Starting To Feel Married...

When we first got married our friend told us it may be a while before you actually start to FEEL married. I wasn't really sure what he meant by this. Beau and I have been together a LONG time and we had lived together for a little over a year before we were married so in my mind and in my heart we had always been married. And then I had to sign the receipt at the hotel. I am clearly not used to the new last name yet as I signed it with my maiden name. Its one of those things that you do for so long that it becomes a very hard habit to break. But when do you actually start to FEEL married?

Since we got back into NY on Monday we have done some overhauling of the apartment. This is what it looked like when we first moved in back in January:
Since we moved out on the train, and were only allowed a set amount of 50 lb boxes, we needed to fill our apartment once we were here. It was the first time I had ever been in an IKEA and praise the Lord that our sister and brother had rented a full size SUV to help us get moved in. We loaded UP and slowly started opening boxes, assembling our furniture, and starting this new phase of life so far from home. We were determined to make it home to make the move as easy as possible for our hearts.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am the type of person who loves to have people over. I love to feed you all kinds of good food and make you feel so at home that you never want to leave (or if you do, you come back again soon). We went for MONTHS without pictures on the walls or a rug on the floor. I would sit in the apartment while Beau was at work surrounded by everything new. Nothing we had in the apartment was anything that we brought from home so when we came back after the wedding I had this unbelievable NEED to make this place feel like HOME. We brought back pictures, our rug, goodies that we got as wedding gifts, blankets, pillows, candles, books, baskets...you name it and if we could jam it into our car we did it! Here is what our place looks like now:
*Note: this is just a teaser because we are wanting to surprise our family when they come to visit ;)

We also stocked up on groceries. Our fridge has never been this full since we moved here. Now that we have Ruby here, I think grocery shopping will be much easier and more enjoyable. And HOPEFULLY more cost effective!

So as I sit here on this cold and rainy day I think to myself that I now feel 32% married. Life hasn't changed that much at all and I like it that way. I look around the apartment and I think to myself how good it feels to be settled into our first home as husband and wife. I am so anxious to really delve deep into our new adventure. I want to be the best wife I can be. I want to cook. I want to do dishes (or at least load them into the dish washer). I want to do laundry. I want to be so domestic and I want to welcome our loved ones into our home with open arms and stuff them with all kinds of good stuff!

AND...as I was writing this my HUBBY went down to get the mail and look what I got...
My NEW IOWA driver's license!!!! A new name, a new chapter...

In Gods Love,

Beau and Kenz