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Making Your Home a Haven: Main living area finished!
This morning, the children helped me complete today's Making Your Home a Haven challenge. We really cleaned up the living room, put stuff away, etc...
Okay, here is what the living room looked like this morning:
The "stocking" hung on the fire place is actually a diaper cover! I really need a better system for that. I don't think Joshua likes coming home to a fireplace that is draped with diaper covers.
The other side of the living room: Clothes, a few stray toys, about 7 paper air planes of various shapes/designs, pillows...
After: The bed/futon is put back together, the toys and pillows picked up, the alarm clock re-set (someone unplugged it this morning...), and all the books are dusted.
Other side after: Fireplace mantle is dusted and cleaned off, and I got out the folding moon chair and brought out the wooden train set (in brown box behind the chair) for the boys to play with.
They didn't play with the train set though. They have been running circles around and around that chair!! Also knocking it over, putting it upside down on themselves pretending they are turtles, giving each other rides on it, and so forth.
I'm not sure why Ruth is crying in that picture! She was laughing a minute before, but as I snapped the photo she started crying (probably wanted to be on the chair with her brothers!) so I put the camera down and we got ready for our walk outside today. :)
I hope you are all having a blessed Monday! :) We had guests yesterday so I worked extra hard in the morning to get ready for them. That also means I was able to start the week with a house that wasn't too out of shape! :)
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Keeping a small apartment is
Keeping a small apartment is a challenge even for me with just 2 people living in it -- especially when we're both packrats!! I don't know how you do it with the 5 of you.
I know you've probably been asked this before (but I haven't seen it). Do you and Joshua plan on moving into something bigger soon, maybe a house like you had before. Just curious... I know a home isn't what it's made of or how big it is, but the love that's in it.
Poor Ruth... bless her heart!!
Apartment living :)
I'm not sure if/when we'll move from here. :) Well, I mean, I think eventually we'll move but I don't know when it will be. :) Housing is pricey here, so for now we make do with going to parks and visiting people with yards and stuff to do outdoors. :) Moving "up" in the housing department would require a significant pay raise for my husband since we're already stretching it here. :)
At least a smaller place is easier/faster to clean! :D
Small living spaces
We live in a small house-just 1000 sq. ft.
It only has 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. Currently living in our home are our oldest and her son, our adult son, and our two young daughters. That's 7 people in a 2 bedroom home. Our son has converted our back sunroom into a bedroom-not a lot of privacy, but it's working. Our oldest daughter and her son are living in our living room right now.
Housing is expensive where we are too and right now, we're thankful that my husband and son have jobs and that we're able to afford our home. Who cares if it's not a huge house-like you said, it's much faster and easier to keep clean. :-)
What a great attitude! :)
What a great attitude! :)
Tammy it looks great...could
Tammy it looks great...could you keep that mattress in the spare room during the day?....I think that would add to the cozyness factor!!
Tereza
Mattress and bookshelves...
That is a great suggestion and one I have thought of... however, the air mattress serves a function by keeping babies out of the bookshelves!! :)
I should just train Ruth to keep her hands off and then I wouldn't need the mattress up there like that. :) Joshua has some books that he doesn't want ruined ($$$!). :)
I should probably stop being lazy and just train Ruth! She's definitely old enough to understand. :) (We recently trained her to "sit" and "come to mama" and she's so cute as she literally DROPS on the floor when we say "sit" -- her legs go out and she's on her bottom! :)
I just love your blog. I
I just love your blog. I really need to make my home a haven more than I do...it's just prioritizing, you know?
Well thank you! :) Yes... I
Well thank you! :) Yes... I find it easy to do things for "me" rather than seeking to serve my family and make our home a haven for them!
Wow
I didn't realize some people sleep in the living room! I think it's amazing that you're willing to do that so your family doesn't have to put things on credit cards and such, and so you can stay home with your children. You must be a truly humble person, and I mean that in a good way :-)
- Davonne
Davonne, thanks for your
Davonne, thanks for your comment. :) What you said is actually something I have been thinking about lately... humility. I'm not so sure I've "arrived" or anything like that, but living here has definitely helped me see a different way of life in some respects! :)
(I'm not sure how long you've been reading my blog, but about 6 months ago we moved from a rental house in a more rural area of Ohio, to this apartment near Seattle, WA. We moved for job reasons... my husband was getting laid off from a factory and he found a job here, so we relocated. :))
After living in a 2br house with a small yard, large garage, and nice drive way, I didn't really want to "downgrade" to an apartment! There are many, many people who live in small(er) apartments, and can't afford more. I think that subconsciously I felt like *I* deserved better. *I* wasn't like everyone else here, and living in an apartment felt humiliating.
