Thursday, March 14, 2013

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:

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.

3 comments:

  1. Love this and love you. Thank you for this post and really, for this whole blog. These posts of yours always seem to come just when I need to hear them. As we've been settling into our new little place, I've been noticing that I've carried a certain spirit of envy as I look at our cheap little Ikea end tables, and then at our plain old bed frame, then at our wire shelves....and then I look at Pinterest/Instagram/Facebook and see all that I don't have...and probably won't be able to afford to have in the near future. But you're so right. Why am I trying to measure up to something that looks glorious on the outside, but may or may not be the happiest on the inside? I've been so blessed with a wonderful husband and a nice little puppy, and those two matter most. And if things in our home have a place and the home feels in order, it's a place that we can relax and build even happier relationships as a family. Thank you for this reminder, sister.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your apartment! It really seemed perfect for you guys when we were there, and you'd done such a great job making it look and feel nice. It's overwhelming to me to think of all the things I could/should be doing to my house, but like you said it's what goes on in the home that's most important. Thanks for the insightful reminder!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congratulations! Good luck in your new surroundings!

    ReplyDelete