love lived here

We moved. It's been four months now, and it's starting to feel like our home. But before it was our home, it was home to one of the sweetest, gentlest women I've known. To live here, where so many memories have been made, where so much love has been shown, where so many people have come & been refreshed & prayed for, is an honor.

She always said, (and I think she had an idea someday we'd be the ones to live there, since it's right on the farm), "I just hope whoever lives here after me loves this little home as much as I do."

 We've done some work to it: resided, painted, tore out the overgrown landscaping, put in new floors. And it doesn't look exactly like her house anymore. But I still hope that the love that lived here keeps living here. I hope that whoever comes through our newly painted robin's egg blue door feels as treasured & loved as they did when she was here. I hope that I can appreciate the cozy little house as much as she did. I hope the birds keep coming back for food. I hope the neighborhood feels as comfortable "just stopping by" as they always did. I hope the mint keeps growing wild. I hope the dreary gray days of winter are kept out with bright lights & music like they've always been. I hope memories of joy & family will keep being forged here. I hope that as much prayer will be made for others. I hope contentment radiates from me as much as it did her. If this can be our home's message, I will consider our mission fulfilled. So stop by, anytime:).

 The rest of the photos are of the "remodel" process. We had so much help! I am thankful, as always, for two big families that never fail to step up. Thank you, all who helped! Call on us when every room in your new home needs painted...

 

This little girl was very involved with the process. And always discovered the joy of "Grammy's" house just a jaunt across the road. I'm grateful she can cultivate a close relationship with the Grammy across the road, just like her dad did. Sometimes it's hard that it isn't both sides of the family right across the road, but we are where He wants us.

 

We painted every square in of surface in the house except for the walls in one room. I didn't want to see a paintbrush or roller again for a long time after we got done! But it refreshed the walls & gave us a new canvas to make our own nail holes in:).

My stepdad Dan is an electrician & whipped up some can lights which dramatically lit up the living areas! It made such a huge difference.

Wherever there was carpet (everywhere but the kitchen & bathrooms), we put in laminate wood flooring.

 Thankfully, there was only wallpaper in two rooms: the master bedroom & kitchen. We toiled to get the border off in the bedroom (thank you, Wendy, master of old home remodels & stripping wall paper), & decided we'd just paint over the wallpaper in the kitchen!

 We sprayed some texture over the wallpaper to match the rest of the home's textured walls & patched the wallpaper seams with putty to hide them, then painted over it. It looks great to me!

We are still settling in some: I've hardly put anything up on the walls yet. The front room has me scratching my head about what to do with it. (office? play room?) But we feel like we've come home. And I know it's due to the sweet lady that first made it a home where love lived.

**I'll try to post a tour of what it looks like now sometime this spring.