Cultured Spaces

Reese called late the other night and asked me to take photos of these 5 specific spaces, as they are (shown below) of our house and text them to her. Then she had me find and send the pics above. I learned later they were for an assignment where she needed to describe how the design of her space affected the culture in her upbringing. Later, she sent me design boards for her and Logan’s future apartment and thanked me for being intentional about her environment. When we talked she said, “you filled our world with the arts and every space was welcoming and encouraged creativity. There were books and art and musical instruments in every room. Even a recorder and a thumb piano.” 

 

She also pointed out how they always had lamps to keep them reading more, and art that depicted love, inclusion, perseverance, peace, family, and the Savior. 

I love her perspective and I look at these photos and I think her assessment of our home culture is pretty spot on. One of the missionaries I gave a haircut to a couple weeks ago picked up the guitar in the kitchen and began to play. When asked who plays, I realized no one living here really plays well. I can hack a few songs and read tabs, but thats not why the guitar is in the dining room. “You do! Share your talent with us.” And he played and sang while I trimmed his comp’s hair. 

1 Peter 4:8-10 are verses I think about when I consider the design and culture in my home. 

8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging⁠.

10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Love, welcome, serve. 

There are so many ways to use our homes to do this. 

I aim for Willardson hospitality that overflows with Christlike love. I want to teach my children that we use our gifts to minister in a way that everyone who comes inside feels like a better version when they leave. I want my hospitality to be inviting and inclusive, and to encourage intellectual growth and creativity. Some of those top pics are like 14-15years old. Maybe it’s the teacher in me, but I really have tried to keep books and art within reach from day one. Even the bedding in the blue nursery was alphabet letters and the little willow tree figurines are sculpted depictions of love and nurturing.

When we rebuilt the house, some of my choices for fixtures were popular and everything was whitewashed in an attempt to neutralize it for an eventual resale. We did not plan on staying long after moving back in. 

Then Covid. Then a battle for adoption rights. 

I still stalk Zillow regularly, and when it’s time to go, I know I will know. 

We’ve slowly personalized corners and walls inside and it’s no longer real estate neutral. 

I think if/when we ever do move, I won’t bother too much trying to remove every personal touch or detail from the spaces. Hot take, I know, but I think it’s completely ok for a potential buyer to come inside and say, “a teenager lives here. A toddler lived here.” There is room for learning, eating, gathering, snuggling, and please let there be singing here. 

It’s a feast for my eyes, music to my ears, abd a hug for my heart. 

Sloane’s Snow Day Blind Bags

 

London and Hazel S got my girls into making “blind bags” at a play date over the summer. It’s a little paper pouch filled with mini things in the same theme, all from paper. They are so cute and creative. Sloane made a junk food themed one yesterday.  She made one for me today. It is cat themed because of course it is. 

I love the details. Each miniature has something special about it. A part that moves,  pull tab or pop up feature, or it is stuffed with battling and 3 dimensional. I got a lasagne/cat, a cookie jar cat, a cat eyeing a can of sardines, and a sardine skeleton with a pull the tab that reveals an uneaten fish with a paw on it. 

Snowmaggeddon 2026: still going

Today’s snowman came with a six pack of snow abs 😂

 It’s Thursday and school is still canceled. I really have nothing to complain about with this set up, because the ice was minimal and many roads cleared up quickly enough this time that Aaron was able to get out to get to work, and the boys have been able to go to enough social things to still be delightful during long stretch, stretches at home.

I ventured out for the first time yesterday and took Soren and the triple threat to the fitness center to swim. The pool was super warm and actually felt amazing, and the kids got their zoomies out and I swim some laps around them. 

Arts and crafts are getting a bit weird and more creative. 

I ran 3 cautious miles on tired legs, dodging patches on Primrose lane that still looked iffy. I joined the family duo lingo account and started Spanish. I helped Sloane catch up on packets of math and literacy homework, I made a training schedule for the Bentonville half marathon, I made roasted veggie and chicken sausage links lunch for my parents at their house today. And continuing my January quest to rotate and use up stuff from the freezer, I heated some sweet barbacoa pork for dinner and served it with a blackened corn salsa from frozen corn, peppers, and onions, frozen cauliflower rice, black beans, a homemade spicy cilantro ranch dressing, and fresh avocados, tomatoes, and spinach salad. Aaron loaded his plate, glanced in the fridge, and said “How do you make dinner out of nothing?!” 

Not nothing. We are an ingredient house. No apologies about it. 

Every “set aside for a rainy day” past present or activity has been busted into. 

