Homeowners!

Well!

Talk about a momentous occasion. Our little brood is finally one with a permanent address. After years of twists and turns, we signed closing papers on a dream home this week and were able to carve out some time from our hectic schedules to walk through the front door as a foursome today. I've been choking back tears, running through memories of our family journey and everything it took to get to this day.

Nathan and I have spent lots of years together..adventuring, struggling, celebrating, searching, discovering, creating, and making the most of whatever life threw at us. Our path is not one we predicted but the strength in character the unexpected created has become a treasured central feature of our family. We are a little band of travelers who cherish our time together and know, more than anything, that no matter where our mail is sent to "home" is wherever we happen to be together at a given moment. Whether we are in temporary university housing, a rented apartment, a car traveling across the country, a cheap hotel room, a cabin in Vermont, a friend's apartment in NYC, or our very own honest-to-goodness purchased home, we are happiest when able to experience the world together.

When I think about our story, I feel all sorts of gratitude for the help we received while going through Nathan's grad school years. We relied on generous family and friends, thoughtful teachers and compassionate schools, and government assistance programs that are often branded as a waste of tax payer money. We accepted this help with gratitude and did our best to counter with volunteer work, always hoping we would be able to find our feet and go it alone someday. There were moments we lost hope but powered through, on the lookout for a lucky break or sliver lining.

Here we are now..proud owners of a house we completely LOVE. Finally able to give our kids a yard to play in and rooms of their own...a place to add to the memories they have already collected. Our adventuring doesn't stop here, of course, but we are swimming in the glorious reality of having a home base in which to kick off our shoes in between road trips and busy days.

There's no way I could list all of the people who have contributed to this moment in time for us. If I tried, I'd end up in a puddle of tears, unable to finish this post so I'll just go ahead and share some pictures of the house, knowing that those of you out there who have rooted for us all these years will look through them with a smile on your face. If you do, know that you are one of the many people we feel thankful for. Thank you all for your support and love. We would not be "us" without you. Our door is always open so come on down to South Texas any time.

So awesome to look out the window and see these two playing in their first ever backyard

So far the kids win the prize for super star packers. Owen in particular-he's been a packing fool! I love love love, catching sight of his labeling...here are two of my favorites so far: "Memories and Pokemon cards"...and...

..."Owens stuffys and slippers"

Living Room

Living Room/Kitchen

Kitchen (we bought a bunch of furniture from the previous owners...score!)

Screened in Porch!!!!

Hot Tub!!!

My kids. Playing in OUR YARD.

Built in countertop for outdoor grilling there, if you can see it...

Area next to the hot tub. It feels private and spa-like.

Master bedroom with a door leading out to the hot tub

Master bath with a shower very much like my mom's shower, which I covet. We realize we will need to get used to keeping that shower door clean, don't worry--on it!

Oh you know..just relaxing on the screened in porch. No big deal.

We went to a few stores and got ourselves set up with a fire pit, ingredients for s'mores, and pizza so we could end the day with a hang out session at home before heading back to our apartment. We don't have time to pull off the actual move for a couple of weeks so settled for an evening for now.