Yesterday, Kirstin and I celebrated being together for half of our lives. We've now been dating or married for 15 years ... and we just seem to like each other a lot more as we go along! :)

On October 14, 1994, my brother and I had a big party at our house while our parents were away for their wedding anniversary. No, there wasn't any drinking at the party; but the music was (apparently) so loud that people from across the Boerman Expressway in South Holland (my parents house backed up to I-94) complained about the noise, leading the police to shut things down within a few hours. Some folks ended up staying, though--hanging out, walking around the neighborhood and talking late into the night. Sometime during the course of the evening, Kirstin and I realized we liked each other. I mean ... like liked. And the rest, as they say they say, is history.

See mom and dad: that party wasn't nearly as bad as you thought!

We have finally managed to move in to our apartment in Three Rivers! While much finishing work remains (trim, hanging doors, finishing windows, kitchen storage, etc.), we were able to move essential things into the space and begin staying overnight. How exciting!

A few weeks ago, we finished the floors--including painting the floor in the kitchen. As with so many steps along the way, it felt really good to have such a big piece of things finished. And it was fun to see how different elements we've been working on were finally clicking into place:

The furnace and ductwork were completed in the two weeks after the floor was finished; then our plumbing fixtures were installed. Last weekend we were able to turn our water on for the first time (with a pleasant whoosh!).

Moving our things in (and cooking!) started making the place feel like home:

As always, there are more photos available on Flickr.

Unfortunately, we recently had a number of things stolen from the basement of our building--which, of course, doesn't contribute to the sense of security home is supposed to have. Thankfully, the wonderful volunteers and board of World Fare have been very supportive as we deal with the consequences of the robbery.

On a happier note, it is wonderful to finally hang out in the place we hope to call home for a very long time. It's great to spend time in the space in non-work clothes, doing non-renovation activities; we felt we'd arrived the first time we walked on the floors in bare feet.