Journal Jar Post

Q: Describe your first "home" as a young couple

A: Yes, there is a reason the "" are found around the word home...for most young couples, the first home is actually an apartment, and Artyom and I were not exception to the rule. I remember looking for a place to live and going to basement apartments, duplex units, etc. We finally found our place through a friend that recommeneded the complex and we ended up in the ward and area where we were meant to be.
It was a VERY small apartment- @ 900 square feet and at times seemed a bit cramped. There was nowhere to go when you needed some alone time and more than once, I put myself in the bathroom for a good minute or two so I could pull myself together. Apartment #69 that overlooked the backyard of the complex. We have a family picture with Ella as a newborn outside under the tree that we loved so much. We had some great memories there. The first year of marriage, the first vacations we took as a family, the first arguments of who left the toilet seat up, or who forogt to put the load of laundry from the washer to the dryer, we brought our first 2 girls home there, Sofia was potty trained in that first home with her mini pink potty and lots of crabby patties for bribes. It was the girls fist home as well-and although Ella was only there a few short months, it still was her first home where she spent a day in her "tanning bed" when she came home with jaundice.
I remember taking pictures of the place before we left, so I would not ever forget where the Martushev's became a family unit. It was our home, it was our beginning. I don't think you ever forget your starting point. We are still so close to the complex that from time to time we go and see it. Sofia remembers swinging on the swing in the playground, and not much else. But she loves to hear the story about when we took her home for the first time.