Tour of Our House :)

I've seen some fellow bloggers posting 'house tours', so I thought I'd join in on the fun. Here's a tour of our house. It's not always quite this tidy, but it got a good cleaning this weekend. Enjoy!

FRONT ENTRYWAY

Here's our entry way. The dividing wall to the right will eventually get a white, wood top. Things get placed on this wall all the time, the dog has been known to put her paws on it when she greets company and for some reason, it's always dirty no matter how many times I wipe it down or coat it with paint. It definately serves a good purpose though.

I got this right after we moved into this house. I had done some serious praying over our new home when we first moved in and felt moved when I saw this and just had to buy it.

We bought this mail organizer at IKEA and labeled the three pockets for "Judy's mail" (Rob's mom who is ministering in another country right now, but gets her mail here), "To Keep" mail and "Today's Mail". It helps keep us organized.

The two small pictures are from IKEA, but the one in the middle is actually a photo Rob took when we vacationed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming when I was four months pregnant with our first child, Avonlea. The hooks by the front door are used for jackets, purses, diaper bags, baby wearing carriers, etc.

LIVING ROOM

more living room...our bookshelf is bursting at the seams and after we have our garage sale in the future, it will be more organized. I just have to figure out what needs to go and what needs to stay, but be better organized.

DINING ROOM

dining room...yes those are seedlings on the windowsill. :) There's always something growing there. A few weeks ago, they lined the entire windowsill as well as our ironing board. Rob and the kids don't mind. It's fun to watch things grow.

HOMESCHOOL

above our homeschool shelf...photo boxes

homeschool shelf

MAKIN' MUSIC

I can't technically claim this beauty as ours. It's actually Robbie's mom's. It's a baby grand piano and both Rob and his mom play it beautifully. The kids play it all the time and I don't think I could ever live in a house without one. The great thing is that it's always being played.

BACKYARD

Our chicken coop

garden, fire pit and compost bins

sitting area...we were working the day I took this photo, so things aren't exactly 'in place', but you get the idea.

playground

shed...we keep hay and lawn and garden equiptment in here as well as some storage and Rob's tools. The big pole sticking out of the ground on the left has a hook at the top and is where I hook up our drying line for clothes/diapers, etc. I have a retractable line and I love that I can put it away and get it out only when it's needed.

KITCHEN

I love how open our kitchen is to the living room. I can be cooking or washing dishes and watch the baby scooting around or watching tv with the kids.

This is the food pantry and I keep some papers up on it for scheduling purposes as well as our "If Then Chart" for discipline. You can find "The If Then" chart at Doorposts.com.

MASTER BEDROOM

Our master bedroom. It's small, but cozy. It's got a great view of the backyard and I can fold laundry while watching the kids play on the playground.

MASTER BATHROOM

Our master bathroom. Again, small, but cozy. It's just enough for the two of us to share. The shower is to the left.

HALLWAY

Artwork in our hallway. We got these lines at IKEA (of coarse) and it keeps the kids' artwork displayed as well as in one place.

Our linen closet and cleaning supplies closet. I also keep sewing supplies in here. Didn't think to open it and take a picture. Oops. Avonlea has been working on self control lately and she can place a smiley face around her picture when she's showing self control.

Each one of our children get their picture taken once a year around their birthday. I got this idea from a friend...getting their pictures taken with a number to tell how old they are. Sears does this, but since we got our new camera, I'm trying to think of a new, creative idea to do it myself. Somehow, I have to make a number out of something. Any ideas?

Here are Lincoln's photos from 6 months to 2 years. Norah doesn't have a wall yet. Need to work on that.

Here's our growth chart that I made. I got this idea from a friend who got one from Pottery Barn. I made this myself for roughly $12.00. The frames next to it are from the kids' dedication days at church.

KIDS'/GUEST BATHROOM

The kids' bathroom/guest bathroom...I got these letters and hooks a week or so ago, painted them and put them on the wall for the kids to keep their towels up where they can reach.

AVONLEA'S ROOM

The kitchen set and washer/dryer get lots of use while 'playing house'. I recently bought some curtains to put on a valance to close up this closet area when not in use. I can't wait to hang them up. I'll try to remember to post a photo when they're up. Avy also loves playing dollhouse and dress up. The dark basket is for her shoes.

Here is Avy's bed. Norah will eventually move into this room and sleep on the bottom bunk, moving Avonlea to the top. She does enjoy sleeping on the top from time to time and can't wait to share her room with her baby sister. I remember sharing a room with my sisters while growing up and loved it. We stayed up late giggling and chatting, reading with flashlights, etc. It was like a slumber party every night, except when we were being too noisy and mom or dad would come in and quiet us down. I hope our girls can have the same closeness and friendship.

Here is Avonlea's bookcase and dresser. We recently got rid of a large bookcase in her closet and moved her 4 pink boxes to her bookcase. We cleaned out some books that weren't of intest to us and had more space. The dark basket is for records (we do have a kids' record player and they love dancing along or reading a 'read along' book with it). The box next to it is for library books only.

dolly strollers, swing, bed and dolls

LINCOLN'S ROOM

The Linkster

ball basket, bookshelf, Norah :)

dresser top and frames

Organized toys by pictures on the drawers. Lincoln has been able to clean his own room by himself for the past few months and he's TWO. I never thought it could be done, but toy organization is worth it! Sometimes, he needs help and some coaxing, but most of the time, he is fully capable to clean his own room himself.

This box urkes me, but every kid needs a miscellaneous toy box, I guess. I've tried organizing these toys, we clean it out all the time, but it remains.

NORAH'S ROOM

Norah's crib (each of the kids have slept in it, plus my 5-year-old niece) The bedding is from IKEA (we never shop there!) and we got a gender-neutral set because we wanted to be surprised.

A dear church friend gave us this wicker rocker when we were pregnant with Avonlea. She had rocker both of her children in it and now they're both grown and married. We're using it now and love it. Sometimes, I like to turn it towards the bed and put my feet up when nurse Norah. It's quite comfy! :)

baby toys

changing table and drawers. I organize the clothing drawers (green) as such...top drawer: 3-6 months, middle drawer: 6-9 months and bottom drawer: 9-12 months.

Fun friends, baby monitor and this frog 'thing' holds burp cloths and other odds and ends.

LAUNDRY

laundry area in our garage...I'd like to enclose it someday to be an actual room with an ironing board, sewing 'nook' and paint on the walls, but all in good time. For now, it serves it's purpose and that's all we truly need. The orange pail is for cloth diapers, the white cabinet is for laundry supplies and you can't see our large tub of homemade laundry detergent, but it's there.

Hope you've enjoyed the tour of our home. Now it's YOUR TURN. Do a tour of your home and let me know, so I can share with other fellow bloggers!