The Last of the Gray

He called me out to witness the final strokes that would cover

the last little bit of gray on our home that has stood on this ground

since 1890.

SOLD! To us! We were so excited!

We love our home and thought it was beautiful when we bought it.

Luke and Collette, you poured more than we could imagine into updating this old house.

Thank you for all the groundwork you did.

Collette, to you in particular, I completely admire how you assumed the role of mothering solo while Luke toiled for all those long, long days and nights on this homestead.

I have a new understanding of what sacrifice you made.

We happily carry on the torch caring for this old house.

In the past few years, it's gray wood siding has looked particularly weathered.

After consultation from a professional who happens to be a kind friend,

and a whole lot of help in form of manual labor from another painting professional who happens to be a brother, countless hours of my husband perched on a ladder/lift

we have this...

Home, the spot of earth supremely blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest.
~Robert Montgomery

Before

After

We are almost done this monumental item on our home improvement check list,

and we could not be more thrilled. We each have our own reasons, mine being "I'll have my husband back on weekends! At least until the downstairs bathroom renovation begins"...that and "No more watching my beloved do his odd neck and back stretches before bed". I would venture to guess one of his would be the absence of comments like "Boy, it must be nice up there just listening to the birds, alone with a brush" spoken from the haggard woman in the kitchen window below, with five children crawling up her legs. Just a guess.



While I love the new look, and I so appreciate the house that God has lent us to live in,
I know that still, it is just a house.
The sign hanging in my living room in which my sister gave me for Christmas last year
offers a constant reminder to me: 

A house and a home.
There is a vast difference in the meaning of those two words.
A home can be a hut, a studio, a condo, a bungalow (always wanted me one of those. the name itself is inviting) or even a mansion (although it's hard for me to imagine making that cozy. I think I could do more with a hut).


Here's to focusing on the home,
even in the midst of improving the house.