Right before Bara Faith was born, I blogged about how we were moving into our forever home.  I had just binged watched a few seasons of “Fixer Upper” and as I dreamed of motherhood, I had visions of being my own style of Joanna Gaines with a yard full of babies running around feeding chickens and goats here on our property while raising my own garden of vegetables I would grow from scratch. So when we found this farm house for sale in Jacksonville in the heart of old Mandarin, we jumped on it! I had so much fun updating it, bringing it new life, and home staging it the way I envisioned Joanna Gaines would be proud of, with my twist of glam touch of course, all before our first child was due to arrive.

But then my first baby was born a month early, we literally moved in this house the day after we brought her home from the hospital, and my world got turned upside down now as a new mom.  And my second baby came as a surprise a short 16 months later and my world really got turned upside.  And slowly, my visions of chickens and goats and my own vegetable garden slowly faded as I juggled caring for two babies under two, because I could barely get a shower in most days let alone take on trying to care for farm animals and keep up a garden.  So as I grew into my motherhood, still most days trying to find the balance, I had to realize, I am no Joanna Gaines.  I applaud her and other mothers who do the mom and farm life so gracefully intertwined as one, but I have quickly realized the farm life was just not for me the way I had hoped it could be.

And as these babies get older, the Florida girl in me is craving living back in a community that has Florida style amenities for the kids like pools and playgrounds and other families around with young kids for them to play with. So Stephen and I are moving forward with building a home in a local community that offers just that.  (I won’t call that one our forever home, but our “next home.”  ha!)

So with that, our farmhouse is for sale!  If you know someone in the Jacksonville, FL area looking for a farmhouse, please share this blog entry with them! They can contact me here through my website or social media, and I’d be happy to connect them with our realtor for all the more info details. Here are some past blog entries with the full tour of our home to share, and our realtor can provide the MLS listing with a walk through virtual tour as well:

Our Farmhouse Tour

As we start to slowly let go of this house, here are some of the things I really love about this home and property, and look forward to finding the next person to fall in love with it:

• The way the morning golden light peeks through the hanging Spanish moss trees into my kitchen window greeting each day as I make my coffee.
• Walking outside to pick fresh lemons and pecans from our two lemon trees and pecan tree.
• Though we are close to everything suburban, we are tucked behind trees on an acre and a half of land that make us feel like we are in the country.
• The smell of sweet Jasmine that blooms in the spring on the trellis over our back patio.
• The way the original hardwood floors creak with history when my babies run across the house.
• All the natural light that peers through the windows such as the bay window in the living room, or the tall windows in my office.
• Pushing my daughter on the built in old fashioned wooden swing set in the yard that stays with the house.
• Sitting on the front porch rocking chairs with my coffee when the air turns crisp.
• The fact that this house was in a movie with Julia Roberts brother Eric.  This house looked completely different back then in a 90s TV movie no one has ever heard of, but it’s fun to watch the movie and see all the scenes our home was in.
• The original kitchen now turned butler pantry before the new kitchen was added on, wondering what meals were made in there in the 1950s.
• The original shiplap all throughout the house that would make Joanna Gaines faint.
• The original chandelier that hangs in my daughter’s nursery.
• Knowing *this* will always be the home I brought my babies home to.

Built in 1951, this home comes with a lot of cool history, and during the two years we have been here, it has carved it’s way into the history of the beginning of our family.  It will always hold a special place in our hearts as I know it will become for the next family that we hand the keys to!

I saved my favorite room for last in our farmhouse tour, and that is my daughter’s nursery.

Oh the long awaited nursery.

This nursery was prayed for for so many years through so many tears.  In previous homes, I would literally sit in a ball curled up on the floor of the chosen empty room that I was believing God would one day turn into a nursery, and just cry out to Him to make me a mother.  I remember sobbing such an ugly cry on various occasions because I never knew I could miss someone so much who I had never met. Through all our many moves over the years, we always had “that” room that would sit empty because He gave me a promise that it would one day be “her” room, and I was holding Him accountable to His promise.

So now, as I rock her each night in my arms, I look around this nursery giving so much thanks that He has fulfilled my heart’s desire as a mother, and made all my pink dreams come true with this nursery.

Welcome inside Bara Faith’s little world!

Chair from BuyBuyBaby. Nightstand from Hobby Lobby. Pillow from Target.

This door hanger below was something I used to have hanging on my door as a little girl.

Crib from BabiesRUs.  Wall color is Charming Pink from Sherwin Williams.

Crib bedding custom designed from New Arrivals Inc.

Tassels from Blush Bazaar.

Hot pink drapes custom made by Vickie Moorehead.

This sign that hangs above the rocker was one I bought in faith many years ago from Hobby Lobby.

My amazing Lifegroup girls created this darling custom sign for my sweet girl.  I don’t know what I would have done without my prayer warriors standing by my side.

These roses.  Oh these roses.  The Mother’s Day before we decided to adopt, Stephen said he had a dream and in the dream, he saw Bara Faith and she told him to give me roses for Mother’s Day to let me know she was coming to us soon.  So he did.  And I cried.  And I saved them to hang in her nursery one day as a constant reminder of dreams come true.

This armoire y’all is one of my favorite things in the nursery.  It was part of a Disney Princess collection from RoomsToGo.

The day we found out she was a girl and that God kept His promise that He would create a baby girl for me.

