House Transformation

We've been here almost a year. We're one family member more. We have a five-year plan and a more realistic ten-year plan. We have been fortunate enough to be able to do some moderate adjustments over the past year. We have begun to paint the house...finally! I love our home. It's small, but it's all we need. As beautiful as big homes are, they are just not for us. For one, I can't see me cleaning any more home than what I have. I also believe that smaller homes can make the family closer...not just physically but emotionally! We have one t.v. The boys, all three, share a small room. When one isn't there, the others wonder where he is.

It's great being close-knit. I'm not saying that in a large home a family can't be close. I just like the close-proximity and the feeling of emotional closeness our home provides us. The shakes are cedar, so the ones that are in good shape will last forever, if we take care of them.

It was white and old. The paint was peeling. There were blatant holes in the siding. The yard was overgrown and covered in reptiles, amphibians, insects and arachnids. Okay, so turtles, snakes, frogs, earwigs, spiders... still creating a little wiggy feeling when walking across the lawn. We mowed and cut back all sorts of foliage. I put in a garden and threw down grass seed. The husband put up a fence and built a new bulkhead door. We put in a sandbox, threw in some yard toys and added a gazebo - which acts more as a storage shed than anything else. I refuse to keep my stuff in the actual shed...rodents, rodents, rodents... the things ripped up our double stroller. I am anti-shed...which actually appeases the husband.

I love the home we have made for our family. It still needs a lot of work. It will take time, but we have a lot of it ahead of us, so it's all okay.