"Living" in Our Living Room

I've had a few people ask me, "How does your house stay looking like that?" or "Does your house always stay that neat?", or "Where's all the clutter like shoes and papers and such?"

About a week ago, you saw pictures of my living room looking like this:



And that's really nice and I have to admit that I do like order. But....actually "living" in our home, it just naturally doesn't stay like that all the time. Sometimes I just tell myself that if I can have one room in order, I'm fine! Other days, I just pass by and tell myself tomorrow is another day!

When the kids were little, you might find kitchen chairs in here with blankets thrown over them as a tent, or baby dolls lined up across the floor in "school", but really I wouldn't want it any other way!

Now Colt is older, and although he doesn't bring the chairs in the living room to make tents and hideouts and clubhouses for his little friends, he does still rearrange a little bit. The other night (just a few nights after the nice neat decor pictures were taken), Colt had one of his buddies, Matt, over for the evening. They were playing the Wii (wrestling game). They needed comfortable chairs, so my living room got a temporary teenage boy makeover:



Notice Joy over on the couch! She was their audience laughing at every silly thing they did! Colt can make her laugh like no one else (he tells her she has a dolphin laugh so her nickname from him became Flipper). She laughed and hung with them as long as she could, bless her heart! She goes non-stop until she falls asleep where she is and this is a favorite spot....perched on the end of the couch next to the wall heater.



As much as I love decorating and having things in place, I know I'll cherish these memories and I don't mind the temporary mess! After all they are only THINGS and the kids grow up way too fast. So I'll take the clutter....and hang onto the memories! :)