What You See is What You Get….Sometimes!

I was looking at our kitchen the other day.  It certainly won’t make it in to a magazine anytime soon!  There are no stainless steel appliances, no dishwasher, the oven is at least 25 years old.  The cabinets have mismatched paint and the linoleum has seen better days.  The can opener, toaster, and microwave all came from a thrift store.

Here is the sight I saw when I got up this morning.  My wonderful husband, Michael, cooking breakfast with our children!

From a just a photo, others could never see the things that I see.  Our kitchen is the hub of our home.  Literally!  The dining room turned schoolroom and bedroom spoke off to the left.  The living room off to the right.  Our one bathroom is here off the kitchen.  Yes, you heard right!  One bathroom for nine people, but we make do!  The stairs going up to where four of the children sleep are located in the kitchen.  And off the back of the kitchen is the laundry area and another bedroom.  Yes, it’s a small house!

But I love our kitchen!  It’s where we've had friends over, celebrated birthdays, played games, done schoolwork, and Michael and I can talk over a cup of coffee.  My kids “bond” as they share the chore of washing dishes, and I have begun teaching Kara how to cook.  On one wall is the bench that Michael made so that our growing family could all fit around the table and share our meals together.  My grandmother's paintings hang on the walls.  I wouldn't trade this for anything!

So just remember, "what you see is what you get" may require looking beneath the surface just a bit.  No dishwasher means that we spend time doing that chore together.  I don't worry about new appliances needing to stay polished and looking like new.  We may not have a lot of things in the way of modern conveniences....or maybe up-to-date ones anyway..., but what we've gained is so much more!