haven-ize

You may have noticed that back in December and January, the Mister and Lady were MIA

(Unless you know us personally, then you know we were alive and well)

The Mister had been interviewing with stations and companies in 

Utah,

San Antonio,

Phoenix,

and 

Denver.

We had no idea when or if he would get an offer from any/all of them.
We spent our days with our fingers crossed and our minds in constant prayer.

By the beginning of the third week in December

we finally had a choice to make between a couple of cities

and we chose

and we moved.

Our moves happen in an instant.

Both times we have moved states, we have had 2 weeks notice.

It makes for some serious pack-up and go skills.
I'd say we are pretty good at packing boxes and a truck by this point.

Something about our homes in NM is that we never had quite enough space to make sure that 

everything had it's place.

There were always piles.

That made me crazy.

Before we moved, we gave away upwards of 9 garbage bags full of stuff.
Mister always says
"the best part about moving is getting rid of stuff."
He is right.

When we moved to Arizona,

I knew that I needed to take the time to make a place for every little thing.
If it didn't have a place, it didn't belong in our home.

Thus my absence from this blog.

I needed that time.

Once everything had it's place,

I went about decorating in a way that made this place our home.
We didn't have any money to buy new decorations, bed spreads, rugs.
All we had money for was a few cans of spray paint.
Luckily, I've talked myself out of caring about the latest crazes in home decor.

I forced myself to destroy my Pinterest project list that always leaves me wanting more than what I have

and we went after creating home from what was left from our purge.

I just really

NEEDED

to make this apartment

OUR HOME.

I worked for a month at creating a haven for my family.

As a current SAHM, I believe it is my job to make a home that my husband and children long to be in.

I wanted so badly to create a place that we wanted to be more than anywhere else.

One day, in the midst of this process, I came across this:

via

and it was reiterated in my mind that this concept was incredibly important.

I wanted a home life that felt A-OK if I got up in the morning,
put on my makeup,
got dressed,
and never left the house.
I wanted that to feel ok because my home was a happy, fun, and peaceful place.

Don't get the wrong idea...lets not all become hermits that never go outside...

My life needed to FEEL good

more than it LOOKED good.

The presentation of a "perfect" life is plaguing many blogs, facebook posts, tweets, and instagram feeds.

Perhaps you are acquainted with someone like this:

You know,

the someone that takes the most glorious pictures,

has the most incredible house,

is a master in the kitchen,

and looks like they just stepped out of a magazine.

Sometimes I wonder if those someone's are as happy on the inside 

as they make themselves to look on the outside.

I really hope they are

but in many cases, I doubt it.

This move and opportunity to establish a home I can be proud of
(and not because of it's decor)
has caused me to focus more on the people and relationships I develop in my home rather than the
million DIY projects or fancy outfits.

Because of these changes, the Mister and Lady relationship has improved.
The Parents and Daughter relationships have improved
and most importantly, our relationship with God has improved...

all because of established order.

I feel very blessed to feel very happy.
That month of haven-izing was more than worth it.

Our home is a safe haven.

It might not look so fancy on the outside,

but it's a good, good spot on the inside.

And for the Mister and Lady and Little Lady,

that is what is most important.

I hope you'll find ways to "haven-ize" your home too.
Let me know if I can help.