The other day, Gabe told me he was cold in his room, and wanted to use the coveted, best, furry, warm blanket from our family room to sleep with. He shares a room with Zach on the top floor of our house, but having a hundred year old house means that the heat doesn’t make it all the way up there (despite the fact that the entire house was completely updated and renovated about 12 years ago).

So, he used it and was just toasty, but I figured we needed to go get him a permanent blanket.

I went to the store to buy this one blanket, and came out with whole new bedding for him (he is getting older so his Nascar comforter was getting a little dated), four new blankets (one for him and three for our family room/tv watching snuggles), some kitchen stuff that we did actually need but I hadn’t gotten around buying and a great picture.

The picture and the extra blankets were completely frivolous items. However, I have been thinking about our house, and what we have in it that makes it really our home. Is it warm and inviting? Is it our favorite place to be? Is it a little bit of heaven? That’s what I want our home to be.

Slowly, but surely the house is coming together to make our home. We hung the picture in the kitchen and it looks perfect. I love that it is a constant reminder of the “rules” in our family. We actually just have 6 overall rules that really summarize everything – but are easy to remember (taken from a variation of the examples here and then adapted to our own): peace, order, asking, obedience, honesty, and respect. But this wall picture, sums up all the details embedded in our “rules” and I love it as a daily reminder.

Sorry the photo is blurry – took it on my iphone:

The blankets are now all spread around in various areas in the house to cuddle and snuggle with. I did have to go back to the store and buy a couple more – since Josh insisted that his room is freezing too and he has never had a blanket. He said “It would make my life so much better”. (Because somehow right now his life is hard??) Zach’s argument was easy – if Gabe needs one, then he does too since they share a room.

I took Josh to go choose a blanket and he found one. It’s so cute how passionate he is about everything. He chose one and was so excited and proud to bring it to the cash register. The cashier even laughed at him as he was holding it like it was his dearest treasure. He opened it up in the car and cuddled it and gave it a name: Fluffy Buns. That night, he carefully covered himself with it and snuggled and thanked me for the awesome gift. This morning, he carefully folded it when he was making his bed and put it in a “special spot”.

All this to say, it is amazing the little things that really can make your home feel more welcoming, and warm and fuzzy. It doesn’t take much for the whole space to feel “good”. A good picture with uplifting and inspirational words, and a couple of cozey blankets have made our home just a little bit closer to that heaven I’m aiming for:)