Home Makeover: Life House Edition

This last week we had a team here and their focus was to get things I have wanted (and things I had wished for and never thought would happen) done in the Life House. They were amazing and got so much accomplished.

I realized I have never really shared what the Life House looks like at all, so this post is not only to show off the makeover part, but also to be a tour. Sorry if you have wished to know this for a while and have had to wait in anticipation.

I'll start with what they didn't do. These pictures were taken at night and are pretty real life as to what the end of a long day looks like.

Here is the kitchen from near the door to the house

Here is another view from the other side of the island. Dishes are still drying, breakfast is out for the next day, we fit a lot into a little space as there isn't much room for storage. One thing the team did was build a shelf for under our island so we can store our pots and pans better. 

Here are the doors to the bathrooms. I didn't get too close-- 5 toddlers (plus three more for bathing) and 5 adults use these all day long so just use your imagination lol. You can see a basket of clean clothes to the left that should have been put away and our toy shelf to the right that should be more organized (its been added to the to-do list for a more improved toy shelf).

If you go more to the left you see another door where we store our food and cleaning supplies just before the fridge. To the right not too far is my bedroom door. I will also spare you from pictures of that because well, my mom might be on the next plane to scold me if she saw pictures of it ;) 

Now onto the makeover parts. 

This is our dining spot, in case you couldn't tell. The door to the house is to the right of this picture. Up until a couple months ago we had high chair tables that lined these walls. Those were super practical when 18 kids lived in the same house, but did not look very homey. Ever since I moved in I dreamed of everyone sitting at the same table inside. A bench was made against the wall a month or so ago, we traded our folding table for a longer one and got some chairs, and booster seats finally came this week. Now we can not only all eat together, but I do not have to tell the children to sit back down 1700 times each meal :) The artwork hanging on the IKEA rack was on the opposite wall, but it was relocated here. Also, all of this light teal color was painted this week. Part of my house is really really tall so painting this room is no easy task. 

Now the girls' room. It is Eric Carle themed and everything I have been pinning for over a year.

These were finger painted by each of my kids. We gave them paper and one color of paint and let it dry. After that it was cut out, drawn on, and then Mod Podged onto a hard canvas. I love that the kids' artwork is on the wall. 

The sun, the curtains, the caterpillar--its all so perfect :) Also, you will notice that each child had a stuffed anima on their bed. These are all from different Dr. Seuss books. I love it!

And now the boys' room. It is Dr. Seuss' room and also everything I've been pinning of over a year.

The Lorax, Oh the Places You will Go, The Cat in the Hat, Oh My! Also, so perfect! (In case you are wondering, the hot air balloon with orange is not quite done and we plan to move out the bed without a mattress). We also got bigger totes to hold the kids' clothes so our shelves were made a little bit bigger to fit those. Now our baskets aren't always over flowing. 

A few other houses had murals on their kids' bedroom walls and I was always jealous. I had wanted these two themed rooms for a while and we finally have them. 

This is all I thought they were going to do, but they kept on going. I have this little wall that has annoyed me. It is a support wall, so even though it is only a few feet long, it had to stay. My bedroom door is to the left and we use the room to the right as a storage room. We had a TV and a phone where the tree is now, but I never really knew how to use the spaces well or make them look nice. P.S. if you are one who cares, this picture and the picture of the kitchen with the island in it are taken from very close to the same spot, just opposite directions.

I had asked them to bring updated pictures of all of my kids and also family pictures of past kids and those waiting to bring their kids home. I wasn't sure how to display them all, but this was an idea and I loved it. After a lot of debating as to where to put it, we decided to move the TV and place it in this corner. It is beautiful and holds the pictures of people who I am forever connected with even though our paths cross for just a tiny part of their story. I never imagined my family tree looking like this, but I am so thankful for each and every one of the people on this tree (even the few I have never met). 

I had imagined having bookshelves in this little corner, but never mentioned it to anyone to have it done. This team brought me bookshelves (and several great books) and so we made a little reading nook under the relocated TV. This was only done on Friday and we have already made great use of it. I love books and I love sharing them with kids. I'm so glad we have a place specifically for books that is where kids can get them anytime they want.

So, there you have it. My house. I wasn't really that proud of it before, but now that it has this makeover and is so cute, I love it :) 

The past week I also got a fence put up around my yard (gates are still coming), new clothes lines, and a new swing set.

When things like this happen, it helps me remember that it takes a village to raise these children. When I need something fixed I call Joel, when a kid is sick I call Courtney, I can only care for all of these children with the help of our Haitian nannies, we can only provide the care we do with the help of our supporters, its teams like these that help us keep our place looking nice, and we cannot do anything without your prayers.

Thank you Joel, Amy, and the team from Kalamazoo (because I know you blog stalk) for all your hard work and thank you to all the rest of you who also make up our village so we can continue to care for these beautiful children. 

*Children of the Promise has given explicit permission for the posting of photos on this site. Photos taken of children in the care of Children of the Promise are not to be posted publicly without explicit permission given by Children of the Promise.