housewarming

one year ago today, we had our housewarming/engagement party. family and friends who were local and from out of town packed out the house. i'll always remember how Jarronn and i carefully watched the evite list to monitor the number of guests. somehow the number had ballooned to about 75 people, and we had no idea how we would fit all of those people into the house. or how much food we needed to feed them all.

it was a frantic day. Jarronn and i divided the shopping list. there were last minute projects to complete around the house. i planted purple mums in the front yard. Jarronn came home with a new piece of furniture. we rented and borrowed folding chairs. Jarronn made his famous baked ziti and bbq wings. i baked tiramasu cupcakes and pasta. and we hoped for the best as people arrived.

the house was filled with people. on the deck. in the living room. in the dining room. in the basement. kids were running in the yard. spades games were getting intense. pool balls were cracking. cameras were snapping. tours were given. jokes were made. stories were told. people interacted. it was a great example of what made of our lives rich.

Jarronn was so proud and happy about what we'd done with the house. i certainly didn't blame him. buying the house was a huge step and accomplishment. and the renovations we did together made it feel like home. they also represented the first major decisions we'd made as a unit.

Jarronn and i hardly saw each other that day. i was sorry to find that in the dozens of photos left on our camera, none of them were of the two of us together. but at the end of it all, we felt so good. accomplished. thankful. that we were a great team, and we threw a good party. that all of our family members commented on how nice our friends were, which was something we knew and appreciated. we shared a hi-five. we crashed. we opened presents the next day.

here's two of my favorite photos from the next day. Jarronn's reaction to a book he received from his mom. :-) i miss him so much.