A Year of DIYing

It's been a while since I'd written about our DIY projects and fixing up this old house we bought a year ago. Wow. It really is hard to believe twelve months have vaporized behind us-- a little longer, in fact.

But we've been doing a lot. Time slips by like that when you're excited about living your life. When I went back to dig up pictures of the house, I scrolled through the months of images saved on my computer and was stunned at how far we've come-- as a family first, and also on the work we've done on our home.

the boys at this time last year (right before moving)

• My boys turned 4 and 1 in this house.
• We hosted Christmas Eve for the first time here.
• We added a new dog to our family.

the boys about a month ago

• We met some new neighbors who have become friends.
• We learned how to lay tile, rewire lights, install faucets and molding, how to retexture ceilings and walls, and how to get help when we needed it.
• We developed a clearer style-- that's still evolving.

October of last year-- greener grass, but LOTS of overgrown landscaping that hid the house from the street

• Jeremy and I celebrated our 9th anniversary and started saving up for a trip to Italy for our 10th.
• We bought a new car.
• My baby took his first steps and said "Mama" right here in our living room.
• My four-year-old learned to ride a bike on this driveway and read his first book at the dining room table.

This year, Texas saw a terrible drought that took most of our grass with it. We did a lot of other yard work, though, removing about twenty giant palm trees that hid our house and harbored roaches.

The new front bed we put in this summer.

Jeremy and I enjoy the work we've devoted to making our formerly ugly house into a cozy, inviting home for our family. It's time we spend together and it's an investment into our future memories. The pride of accomplishment, of learning to mend an uncomfortable space into a family place, has been invaluable. I wouldn't trade it.

People always ask us, "Would you buy the house again, knowing all the work ahead of you?" Our answer is "Yes!" We have become better for it.

And we saved a fortune!