Donovon and I bought our first and only house in 2001. I was 28 and Donovon, 31, when we excitedly plunged into home ownership.

We began our journey by looking at several houses in north Austin. None of them spoke to us. Our realtor didn’t really understand what we were looking for (he was terrible), so I took to the internet and picked a few houses in the area we wanted and asked our realtor to show them to us (yes, I basically did the lazy guy’s work for him).

I remember clearly walking into this house and immediately knowing it was the one. In fact, both Donovon and I knew it instantly. It definitely needed updating, but the huge backyard sold us. We really wanted a huge yard with big trees. The house was ours within a few weeks.

We’ve slowly made renovations over the years, and there is still work to be done as with any house, I suppose. But after 13 years, there’s a lot of history and memories here. I may long for a new kitchen and a bigger closet, but there’s a lot of love in this house. And that’s what I’m thankful for – our Home Sweet Home.