front door

Looking out from Molly's house

Do you ever stop to think about what you love about your home? Most of us moms get too busy in our daily lives (and the daily upkeep) to stop and appreciate the homes we've made for our families. That's why I'm loving Nesting & Nurturing—a pretty series of guest posts from several moms who stop and share a glimpse of what they love about home through snapshots and words.

Today's special guest is Molly Balint, writer and creative mama behind the blog mommycoddle and co-creator of habit, a photo/writing project that I gushed about not too long ago.


stairway, family photos

Family photos, history, and memories line the stairway

coat hook

A little art and order for a busy family

 

Molly, what does home mean to you?

Hardly a day goes by that I don’t walk through my house and get flooded with memories of how it looked a mere 12 months ago. Through a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (the blood and sweat—my husband’s; the tears—mine), we have taken this place from a run-down, neglected house to our farmhouse home. I like to think that we have given this house new life. That we are (still) bringing it back to its humble, simple roots. 

Home, to me, is a place where you leave your mark. It is a place of creativity, a place that is a reflection of the people who live inside it.

With that in mind, you could walk through our home and easily surmise what is of value in our lives--toys in wicker baskets, artwork hanging on walls and refrigerators, muddy boots, field guides and magnifying glasses strewn about the front porch, historic family portraits gathered on a hallway wall, a collection of photographs greeting you as you walk up the stairs, music playing, books, a piano, a large farmhouse table taking up most of the floor space in the kitchen, laundry flapping on the line.

What I love about home is that our handiwork is everywhere. Whether it is freshly laid wide plank floors, the chatter of children in the other room, or a batch of cookies cooling on the kitchen table--our home is alive. Our family has left its imprint in every corner.


About Molly Balint:

chicken

Molly Balint















On her blog mommycoddle, Molly tells stories about her life with her husband in a fixer-upper farmhouse in rural Maryland, raising three little girls, a clutch of chickens, and a litter of barn cats that have made their nest on her front porch. She believes there is beauty in the mundane, and even life’s simplest, routine tasks are of utmost value to home and family. Molly is also the co-creator of a photography + words collaborative blog called habit.

Wow, Molly. That was beautiful, and it's so so true. Every little daily ritual is what makes a house into a home.

Reader friends, keep checking back every weekday in May for more stories and photographs from the home lives of real moms.