Mom says the echo in this kitchen makes her "nuts." I happen to LOVE the fact that our kitchen's spacious enough to bounce a little sound...that's a good thing in my book.
Anne's walking everywhere now...mostly circles around the island in our kitchen, checking for items in all the bottom cupboards within her reach. I think she loves having the space and freedom to wander without getting plowed over. I love it too. She loves grabbing the plastic juice pitcher and toting it around with her...the little "hostess with the mostest."
The boys are enjoying the apartment space next door to us. It's attached by a doorway off the kitchen, and hopefully by spring (once demo'd) will become a great family room for our extra large family. For now, they launch all-out NERF wars against each other in the empty 2 bedroom/kitchen/family room space. I imagine if I were a shirtless, sweaty, NERF gun toting, 8 year old boy...this would be my heaven on earth too. I like that when the door's closed I can't hear their mission-control chatter and dart-blasting shananigans. Oh, and no more head shots across the kitchen to mom...that's priceless.
The older girls use that same space (when the boys aren't there of course) for quiet reading. Yes. Love my girls and all their "quiet reading." sigh. Balance is a good thing.
Closet space is amazing here. Something almost unheard of in a home this old...but well planned out and amazing. So the little girls love their bedroom closet space devoted soley to girly toys...like their mini-kitchen, and baby dolls, and dress up. Truly magical. I want to be a princess too some day.
I happen to love space, and sunlight, and room around the dinner table, and even more importantly, the kind of things you can't see when you first walk in...
like quieter breakfasts as everyone moves around the kitchen effortlessly. Or more relaxed evening meals. Living with less tv time, cause there are more things to do, and more space to do it in. The kids found the old phone left from the previous owners, and spent the first few days here playing "hotel" and "hospital" and any number of pretend games that required workers, and phone orders, and heaven forbid imagination.
Certainly, I thank God at the end of each day for the gift of this house, for the means to provide for it, and for the opportunity it offers our family...to grow, to share, to love. And to understand and appreciate all the goodness that comes only from Him.
It is perfectly imperfect...an old home full of love, and hope, and promise...not to mention a little dust, some scuff marks on the walls (doesn't take long for those to appear), and an echo... (yoo-hoo).
