A New Home

Jacob and Danielle's New Home

Now that the wedding and honeymoon are over, Jacob and Danielle have gotten all settled into their new home. It was quite a process to reach this point.

Jacob on the front porch.

First, Jacob moved in 11 days before the wedding. I was pretty excited to get all his stuff moved out of my house, and we soon had their new place stacked with boxes containing Jacob's things. Sooner, perhaps, than Jacob was quite prepared for...

It all began with an old side table and a pair of old lamps...

Between them, Jacob and Danielle didn't have much in the way of furniture. Her parents gave them a double-size mattress and frame, an old side table, and a pair of lamps. While moving the lamps, Jacob dropped and broke one. We super-glued it back together, so it's not too noticeable if you turn the lamp in exactly the right direction... As for Jacob, I gave him a tall-boy dresser that was built by his dad's great uncle, Harold Benge, probably 50 or 60 years ago.

Danielle and Jacob relax in their living room 2 weeks before the wedding.

(Jacob purchased the fan.)

Then Danielle's parents passed along to Jacob and Danielle a couch, love seat, and coffee table that used to belong to Danielle's grandparents, who had passed it on to Danielle's parents when they were newlyweds, and now her parents have passed in on to our newlyweds. Such a sweet tradition!

Jacob pretty much lived among his boxes until after the wedding. Then, while the newlyweds went on their honeymoon, we loaded up all their gifts and added them to the stacks of stuff to await their return. And Danielle's family, who were themselves in the process of moving out of their home, also delivered more stacks of boxes loaded up with Danielle's things, including her belongings that had traveled with her to BYU-Idaho, where she attended before returning home and meeting Jacob.

The bed as it looked while Jacob was a single guy.

When they returned from their honeymoon, Jacob and Danielle plunged back into the world of work. True to its usual form, Walmart kept scheduling them for opposing hours, so the couple didn't have much time to spend together. Jacob expressed his frustration about not being able to tackle unloading the piles of boxes, as well as the feeling that he just didn't know where to start. 

Mobile homes always have such great storage space!

It just so happens that Jacob's mom is an organizer by nature, who loves a good challenge. So I told him if he would give me a day and was willing to do the heavy lifting, I could help them stop living out of those boxes and get things organized. With the full understanding that he and Danielle could reorganize everything to their heart's content, if they wanted to switch things up later. It's much easier to reorganize a little at a time after everything is put away.

So that's what we did the second week after the wedding, one day while Danielle was working but Jacob had the day off. Danielle told Jacob where she wanted things, and he shared his own ideas, as well as considering my suggestions. Danielle only asked that we not do any decorating because she wanted that pleasure for herself. Of course! I remember how exciting it was to be a new wife, decorating the first apartment Mark and I shared. Wow, was that really 25 years ago?

I admit I really enjoyed the task. It did bring back fun memories of organizing my first home, placing those wedding gifts on the shelf for the first time. Jacob, true to his word, provided the muscle while I opened boxes and had a great time organizing.

By the end of the day, we had every box in the living room and kitchen emptied and their contents put away. Jacob loved using their brand new vacuum to clean the living room carpet and make the living room look lovely, clean and uncluttered, to surprise his wife when she came home. We also had the cupboards and counters in the kitchen all scrubbed up, and Jacob swept and mopped the kitchen floor till it was shiny.

There were still a few boxes in the bedroom and several out in the sun room, but the house looked like home and we felt the satisfaction of a good day's work. Jacob and Danielle could enjoy their home while working on those other boxes when they found time.

In a corner of the living room...

And, true to her word, Danielle decorated the house and filled it with sweet loving touches. Here are pictures of a few of those homey touches.

...and at the opposite end of the couch...

...and on a shelf in the living room...

...and the shelf over the kitchen sink.

I loved when I saw this in their bathroom. It is SO Danielle.

You will rarely ever see her without a flower in her hair.

Even on her wedding day, she chose a white flower instead of a veil.

A wall in their bedroom.

The bed looks very different now that it has a woman's touch!

The teddy bears are the ones Jacob gave her on the day he proposed.

So the newlyweds are all moved in and the house has truly become their home. And you've just enjoyed the grand tour!