In Mary Ellen Edmunds’ inspiring book Mee Thinks, every chapter is about something different. One of the early chapters in her book is called “The Parade of Homes.” She imagined that her home was selected to be in her local Parade of Homes. And in her fun-loving, hilarious–yet inspiring– style she took me on a tour of her home. At the end of the chapter she invited me to do the same thing. I liked her idea so much, I thought I’d start my blogiversary week this week with a little Parade of Homes tour of our family’s home.

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House vs. Home

Because I’m me and I really like words a lot, I feel compelled to point out that a home is not the same as a house. Our house is a structure. And though it’s not the fanciest structure I have ever beheld (my husband is actually cutting out a chunk of wall in our hallway to find the source of a water leak right this very minute), I am whole-heartedly grateful for this structure. It provides—and has provided—shelter. Shelter from hurricanes, thunderstorms, hail storms, freezing temperatures (sometimes), blazing heat (ahem, most of the time), noisy neighbors, mosquitos, and door-to-door salespeople (as long as my kids don’t rush the door and give away the fact that we are, in fact, home). It provides comfort. Its two-stories have given me some peace of mind through some of the worst floods in history. Our house has hosted loved ones, friends, new babies, youth group activities, baby showers, and even a few dogs. And while I am grateful for the structure that enables me to take hot showers and use the oven and wear pants in Houston in July, the structure itself is just a house.

On this tour today, I want to share a few things that make our house a home–our home.

Come In!

When you first come in through our front door, you’ll probably notice the piano in the living room just to your left. It’s not a fancy grand piano, or even a baby grand. But it is the same piano that graced the living room in my husband’s childhood home. And now our children are learning to find “middle c” and play F Major pentascales on the same keys where he learned melodies and fought to get out of his lessons as a child. That piano fills our home with music almost every day. My children take online piano lessons (shout out to the PHENOMENAL Hoffman Academy!) and complete a lesson and/or practice almost every day (let’s be real—it’s summer, so I have not required daily practice like I do during the school year, plus, nobody’s perfect, y’all). It makes my heart smile when I hear our little musicians playing songs they love.

Look to Your Left, But Not Too Closely!

Don’t look too closely in the living room, though, because my children recently broke the wood blinds that covered the big window overlooking the front yard. We have thin curtains hanging, but we still need to order new blinds. Any recommendations?

You might notice the cedar chest that sits in the middle of the living room. It was my mom’s hope chest. I remember when I was much younger and she would pull out her old dance costumes and tell me about things she did when she was younger. I always thought those sequined costumes were a bit magical! Now it serves as a little storage area for linens and seasonal decorations, but I remember the old magic every time I open the lid.

The living room is home to our Christmas tree each winter and Easter Egg hunts every spring. It houses ukeleles, sheet music, and a white couch and chairs (again, don’t look too close). We first introduced our twin babies to our dogs in that room. They were fresh from the NICU, still wearing monitors. The vision boards each of my children made at the beginning of the year are still on display–that is, the ones that haven’t fallen behind the piano…

To Your Right

If you look to your right, you’ll see our dining room. Our dining room table was the first piece of furniture we bought for our house. It has two leaves and we usually only fill it completely a couple times a year. But those couple times are some of my favorites. We have hosted lots of smaller dinners, too. Usually just casual dinners with lots of conversation, at least one spilled drink, and a few dropped utensils.

The chandelier in the dining room is where my husband first learned how to remove and install a light fixture. His dad taught him when he came for a visit not long after we first bought the house. Since then, my amazing husband has replaced almost every light fixture in our home and has helped countless friends and family members with their light fixture replacement projects. Now that I think about it, all of our first DIY projects happened in the dining room. Crown moulding, chair rail, fresh paint, and new baseboards all happened first in our little dining room.

Our Foyer Field

Standing in the foyer reminds me of the days when our kids were all little and still at home all day every day. I taped masking tape pentagons to the floor. Our field expanded from the foyer into the dining room–where I pushed the table into a corner out of the way. I taught our kids how to play kickball right there and we had a lot of fun kicking the ball and running the “bases”.

