There's No Place Like Home

This December marks the start of our 4th year in our old, cozy home. It's this time each year I begin to think of all the hard work that was put into making this old farmhouse our home. It took months of work, (mostly time of Grandpa Keith's), and lots of imagination. I remember when Daddy took me thru the first time, the place was SO dirty, run down, and in dire need of some TLC!! But the little details and charm of the place got to me and I knew we just HAD to live here!! It was perfect. I fell in love. It had so many “old” things and so much history to it; from the kitchen cabinets, to the door knobs, & who doesn't just LOVE the hand crafted cabinets?! And it wasn't just the house, it was the surroundings. The fields, farms, country way of life, and of course the location... so close to our families!

Beautiful spring/fall flower collection 

The wheat fields

This is our road ... down by the river. BEAUTIFUL during sunset! 

The beautiful mess on the inside... marking the work that was being done! 

Our future laundry room in progress...

So the work started in late summer '09. I had big plans for the place and was blessed to be able to help bring my plans to life. At the time we lived in Lansing and spent a lot of weekends “home” helping to work. During the Thanksgiving holiday we spent a lot of time painting. (And by “we” I mean, myself, dad, grandpa keith, poppy, nanny, and I'm sure some of your uncles stopped by from time to time to help out too.) Seemed like it took forever for the time to come, but I finally got to put some of my “dreams” to life. I got to choose the colors of each room, helped to put our bathroom back together after Grandpa Keith worked incredibly hard starting from scratch. He literally ripped out everything from that room and started fresh! And it still looks amazing to me! Such a joy to watch the room come together, from the floors, to the tub/shower combo I got to help pick up, to the sink and cabinets!

These are the old style cabinets and latches! I LOVE them!

The old style door handles on all the doors...

Daddy helping Papa hang the bathroom mirror. 

And it took Nanny & I a few days to get the kitchen all cleaned up. It was one of the rooms that needed a lot of extra time... between the dust & the mice droppings. (EWW!!!!) So we put in a lot of time and elbow grease and got it to shine as best as we could. Still so thankful for a mom that doesn't mind animal grossness... because heaven knows, I hate it!! and get a little grossed out from it. Yuck!

So as the painting started, we worked from room to room. And slowly the house looked more like a home to me. Now Grandpa Keith (and probably Dad) weren't too such about my chose in paint colors and schemes, but I knew what I was doing... :)

working on painting the living room ...

Dad's job was to do the ceilings - I could only reach so far! 

The beginning to our bedroom... teal & white with brown stripe. 

coming together

We were scheduled to move back December 12^th, so after a long weekend “home” we went back to Lansing to pack our things. Leaving a few things to still need painted, but knowing we'll have time once we move in. Little did we know that night before we moved Grandpa Keith spent the night at our place painting our dining room and camping out in our kitchen!! And when we arrived the next morning with our moving load, we found him on his hands and knees scrubbing our floors with a toothbrush!!! Unbelievable. He said he wanted to make sure it was clean for us!! What a great Dad. And as far as the move went … thank heavens for good friends and our other father!!! And all the muscle that was involved. Poppy not only helped to load the trailer & cars, but drive the trailer and then help to unload them all again. And so did Nanny. Altho, once we got home here, she did a lot of cleaning still and helped to start putting things like food and supplies away. We wouldn't have been able to move so quickly and smoothly without our fantastic parents!!!! What a blessing to have them and their helping hearts and hands!! :) Thanks guys! We love you and are still thankful for all you did!! 

one of many loads we took from Lansing ...

part of our amazing moving crew 

Grandpa Keith - scrubbing the floors with a toothbrush (hopefully not any of his own)

Once we got our things in and had a walking path thru the house, the fun began! I love to unpack and put things “back” and where they belong. So it was a joy to me to be able to do it in a home that felt like mine!! The weeks to follow were just so wonderful and memorable. We got to decorate for Christmas, enjoy Christmas in our own place, had a fun New years party, & about a month after our move found out about you little man!!! :) Which is another reason why we love this house some much!

This is just one of the hand crafted wall cabinets Great Grandpa Keith built. I thought it was the perfect place to display our wedding gallery. :) 

Our bedroom on night one. LOVE the colors and being able to call it our own. :) 

Our bathroom hangers... it's the little things that make a house a home. 

one of the two corner cabinets also built by G.G.Keith :) They are my favorite thing about our dining room!! LOVE theM!

inside our bedroom 

This is how ZuZu helped move and unpack

Our first Christmas in the house! So Cozy! 

Our first real homemade dinner in our new place. :) 

Dad was still finishing up classes and papers, so while I unpacked certain rooms, he finished writing and studying... with ZuZu by his side. 

Our beautiful creek ... 

This house has become our home. We began our family here, we have had our tough times here, our families are here and our faith has grown here. I know we can't (and won't) be here forever... (as much as I prayed for that & as much as I thought it would happen). That's why I dedicated so much time and space blogging about this old farmhouse. I could probably keep going on for hours with the stories from Grandpa&Grandma Keith. And then could add our own stories of camping, roof talks, starry nights, and parties. But I'll let it be for now. I also wanted to write this blog because I see our end with this home. It's sad & hard, but I'm very excited about our future and know it's all part of God's plan. He knows the desires of my heart and I know if I trust Him and follow His will … someday i'll have a forever home to call my own. So here's a post of thankfulness – thankful for the beautiful house I've been able to call my own for the past 4 years. Our first real home together as a family and where I brought my babies home. A place that will always have a part of my heart … and a place I will always be grateful for.