Norte Maison

**From my iPhone on May 23rd. 

Today we celebrate four years of marriage. I really can't believe it.

Ryan has been my rock and my foundation. He is my sweetheart and my best friend. He is an amazing husband and is (even four years later) practically perfect in every way.

In fact, over the past few years I've heard women complain about their husbands falling into some of the negative stereotypes of men and husbands and I feel lucky that never once has Ryan put himself in those categories.

I really don't deserve him.

Ryan is one of the special ones. Smart, funny, good looking, spiritual, liked by almost everyone he meets. Not to mention the fact that over the past two years he has finished almost all his prerequisites, studied for and taken the MCAT, volunteered at the hospital and the Red Cross, planned, started, and managed a new program at the Red Cross, interpreted at the hospital, shadowed doctors, held church callings, started a job... all in addition to being an amazing husband and father.

We have had some incredible anniversaries, but this year, we celebrate another accomplishment and exciting milestone. Our first home.

Notre maison a nous.

As I've thought a lot about the past two weeks in our new home, I have realized some of the reasons we love our home, so in no particular order...

We love our home because it is simply that, ours. For our first Family Home Evening in our new home this week, we talked about how our bodies are temples of the spirit and also that our home should be a temple for the spirit. We also dedicated our home, something I have looked forward to my entire life.

Secondly, we love our backyard, Adi especially. We have BBQ'd a few times already since moving in and even threw a blanket down for an impromptu picnic yesterday! Next idea, borrow a tent to 'camp' for the night.

We also love our kitchen. Despite the fact that we have big renovation plans for it (cabinet color, stainless appliances, granite, travertine...) it is very large and in wonderful condition! And we've even painted an accent wall! (In fact, the seller replaced the microwave before we moved in.) Ryan and I can cook completely different things together in the same kitchen. We have started making gourmet desserts and homemade breads to break it in. Next idea, soufflé!

Oh. My. Goodness. We have a pantry. Not only do we have enough storage for our kitchen things, we actually have enough room for storage!!! We've started increasing the amount in the pantry too and I'm happy to announce that we are on our way to a year's supply of food.

Those may seem silly, but to us they are some of the simple reasons we've come to love our home. (Pictures soon, I promise!)