Pencils, Pigtails and Prayer: Sit A Spell...The BP revealed

You know one of my favorite things about Southerners? They like to sit. Preferably on their front porches with a glass of iced tea. There really is nothing better than stopping to sit for a spell (that's southerner for sit down and relax for a minute). You can read, listen to the birds, or just feel the breeze and sunshine. Thinking is optional.

When we bought our house a front porch was a "must have". And by front porch, I mean one you can sit on. Here's mine and I love it dearly. We updated and redecorated it last Spring. It is one of my fav places on earth.

My hubs has been wanting to screen in the back porch forever and I have been telling him no. I think originally, my thought was if you screened it, we wouldn't be outside. I would feel like I was in the house still. And I love being outside. But then he built me the Alcapulco deck.

So, you get the idea. I have plenty of places at my house to sit outside. But what really made me have a change of heart was my discovery journal (if you're new here, see "I Have a Dream" - Jan 19th post). There were ALL kinds of screened in back porch pictures in my journal. And one day, as I was flipping through it, I realized...maybe I DO want a screened in back porch. I think I had so many of these pictures because they reminded me of my grandma's house. She had a big screened in porch in the front of her house. And whenever I see a picture of a screened in back porch, my blood pressure goes right down to chillax.

Well, when I gave hubs the green light, he was thrilled. And thus began the drawing, dreaming and planning of the new back porch. This was hubs' epiphany but I did have one requirement: the back door had to slam. Other than that, the design was all him. Decorating was all me. We sat out there many times before it was done and I have to tell you, I've been in love with this back porch for a long time now.

I am delighted to announce after much blood, sweat and tears (oh, and dollars!), we are finally ready to unveil The Back Porch (The BP for short).

While it was designed as a place to eat, we have already watched movies out there, danced out there, read out there and written out there. And I have already promised my girls they can bring their sleeping bags out there and camp out. Everyone who has seen has said, "I would never leave here" and I couldn't agree more. Some projects end up being way more work than you planned. But if you put your heart and soul into it, it is already filled with love before you've ever used it.

Enjoy the pictures and be sure to tell my hubs what an amazing, fantastic job he did. He is truly my hero for making this happen. Chris Holmes, you have outdone yourself, my friend!

In the making: