Castle Tours....

If you have a nosy, er..curious, tendency like I do, then you will enjoy viewing the homes that are posted by other homemakers on Candy's website, www.keepingthehome.com. It was great fun to tour these homes and see how others decorate or organize their castles. I've decided to join in and participate, posting pictures of my castle. I love my home with its many imperfections. We have our work cut out for us for awhile, but it will be great fun fixing it up to be the castle we desire. As for now, the Lord has blessed us both with contentment and we truly love it here. We inherited our house and some land and are so thankful for that. We have partly remodeled our home and I do so wish I had some 'before' and 'after' pictures to post (of the inside...the outside looks mostly the same).
Okay, before we go inside, I will take you on a tour of the land around which our house sits. We absolutely love the vegetation and the fields of green we have around here. The kids get to romp and play and it is great.


This is what you see as you are leaving my house, so just imagine coming up the drive instead of leaving. :o)

When you park and get out of your vehicle, if you look to the right, you will see this flower bed that's in need of some color. :o)

This is the view across the road from our house.This is the front of our home. We need some landscaping done (the cedar tree you can't see prevents much from growing on the right side of the front), but we will do it as we go along.


We love our front screened-in porch. We hope to paint the floor and repaint the furniture, but anyway, my son says, "Come on in!"What you see when you walk in the front door.

Looking to the left, you will see our main living area. Our two recliners were given to us and the red table I painted in our computer table. It was my husband's grandmother's table she 'started out' using.
To the right of the door, you will see our seating area by the fireplace. We do not have central heat/air, so this is our main source of heat during the winter. This house can get pretty drafty at times, but it is manageable. We enjoy the fireplace.
This is our dining area, straight ahead to the right. I hope to get a bigger table one day, maybe with a bench on one side, but it works and it was given to us when we first got married. The children have their own state/capitals placemats, so that is why there is only 3 of them. :) The highchair was one we used to sit in when we were babies and I confiscated it from my mom's house before she could send it to the Goodwill (it was at my grandmother's house).

We both play the piano, but rarely this one (too busy..ha). This is the area before you go into the kitchen. I see it looks pretty cluttered from here. I didn't do any special cleaning or decluttering before this photo session. :o) Now let's go through the door on the left and see what we find...

This is the room where Son, age 6 and Daughter, age 4 sleep. I loved their rooms. We work together to clean it up, but rarely are the floors this neat. :o) They love to play in here. If this new baby is a girl, I will most likely make this into the girls' room and repaint it...hot pink? I love bright colors. This current wall color is soo serene and refreshing. We worked hard on this room...on the ceiling are white boards just like around the sides. It makes for a cozy cottage feel. Come back out into the hall and let's go down to the master bedroom...

Our bedroom, which I really love. We recently 'inherited' this King Size bed from my husband's grandparents and we love it. We had dreamed about having a king sized bed and the Lord helped fulfill our desires. I just picked out this colorful, pink, floral (very feminine) comforter and I love it. I realize my wall color doesn't match, but I already have the paint for the walls--it will be a summer project. My son, age 1.5 sleeps on the toddler bed in the corner (most of the time, he sleeps with us).
Purposefully took a picture of the ceiling in our bedroom. I love it. My husband (and FIL) worked hard in this room...really hard. We have a beautiful ceiling in here and in the dining room. I would love to have it in our entire house...:o)


As you walk out of the bedroom, immediately to the left there is a master bathroom. It is currently in the throes of the remodeling process, so I didn't take a picture of it. There is also a linen closet directly in front of our bedroom door. Come back down the hall (this hall was very dank and dark before we moved in), let's go back into the dining room and into the kitchen....

The room I use the most. It has not been extensively remodeled by no means (notice the missing knobs on the cabinets)..just a paint job and a cheap, temporary rug put down, but I do love my kitchen. I could use more counter space, with my water distiller and my bread machine taking up lots of room. My stove is wonderful, too. It heats things so fast, you have to stand right there and not leave anything!
The view from my kitchen window....pear trees, fig trees, more vegetation and woods...
Come into the foyer...this part of the house was added on later (way before we got it of course) but has not been remodeled at all....

