July | 2023 | Michelle B. Humphrey

Some of you know I used to write a lifestyle/home decor/mommy blog called That Mommy Blog. I loved my experience blogging in that world and sometimes I miss it, just like I miss writing here when I get too busy, ha! That blog documented my life as a young mom, during seasons when I was alternately closer and farther from God. I was figuring out a lot of stuff about staying at home and using my brain beyond the sometimes mundane work of child-rearing. Anyway, I officially “closed” that blog in 2020 after a 10-year run, and haven’t thought about it much since!

But today I updated a post there for the first time ever, I just couldn’t resist. And I thought it would be fun to share it with you here as well!

So, the original post documented how I had painted all the trim in my kitchen & breakfast nook…except for the trim around the windows. Here is what it looked like before any painting:

Seven years ago I asked my readers whether I should paint the windows, and what color. And now, almost seven years exactly from the day I asked that question, I finally have an answer:) This summer we finally installed much-needed new windows, and I painted the trim and updated the wall color as well, in addition to all the other changes that have been made in seven years. So here is the “after:”

In the last seven years, I have refinished the tabletop, purchased new chairs, painted the walls white and the ceiling gray, installed bistro-style shelving, replaced the light fixture, and worked with Marvin Windows to install these beautiful new sliders. These are the Marvin Infinity fiberglass windows in black.

And another view of them:

I absolutely love painting things, updating my home, DIY, decorating…it really is a part of my makeup. I think God made me super sensitive to my environment, and with a drive to be creative in taking care of it. But one of the things that drove me crazy about being a “decor” blogger is that I never work fast, so I just didn’t produce the content really needed to sustain a blog like that. Case in point: we have been in this house ten years and only just now had the resources to update these windows. And they were drafty that entire time.

If you’re like me, and you love making things around you more beautiful, it can be soooooo frustrating to run into real-world barriers like time, budget, health (all things that challenged me on this project). Part of the reason I am posting this here is to encourage anyone reading who feels like they will *never* get there…with their home, yard, or anything else. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes it just takes seven years, or ten!

God’s got this. God’s got you. However long it takes.

And sometimes slower is better anyway. If I could do all that I wanted right away, my character would be weaker and my home less loved. I’d be more dependent on myself and less dependent on God. All this–blogs, paint projects, windows, house–is going to pass someday, but my relationship with God is forever! Slow change is beautiful if it grows me closer to Him.