What does it mean to love your home? For me, I loved this house for so long that I never even dreamed we would actually be here.

And now, it’s our home.

I firmly believe that your home tells a story and fully describes and indicates who you are as an individual and as a family.

So when Taylor from the incredible Porch.com asked me to participate in their series, #loveyourhome, I jumped at the chance because we are absolutely in love with our home.

But to us, we aren’t in love with our home for the aesthetics.

We are in love with this kitchen because of the people that enter it. The preparedness that goes into each meal. The labor and the toil behind the meals and the prayers over orange juice. The potential that we saw so many years ago as I imagined meals here, conversations lingering.

before and after kitchen

Coastal Comfortable {Restless Arrow} (5 of 10)
And this story of love continues into the open dining room where laughter ensues and syrup is stuck to the stripes on the table because, goodness, thirteen boys around the table are just a mess.

"...we do what seems to be a small, ordinary thing. A single act would seem to be small, but little acts of giving, one upon another, pile up to create a huge force capable of repelling darkness and transforming the world." -Radical Hospitality. width=

This is what I dreamt of so long throughout the exhausting but rewarding renovating process.

Dining Room Before and AfterI dreamed of people, specifically the basketball team and our extended families, gathered around the table…celebrating Christmases, holidays…

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Celebrating the everyday.

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IMG_4774 And we wouldn’t change it for the world.

I didn’t want this house just because I loved the way it looked. I thought it was beyond adorable but more than that, I saw our lives here.

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And as our lives grow and change, our stories evolve, too, on the white couches (with washable slipcovers) as they envelop bodies as memories are made, wrestling matches are had, and movies are watched. Because here, we are not about perfection.

Coastal Comfortable Living Room (2 of 5)

Coastal Comfortable Living Room (3 of 5)

 

That tiny little blonde head thinks he belongs with them. And the best part? They just let him. #sothankful #morethanideserve #bearbasketballbreakfast

And if there is a need to get away to put these stories into words, I so often sneak into my office and import these pictures and type about these memories.

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But, this story for us wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t start here.

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In this Word, with His guidance.

Memories to us are made in the home but they’re more about the people we share it with.

You see?

I love this room, too, because it reflects our children.

And their personalities and what they have created.

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The story of our home began almost five years ago and the story will continue as we grow, our children grow, and as our hearts grow beyond what we could have even imagined when we first laid eyes on this yellow house.

Before and After YH So I couldn’t just choose one space. It would be like tearing out the page to a book.

And without opening the book, you don’t know the entire story.

And you can never judge a book by its cover.

Amber