J Cooper Photography

Having a house is a blessing.  I know sometimes we tend to stress out about house related projects.  What color should we paint the trim?  Where should we purchase our new sofa? etc.  But for MANY people across the globe…just a simple shelter…mud…twigs…tin…it’s a huge blessing.  I’ve seen it with my own eyes.   The pride of ownership overflowing in a humble taxi driver in Ethiopia.  He was so proud of his mud hut with its lone hanging light bulb that he asked us to come for a coffee ceremony.   And yet WE feel like we somehow deserve more.

After the freakishly huge hail that battered our house in April we have the blessing of insurance paying for a new roof, new gutters, new windows, and all new siding.  IT IS A BLESSING.  At least that is my mantra this week.  When the siding went on the WRONG direction…”this is a blessing”.  When the workers killed our grass…”this is a blessing”.  When the windows came in the wrong color….”this is a blessing”.  And today.  When the crew RAN OUT OF THE CUSTOM COLOR SPECIAL ORDER siding….”this is a BLESSIN”G.  As you can tell…I’ve been chanting this a lot this week.  HA!  (I’ve been an emotional train wreck)

I don’t deserve this pretty new house.  No one owes me anything.  So why am I so bent out of shape at the inconvenience of it all?  (gulp)

I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to find my “happy place” this week after a slew of unfortunate events and it has me thinking about where I find my joy.  Is it circumstantial?  Or is my hope in something bigger?  And does the siding REALLY matter anyway?

{a happy little spot in my kitchen…added a few aprons via Home Goods and Matilda Jane to brighten things up}

{a new-to-me giant bird cage in my family room bookshelves}

There’s no doubt that I LOVE to putter around my house…go thrifting…paint…decorate.   {And those shelves have always been a challenge…so tall and deep!}  But when I gauge the success of the week by my completed house projects, I know I’ve crossed the line.  And this week they definitely got the best of me.  Can I get a do over?