Anyone that has been through the home loan process in the last few years can tell you it’s not the cake walk it once was. There are countless conditions that must first be met before you can sign the paperwork and receive the keys to your new home. Hoops in abundance.

That said, the feeling of cold brass against your hands, knowing the doors they will unlock (literally) to now only your new home, but your family’s future? It is incredible.

We wondered the empty halls on Wednesday night, post closing, hand in hand, peering into doors and closets. As I mentioned something regarding the natural light that will flow into my new office, Matt pulled me in, rested his chin on my neck, and whispered, “We’re going to raise a family here.”

I never could have predicted all the amazing things that have come from our first year of marriage, this house included, but I am ever thankful. Life isn’t always easy, but at the end of the day, through the trials and the tribulations, beauty if revealed.

Instagram pictures for now, more real pictures to come.