A girl’s hairbow and shoe heaven.  Bara Faith’s latest activity she loves is standing at her armoire rearranging her shoes.  It’s the cutest thing ever.

I often joke, the bigger the bow, the closer to God.  For this girl it’s true.

Do they make these in adult size?

A collection of other things I collected over the years.  On the far right, the charcoal drawing was a beautiful gift a friend hand drew with a bible verse around a photo of the first time I held my daughter.  Thank you Kristen Wheeler for your beautiful artistry and love.

This was the dress Bara Faith wore when we dedicated her to God 22 years later to the day of when I was baptized in the same church.  A day that the church chose both times, not us.  Only God could orchestrate that, I tell you what.

Changing table/dresser from Ashley Furniture.

This chandelier was an antique piece that was left with the house.  It was previously in another room, but I loved the vintage feel of it, and thought it would be the perfect mobile over her crib.  haha!

Another handmade beautiful gift from another beautiful prayer warrior.  Thank you Jamie Koluch for the love you poured into this.  How much I treasure this bible verse.

I did lots of shopping in faith over the years.  When God told me He would create a baby girl for me, I took it serious and stocked up on all the tutus I could find throughout my 5 year wait.  (And I course died when I discovered shiplap waiting for me in the closet.)

Another treasure from one of my old rooms as a little girl.

Another beautiful gift from a beautiful friend.  I thought this bible verse was appropriate in the closet that I shopped in faith for many years.  I’ve seen this at Hobby Lobby.

From a little boy’s dream to a little girl’s one, what a transformation this girly room has become from what it once was with the previous owners.  Here is the BEFORE photo.

So I have to admit, as much as I loved this farmhouse when we were looking at it originally, we almost didn’t buy it because of the Master Bedroom.  First, it was much smaller than any of the Master Bedrooms we had had before, and there wasn’t a wall long enough for our oversized bed and nightstands.  So I knew I had to either get creative to make it work, or pass on this house.

After much Pinterest brainstorming, I figured out a solution.

The only wall that could work had French Doors to the left of the wall that led to a side yard of the house. I knew we would never really ever enter or exit from those French Doors, so I decided to cover them up with draping, to then extend the wall even longer.  I’m not gonna lie, I once saw Paris Hilton did this in her glam bedroom, where she put drapes behind the bed, and I remember thinking back then how it added a cool dimension to the space, and kept the idea tucked away for future decor possibilities.  So my solution to make our bedroom furniture work in this space, and trick the eye to appear bigger than it was?  Make a drape wall.

And add chandeliers.  Anyone who knows me, knows I must sleep under a chandelier.

One thing I did love about this space is it had a step down bonus side room.  So I turned that into my “War Room” prayer room. And yes, I must pray under chandeliers too. ha! But what you don’t see in the photo of that space is the side wall that has all my words of truth from His word written out, who I’m praying for, prayer requests, answered prayers, and so much more.  Though my girl keeps me busy as a mom, I love knowing I have this space in our home to turn to when I really need my time with the Lord to reconnect.

While most of our walls throughout the house are white, for this space and our bathroom, I chose Sherwin Williams Sea Salt.  I wanted a nice soothing tone that felt like we were at a spa, and I kept seeing Seal Salt every where. Though I’m normally a pink or black and white girl, I just adore this color to and felt it blended well with the black and white.

Here’s a tour of our Master Bedroom!

Pillows from Pier 1, HomeGoods and Hobby Lobby.  Bed from Fabulous & Baroque.

Believe it or not, this chandelier was from Lowes.  Every now and then they have some great lighting pieces for a great budget friendly price.

Rug from Hobby Lobby.  Bedding from Bed, Bath & Beyond. Custom drapes from Vickie Moorehead.

Mirrored nightstands from Pier1. Lamps from HomeGoods.

I’m really obsessed with the Sherwin Williams Sea Salt paint color!

Benches from HomeGoods.

Our closet door had old round knobs.  So I replaced them with these one sided door knobs and I loved how they looked vintage.  All the brass doorknobs throughout our home got replaced with these black swirly ones.

Reading chair from Ashley Furniture.  And the mirror, believe it or not, I found for really cheap at a Habitat For Humanity Restore center I randomly visited one time looking for something else but walked out with that great find.

And of course Rhett has a dog bed in pretty much every room of our home.

Last but not least, the BEFORE photos of what this space looked like when we bought it.

After waiting so long to become a mom, it’s such a blessing how my Young Living and photography businesses allow me to be a stay at home working mom.  Though some days (most days, ha!) can be a challenge to sit here in my office with a busy and now mobile 10 month old, I am grateful for every second I get to be home with her to flex my #girlboss turned #momboss muscles.

In home offices in the past, I had a lot of crazy bold colors, but this time around, I wanted clean and simple and peaceful.  The room my office is in used to be a reading room and is mostly tall windows letting in a lot of natural light, so I love how airy it all feels for mental clarity as I work.  Though these days there are play toys everywhere as Bara Faith works hard playing while Mommy works at her desk.  ha!

Mirror from Home Goods. Star light from Layla Grayce.

Chair from Office Max. Pillow from Hobby Lobby.

Table from Target.  Chairs from Pottery Barn.

Bookcase from Home Decorators Collection.

Mannequin from Pier1.

My faithful personal assistant, Rhett, always by my side working hard too.

And the BEFORE of how this room used to look before we bought this house.