Welcome To The Heart Of My Home

My friend over at The Great Adventure recently posted a lovely piece about her kitchen, and, inspired by the wonderful things she had to say, I've been thinking a little bit lately about my own kitchen. It's not fancy, but what it lacks in class it more than makes up for in comfort and charm.

I think my favorite thing about my kitchen is the nostalgic mix of old and new. The table we eat at every day is one my grandparents bought from their landlord in Chicago during their early years of marriage in the early 1950's. He didn't know exactly how old it was at that time, but knew that it had been around for a good while. The cabinet that sits beside it is one that my late uncle crafted with his own hands, and holds my best serving dishes, my favorite framed picture of The Last Supper, and, in the bottom drawers and cabinets, assorted coloring books, puzzles, crayons, and other craft supplies for the kids. It is a vital piece of our home, one with which I feel honored to have been blessed.

Another thing I love about my kitchen is its ample counter space, perfect for crafts, cooking, serving, and baking. I have fond memories of spending the early part of labor with each of my girls in the kitchen...baking cookies with Dylan while waiting for Caitlyn, and preparing for a holiday dinner party when I started preterm labor with Meghan. (She arrived exactly one month before her due date, surprising all of us just in time for Christmas!) The bar stools are a particularly nice feature when the kids are wanting to help, or for while I'm watching Darren perform his culinary magic in the kitchen! The lamp at the end of the counter is a relatively new acquisition, given to us by Darren's mom and step-dad during our recent trip to Amarillo. It was fashioned years ago by Darren's grandpa, and now, although our kids will never know their great-grandfather, his light will live on in our home.

The window above my sink just makes me smile. The stained glass rooster is one that Darren surprised me with a couple years ago because he saw it and just couldn't wait for an appropriate gift giving holiday (I love that about my husband...his spontaneous gift giving, for no other reason than that he loves me!).

The roosters who rule my kitchen came about in a sweet way four years ago, when I decided to host a 25th birthday party for myself not long after we had moved into our home. My best friend presented me with this whimsical fellow, and it was love at first sight! My collection has expanded considerably since then, but I'll always love him best.

My kitchen really is the heart of our home. Its bay window floods us with warm sunlight, and provides us with views of our backyard and mountains and trees and the rest of our growing community. We've considered relocating to a bigger house, one with more bedrooms to accommodate our family size, but so far, none of the other kitchens we've seen could ever rival the simple one we have right now, where we're nurturing happy memories and making new ones every day.