Breezeway Home Anniversary

Two years ago, at 5:30am, Nicholas, Yadi, and I pulled up to our new home here in Milton, Florida on Breezeway Circle.

This might sound crazy, but we quickly came to love our new home of Milton.  I know a lot of people hate it here, but honestly, it is what you make it.  If you keep telling yourself you hate it and it's awful here, then it will continue to be awful.  That's not how Nick and I live life and that helped us to come to love our last two years here.  Life is an adventure and it's all what you make it!

One of the reasons we have loved our time here is because of this house.  We truly spoiled ourselves here.  There were so many things we loved about our home, that we added to our "must have" list for our new home in Jacksonville. (Which made house hunting in Jax so much harder.)
This house has no carpet, all hardwood and tile.  It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.  A separate office space.  A ginormous walk-in pantry.  An open floor plan with a huge living room.  A two car garage.  A huge, privacy fenced backyard.  A fantastic neighborhood with a really convenient location.
We learned that finding all of these things in a new home was difficult.  We are truly going to miss this home.

Just as we reached this two year mark, we're packing up our belongings and getting ready to say goodbye to our first real home.  I'd be lying if I said I haven't teared up as I've pulled photos off the wall and taken down curtains.  We have thoroughly loved this place.  If these walls could talk, they'd have stories full of love and laughter.  Our marriage started here and flourished!  We added our second "child", Vino, to our family in this house.  We learned what a marriage is all about, growing together as husband and wife, but also continuing to grow individually.  We grew stronger in friendship and love inside these walls.  I can still vividly remember the giddy, newlywed bliss as Nick carried me over the threshold, saying "Welcome home, wife" when we arrived that early morning on September 11, 2011.  I wondered how long that "honeymoon phase" would last.  I'm happy to say that after over two years of marriage, we're still in the phase.  And I don't see it fading anytime soon.
Of course these walls didn't always see perfection.  We faced some difficult times with illnesses, military stress, homesickness, and general uncertainty of life, but together we overcame them.
This house will always hold some of my fondest memories and I know I'll cry when we say our final goodbye and drive away from Breezeway Circle.  But I'm happy to have so many memories  and so many pictures, of the last two years here.
We moved into what was just an empty house, but it very quickly became a home.  These have honestly been two of the best years of my life.

We met the new family moving into our home; a husband, wife, and very young girl.  I can only hope these walls provide as much joy to them as it has to us.  I hope they too leave this house with deeper love and understanding of each other and themselves, just as we have.

I'm going to miss you Breezeway Home.  Thank you for all the amazing memories.  May you continue to bless each new tenant with the same wonderful experience we had.