A Trip That Did My Heart Good!

It had been a   l o n g   time since we had visited our Kati and her sweet family! 

Life has changed and responsibilities have changed and that is what is necessary in this season. It is what we do. But although Kati and Andrew and the children have visited us two or three times each year, we had not been able to visit them on their turf since 2022! We had never seen their new home (they moved in 2023), and the children were too young to have even remembered our last visit. 

So you can imagine how delighted we were to finally be able to head south and see our dear ones! Many details . . . much planning . . . and the kindness of the Lord! 

These two sweethearts greeted us as we pulled into their driveway . . . 

Ellie (4) and Caleb (5)

. . . and we spent the next days having the most wonderful time together! A kid-guided tour of their charming house, hanging out, catching up, going to Andrew's parents' home for a lovely lunch, house projects, an outdoor tour of their property, coffee, delicious meals shared around their table, coffee shops, a trip to the city, eating southern foods, antique shops, a bookstore, and, of course, being enthralled by Caleb and Ellie! 

It did my mama-heart good to see our dear ones in their own place, seeing their rhythms and how they live, experiencing their favorite coffee shops, shopping at some of their favorite stores, seeing them as an established family unit. 

It also did my mama-heart good to see my Kati living the life she had always wanted: happily married and homeschooling her children. I looked around and saw evidence of her homemaking skills, collections of beautiful children's books, and this vignette. 

Nestled among some parenting and homeschooling books was a "Morning Time" candle and a framed Charlotte Mason quote, "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life." 

Yes, it was a wonderful trip and I returned home with a full heart! 

House Project Goals for 2026

 
In this post, I told you about the projects we were able to complete in 2025. 

And these are the projects that we're planning for 2026. 

Goal #1: 
Wall/electrical mini projects 
If there is a large indoor project in a year's plans, we try to begin that project in January so that we can make progress while spending more time inside. This year, however, there was no large indoor project so we gathered some mini projects to take us through the winter months. 

• Remove phone jacks (two in the living room, one in the kitchen, one in a bedroom) and patch wall.
  
• Replace some light switches with white ones; replace switch plates with wooden ones.
• Replace two three-toggle switch plates with wooden ones.
• Lower an outlet in the kitchen.
• Add an outlet for charging hand-held vacuum in small closet.

Goal #2: 
Paint linen closet
You can tell that we have accomplished many of our major house goals, because our indoor projects this year seem small-ish. The linen closet has not been painted since we moved in; it remains the shade of green that was once in the living room and dining room (you can catch a peek ~ here ~). We are going to paint the inside white.  

Goal #3: 
Install exhaust fan in main/guest bathroom
I'm not sure why this has never been done, but this is the year.  

Goal #4: 
Replace the rails at back door
A few years ago, we refreshed the outside of our house. One of the things we did was replace the wrought iron rails on the front stoop with Chippendale rails. This year, Ron plans to build Chippendale rails on the back stoop. 

Goal #5: 
Put an outlet on the patio
Ron would like to have an outdoor outlet on the patio . . . for a lamp, or his electric ice cream freezer, or ?? 

Goal #6: 
Build Chippendale surround for HVAC unit
What? I thought we were doing a "top 5." Well, yes, but we tacked another one on this year's priority list. While Ron is building Chippendale rails for the back stoop, we thought it would be a good time to make a matching surround for our HVAC unit. It will create a much prettier view from the street. 

So those are our goals for the year. A few have already been completed! We'll keep moving ahead, doing what we can while remaining flexible, making our house a home. 

Do you have any house projects in mind for the coming year? I'd love to hear about them! 

Gathering the Moments | January 2026

January was a study in contrasts. 

❄️ The first part of the month was people-y and busy.

Seven-year-old grandson Judah came for a day of games, shopping, and treats!

Mom, Ron, and I went out of town for a belated birthday celebration with my sister Linda. (It wasn't Frank's birthday, but he was definitely a part of the celebration. 😻)

🎄 Lunch was Christmas. 🎄         🎂 Dessert was Birthday. 🎂

This was the year that grandchild #10, Macie, turned 10 years old!

Tenth birthdays are special! When a grandchild turns 10, she (or he)  receives 10 birthday gifts and a Papa-made box, engraved with her name, for her treasures. 

Our son-in-law Brian has a birthday just a few days after Macie's, so they shared the celebration!

After all of the festivities, we put away Christmas, but before it went up the attic, Ron cut off all of the "pre-lit" nonsense from our Christmas tree. None of the original lights were working. Next year, we can put on lights without putting them on over the non-working ones. 

A simple look in winter is fine, but I still like a little extra light to brighten dark winter evenings. Battery operated candles on a timer are just right. 

One more Bible study before life slowed down for a spell . . . 

❄️ The second part of the month was recovery, rest, and restoration. 

I had surgery and was laid low for a bit. But I was well taken care of by my primary nurses, Ron and Bekah, and  was well-loved by many. Sweet family and friends checked on me, sent cards, made meals, stepped in to cover my regular duties, and, most importantly, prayed for me. 

