This house is home.

The husband and I have lived in our home for a year now. We closed on September 16, 2010 (last year for my birthday: I GOT A HOUSE... hard to beat that!)... we took a little over a month to make some changes to it: have it painted (I can only live in a crayon box), changed out the fixtures, had the carpets cleaned... had the WHOLE THING cleaned... it took longer than we thought it would- but we were also extremely anxious to move out of the thimble we were living in at the time (not that there is anything wrong with thimbles, it's just that we were bursting out the seams... between the two of us, Luke, the dog *only one at the time!* and the cat... we seemed to be pretty squished - the cat needs an entire room to her self AT ALL TIMES).  Not to get all mushy, but (I'm gonna) it seems so surreal to me now that we've been here. For a year. Making this house ours... making it home. I feel like we've lived here forever (in a good way). We still have work to do on it... but I wouldn't trade it. I painted the front door just a few weeks ago - so that the neighbors can tell from the outside that it's a crayon box!

We've had parties here and holidays and visitors and quiet nights... we love this house.

Everything has happened faster for us than we ever imagined it would. I may have mentioned it before... but when we met - I KNEW I had to be with JD. I knew I was going to marry him and love him and share a life with him... but I had no idea how it would happen... or when...Things were complicated.

SO that makes living in our own home for a whole year a really. big. deal.

We laughed the other day remembering my first time to hang out with my parents and JD at the same time: it was my birthday in Denton (where I went to school) - JD and I had been dating for months, but my parents had just found out he existed. Mom and Dad came to take me shopping for my birthday. Guess what I wanted for my birthday? A MATTRESS. How awkward is that? I went MATTRESS SHOPPING with my parents and my boyfriend of ... a little while... that they just met.
      side note: it wasn't like me to keep things from my parents (still isn't...) so that made the situation even stranger... typically they knew every move I made - I've never been that secretive with them.

Later on JD told me that every time he was about to talk during that shopping extravaganza, he remembered to just not. There was nothing he could say that wouldn't be weird.... but I remember walking with mom through the store... looking over at my dad and my boyfriend testing the same mattress. Dad always looks calm and collected... JD usually does - but he looked so uncomfortable that day. Hilarious. We all tried so hard to keep straight faces that day - but I think all of us wanted to laugh. Not just a little: I mean the kind of uncontrollable laugh that may release a snort.

That was three years ago. It seems so long ago now. At the time, I had no idea that we would all be where we are today. Isn't life funny?

Back to the house: a few of my favorite photos from around the house this first year (in no particular order) -


Bella hamming it up for the camera.



Christmas night... just got done playing Santa. All ready for Luke to come down stairs.




Luke and Fallon loving on the new addition to the family: Shep.




with my sweet mother-in-law, Loretta, on JD's birthday.



me, Mario and my momma - Halloween :)




The Pete.




Synchronized sleeping. Post sugar rush at Luke's birthday party.




I understand how cheesy this photo is - but I still love it. Christmas Eve... a little bit of wine... done playing Santa... <3 We're kind of cheesy, anyway.. you'll get over it.



All set up for Couch Amanda's birthday party. I was impressed with the way JD decided to hang the balloons :)



Okay. Done gushing about all of this. For now.