where we live and what we wear

When people come in to our home, I want them to feel comfortable and not necessarily impressed by the things that we have, or unimpressed by the things that we don't have.
I want them to sit on the couch and feel loved, not overwhelmed by a great design or unimpressed with the lack of style.
I want them to join us at our dinner table and feel welcome and safe, not intimidated by a kitchen backsplash or high-end appliances or underwhelmed by the absence of brand-name decor.
good, bad or lack of design and things should have no influence on the comfort level of our home.

(p.s. GT built this barn door and i LOVE it so much)

I do love me some HGTV and love the idea of building our dream house one day with nice things, i really do. 

So, don't get me wrong.

 I appreciate a well designed home.

but, i don't want all of my energy, efforts and conversations to be focused on the appearance of my house.
rather, focus my energy on the people in my home.
i want our kids to grow up in a home full of joy and openness (I'm sure there's a more fitting word)! 

have you seen the link to Glennon Doyle Melton's blog Momastery on Facebook yet?

I just read it recently and she hit the nail on the head in regards to having a beautiful home, with a heart of gratitude. 

"In terms of parenting, marriage, home, clothes – I will not be a slave to the Tyranny of Trend any longer. I am almost 40 years old and no catalog is the Boss of Me anymore. I am free. I am not bound to spend my precious days on Earth trying to keep up with the Joneses- because the Joneses are really just a bunch of folks in conference rooms changing “trends” rapidly to create fake monthly emergencies for us. OH NO! NOW IT’S A SUBWAY TILE BACKSPLASH WE NEED!  No, thank you. Life offers plenty of REAL emergencies to handle, thank you very much."

Amen, sister!

the same goes for how I dress myself and my kids.

i'm all about function and comfort. 

in our home and for our wardrobe.

(A standard) 

when people see us, i don't want them to be impressed by our outfits or intimidated by great fashion.

i want people to feel comfortable to approach us and feel loved in our presence.
Now, i do understand the importance of putting your best foot forward and looking put together.

i've learned that from the women i my family. they always looks beautiful, poised, put together, but incredibly approachable
and we have been incredibly blessed to have nice things!

i really do want my boys to be boys and not inhibited by their new, nice or brand-name clothes.

of course i like wearing beautiful and in-style clothes...i'm a girl, hello!

so i have to remind myself often that it does not matter.

no one cares, except me, if my shirt has been in my closet for 10 years (and i wear it weekly) or if i recently bought it at a cute boutique and it was seen in People style watch and is made by a certain designer. 

no one cares.

and if they do, they need to get over it.

it's all about relationships and loving one another and i hope that i never let my clothing, fancy or plain, get in the way of that happening.

i can't remember the last time that i went shopping or bought new clothes for myself.
this probably has less to do with my self-control, but more because i've been pregnant, post-partum and/or nursing for 2.5 years solid.

also, i'm ok with what i have to work with already...as long as i don't go to any stores.
if i step foot in a store, i immediately see things that i just have to have.
so i avoid them.

 really, i just don't go. and if we go to Target or the mall, i avoid the clothes.
 true story.
if i don't see it, i don't know what i'm missing out on.

we also understand the importance of good stewardship in our home.

we work for what we have or it was given to us and someone else worked for it.

we want our children to be comfortable with what they have and not to hold anyTHING to precious, but also understand that we need to take care of what we have.

if you see me twice in one week, you're likely to see the same get-up.
if you come into our home, it probably looks "well lived-in".
Above all, we want our children to have a heart that is more appealing than the appearance of their clothes and of our home.
i know that they will learn this by what we do more than what we say...
so, i better get busy with practicing what i preach 

(just because this smile makes me happy)