around the farm

I have worked almost every day we have been home from our trip and I have been dreaming of returning to this lovely little farm. I've also been dreaming of sunshine and sandals. And adorable little boys.

Our holiday was so very relaxing. I throughly enjoyed having to think about nothing but the present. There was no stress, no responsibility, no schedule, no expectations. All we had to think about was enjoying ourselves and our family. What a relief!!

And what a place to relax! My SIL and her husband have a beautiful property. I've already introduced you to their incredible garden, but their place also provides ample opportunities to roam and explore. There is so much space and so much sky. Yesssss.

And there is something about being in the country. I don't know how to put it into words... it's just something. Something kind of wonderful.

Erik and I have been talking about where we want to "end up". You know, where we want to settle down, create a home, and raise a family. We're very much undecided, but I like the idea of the country. Country-ish at least. It's going to need to be near a hospital, or a clinic, or some facility I can work in. Unless I become a midwife - then it doesn't really matter, but I still like partial country at the very least.

I always dreamed of marrying a farmer -- have I ever mentioned that? I think I'd make a good farm wife. What do you think the chances are of Erik every becoming a farmer? Non-existant, I know.  A girl can dream though, can't she???

I have been working a lot since coming home from Minnesota. It has been so good, especially considering that summer is now over and shifts are going to be less and less available. I have have nothing booked after Sunday -- ugh! As of Sunday I will have worked 9 shifts in 11 days. I'm currently doing the 24 hour switch over from nights back to days -- the worst kind of switchover. I miss my friends, but I know there will be a time when shifts or sparse so I am capitalizing on everything offered to me now. There will be time to live later.

dreamy

I've been dreaming this morning. Dreaming of a home of my own where I can paint my walls, put holes in said walls, and decorate as I please. I dream of natural light and of bookshelves from ceiling to floor. I dream of windows! And bench seats. And colour. Lots and lots of colour. And cozy and comfy.

This room is so refreshing! I usually don't like white, but I love the simplicity of this room. I love the all the windows, the bench seat, and the accent pillows. I love the pillows. I think i love the windows the most. They are just lovely.

 

And I love love love all the frames on the wall. I don't think I would ever (ok I know I would never) go quite this eccentric, but I am planning on having a collage of my own.

And of course this one. It feels like such a safe little nook. I love the colours, the couches, the windows, and the bookshelves. I also adore that rug. Ok. I have listed everything about this room. I love it all. Except I would probably take away the big green bobble thing on the right. And the thing on the wall. The wall thing is lovely, but I would want something else there, but I do love the rest of it and would love to transport that into my future home.

I have a wonderful day planned out for me. House cleaning and then relieving mama's of some sick babies.

Living/Dining Room

My parents were visiting this weekend and my mother agreed to help me organize my home. I had been so busy with school that I had no time or energy to make our place comfortable. Mom and I only focused on the living room... and we didn't do too much, but it looks and feels much better than before she came. It used to be a wide open space, but we have now sectioned it off into "living room" and "dining room" which has been great! I don't know where my "before" pictures are... just imagine nothing but the yellow couch. All of the pictures are blurry as my camera was dying and I was trying to take some quick snap shots for this.

This is the living room. Please note that one wall is brick and the other is stone. Very interesting indeed. We got the chairs and the table from the Kelowna Gospel Mission Thrift store. We were quite excited about that. I did not put up the purple curtains, in case anyone was wondering.

This picture is taken from the yellow couch above. Our TV (which is used for ancient nintendo) is tucked in the corner because I think it is an eye-sore. 

Next we have the "dining room" half of the room. We do not have our table in our kitchen because, as I mentioned earlier, our kitchen has no windows and a door which does not accommodate company or a pleasant meal together. Note the yellow couch in the corner to give you a frame of reference. Those thingys on the wall were a DIY project. I'll take a better picture of them in a bit.

Here we have the door to the room and two Norman Rockwell prints I picked up at the thrift store. I am hoping to eventually find a long table or a low dresser thing to stick under these prints so our phone will have something pretty to sit on. And I can put table linens etc in there. We'll see how that goes.

We used to have this rug in our bedroom. It is so misshapen, but I like that it gives definition to this little nook. We are still deciding what we want to do with this. 

It is amazing what these little changes can do to the place. I feel more relaxed and more at home since making these changes. It is wonderful!!! It may have something to do with being finished my classes, but I enjoyed making the space our own. It is beginning to feel like home.

Wishing

Erik and I live in the basement of my sister's house. We have lived here since September 2008. We share a kitchen and have a living room and bedroom downstairs. It's nice, but it's my sister's house. It feels like my sister's house. I feel like a visitor. We do pay rent and everything, but it's still not ours. I long for a home of my own. I don't even need my "dream home" yet, but I think we need our space more than ever.

We house-sat for a month in September. We had none of our material possessions there (not that we even have many), but it started feeling like home because for that sweet month it was ours. The place we are living in now has never felt like home.

Erik and I dream of having a place where we can develop community. We want our home to be a place of fellowship, of rest, of conversation, of eating, and of peace. We want a place in which we are free to invite people in and bless people with the many blessings that we have.

We want a place to call home.

A Home

Lately I have been craving a home. I mean I have a place to live, but I want a home. I haven't felt at home since before I left for college; I have felt like a transient the four years since. I miss the enveloping peace that comes from feeling at home. The comfort that drains you of energy, but makes you blissfully happy.

My dream home:
- a couple acres
- little fixer-upper house
- couple cows, chickens, goats
- a relatively large garden
- a wood fireplace