The foyer..the door really needs painting, doesn't it? The door on the left is another bedroom, but it is currently storage right now. I hope to convert it to a workable bedroom this summer. The curtain you see is hiding a book shelf and also my towels and extra toiletries are on the bottom shelf. The bathroom is on the right...come on in....My old-fashioned bathroom we currently use. It is a long walk to the bathroom from my bedroom (and those night trips are getting more frequent), but I do love this bathroom. My inlaws repainted it for me during my last pregnancy and I love the green. They also put in a new linoleum floor. I do look forward to a shower.... :o) Now, come through that door that needs painting....

I should've turned on the light for this picture. This is my large laundry area, or back porch. It is in a bad need of cleaning up and fixing up. I do have my deep freeze in this area and an extra refrigerator. This room is one of those rooms that everytime I walk in (which is wayy frequent because of the amt of laundry I do), I say, "I've got to get in here and do something besides stand over the washer"! Now to the right of this room, there is another very small bedroom that we use as a media room, I guess you could say. It has an old moniter in it where a VCR and a Nintendo can be hooked up. We rarely go into it, tho, maybe once a week, the kids will watch Barney. We have no TV in the house and hope to keep it that way! Now, you see that screen door on the far right? Let's go out it and I will show you where the kids play....
The kids' play area. Way back there is our garden that my FIL shares with us. We currently have corn coming up and potatoes. Garlic (beside the tree there) is everywhere in this yard! :)
Immediately to the right side of this view is....

The scuppernong (?) arbor and more play areas....Now to one of my favorite places....

My clothesline...yesterday was the childrens' laundry day, so it was full all day long!

Well, I had one more picture to share of the old barn on the left side of the house, but my little one is awake. I'm afraid he will mash something on the computer to erase my hard work! :) I hope you enjoyed my lowly castle. It's home to us!

Ode to my Home

As I walk from the wheelbarrow, arms loaded with fresh firewood, I know there's no place like my home. For, you see, my home is special enough to have a wood burning fireplace as its main source of heat.
As I open the screened door that needs to be replaced, the ever-familiar creak and slap! of the door reminds me, there's no place like my home. For, you see, my home is special enough to have a screened in front porch, complete with old rockers.
An aroma greets me as I enter my living room--the smell of fresh bread mixed with equal parts fireplace smoke--that reminds me, there's no place like my home. For, you see, my home is special enough to have a mama who stays home and bakes fresh bread because she knows she has some little young uns (and husband) who are delighted when Mama's bread machine buzzer goes off.
I stoke the fireplace, renew the blaze and head off to give my children a surprise, when I notice the pieces of Play-doh all over the table and floor. Kids' creations don the table as food never has before. I'm reminded, there's no place like my home. For, you see, not ever home has children to make 'culinary' creations with colored dough. My home does.
I get my children settled, head to take a soak in the bathtub, and really take a glance around. An old-fashioned tub--one that you could get bubbled up to your ears in--and still not get any on the floor--that's my home.
Ah, the clothesline. How could one find such pleasure in a handmade, wooden clothesline with ropes connecting? Why? Because it's here. Here I feel the wind on my face, cool wind bouncing off of wet clothes. It's here my eyes glance heavenward and I see the bluest sky around. Not a cloud in site. It's here I gaze out over acres of field lying dormant until spring's plow slowly turns over soil. It's here I envision a chicken coop, hear goats bleating, see more children playing. It's here I do see the beautiful pines and cedars swaying in the breeze, wood stacked neatly--reflecting hours of strong man's work. It's here at my haven. My home.
The back screen door opens with a familiar sound. I look up and see a familiar face. My husband. 'Just came by for a few minutes'. Drove several miles for a few minutes at his home. And, you see, not any home has a husband and father. My home does.
Home calls. I answer. Happiness reigns.

Lord, you know my home is not a castle by far. In fact, others may have to pick and prod to see what I see, and still some may not see it. But, my home, dear Lord, is a castle to me. A shelter from the biting cold and evil forces of this cold, dark, and self-centered world. A shelter for my children. Lord, you know I am the keeper of my home. Help me, dear Saviour, to care for my home as I would a tiny infant. Thank you Lord for the inhabitants in my home. Lord, you are the greatest inhabitant. Ever abide here, Lord. Thank you, Jesus for our home.

