It was exactly one year ago today that we broke our bodies moving into our house! haha jk but seriously, we didn’t move from the couch and unpack anything for two straight days because we were so sore. The time and effort was all worth it though because we have a beautiful, put together home to show for it :)

And to think, it only took:

• 3 months to get a shower curtain in the guest bathroom
• 4 months to get actual blinds instead of the brown banner paper we had in every window… tacky I know, it’s fine.
• 6 months to officially unpack everything
• 8 months to get an adequate lawn mower
• 9 months to finish a picture collage
• 10 months to set all of the furniture in final positions
• 2-3 Hobby Lobby trips weekly for MONTHS for home decor… sometimes you gotta see it in your home before you decide you guys!
• 3 different mop systems tried and failed, and then finally succeeded just a few weeks ago)

There are some other little things we still haven’t done yet, but those things really don’t matter! It was fun taking the time to put together our house because there’s no way I would’ve had time to do it all in the beginning, and there’s no way we would’ve had all the money to spend on everything in the beginning. Making our house our own was an empowering feeling but also a comforting feeling. There haven’t been walls to share with other people and no landlords giving us rules for how to decorate. Going through this whole process has helped us not only see physically, but feel mentally the transition between a house becoming a home :)

Our childhood homes weren’t always safe havens so in starting our own family, Trevor and I wanted to always maintain a feeling of safety and peace wherever we lived. What a blessing it has been to feel that in a place of our own, where we can get away from the challenges or negativity that can be waiting for us just outside our front door. I felt that when we were living in apartments, but this brings a new level of stability in our lives that we have been very satisfied with.

Things we learned from the first year in our home:

• We are homebodies at heart! We get more homesick being away for a few days because we appreciate our own comfy space.
• How much I love baking :) I’ve even felt more desire to cook new recipes.
• Having separate creative spaces is good for us! We were initially sharing one of the extra bedrooms for trevor’s office and my office/craft room. We realized how opposite we were with organization and creative space (haha, can you guess who is the constant messy one?!) and felt it would be best to just utilize the other extra bedroom while we have it and separate our offices. Great decision for our sanity and creativity :)
• A house requires a lot of maintenance and understanding! We were thrown into learning the breaker system, water heater, air filtration, sprinkler system, water valves, etc. Some of these things we learned the hard way to handle, haha. Why do you think Trevor took so many pictures of steps so we don’t forget??  (Thanks for doing that Trev!)

The biggest thing we have learned, however, is what matters most. We chose to have a house over other things, so we have learned to prioritize our needs and wants - buying home decor, shopping, entertaining, traveling, having new cars. Our budgeting plan went through transformations that are working great for us, and we have been happy with all that we have. Sometimes you don’t need to travel the world and stay in crappy motels when you can stay in a familiar, comfortable, and cozy place and enjoy other entertainment. We felt that the best investment for us was not saving up for a vacation that would last 5 days, but a house where we spend most of our lives in.

Let the good times roll

I’m so grateful for all the memories we already have in this house! I look forward to many more porch afternoons, reclining on those comfy chairs listening to music and playing games against each other. I look forward to many more times falling asleep on our couch while watching TV (Even though it’s annoying for Trevor sometimes). I look forward to many more times watering potted plants. I look forward to more sighs of relief when it’s snowing and freezing cold but I remember how I get to pull into a warmer and dry garage instead of having to run through the snow. I look forward to learning how to fix more things around the house when they happen. I look forward to one day cuddling up to our kids while watching movies. And I look forward to painting many more surprises in our garage :)

• all
• celebrate
• goals
• journal
• romance