The Kids' Room

We had wanted to paint Brynna's room since we moved in, and it finally made it to the top of the to-do list in November. Months before, Auntie Carolyn offered to come down and help once we were ready to do it. I'm not sure if she really expected us to take her up on it, but we did! Such a good Auntie, she came down for a weekend and worked and painted with us all weekend!

I am embarrassed to say I got no pictures of anyone but Brynna actually painting! And Brynna really only painted for about 20 minutes or so! Most of the painting took place while she was sleeping. She roomed with her brother on an air mattress while her room was a work zone. It was good practice because we planned to move them both back into Brynna's room once we finished.

An artist at work.

A precious little artist.

And here are a few shots of the finished room.

We wanted to accent all the wall and ceiling facets, and I think it turned out fabulously!

The kids have done so well sharing a room, and they both seem to enjoy it. I absolutely love waking up in the morning and hearing them giggling together down the hallway. To help with nap time, Brynna rests in the front guest room and Lane gets the big room. At night, Lane goes to bed about an hour earlier than Brynna, so he's usually asleep by the time she gets in bed. Most of their clothes are in Lane's old room, which we call the changing room now. Both kids get ready for bed in the changing room. The rocking chair is in there too, so that's where do bedtime stories and such.

So why do we have them sharing a room? We thought it would be fun for one thing. But mostly it's about fighting entitlement. Our kids have so much more than they need. Despite our best intentions, we continually fall into the American consumer culture, and we give our kids more than is good for them. Sharing a room is one attempt to teach them that the world does not revolve around them and hopefully build a culture of sharing within our family. We don't have a plan for how long they will share a room or even what to do if they suddenly decide they don't like it. Right now it's going well, and we are happy with that.