Between all the packing and the unpacking during the last few weeks, we have barely had a spare minute to just sit down and enjoy our new surroundings. But we finally made it into the new place, and so far, we are thinking that buying this house is pretty much the smartest thing we have ever done. It couldn’t be more perfect for us—the size, the layout, the location, and of course, the swimming pool. Even (girls, I know you are with me on this) the closets. Storage was something severely lacking in our old house.

And, true to form, the first thing Noah noticed after we unpacked Maia’s room was the return of the gumball machine. Silly kid!

Despite a few stressful moments along the way, so many things aligned with such perfect timing that we know we are supposed to be here. Still, Kent and I looked at each other last night and we both said, “I can’t believe this is our house!” We could have gotten something bigger for the same money, or a fancier neighborhood, but nothing else we looked at felt like home the way this one does. We’re in love, and we have every intention of maintaining it with the same meticulous attention that the previous owners showered on it.

We are home.

Update: Just to keep it all in perspective, read this post from Paul as a reminder of why we should never take the things we have for granted, and if you are so inclined, say a prayer for the families who lost their homes. Paul’s blog happened to be the first I visited after writing the above post. It’s amazing to me how God always places these reminders before me with perfect timing.