August 5, 2025: The First Home

A year into marriage, Jess and I bought our first home.

A small house tucked into a quiet Norfolk neighborhood, just five minutes from her parents. It was the place where our first two newborns lived, and we decorated a colorful nursery in the front bedroom. Oh, the sweet times.

We stayed there for only a few years, but two decades later, we often take the long way to drive by. Pulling up to the curb, we lower the windows and let the memories rush back, sharp as yesterday.

Today, Jess and I walked through another couple’s first home, this time belonging to McKenzie and Will. In a few weeks, the keys will be theirs.

The rooms stood silent and bare. Waiting. But soon, life will spill into each space, and the everyday moments will become something… sacred.

There’s magic standing inside a story yet to unfold. A blank page, already pulsing with promise.

Every home holds memories.

But the first one stays in your heart forever.