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Creating a Meaningful Home: Beneath My Heart

CREATING A MEANINGFUL HOME blog series featuring Bloggers sharing the story of their home: FEATURED is Traci of Beneath My Heart - a MUST READ story!

Today’s guest post for Creating a Meaningful Home blog series: Year 3 is Traci of Beneath My Heart.  Welcome Traci…

Hey there!  I am so glad to be here to talk about creating a meaningful home today because it’s has been on my heart a LOT lately.

It’s something that has been churning in my heart all summer.  Ya see, I am the mom of four boys (whom I adore!)

family

And for five weeks this past summer, our family had the amazing blessing of hosting an orphan from Eastern Europe.  She is eight years old (the same age as my youngest) and is the sweetest little thing you will ever meet.  (I would love to show you her adorable face, but it is against her country’s hosting guidelines.)

Because I wanted to be fully present while she was here and enjoy our time together as a family, I spent less time on my blog and blog projects.

After 6 years of being a DIY Home blogger, it was a much needed break.  And deep in my heart, I knew this little girl didn’t need a beautiful bedroom (although I did have fun decorating it for her!) or pinterest-worthy tablescapes, or inspiring how-to projects to do……she just needed a family.  

Bedroom Makeover by Beneath My Heart

I wanted her time with us to be meaningful.

As I thought about what makes a meaningful home, the word that kept coming to my mind was MOMENTS. 

Moments make a meaningful home.

My mom loved to decorate our home growing up, and it always looked meticulous…..but that is not what made home so meaningful to me.  It was the moments I spent with my family in our home that I remember most.

Sitting around the dinner table talking about our day.

Waking up in the morning to the smell of fresh biscuits cooking in the oven and eggs and bacon in the frying pan.

Sitting on the couch with my dad watching football.

Being tucked in at night with a prayer and a kiss on the forehead.

It makes my eyes fill up with tears just thinking about it now.  My mom passed away six years ago, and boy do I miss my moments with her!

I remember when she passed, I could hardly walk into her kitchen without it taking my breath away.  I felt so close to her in that space.  You see, my mom LOVED to cook.  It was her way of loving on her family and creating moments to cherish.  Her kitchen wasn’t always spotless, but it was filled with goodness and love.

Kitchen Makeover by Beneath My Heart{kitchen makeover}

As much as I loved renovating our kitchen and how much fun I have decorating it throughout the seasons, that is not what I want my boys to remember about me or our home.  I want them to remember feeling LOVED when they walk into the kitchen.  I want them to remember the moments we shared around the table.

Dining Room Makeover by Beneath My Heart{Dining Area Makeover}

We are in the process of adopting our sweet little girl, and we are praying that she will be back home with us before Christmas.  As we prepare our home for her arrival, my heart is focusing not on how our home looks, but how it feels to her.  I look forward to spending many moments with her, laughing, hugging, crying, dreaming, and just being a family.  Something she has never had but desperately needs.  Truthfully, those moments are what we ALL need to make our homes and lives meaningful.

Thank you, Jenna, for inviting me to be a part of this series.  Thank you for helping me write down in a post what has been written  on my heart by God…

Moments are what make a meaningful home. 

Blessings,

Traci

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That’s it… “Moments make a meaningful home”!  Simple, but true.  I love Traci’s story because she’s so real and speaks from the heart.  I am so happy that she had a life-changing Summer with her beautiful foster child (who hopefully she will be able to adopt)!

One of my favorite projects of Traci’s is the industrial bookcase using plumbing pipes she made for her son’s room…  Plus she added a brick backdrop and it’s so cool – I totally want to do it for an upcoming project!

DIY: Industrial Shelves using plumbing pipes by Beneath My Heart

Head on over to Beneath My Heart, and give Traci a BIG HELLO!

Check out all the Bloggers that have contributed to this series on
Creating a Meaningful Home

Plus don’t miss out on all the previous Bloggers who contributed to this series in 2013 and 2014!