A few weeks of rest were most welcome. And they came during all of that snow and ice and cold. Good timing, huh? I am slowly easing into my routine, praising God for successful surgery and a good outcome! 

At the end of January, we got a FaceTime call one morning from a sweet five-year-old who had lost his first tooth! And even though Caleb is grandchild #13, it is his first tooth to come out and so we are excited right along with him!

(Similar thoughts in this post I wrote in 2011.)

I hope my grandchildren will always call me with good news, knowing that I will rejoice with them! 

January is a month for reflection and contemplation. 

As I have done both, these words from Psalm 90 have brought me comfort and fortitude: 

        Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. 

        Before the mountains were brought forth, 

        Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, 

        Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. 

House Projects Completed | 2025

It was a big year for house projects! 

At the beginning of each year, Ron and I sit down with pencil and paper and discuss the house projects that we'd like to accomplish in the coming year. We actually list everything that we would like to do in the future (that list is long!) and then choose a top five for the current year. 

This is flexible.  If we finish the top five, we can choose something else. If one of the five doesn't happen for some reason or another, we can substitute . . . or just not accomplish it all. Sometimes there may be a bit of time in which we can fit a smaller project so we'll go ahead and do that. Or sometimes our priorities change during the year. The main thing is that we keep moving forward with our vision and keep chipping away at our goals. 

Here were our top five house-y goals for 2025!
(Spoiler alert: One of them did not get done.) 

Goal #1: 
Gut Pink Bathroom ✅

I'm not sure why we listed this one as a separate project, because we certainly wouldn't gut a space without the intention of making something new out of it, but we did indeed gut that bathroom. A part of me hated to eliminate this little half bath because it was quite handy when we had guests. But we have guests several weeks out of the year, and we do laundry 52 weeks out of the year. That fact made the decision clear. 

There was still a bit of demo to go in this photo, but I missed taking one of the completely gutted room. 

Goal #2
Convert Pink Bathroom to Laundry Closet ✅

Ron began the pink bathroom demo in mid January, and by the end of April, we were doing laundry!

In that time, he removed a window (and patched the siding outside), ran plumbing for the washer, put in a 220 outlet for the dryer, hung all new drywall, finished it, and painted it. We had the man who tiled our master bathroom lay the tile floor of the laundry closet. 

(Disclaimer: The space is small and tight, and my photography skills are not the best, so my photos are a bit distorted and the colors are not true.)

Ron installed this overhead light. 

We found a narrow rolling cart at HomeGoods on which to put laundry supplies.

I put my old floor cloth  down for a little color. 

Since we had removed the half bath that was so helpful for company, we decided to add peg racks in the laundry closet for guests to hang towels, cosmetic bags, etc.  (All of the bathrooms in our house are small, so the overflow storage is helpful.) 

We have a laundry area in our basement, but having a laundry closet on the main floor is game-changing. I love having this easily accessible space, and so does Bekah (who loathes the camel crickets in our basement). This new laundry space is tiny, but it has all that we need. 

Goal #3
Build a Patio ✅ 

This project was something that Ron really wanted to do! It has been on our list for several years, but 2025 was the year that it made the top 5. The previous year, we had had the back steps into the sunroom extended (to accommodate the double French doors that we had put in the sunroom), so that meant that we could go ahead with laying a patio. 

Ron relocated  some plants, we selected and ordered our bricks, and the work began! 

After the last brick was laid on the patio, Ron laid a brick sidewalk leading to the driveway. 

We chose some furniture for the patio, a teak table and chairs and a couple of benches, and we planted a boxwood hedge around the border.

Goal #4
Paint living room, dining room, hallway, and basement stairway ✅

We painted the living room, dining room, and hallway the first year that we moved into Pineapple House (the basement stairway came later). I chose a neutral color, Linen White by Olde Century Colors, and it was a good choice while we made changes to the house and slowly filled it with things that we loved. A stronger color would have been limiting. But nine years later, we were ready to go bolder and we painted it all Copley Gray by Benjamin Moore. No regrets! We love the moodiness of the color . . . and its colonial-ness too! :)

Ron picked up his paintbrush as soon as he retired and got to work in the living room. We had hoped to have it finished by the end of September when we were having guests, and we made that deadline. 

The painting continued in October as Ron and I (mostly Ron) painted the dining room . . . 

and then the hallway with its seven doors! 

By the end of October, the basement stairwell was also painted, and the job was done!  

Goal#5
Paint Bekah's closet 

This project was the smallest on the list, but it didn't get done. In fact, when we made our 2026 list, Bekah said that she really didn't want it done this year either so we will defer it to another time. 

It is hard for me to believe, but we will have lived in Pineapple House for ten years this spring! We have made many changes, some big, some small. We are running out of big projects (that's good!), but we have a top five selected for this year. I'll tell you about our 2026 list soon.