Even this snowman looks a little tired. School is back in session tomorrow, and just in time because I have a handful of appointments scheduled. Back to our regular pace and overbooked lives. This week was heavenly. 

Sentimental

Reese and I have a running joke that she is her own maid of honor, and that she’s doing a killer job. She really is, though. She is organized, easy to please, and very grateful. And she gets things done. One project Reese has me working on with her is editing copies of photos of her and Logan from ages 1 to 21, so they are cropped portrait style and in sepia tones for their reception tables. I really love how sentimental Reese is. She loves traditions and familiarity. She wants her wedding decor to be pretty, affordable, and practical. After the reception, the photos will all go into a little album so their posterity can see what their parents looked like at each age. Here are pics of her and Logan on their first birthdays. Below is a screenshot from a FaceTime with her where she showed me a bin of flower petals. She has dried and saved the petals from all the flowers Logan has given her. She’s going to have the little girls throw them as Reese and Logan leave their wedding reception. I just love so much that it’s “their” flowers. I also love her frugal mindset that realized buying flower petals is absurd when she has some available for free. 

 

Snowmageddon 2026: what day is it?

 Aaron has ventured out to work, and taken the boys to hang out at Georgias and Deans on his way. Corbin took himself to work and then Ammon’s for boys night after. Parker O brought Soren home and came in for a surprise visit. It’s my favorite when “my kids” come home for a kitchen counter catch up! 

The little guys and I have played a LOT the past few days. I’ve planned a lot of wedding things on the phone with Reese, Soren and I have put in some treadmill miles, we’ve been up to Lady’s house, done crafts, had way better scripture study than we get away with during non-snow days, played 1, 2, Switch, made swig crinkle knock off cookies (spoiler: they are NOT THE SAME), had some incredible home cooked meals (I made a beef and broccoli stir fry for dinner tonight, and a breakfast casserole yesterday for lunch, a cauliflower cheese soup and a homemade bean soup that were all delicious. And we are still on the bacon cheeseburger salad kick from summertime so we made those one day, too. 

I love snow week. I spend so many hours a day in my car that it feels like I have a whole second life when we get to just be home together. It was sunny and “warm” (read: above freezing) today, so the littles and I hauled up several wheelbarrow loads of dry firewood to the porch. 

Our labors have paid off. It was a toasty 74* in the house. There are gloves and hats and snow bibs as coats and scarves everywhere. Thats a Thursday problem. Tomorrow we will start a new puzzle, continue duo lingo wars, and read Little Women. 

I had planned to take the kids to the cheap movie to see zootooia 2 this afternoon, but the van is still just buried enough that when I got the shovel out, the kids suggested we bake cookies and rent it instead. These are my people. I love to get out. I also really truly love being home. Especially long enough to doze off under a blanket by the fire listening to an audio book. I mean that’s perfection right there. 

There’s so much heavy heartbreaking in the news. Within these walls, life feels simple and good. 

Snowmageddon 2026: Day 2

 

On Snow Day 2 we woke up to a lot more snow! We watched the youth devotional as a family for home worship, and Aaron had a family mandated quiet time for personal study. That part went over better for some than others. 

Aaron kept our fire roaring all day. Im so glad I had the kids bring up little loads of firewood to the front porch all week. Every time we bring in an armload from through the front door I’m thankful we don’t have to hike down through the snow drift to our firewood supply behind the house. 

My favorite thing about s snow covered house is that I can’t see that the Christmas lights are still in the roof. 

Snowmageddon 2026: Day 1

 We woke up to a winter wonderland outside. Don’t be deceived, this is not the fluffy play time snow. It’s not sticky. It’s like a bad snow substitute. It is an icy, low carb, sugar free, gluten free diet version of snow that no one likes. And it’s -2 outside. 

Corbin was feeling jealous that his Bentonville boys had all managed to gather at one house to play. They called to invite, not realizing the impossibility of Corbin driving out of our street today. He moped around until neighbor Finley K and Metfield Ward friend Reagan N knocked on the door. They went four wheeling in the woods and Corbin’s day felt much more exciting. 

The Grows picked up our other kids on a tube pulled by their pickup up and down the lane. 

The tube took a spill in a ditch and popped on a culvert, but it was fun while it lasted. We FaceTimed with Jamae for a long time today! Aaron and I kept the fire going and good food coming. I did laundry, made homemade toasted coconut almond granola, puzzled. Blogged, mopped snow puddled, and roasted gloves in front of the fire to dry them out, and researched hotels and catering options for Reese’s wedding. We are supposed to get 12 more inches of snow tonight! I hope it’s the good stuff!  

Corbin, Reagan N, Finley K