At the end of the foyer is the staircase. Across from the stairs is a little patch of wall that–though it has been patched and painted–always reminds me of a miracle.

The Miracle That Happened at the Stairs

Our kids were younger (I think our #4 son was a new baby). We had some friends and their two young kids over. Back then we had one of the bedrooms upstairs serving as a designated playroom. One of our boys was pushing a big Tonka truck up and down the hallway upstairs when he had the not-so-brilliant idea to try pushing it down the stairs. And in true little-boy fashion, he didn’t give his idea another thought. He pushed the truck down the stairs.

None of us knew what was going on until we heard the first clang of the Tonka truck crashing into a top stair. We all remember the rest of the fall as happening in slow motion. One of our friends’ little girls was sitting on the second stair from the bottom, playing with a toy. We were frozen in time as we watched the Tonka truck come barreling down the stairs in all its metallic heft. And somehow (I think a team of angels was standing in the way) that Tonka truck took to the air just before the third stair from the bottom. It flew directly over said little girl and crashed in an explosion of drywall and corner rounders into that little piece of wall just across from the stairs. The explosion set time right and we all came rushing to the scene of the miracle.

Our Family Room

Our family room sits at the back of our home. One of its walls contains two large bookcases filled with books. The higher shelves are books I’ve read and loved through the years. One shelf contains family scrapbooks and photo albums. Our little 3-year-old loves for me to pull down the 2016 scrapbook so she can “see when [she] was a baby.” The bottom shelves are full of kids’ books. Picture books (of course there’s a copy of Oggie in there!), early readers, chapter books, and middle-grade novels. My husband gets frustrated with how messy those lower shelves get every couple of weeks or so, but I love to know that those books are being touched, read, and loved by our kids.

Each night we sing the same songs as we sit in the family room to read scripture together and have a family prayer. As an educator, I love to use songs as effective transition ques for young children. But as a mother, I love that we sing the same words that my siblings, parents, and I sang when we gathered together each night for family prayer:

“Let us gather in a circle and kneel in family prayer
To thank our Heavenly Father for the blessings we all share.”

The Kitchen

Our kitchen table has seen homework assignments and school projects from kids even before we had children of our own. I helped youth from our church write essays, answer questions, and even complete college applications from that table. Our counter has been used to teach kids how to cook. It has served baby shower attendees and Christmas party guests. It has held meals for plenty of families besides our own. I made baby food, large batches of DIY uncrustables, pancakes & quesadillas on the griddle, and dyed more than a few eggs on that counter. On the far wall in our kitchen you will read, “Kitchens are made to bring families together.” And while the unending supply of crayons and paper that leaks out of the closet just off of our kitchen gets us all frustrated on a daily basis, some of my most prized possessions have come from those supplies. The love notes on difficult days, the pictures of flowers and the way the letters M-O-M have such a profound pull on my heart, make me recognize how much I love those little artists even at their messiest.

So Much More

I could go on and on about the memories I have in our little home. Maybe one day I’ll write a whole book full of such memories. For now the story is still being written–I am living it every day. The stories between these walls are nestled deep in my heart.

No, it will not be featured on any real Parade of Homes for its architectural grandiosity, but it will forever be a treasure to me and my family. My husband and I bought this house thinking we may never have children to share it with. Now we have filled it to capacity! What a wonderful home it has been and continues to be–water leak and all!

Today’s Giveaway

The ever-so-talented Leslie Alder, owner of the incredible MomentsbyMae Etsy shop is kicking off our celebrations this week with two amazing gifts!

ONE winner will receive a bundle that includes one Custom Family Portrait & two matching Custom Family Ornaments!

Isn’t her work beautiful?

But the excitement doesn’t end there! Leslie has another fantastic prize to share.

EVERYONE can receive a FREE download of her brand-new ebook Intentional Home Design: a Guide to Blending Family Memories & Values Into Your Home! Be sure to grab your FREE copy this week.

*This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to Jennifer!

What makes your home special?

Share something in the comments below!

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