"So, are you looking at buying a bigger house?"
It's a question I get quite a bit here lately - one that quite honestly I was asking myself last summer when we first learned baby number 6 would be joining our family, bringing the grand number of people sharing 1200 square feet up to 8. And it's a question I understand - I grew up with 6 siblings myself, but our family home is nearly triple in size to this.
Still, maybe it's the season, a time when I can't get over just how much I've been blessed, but these days I can't imagine being anywhere else. Here in our snug, simple little home, Christmas feels just right.
The house smells of evergreen and whichever candle Ben selected for the evening (tree: Fraser fir; candle: apple cinnamon). Dinah put the finishing touches on the mantle, for now, and I reminded myself to keep my mouth shut and stop imagining Pinterest-perfect decorations. In this home, our Christmas is child-made, from decorations to food and back again.
Fiona and Jonah have been crafting in their own way, requesting cut out paper trees to decorate. Fiona asked for purple, because "sometimes, in the dark, trees look purple, Mama." Dinah added mountains in the background and a big yellow star shining above.
I've been keeping myself busy in all of this by making space - cleaning out cupboards and drawers and closets, decluttering and looking forward to a fresh start. Solstice is just a few short weeks away and I'm hoping for a clean slate. I take breaks to sneak upstairs and wrap gifts before slipping them deep into my closet, behind summer dresses I haven't worn in years - the perfect hiding spot.
All five of my little ones line up on the couch in the living room to listen to our Advent devotional and this space doesn't seem too tight, too chaotic. In the quiet, gathering dusk, it feels warm, a haven, our safe and happy place. Before kissing me and heading to bed, Fiona looks up at our tree and whispers, "I love our house at Christmas time."
Me, too.
I understand completely. We live in a home that is under 1000 square feet, it is just three of us, so not as many little feet as you have, but it feels just right for us, not too big and not too small. And at this time of year it feels even more right.
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