Read Part One- The Day We Met- here.

Read Part Two- Getting To Know Each Other- here.

Read Part Three- Moving In- here.

Read Part Four- Just Friends?- here.

Read Part Five- My New Life Without You- here.

Read Part Six- Secrets- here.

Read Part Seven- I Love You- here.

Read Part Eight- When You Realise- here.

Mr E had proposed and we decided to set a date for our wedding for December 20th 2009.  Having originally thought we would do it in 2010 and in the summer, I suddenly decided that I would love a winter wedding.  I hadn't been to one before and therefore thought it would be nice to be a little different to the weddings I had been to previously.  The date was set and that was that.

We were frantically saving for our wedding but on the back of our minds was our house situation.  We were living in a little rented flat in a pretty village but we desperately wanted a home of our own.  However we were in the middle of a recession and therefore the chances of us getting our own home were so slim.  We accepted defeat and decided to concentrate on saving for our big day, so when our rent was up on our flat my Mum suggested we move back in with her for a bit to save.

I had my reservations about moving back in with my Mum, having not lived at home since I left for university when I was 18.  But ultimately we wanted to save and this was the best way so myself, Mr E and Mitty the cat moved back in to the village that I went to school.  Living with my Mum and sister was good, and it was nice to have home cooked food on the table and our washing doing!  I am so close to my Mum so it was lovely to spend time with her.  

After about eight months my Mum decided to move in with her now husband.  As she was selling her home she offered us the most amazing and generous gift in the world and one that I would never have dreamt in a million years that we would ever get- money towards the deposit of our home.  I still have to pinch myself that it happened but soon we were viewing houses of our own.  

Had it been six months later or earlier we wouldn't have been so fortunate as circumstances would have been very different but we were just so lucky that it was at the same time my Mum was moving.  We soon put on an offer on a little house but unfortunately it fell through just before we were due to exchange.  I was so upset but soon we found another house that was even better.

As soon as I walked into the little three bedroom house on the outskirts of the town near us I just had a good feeling about it.  It needed work but was just lovely and had a great little garden that wasn't overlooked by anyone.  We put an offer on and were delighted to find it was accepted.  Fast forward a couple of months and we got a call from the estate agent to say that the sale was complete and we could come and pick up the keys.  I have never been so excited in my whole life.

We hurried after work to get the keys and both myself and Mr E had butterflies when we pulled up on the drive of our very first home.  I will never ever forget the feeling of putting the key in our front door for the first time, anticipation, nerves, excitement and the fact that we were starting a new chapter of our lives together.

Below are some photos of our first few hours in our home- my Mum, her partner, and my Grandparents came over to toast our new house with some champagne and then myself and Mr E had Dominoes pizza as of course we had no furniture or cutlery!

The house needed lots of work and both myself and Mr E took the week off to completely decorate everything.  We put down new carpets everywhere, cleaned and painted everything in site and spent ages choosing new furniture as we didn't really have anything apart from a few basics.  The end result was good and we soon settled into our new home.  Two and a half years on and I adore our little home- its cosy, full of love and is just a happy place to be.  Its by no means my dream home but its perfect for us right now and we have so many happy memories here.

I don't know how we will ever be able to repay my Mum for the gift she gave us- I mean how can you?  She has given us a place to forge memories, a place that is our own and a nest egg that will secure our future.  She has provided a place for us to bring up Mads in the early years and because of her we will always have that equity in all our houses to come.  She has basically set us up for life.  We are so incredibly lucky and grateful to her for what she did for us.

So now we were in our own little home the next exciting thing on the agenda was of course our big day...