old country house blog

Marking Time

...previously on “MY OLD COUNTRY HOUSE”, I introduced you to the newest member of our family
household decor, my new Swedish Grandfather Clock. He is set to arrive mid August and I am torn as to where he will live.

I only know one thing for sure, where ever he starts, he will not stay there.


     And speaking of time…I was reading one of my favorite blogs this AM Thrifty Decor Chick
She has a lovely post today, reminiscing about her recent family vacation away from the daily grind and her renewed appreciation for her little family and how in an effort to capture these precious moments…she just started “measuring time” by marking the wall, at the height of her child. I love that she shared the start of this sweet tradition with us.Her blog is so personal and that is what I love. Getting to know her, and how she does it all, from her unique perspective. 


     We too have a “measuring wall”, which we began when our firstborn son, Tate, was one year old. I think that this little wall is one of those combined facets of home ownership and child rearing, that, while it takes minimal time to accomplish, is invaluable and will have priceless meaning over time.


Tate, our first born,
was born in 1996,
this is the first mark,
“Tate at one year”



      In 2004, 
we moved from our “First house” 
to OUR Old Country House
and we brought this strip of moulding with us!
I put a coat of varnish over it recently
to protect the writing.
I never want to lose the marking of time….



…over time it has gotten quite full
cousins and sometimes even friends
visit and put their measurements
but mostly it is just our little family 
our special thing


recently…in one year,
 Tate grew about 7 inches
…and passed his Dad!…

…some things cannot be measured, like, how deep your love is for your family or how big your heart grows when they come into your lives. There is no way to measure how much they mean to you.


So, we do these little things, like taking little snapshots, in an effort to freeze time. The kids still grow up, and eventually out, but every time I look at our measuring wall, I am reminded of where we began, how teeny they were, how fast it goes and how precious each mark is.

My Motto right now (some of it borrowed) is:
Seize the day. Don’t look too far ahead, unless airplane reservations are needed.  Be in the here and now. It is really truly all you have. Right now. And when you really live in THIS moment, there are NO worries, because the things that NEED to get done,  You will be ready for them. With 3 kids, this seems counter intuitive. But I do write things down, and then really, I forget them until the day arrives and then I show up where I need to be. I plan less and less and live more and more. It is NOT easy. And yes, sometimes I fail miserably, but it is not supposed to be perfect. It is just life. And Living.



now…can we all pray for a cool down, this heat is really cramping my here and now!