Making A House A Home

There is just something about coming home for me. I love it so much that it's hard for me to leave unless it's Disney World, Nashville or Target. I'll admit it, I even watch church on TV a lot. Vin and I have lived in the same house for a while. He lived in the basement while the children and I had the upstairs. Since we have been married now we share the floors of course.

Let me tell you what we've come up with in these few months.

Vin and I had the conversations early on about our house and running that house. Which in turn this house into a home. We agree that everywhere go together is home. By no means are we a perfect household. There are many nights that it's fend for yourself if you are over six years old and do your own thing. But, we have set rhythms and routines that we agreed on.

First, off we have a huge gratitude wall in our house. Well, we really have two of them as of now. What can I say we have a ton to be thankful for in our lives. These walls are filled with pictures and drawings of answered prayers, family, friends. Yep, our big loves are up there; our kids, pets, job awards, graduations, Disney trips, Disney runs, Vin's hospital bracelet when he was diagnosed with Lupus, our wedding, Jessica, Dylan, Steve, Tim, Ridge, and Chris. They are glorified on our walls. Proof, that we have so much to be thankful for no matter how bad the day has been.

Of course, Vin has his way some. He loves the hygge way of life. He loves natural light, which is why most of the back of the house is glass. He also loves natural light because he is a photographer on the side. People make fun of me for buying throw pillows, but he buys cushions to just throw in the floor for kids and people to sit on. I used to think he was crazy, but I got to thinking that it's true out college days were filled with bean bag chairs and butterfly chairs. Yes, I know we are old now. And, in college we were relaxed so now it makes perfect sense.

Next, our vows are beside our side of the bed. I wake up to the words I promised him daily. It helps a lot especially after an argumentive night the night before when we went to sleep. It is so nice to see those words every day. Vin also keeps our purity candle on his side that we lit together on our wedding day. We cherish these things in our bedroom to remember to keep the flame alive between us from now until forever.

What else? Well, we compromised about household duties. We both agree that grocery pick-up and grocery delivery is worth it for the most part. Now, we still enjoy trips to World Market, Fresh Market, Trader Joe's, and Publix. But Aldi, Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods? Well, they show up on our doorstep now! Vin likes that we have someone come deep clean and do landscaping. Our nephew happily cuts the grass and pressure washes the outside.

While having someone come in and deep clean, I still like to do touch up here and there. I do so with Emily Ley's tip to walk around with a laundry basket and pick up things. It works well also if we are having some company come over last minute. I have a simple weekly tradition and rhythms for that as well.

For instance, our routine is pretty simple. We discuss meals for the next week on Saturdays. On Sunday, meal prep and go over our schedules for the week so that we are ready to face the week together. We try to plan some time together just us twice a week. Where it is exclusively us just spending time together. We have started doing Val Marie's home prayer pages together where we walk through the house praying for each room. We have seen major changes in our house for the Lord. We like having "beginning of the month" traditions that help us learn more about each other and see things differently.

We start out our month like that. It helps when someone asks you in not the stiff manner of "How can I support you?" but more "What are you struggling with going into this month?" Sometimes, it's just listening to each other. Sometimes, we go all Grey's Anatomy and just dance it out. We love music in our house. Alexa and Google Home have both earned their keep in our house. We have dance parties with each other, friends, and our kids.

Also, our house is basically an open house. We love new people. We love celebrating people. Again, thanks to Emily Ley's suggestion I keep impromptu celebration things. Like napkins, colored paper plates and different banners. It's so much fun for us to celebrate. Plus, most people know I love seasonal living, and I usually have my house decorated accordingly.

And lastly, our launch to our day. We have a huge launch pad downstairs. We usually leave via the garage which is downstairs. Jackets, shoes, and sporting bags are kept here for the kids. We have framed prayers so that we see them when we leave and when we come in. We have a gigantic white erase board that has the monthly schedule for everyone including us if it affects the kids in any way. This area of the house is always a work in progress and we love it because our family is growing and growing up.

What do you do to keep your house a home? Any tips for us?