Making my House a Haven... (pictures added)

Several bloggers at whom I visit are hosting a week of "Making your House a Haven". This theme focuses on tackling spots in your home that are untidy, have been ignored, and so forth.
My mom has the kids today so I thought it would be a great time for me to participate. I *will* have *before* and *after* pictures. You won't want to miss those! LOL I have to be very brave and transparent in front of you to post these *before* pictures. :o)

Here is my schedule for today:

7:00 up, coffee in hand, settled in chair for my Bible reading, Acts 4-6, prayer time DONE (it was about 7:20 before I made it to the chair, and I didn't get my Bible reading finished before I had children in my lap, but I did finish reading it, it was really good this morning. I also prayed with the children around me, which was fine because Emory was feeling sick and wanted me to pray with him. I think it does them good to see me pray in front of them some times)
8:00-9:00 getting kids ready to go to mom's, taking them, etc.
9:10-10:00 settled at the computer for a few minutes of blogging, surfing (I did get my water distiller going and fed the cats)
10:00-11:00 general cleaning which includes: washing dishes, tidying kitchen, making beds, general straightening and getting laundry going DONE..didn't get much straightening done and I'm still continually working on the laundry
11:00-12:00 Project One: My porch--pictures to be added later (you don't want to miss those Before pictures--I cleaned my van out last Monday and just about everything is on the porch, not to mention it hasn't been swept much lately, out of sight, out of mind, ya know? Well, it's the first thing my guests see when they come in the house. Yikes. Well, good thing I rarely have guests, huh?) :o) DONE, took about an hour...I cleaned off the porch, watered the almost dead plant that I repotted Tuesday, swept the sidewalk, and even put some pinestraw in the awful nonexistent flowerbed
12:00-12:15 Lunch break (will be leftover Split Pea Soup from last night, yum!) DONE..the soup was delish and I was famished. I took a longer lunch break because my cousin was over using the internet to job hunt. I visited with him for a few minutes extra
12:15-1:00 Project Two: Linen closet--okay, this closet hasn't been TOUCHED since we moved here almost 4 years ago. It was designed to be a linen closet (right by the bathroom) but during the remodeling (4 years ago) it was just a quick place to put leftover paint cans, tools, wood glue, etc. Then, we when decided to remodel our master bathroom (nearby) about a year ago, it became a good place to shove some of the stuff from it into. Today I plan to transform it into that Linen closet that I so envision. I do have a good excuse for not doing it sooner. During naptime (when I would have time to tackle such a project) we always have a baby lying down in our room which is adjacent the linen closet. DONE, this took about an hour, but I was late getting started...I'm REALLY proud of this project..because while the porch has only been that messy for about a week, this closet has been this messy forever!
1:00-2:00 Project Three: The extra bedroom--this room has NEVER been really clean since we moved here 4 years ago. It used to be my husband's grandmother's room when this house was her's and I know the Lord doesn't let her see it from heaven because it would probably make her sad. :o( So, Nanny, today, I hope I can make you proud. I seriously doubt that I can get this room finished in an hour, but I'll try. I have been waiting until I could buy some more Rubbermaid containers because mostly this room is filled with clothes that are too little or too big. This room is the next room we will remodel because with our growing family, we need another workable bedroom. I hope before too long I can post a newly remodeled picture of this bedroom. The paneling will have to go, the ceiling redone, and the floor covering gone. It seriously needs leveling as well. Well, that's for another time...anyway... DID NOT GET DONE...ran out of time..I would work on it this evening, but I've got piano lessons. I *may* get to it tonight, we'll see.
2:00-3:00 Project Four: The Budget--Oh, I am such a failure in this area. I. seriously. *stink*. in this area of my housewifery. I will do a budget about a week after my honey gets paid. By then most of the money is gone and I'm catching up to see what is left. Okay, transparent here. LOL. Anyway, my hardworking honey gets paid tomorrow, so I plan to do the budget TODAY and also organize the bills, throw away junk mail, etc. You probably won't get a picture of this. :o)
Well, that's my day. I plan to be working my behind off. So, if I'm going to get to enjoy a few moments of computer time, I better get off MY blog. :o) Just about to work on...I have 30 minutes, so I probably won't get completely finished. I will just do the budget and not worry about organizing my bill container.
Love to all my dear readers. Come back to see the before and after pictures. You won't want to miss them. :o)

Before and After of the porch:

Before and After of the entrance: (That is panties by the door, btw..Erin brought them to me after having a 'go' in the yard...lol...good thing we live in the country, huh?)

Before and After of the Door leading to the screen porch:

Before, During, and After of the closet:

That's all...:o)