Leslie Burket ⋆ Design Mom

The Burket’s house is a home – and life – edited for their specific needs. Nothing more, nothing less. Not in their home design, not in their social media plan, and not even with their family calendar. If you’re on the verge of considering paring down your family’s day-to-night events, I think Leslie can offer some guidance and inspire all of the over-scheduled readers in the crowd. Friends, I am pleased to welcome Leslie and her family!

We are now a family of four. But this all started 15 years ago with a high school crush on a boy named Tom. We dated briefly as teenagers – I even joined the golf team, no experience required, to try to get to know him! – and then he called me out of the blue in college and took me to see Napoleon Dynamite. He snuck a bottle of champagne in the movie theatre, held my hand, and made me laugh like no other. I was done.

We got married a few years later and then had two kids. Trent, six, is our Lego-loving, deep thinker. His heart is as big as his imagination. Lila, four, is a spunky, loud talking, little lady. Bless her heart. She loves to help and she adores her big brother.

Throw in two dogs, five chickens, building a house, and I’d say we just really enjoy working together. And that’s just it.

This isn’t perfect, we certainly don’t get it all right, but we are dedicated and have found much joy in making this family work. I am thankful for everyday I get to share with our silly crew.

As Tom and I are writing this, our kids are riding bikes and climbing trees at one of our waterfront parks. We are sprawled out on a blanket and the weather is just dreamy. The sun shines an average 361 days a year in St. Petersburg, which has earned us “The Sunshine City” name. If that’s not enough to convince you, we have the World’s Largest Shuffleboard Courts and some of the best beaches in the country. People just don’t move away once they come here.

We had a great time building our house. We agree that it was certainly one of our most favorite adventures together. However, Tom was the builder, and I am certain we got preferential treatment from all of the sub contractors. We stayed on track by setting our budget and timeline and not straying from it. We made choices quickly and didn’t second guess them.

Our house isn’t big, but it is smart. Vaulted ceilings, big windows, great storage, an open floor plan, and wrap-around porch lend to our home’s clean feel.

To be environmentally and financially friendly, we used Hardy board siding, spray foam insulation, metal roof panels, and insulated windows.

But the best choice we made was to build our home on a lot directly behind my parents’ house. It’s like we have built-in babysitters!

The kids certainly have their influence on the aesthetic of our home. We display a lot of their work. Their drawings, school projects, Lego creations. We love to see the things their minds and little hands create. We want them to look around and know this house is a place for them too.

There are some design choices that are not what I would have picked, but its important that our home reflects everyone who lives here.

Our lives changed in so many ways when we had our first baby. He had food allergies and we chose to reevaluate everything we put into our home and bodies. It was a bit trying at first but turned out to be such an incredible blessing.

Eliminating things was cleansing and established a new simpler way of work for our family. We realized not only do we not need much, but we actually prefer to have less. Living naturally means living simply for us.

We both work outside of the home. Tom is a commercial general contractor and I am a kindergarten teacher. 

We are continually assessing and shifting our time around to make things work. This year we decided to cut out all the extras. No little league. No ballet. No cub scouts.

We are taking a year to establish the routines we feel are most important in our family, and once those are in place – faith and family night, bedtime routines, family dinners, etc. – we will add a bit at a time. But I have to say, no one is complaining about missing out. Our weekdays feel much more like the weekends now.

Also, I know it might seem crazy, but I do not forward anything to my phone. I have just a couple set times a day I check in with e-mail and social media and the like.

I have always wanted to be a mom. I know I was made for this! I still sniff the skin on their foreheads and nuzzle their necks like they are my newborns. We go in and look at them sleeping every night.

I thought I would be much more emotional about them growing up, but the truth is, I am enjoying each stage more than the last. Every year their personalities develop more and our relationships evolve. They are growing and changing, and it is a blessing of a gift to witness.

I wish I had known that it was okay for things to be a bit messy. I used to really fear messing up, making mistakes, and imperfections. I’ve learned mistakes are certain, necessary, and totally okay.

The more I acknowledge them, share them, and accept them, the easier it is to move on and grow in a positive way.

No one is expecting perfection from me…including myself.

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Leslie, thank you so much for sharing a glimpse into your life. Your thought that “our weekdays feel much more like the weekends now” left me with a new goal. I want to make that happen in my own family. Most weeks, we look so forward to Friday that poor Monday and Tuesday don’t get the love they deserve!

Friends, what about you? Are you ever tempted to opt out for a year or two of all extra-curriculars, or are you and your kids too entrenched to even think about such a thing?

P.S. — Take a peek at all the homes in my Living With Kids series here.