CONROE, Texas — A Conroe family is standing up to their homeowner's association after they were sent a violation notice instructing them to remove their daughter's quarantine art from their windows.
The HOA described them as "unsightly articles."
Staying home has been an adventure for many families. Andrea's 4-year-old daughter Giuliana has found her purpose in color filling in coloring books with joy.
Her mom started sharing her pictures with the neighborhood.
"I thought, 'Let's put a couple of pictures on the window to share,'" Andrea said. "And it gives her a little extra pride to say this is the picture of the day that I did."
"Why did we put them on the window?" Andrea asked her daughter.
"To make our neighbors happy," she replied.
On Friday, a letter arrived in the mail.
"Immediately I see the red font: Violation." So my eyes are like what could we have done," Andrea said.
First Service Residential HOA that serves the Fosters Ridge subdivision in Conroe said Giuliana's drawings had to go.
"The violation is the colored pictures and it (the notice) referred to them as unsightly articles," Andrea said. "My daughter's pictures are not unsightly articles. She may not be a Picasso, but she's a 4-year-old coloring pictures to make neighbors smile."
Andrea decided her daughter's joy was worth fighting for.
"As a mama bear I got defensive and upset that they were trying to squash that type of feeling," Andrea said.
So Giuliana's colored pictures are staying put.
"I'm honestly a big rules follower," Andrea said.
But rules like this, she said, are meant to be broken, especially when it means a little girl can keep smiling during this pandemic.
"Maybe just give us a little grace because I think we should all be extending grace more than ever right now," Andrea said.
KHOU 11 News reached out to First Service Residential multiple times but as of yet has yet to hear back. This story will be updated with their response as soon as the HOA responds to our requests for comment.
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