If you look closely you'll see our trash can, some chicken pooh on the driveway, my quince and two new roses (David Austin!) that need to be planted.
This is the real life stuff of everyday life for all of us. In the social media world we want to encourage and share beauty, so we don't show dishes piled in the sink, a stove top to be wiped down, dirty windows, dusty shelves. We share edited moments of our lives.
I have no problem with this because I feel like we should understand that this moment in a photo is not the whole of our lives.
We often have my granddaughters here, and use a chair to block the stairs, Klaire loves to play in the drawer that I store my canning jar lids and rings, and metal cookie cutters. That means they end up all over the kitchen.
Life can be messy. For every cute chicken photo I show, there is clean up to do because we allow them to free range. I have to sweep the dirt off the front walkway in the cottage garden, because the hens love to go in there and scratch and peck, and sleep in the sun against the house. We need to sweep dried up pooh off the driveway because they just go where ever they are.
So sometimes, I decide to show you a glimpse of real life around the cottage. A family lives here. We are not slobs (though the 12 year old boy borders on it), but the house is lived in 24/7.
I'm so grateful for this home that God has given to us. We've learned to not stress over needing to clean up. Its a part of life. Our home is never pristine. There is cooking going on, reading, game playing, laundry to fold, grass to mow, chicken pooh to sweep.
Are you grateful for your home? Do you enjoy using it for everyday life and for hospitality?
Yes, so true! Life is real and we seldom see that side of most homes. BUT, we all have the "not so pretty" in our homes! Enjoy your day dear friend, HUGS!
ReplyDeleteI like your real life! :)
ReplyDeleteYou're right.
I love this post, Deanna....and that screen door. No one will ever be able to accuse me of having a pristine home...lol! They look wonderful in the pages of a magazine...and I do like nice things...mostly old things with memories attached but I want it to be comfortable and live-in. I would love to have chicken poop on my sidewalk but I guess I have to wait 'til we build the farmhouse! I like the new sleek look to your blog. I have been contemplating changing mine up too for a while now. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely! While I try to edit a little bit of the clutter inside my house (yes, we live here 24/7 also!), I can't help what the neighbors do to their outside, so I just go with the flow when showing pictures of my outside and it catches the neighbors' house.
ReplyDeleteI should also say, that unless we point some of the "trash, clutter" out to our readers we don't even notice it at the first glance!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, Deanna! Loved it! I am beyond grateful for a home to use for life and ministry, especially when I stop and think about how many people in this world don't have a home, or are living in a cardboard box or other inadequate shelter.
ReplyDeleteI love my country home and my city home! And they are both so very real!!
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't have to be perfect for me. My motto is: Make the most of what you've got - and the least of what you've not!! And just for the record, being real is the very best way to live!
You know what I see??? A beautiful ... farmhouse screen door!!! Seriously... I was swooning over that door!! You needed to point out the "Real Life" to me.... I was sooooo admiring the door........ :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I love my home but do find when I'm about to snap a picture, I'm often trying to take the shot that may not have the blanket that's not styled perfectly!! I love it though when others take pics of every day life and they show exactly how it is! Chy
ReplyDeleteWell what’s beyond the door may be suspect, but The Door is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteIt's got to be real...there's no other way with family! Kids are messy and frankly, sometimes, so am I!!
ReplyDeleteA home is meant to be lived in. I'm so grateful for my home and although there are just two of us here most of the time, it still looks "lived in". Your home is a welcoming place for family and friends.
ReplyDeleteI do love the everyday life at our house and the guests that frequent it. Nothing is perfect, but I'm so thankful for a roof over our heads and a place to enjoy some comfort and beauty.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a brand-new mom and struggling to keep the house in its (before children) magazine-ready condition, my mother-in-law said to me, "A perfect house can't say "I love you." Those were the wisest words she could have ever spoken. They changed my life, for they reminded me that my purpose wasn't to have a perfect, swoon-worthy house, but to love the people who came into it.
ReplyDelete