Home

They say that home is where the heart is. I am sure glad this holds a lot of truth, as in the last ten years we lived in 5 different places. We had different houses but one home, in our hearts. And that will remain our home as long as there is love around us.

The change that happened is that for once our house is the same as our home. We finally became home owners. It's a small condo, but so cute and quiet, and so dear to my heart. It feels like home. It's in a small community, surrounded by trees, we have a nice balcony and a creek in the backyard. It's lovely.

The process of buying it however was everything BUT lovely. Apparently home buying is as stressful as they say it is. It did not help that I had to do most of the leg work alone. Aside from seeing the house and signing papers where he was told to, Marius was a spectator to most of the process. Daily phone calls to 3-4 different people (our agent, mortgage company, title  company, insurance company, former landlord and sooooo many more). It was stressful and frustrating. I cried and I yelled and I laughed. And in the end we had a mortgage, a key, and once again it was moving day.

We did not have a lot of helpers, so the day was hectic and very tiring. Catalina had a lot of fun though. She found mommy's sun hat and played among boxes.

One of the best parts of having my own house was that I could paint Catalina's room. I dreamt of this since I dreamt of having babies. So I went for the challenge full hearted and full speed. Catalina was a very big help, no sarcasm or irony here. She laid protective paper on the floor and played nicely when I needed her to. This is how it started: few smiles and a lot of white walls.

 That slowly became pink

and a little green

And in the end a whole garden!

Catalina loves her room and so do I. My first painting project was a success!.
And then we had a week of walking between boxes. Marius went to a business trip right after we finished moving the bulk of stuff. It remained for the girls (Catalina, bunica and me) to bring and arrange the small stuff. And we still had shelves to install and pictures to hang for when Marius came back. It was a lot of work. But at the end, my heart was full and my face was smiling. I was home in my house.

And we started living in the new home

 Balcony, my favorite part of the house (among many others)

 Enjoying her new room with an old friend

My two ballerinas

Outside

And this is where we are now. Relaxing and enjoying our new home. May we be happy and build many beautiful memories here.