tessa

Cousins 2012

uncompleted house tour….Girls Room

As I have been thinking about leaving our home in Arkansas and venturing to our new home in Pennsylvania, I realized that I never finished our House Tour.  Although we don’t live in our house in Arkansas any longer, I still want to have our house documented.

I want to make sure that I have memories of each room of that house.

I love that house.  I miss that house.

I also love love love my girls room.

When I picked the colors for my girls room, I hadn’t planned on picking green and pink.  However, I was given baby bedding for Tess from a friend and it just so happened to be in these colors.  I am a girl who loves FREE stuff.  I especially love CUTE FREE stuff.  I took those colors and ran with them.  Tess is no longer in her crib, but I still use that bedding.  You can see the quilt on her bed. It also helped me pick the most beautiful shade of green for the walls.

I had a lot of fun putting this room together.  In doing so, I kept Stella’s bedding.  She has a beautiful quilt in creamy whites and tans.  I love it because it is so neutral.  I was able to tie it all in by adding pillows in the pink and green shades.

I wanted each girl to have their monogram above their bed. I ordered them online from a vinyl company.  That company just so happens to be out of business now.

I made this fun flower mobile to go above Stella’s. 

When Tess out grew her crib, we bought her the most adorable pink toddler bed.

…and then Santa brought her a cute pink kitchen to match.

I found this white desk at a flea market for $30.

 

It already had glass knobs on it, and they fit the room perfectly.

I also found the milk glass lamps at the flea market for just $16 for both.  I had stumbled upon these shades at the dollar general; weird, I know.

The girls dresser in the room was mine as a young girl.  My great grandfather made it.  It has been painted several times.

…and it has been painted once again.  After these pictures were taken, and right before we moved; I found this new dresser for the girls.

The other dresser in the girls room was then painted black(like days before we moved out of our house; I know I am nuts) and I put it in the boy’s room.  Their dresser was falling apart, and I was looking to replace it before the move.

The new dressers will be the ones to go in their new rooms in Pennsylvania.

The details in the girls room are some of my favorite.

I added some antique pins to pillows, and glass knobs to hang frames.

I also used them to tie back the curtains.

Curtains that I made out of a flat white sheet.

I added some green pom pom trim to some of the pillows and blankets.

Pillows and blankets that I made out of a pink chenille robe that I found at a flea market.  It is so fun to think outside of the box when searching for the perfect fabric or textile for the room.  It is also fun to add monogramed pillowcases to beds.  Pillowcases are also so easy to make.

As I think about all these details and pieces of furniture I am aware that this room will not be able to go back together the same way in our new home.  The bedrooms in our new home are so small.  I will be rearranging everything to make it fit.

My head has been spinning as I have been thinking about how I will put it all together. 

Our closets are also so much smaller.  I will not be able to put all of this in the girls new closets.

We had great closets in our house in AR.

I am thankful that I documented how our home looked for the last four years.

Even though we will take all of the same items to our new home, I assume that it will all go together very differently.

Stay tuned for a house tour of our new house.

Same stuff, but very different house;  furniture and décor in all new locations.

I like to move things around.  You probably noticed that from a few of these pictures of my girls room.  Some of these pictures were taken at different times.

I am already moving things around in my head in our new house.

Thanks for touring my girls old bedroom.

P.S.  I finally updated my photography blog.  I am 10 sessions behind; check it out.

My Happiness…

I haven been thinking a lot about home these last few weeks.

What does home mean to me?

I have been worried about our kids not having a “home” and roots.

…but what is a home really?

We have moved around so much I feel like the kids don’t have any roots.

The day we walked out of our home in Arkansas…. I was heart broken.

I loved that house, and I will miss the memories made there.

It has taken me over a month to come to terms with not having a home.

I felt like someone had fired me from my job the day we left that house. 

My whole life and who I am centers around the home.

I am a stay at home mom.

My home is my office.

After a month of soul searching… I have discovered that not having a home doesn’t mean I can’t be a great mom, and make great meals, and create beautiful things.

I am responsible to create the feelings of warmth and love no matter where we are.

That is my job.

I am back on the map; and ready to be awesome again.

I am feeling more like myself then I have in months. 

I began mourning the move from our home months before it happened.

I will NEVER do that to myself again.

Heavenly Father has taught me many great lessons.

My Happiness does not reside in a beautiful home; it resides in my heart.

After all this soul searching, and putting my happiness back where it belongs; I have realized what matters most.

This last week, I have been trying to make the most of my time with these cute little people.

We are having a great summer. 

I am enjoying the little moments with them, and when I do I realize that they really make me laugh.

I am also treasuring every phone call, and text from my best friend.  He can’t be with me right now.  Oh, how I miss him.

He is working so hard for our family right now. 

Only 1 1/2 weeks left in his four year residency.  I can hardly believe it. 

I am so proud of him and all his hard work the last 4 years.  He is awesome.

We love you Daddy!!

What I have learned?: Sometimes Satan clouds our view so much, we can’t see the great blessings that our right in front of us.

What do I say to that?: “Get out of my way Satan, Heavenly Father has great blessings and responsibilities in store for me.”

I stumbled upon this in my darkest hour.

Elder Busche’s little secrets helped pull me through the dark clouds.

I think everyone who is feeling dark and sad should listen to his words. 

It is six minutes of some of the best advice I have ever heard.

His words, along with Heavenly Father’s love helped put my happiness back in my heart.

I am thankful for the reminder that love is not in things; it is in people.

Speaking of home and things….

Jonathan found us a really fun home in Pennsylvania. 

We will only be there for a year; so it is a rental.

Boy, oh boy was that a process.

It was so hard to find something to fit our family, in the right location, and at the right price.

Once again, Heavenly Father blessed our path.

I have been enjoying looking  at pinterest and thinking of some fun new ideas for our new house.

Here are a few spaces that inspire me:

Can you tell that I am excited about our new playroom? We will have space for one in our new home.

Color makes me happy.

Even though I don’t have a home, I can find happiness in just looking at pretty things.

Speaking of pretty things, I have enjoyed going to the parade of homes with my mom and sisters.

The parade of homes is full of pretty things.

In the past, I would have been depressed that I don’ t have my own home.

Instead, I went with the intent to just enjoy the time with my mom and sisters.

We had so much fun, and laughed the whole time.

There was one moment that I thought, man I miss these girls and just hanging out with them.

We were all inspired by several of the houses.

There is one house in particular that I just fell in love with. 

I took a lot of pictures.

I even dreamt about that house one night while I was sleeping.

When I woke up, this thought came to my mind:

“I love pretty spaces, and I love pretty homes.  I am so blessed to have pretty people in my life; an awesome husband, fun family, and amazing children to spend my days with.  A pretty home to share with them is just icing on the cake, but not where my happiness lies.”

This is all a good reminder that happiness is in living life, and just enjoying it.

Happiness is not in what we own.

I know I will have a house again soon.

I also know that I enjoy being home with a routine.

I enjoy creating in my home, making meals in my home, and spending time with my family at home.

I enjoy making my home beautiful.

I am also grateful that I found where true happiness lies, before we move into a our new home.

That way I can be happy no matter my circumstance.