Making a Home a Home

My husband and I have lived in our current home for nearly two and a half years. It's a gorgeous old home, originally built in the 19th century, and we feel really blessed to be here.

Before we came here we had moved five times in five years. That's a lot of times.

We developed a slew of bad habits in all those moves. Disorganization. Making do. Organizing furniture... however. Not taking the time to make a home a home.

When you move five times in five years, you're too exhausted to do very much in the way of decorating or nesting.

I'm reminded of the scenes in the Chaim Potok book, Davita's Harp, where her parents pack up their apartment again and again, and the only things that remain constant are their door harp, always nailed to the back of the front door, and a painting of horses running on the beach, always hung above the master bed. Everything else just went wherever.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I got the, "No, we really live here" bug. While we don't know exactly what the next years hold for us (my husband will be finishing a PhD in the near future, and he'll be on the vocational hunt soon), we're hopeful that this will be our home for a long time to come.

It's resulted in two Ikea trips in two weeks (and we live an hour and a half away!), multiple runs to Lowe's and Target, some Craig's list perusing, and a lot of hammering, drilling, rearranging, and pondering.

Life's been busy at church, but somehow this home stuff has given me more energy.

It's time we made our house a home.

We're still fiddling, but when we get things settled I'll post a picture or two. In the meantime, I'd love some inspiration! Where do you go to find help in making a house a home? Resources are welcome!