The House That Built Me

I've heard this song on the radio a few times recently and it has caused me reflect on the houses and the places that have built and guided me. I realized that it isn't just one house or one place that makes us who we are. Every new place we go teaches us new lessons and prompts us to grow.

Home
My Family moved into this house when I was 7 years old, about 6 months after my brother Marc was born. I remember the house we lived in before this one, but most of my memories from growing up occurred here. This is where I played with my american girl doll under the dining room table with Rebecca. (We were under the dining room table because we were refugees in World War II.) This is the driveway where I learned to play pepper (bump, set, spike) with my Dad. This is where I had the coolest luau-themed sweet 16 party ever. This is where I got in trouble when I did something bad and where most of my friends and I hung out the majority of weekends because my Mom kept our freezer stocked with about 3 gallons of ice cream at all times. It is the house that still has "Return with Honor" painted above the front door because even when my parents were preparing to rent while they served their mission, my friends (non-LDS, male friends) told my Mom she couldn't paint over it because it was what my family stood for.

San Diego, CA
San Diego is my hometown. I took the picture above in December of 2005 after I learned that my parents would be leaving on a mission the following summer. I knew I wouldn't be in San Diego as much over the next few years and wanted to take some pictures to remind myself of home. Even though I haven't called San Diego home for roughly 6 years now, I still look at this picture a lot. I went to this spot on the beach just to be by myself, think, and write in my journal. San Diego is also the place I was sealed for time and all eternity to my sweet husband. The San Diego temple will always be special to me not only as my hometown temple, but the one where Russ and I started our family.

Provo, UT
BYU was my home for 3 1/2 years and it will always be one of my favorite places. It is where I learned to be independent and self-reliant. It is where I developed friendships that will last me a lifetime. It is where my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was solidified and where I made crucial decisions about what I wanted to be when I grew up, serving a mission, and who to marry. It is also the place where I had more fun than I'm sure I will ever have again.

Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona was my family's home for 3 years. Though I never stayed for longer than 2 months at a time, I ended up visiting 6 times and spent my summers and Christmas' there. It is amazing how quickly Barcelona became "home" and how profoundly it has affected my life. Barcelona is where my family unified itself in a cause like never before. It is where I received my endowment (technically that was Madrid) in the temple of the Lord. It is where my family met Russel for the first time and where we where engaged. Barcelona is where I learned about sacrifice.

Washington, D.C.
This has been my home for the last 3 years. I moved here in June of 2007 for an internship and minus a four-month stint back at BYU, I have been here ever since. This is the place that really threw me out of my comfort zone. I came alone to a new city and had to find my way. This is where I learned I could do things I thought I couldn't do. This is where I met a man and fell in love. It is where I learned to be a wife and where I have created a home with my husband. It is where I will become a mother.

I don't know what other places may be in store for me, but I am grateful for the four "homes" I have had so far. They have molded and built me into what I have become and what I will be.