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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Love Grows Best in Little Houses

Once upon a time… I dreamed of living in a big house.

It would have this wrap around porch.  It would be colonial style and have 4 or 5 bedrooms.  I would have a walk in closet.  I would have my own bathroom.  Picture Barbie’s house… in real life.  I would have a garage.  I would have a fenced in back yard and be in the back of a culd-a-sac. 

 

Right now we have a fenced in back yard.  … that is about the extent of my dream house.

 

But… when I think about my grandparents.  My mom’s parents raised 5 children in a 2 bedroom house. **They had to add a small bedroom when my mom was born – and thus it became a 3 bedroom house**.  It only had 1 bathroom. The kitchen was small.  The living room was small.  … everything was small.

 

My dad’s parents raised 6 kids in a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house.  The boy’s room had 2 sets of bunk beds and the 2 girls had the other room.  8 people and one bathroom.  Love grows best.

 

I think we’ve decided to stay here for a little while.  Not forever… but a little while.  Maybe our love will grow best.  Yes – our master bedroom is 10.5 X 10.5 square feet.  Yes… the twins will need to share a room.  Or Andrew and Alexander will need to share a room.  Or…. I don’t know.  But – I think this is going to be the place we let our love grow.

Christmas Eve….

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Addison, Andrew and Alexander made plates for cookies for Santa and carrots for Rudolph.  They needed to decorate them so Santa would know his plate and Rudolph would know his plate.

 

Best part?  They “forced” Alexander to help.  He helped with the stickers and crayons. *love*DSC_0367DSC_0382DSC_0384

It is all fun and games until Little Brother takes the plate.  Look at his sneaky face…. *love*

 

And then I remember my in-laws. Their master bedroom is a little bigger than ours. … But the rest of the house has a similar size. They only have one bathroom. They love.

Want to see? We all pile in… to where love grows best.

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Siblings hug.  We all pile on the floor and play games together. 

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Nana holds her granddaughters.  Andrew decides the Chair needs fixed…. so tool are scattered everywhere.

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Siblings tease each other.  Her face really does say a million things.  As does his…

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Presents are opened.  In one small living room.  Where love grows best.

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Gifts are given.  Private Jokes are shared.  Nephews try to become detectives with their presents.

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And underlying all of this – is the simple joy of being together. I think maybe we need to be smooshed in this small house together.  Where our love can grow the best. 

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This picture was taken Christmas night.  You might not be able to tell – but they are holding hands.  You can’t walk through our living room.  There are stacks and stacks of things piled high on our bedroom dresser.  But – our kids are still hugging.  We hope you had a Merry Christmas.  We did.  It was wonderful.  Church on Sunday, celebrating the birth of Jesus, more time with family, and evenings spent with friends.  And every night… returning to our little house.

 

 

 

5 Comments:

At December 27, 2011 at 4:05 PM , Blogger Jackie said...

Oh Kristen, as you talked about your parents childhoods I was amazed of the similarities of my own parents! My dad was one of 8 in a three bedroom, one bath duplex, while my mom was one of 6 in a three bedroom (once my grandfather built the extra bedroom, the second bedroom had no windows!) one bath row house. You are so true, love does grow big!Happy New year!

 
At December 27, 2011 at 9:17 PM , Blogger LB said...

Isn't it weird how everything (and everyone) is so much bigger these days??? My dad and his 4 siblings grew up in a 2 bedroom shotgun house with one bathroom the size of my walk-in closet! And my aunt raised 7 kids in a 3 bedroom house back when kids were not allowed to sleep with parents. We moved when our youngest was only 6 months old. To a much bigger house. That is only good for holder lots more junk. I miss my old house on a quiet street in the middle of nowhere. We live in a subdivision where neighbors are more annoying than "neighborly."

I loved your post. And your pics. Merry Christmas!

 
At December 27, 2011 at 10:20 PM , Anonymous Amy McCollister said...

I'm probably an oddball for my generation. I actually want a small house when we *finally* get around to it. My husband's the opposite though. He wants a bigger house with extra space so he can have a "man cave" one day. We'll see who wins.

 
At December 28, 2011 at 10:09 AM , Blogger Arnebya said...

So glad you enjoyed the holiday. I adore the last photo, so magical. As for houses, we grew up 5 in a 2 bedroom house (though we had an attic loft my parents used as a bedroom, and a basement). My husband's family grew up in tiny apartments (like we started out in) and graduated to a 3 bedroom for 5 people (still 1 bathroom). We have a 3 bedroom house with 3 bathrooms. We are lucky. Also, there is unlikely to be a repeat of that time we lived in the apartment w/1 bath, we both became ill and there was only one toilet. Ahem.

I do want to extend the back of our house for more space. But that's years down the line. Right now, I'm OK with the size, even as cluttered as it is. It just feels right (and um, hello?!, if I can't keep this size house clean, I certainly don't need a mini-mansion unless it comes w/a cleaning service).

 
At December 28, 2011 at 7:54 PM , Blogger Hilary said...

Wonderful posts. Beautiful pictures. Gorgeous family.

 

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