Daniels Den Relocation

6 months ago this was my den...

My home was a 2 bedroom, 75 year old farmhouse with one complete door that only closed with the assistance of a paint stick. It had no insulation and sat right on the road. It had a carport (which if you have a carport you should totally read this blog post from The Little Brown House... I loved it! Heck read it even if you have a garage.) The den was also called the master suite and was conveniently close to the kitchen. I had a beautiful old fireplace in the kitchen, dining room, and Boog's room... none of which worked. Every line, every door, every floor in the house was crooked. It smelled funny. It had mice in the winter.

I could have looked at it that way. Very Easily. A lot of days I did. But some days I chose to look at all the positives....

We brought a baby home here.

We had an amazing view out of our kitchen window.

This guy made his home in our back yard.

We had a few really great Holiday Seasons

We had birthdays, 2 sets of first steps, and a chance to learn what is important in life.

That was our home and I worked for 2 1/2 years to make it that way... no matter what.

5 months ago we got the opportunity to buy our first house. It's a dream come true for us. We tripled our space and got our own bedroom (it even has a big brick fireplace in it that works!)

**We will call these all "before" pictures, mmmk?**

We have lots of doors that close now and 3 bathrooms. We have a mini bar, a play room, a den, and formal living and dining rooms.

And a backyard to die for.

I can't forget my dream all white kitchen

With all of that, there are still negatives. It was a foreclosure after all. I still have to remind myself that a home is only about 10% what it is built with. The other 90% is how you perceive it and what you do with it. It doesn't take much money to make a house a home, it just takes some determination and persistence. We lived on $600 a month for the better of 6 months and still managed to make a place that people loved to spend time in.

If you are not content in your home, your family and friends won't be either. It has to be a place that your family can be the best that they can be.

My goal in life is to teach my daughters that lesson.

And truly learn it myself one day.

-Katie