Of course there are MANY people who live in apartments, and it's not humiliating. (I'm sure that living in a small-town rural area made apartment-living something foreign to me before.) And, thankfully, some of my fears about apartment-living were unfounded... and it's really not too bad. ;)
kids make do
your boys playing with the chair like turtles was funny, it just shows how kids can make fun out of any thing. they will find another useful way to play with any little thing.
they will find another
they will find another useful way to play with any little thing.
Perhaps that is how so much stuff gets broken by them?! ;)
living arrangements
Tammy,
I totally know what you mean...we've lived in apartments, houses, trailers, everything! You always make it work (I call it "good missionary training"). We are quick to forget that most of the world lives in small spaces! When I was in Russia, everyone lived in apartments! In New York, San Fran., etc., many families live in apartments. We live in a house in the not-so-good section of town with a SMALL yard, but it's where the Lord led us (no other families from our church were in town and the other half of the church is...). The kids adapt, it takes less time to clean, we can afford it (my husband actually works at an apartment complex and we still can't afford rent there!), and I meet more people!
I do have a question... We have generous grandparents and lots of toys (my kids are 4, 3, and 1). What do you keep/throw out?!
Toys... how much? :)
Here is a post where I talked about what stuff we have for the kids (including toys)... our children don't get a ton of toys for gifts (maybe a handful of gifts each year) and the grandparents are considerate of space limitations.
Also, my boys have broken a number of their toys! :0 And when we moved, I gave some away. I think people understand that we can't keep *everything*. It was fun to bless other families when we moved, as we gave away many things (including stuff we had bought ourselves like a tricycle, plastic swimming pool, outside toys, etc. etc...). (For anyone wondering why we gave things away instead of selling -- we had 8 days to completely pack and move across country, and that's not much time to sell stuff. But I know others appreciated the things we passed on to them...) :)
Good for you!
Looks like you had a good day and got a room cleaned up! I was quite sick on Sunday, so yesterday I was still recovering and taking it easy. I won't be able to join in next week either, but hopefully the week after. :) So thankful to be feeling better again! ~Tanya - mama to 5 with #6 on the way. :)
Tanya, I'm glad you're
Tanya, I'm glad you're feeling better! :)
Tammy, thank you for your inspiring posts.
Tammy, I am fairly new to your page, but am so touched by how your radiance shines through everything you do - even cleaning the living room. I feel blessed and encouraged to be a better wife every time I click on Tammy's Kitchen. Thank you.
Wow, thank YOU for the
Wow, thank YOU for the encouragement! God knew it was what I needed this morning. :)
making more room
I live in a double wide trailer that my husband and I bought new. We have kept it up and it is in good shape. It is a 3 bdroom and we now have 3 chldren 13b, 3g,16mth boy. My two little ones are going to have to share a room, our home is completley paid for and we dont want debt. Got any suggestions on making a cuteboy/girl room together?
Apartment living in big
Apartment living in big expensive cities is the norm for so many people. When I lived in the D.C. area, the cost for mortgage + condo fees for my tiny 800 square foot apartment was almost the same as our old mortgage for a 2200 square foot home! I bought there because rent was actually more expensive. We live in a smaller city now...more rural. If we still lived there, I think we'd have a similar set-up like yours, even with two children. I'd rather stay home with my children than work myself to a frenzy for a bigger home. Daycare is so expensive in big cities! My children are much happier being cared for my their mom.
BTW, I found that IKEA furniture, the cheapest pine pieces, are much smaller scaled, and fit apartments perfectly! They knock down easily for moving, and wear well with children. It's been years, but I think they still carry the inexpensive pine shelves and couches with removable cushions. They aren't super comfortable, but the cushions can be enhanced with a little creativity(extra foam added) or replaced.
Blessings to you and your family.
Thanks for the good attitude
Hi Tammy,
I will go ahead and echo what others have said. I am sure you have thoughts along the lines of a not-so-great attitude but you clearly make a choice to shine through it. That is really something special and I admire you.
My little family is stuck in a pricey area since there are no relocation possibilities for my husband's job. Therefore we can afford a small apartment, nothing more. We are the only people at our church who live in an apartment, and probably have the least resources overall and I am struggling to not compare or be angry that we are where we are.
Anyway, you are truly an inspiration for choosing gratitude.
Catherine R.
http://vivalahomegirl.blogspot.com/
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