Our First Year as Homeowners

12 months ago we sat in a conference room signing papers, anxiously awaiting the receipt of our keys and hearing the phrase, "congratulations, you're homeowners."

We had been looking forward to this day for months - visiting the construction site every weekend, packing boxes months in advance, ordering new towels and window treatments weeks before the move.

It was important to me to try and get "settled" into the house as soon as possible.

I still remember walking down the stairs a few weeks after we had moved in, feeling defeated, quietly admitting to Jason that, "this place just doesn't feel like home."

We attributed the lack of "comfort" to the fact that it was a brand new dwelling with minimal furniture and decor.

As the next months flew by, I realized it wasn't the furniture and "stuff" that would make our house feel like "home", but the memories we created here and the people we shared them with.

During the first year in our first home we've celebrated holidays, hosted a friend's bachelorette party, and thrown a sister's baby shower.

We've received devastating news of loss, exciting announcements of advancement, and planned for fun vacations to relax and recharge.

We've hosted game nights, wine nights, and celebrated birthdays.

We've invited strangers and neighbors into our home who left as new friends.

We've visited with relatives and incorporated old family traditions into our new routines and events.

We've laughed in this house. Cried. Yelled. Argued. Sang. Danced. High-fived. Fist-bumped. Whispered secrets. And wrote down goals.

In the last 12 months we made our house a home. Thank you to everyone who helped fill the space between our walls with love, laughter, tears, swears, sighs, prayers, and jokes.