When we moved here, not too long ago, we did so in haste. After being married only a short while, the walls of our previous residence were quickly closing in. Our rooms were filled to the tip top—or at least that’s how it felt.

We moved in and everything we had became so small in the vastness of this house–but it was ours.

As with any home, we began to fill ours. But, I made sure to leave open spots around. I’d map out where the high chair would go, where the toys would live, where tiny little hands would explore the tiles of the bathroom floor.

We realized that those place holders might have to wait longer than we expected or wanted but, temporarily, that was okay. So we filled those open spots, we covered up those dreams with other passions and we said we’d be content to wait–that our home would be content to wait.

And while we thought we purchased this house for an immediate, growing family, our love grew into it instead. This kitchen was the setting of some of the more triumphant recipes (and some of the biggest failures as well). These walls kept the warmth in on cold nights and the heat out on hot days. These floors gave us footing when we stumbled through some of the most challenging times we had ever faced. And these ceilings heard some of the loudest laughter they (or anyone else for that matter) might ever hear.

It was in this house where we matured from simple, newly wed bliss to that really sweet spot, the place where even after life gets real, you are still each others’ favorite person.

We didn’t stop wanting or working to have a family, but even in the stillness, even in our pains, we found a stronger kind of love than we’d known before.

And then, that love was multiplied as we learned we were expecting not just one but two new family members! And the big ol’ house suddenly became small for all of the right reasons.

This was the home that saw a pregnancy we weren’t sure would ever come. It was here where big, swollen mama-to-be feet sat, propped up. It was here where we walked out of the doors as a family of two and back in a few days later as a family of four. And it was here where some of our greatest hopes became beautiful realities.

No, this isn’t a magical house; it is not a wishing well. It is still mostly wood and nails and counter tops and things, but this is a space big enough for you and your dreaming. It is a space with plenty of potential. It is a space full of possibilities.

We are leaving this house, holding it in our hearts as one of our favorite stops along our adventure.

To our first home’s next residents: live here well; please, love it well. Do this and we know this home will be the backdrop in another epic, everyday story.