Altars... not just for adults!

I'm a huge believer in letting our children be a part of our daily rituals... everything from helping in the kitchen during mealtime, to talking about the next paint color going up on our walls. As you might imagine, they have very strong opinions... And while I may not always bend to their wishes (no, I won't be putting up a huge Transformers poster above our fireplace anytime soon!), John and I always encourage them to take an interest in their surroundings, and create spaces all their own. The boys' playroom is a great example of this. The walls are a bright, glorious shade of deep coral... and each of the boys has their own painted shelf, striped canvas bin, and wicker basket for storing and displaying cherished books, keepsakes, etc.

I admit I'm a bit of a magpie, so I'm already passing along these tendencies to my children! So you can imagine they like creating vignettes as much as I do!! The boys love to create paint by numbers... and I'll admit I have such a weakness for them myself... they all collect snow globes of various shapes, sizes, and themes! Grandma Nettie bought them the framed butterflies... (now they catch their own on our farm and even try their hand at the framing and labeling). I always frame their artwork, truly it is my favorite... and not only do these get proudly hung in "their own" spaces... but as you know, I hang them amidst all of our other walls and vignettes as well... (Remember, it's your house... it's about YOU and your family!!!) Plus it's cool and quirky and not overly serious as "decorating" can be for people sometimes!!

As the boys have gotten older, they've definitely had their own ideas about what else they would like to include... Lego's, army men, dinosaurs, etc... Some have even spilled out into my other vignettes throughout the house. I lovingly embrace it all... For me, it's a constant reminder of their precious little souls - who will all too soon be fully grown!!