Celebrating 12 Years

 We bought our farmhouse in July 2009.

That means we have lived here for twelve years!

I didn't want this month to end without recognizing our house-anniversary here on my blog.

Our farmhouse is over 100 years old, and has embraced families with a sense of home for generations.

This greatly appealed to me, as I have always had a heart for old homes.

My grandparents fixed up an old farmhouse when I was a kid in the 1990's. Their use of floral prints, antiques, built-in bookshelves, and other authentic elements, had caused that house to leave a permanent etch upon my heart...

This is what home feels like.

"We shape our dwellings, and afterward our dwellings shape us."

- Winston Churchill

Micah, being from Texas, wanted a place in the country. 

He wanted hunting land, trails, privacy and space to roam.

Twelve years ago we found this piece of property, with this old house sitting happily on it, and have been pouring our hearts into this place ever since.

We would not be who we are today if it weren't for our move here.

It has truly shaped us.

It has tried our patience, and taught us commitment.

These old homes need gentle owners who understand it is better to respect their past than to chase modern trends.

That has always been fine with me.

My style is less "new from Hobby Lobby," and more my mother saying, "Aunt Marilyn was cleaning out a cupboard and wants you to have her bowls."

My home is a mix of family hand-me-downs and my own finds from treasure hunting in antique stores.

Remember, I like to use my blog to record family stories and house renovations. So, to celebrate twelve years, I would like to share some before and after photos.

The following is a small collection of photos of what the house looked like in July 2009, and what it looks like today.

I hope you enjoy this look into my home.

We have tried our best to love her well through these twelve years.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

The kitchen:

The barn:

Dining room:

The laundry room:

Bedroom:

Family room:

Front room:

Staircase:

Hallway:

Front door:

Front yard:

Micah built this arch for me for my birthday last summer because it's always been my dream to have climbing roses.

I haven't planted any yet, however, so that will be my next project.

🌹🌹🌹

Thanks for stopping by my blog today, friends.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer.

💐

~ Courtney 

Getting My Bookshelves Ready

 Summer has been flying by, hasn't it?

It takes a conscious effort to savor the summer and make it last.

When my children were very little this "savoring effort" would cause us to not begin our school year until a week or two into September.

(We could get away with it then. School was simple in those days.)

Sometimes I sit on our swing that hangs from our big oak tree and I listen to the bugs and birds, I soak in the muggy air, I watch my children play around me and I think, maybe if I hold real still nothing will change. . . Maybe if I don't move this will last.

But fall always seems to come. 

And as the years have passed, our homeschool journey has grown more complex. 

 Now I know I need to start getting ready for the new school year sooner rather than later.

So lately I've been crafting a vision and a plan for this fall, which I'm looking forward to very much! 

It started with getting my bookshelves in order.

It is therapeutic to take the books down, dust them off carefully, then wash the grime off the shelf. I allow myself the luxury of letting go of a few by keeping a Goodwill box handy. The fun part is putting the books back in a new and organized way.

Of course all books that are a part of a series are kept together, and all the Little Golden Books are together. But the book stacks that are facing outward are grouped according to category. Like, social studies/ politics, character building/ spiritual, nursery rhymes/ poetry, etc... I even have a section for Christmas books.

Our curriculum is kept separate, in a cabinet.

Last year the kids had little wooden boxes they kept their daily work in, which proved to be a mistake. The constant in and out of the cabinet with the wooden boxes scratched up the paint.

See?

This bothered me, so I retired the boxes and replaced them with these plastic ones instead.

I found a jar of wood filler in the basement, along with some left over green paint, and made the necessary repairs.

Ahhh, much better!

I feel like I've given myself a fresh start.

The other books we own are scattered around the house in a somewhat intentional way.

The Chronicles of Narnia and Hardy Boys series are in the boy's room.

Corduroy, Cricket, and Nancy Drew are in the girl's room.

And my coffee table up in the front room is absolutely cluttered with all the books I want close by me at the moment. (I've left a tiny spot along the edge open for my coffee mug.)

"Books help you to know what to look for in life. Reading develops the taste buds of the mind, for great literature has a way of building people."  - Gladys Hunt

It feels good to get started on preparing for the fall.

But I still plan to savor every minute of this fleeting summer.

💐

~ Courtney