This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Iris by Lowe’s.

Last fall, my husband and I packed up to move almost a thousand miles from our friends, family, and the only home we've ever known - Texas. We've never been in a position where we were thrust into a world where we knew no one. While we were researching Albuquerque, we found that it has one of the highest crime rates in the country. The opportunity was right, and we knew it would help our family so much to take the job. We were also aware that we'd need to take precautions to protect ourselves and our new home. That's why when I had the opportunity to partner with Lowe's on a sponsored campaign featuring Iris (their smart home and security system), I proudly accepted.

Moving Away from "Home"

There were a lot of questions about what life would be like once we got here. Would we be anxious to move back to Texas? Would we make friends? Would it ever really feel like home? In fact, I had so many anxieties that came prior to this move. I broke down more than once over the whole thing. For me, moving away from everything I've ever known was seriously frightening. Still, we felt that we needed to try.Because the home buying process is a long and arduous one, we lived in a hotel for a few weeks before we closed on our house. When we pulled into town and made our way into our temporary hotel home, I got nauseous. We hadn't researched the location of the hotel (oops) and there were seedy characters left and right.I locked myself in our room every day while John was at work, afraid of what lurked in the halls and outside on the street. We had just moved to the 4th most dangerous state in the country, and I felt so vulnerable. It was easily one of the worst weeks of my life - scared, unsure, and secluded.

Learning Our New City

Luckily, we did our research, and the next week we moved to a hotel in a better part of town. Together, we explored our new city, visiting fun new areas and finding things we loved about our new home base. For the first time, I felt like we hadn't made a terrible mistake. A couple of weeks later, we closed on our first home in the neighborhood of our dreams.In hindsight, a security system should have been the first investment for our home. It took a few months, but when I decided to start work as a doula, it was clear that we needed to take the plunge. Birth work is so rewarding, but the hours are long and unpredictable. We really needed an easy way to check in on things at home when we're away.

Choosing a Home Security System

We chose Iris because it's a DIY system with all the benefits of professional monitoring and it's controlled by a single mobile app. I feel so much better when we have to leave our house because if anything goes awry I know I'll get a notification and we'll get the help we need.This might be petty, considering we're talking about very serious things here... but I also like how Iris products look. They aren't super "in your face", so they don't clutter the design of my home.Iris also works with over 100+ smart devices including switches, keypads, locks, thermostats, garage openers and even plugs, and in this article, you can find everything you need to know about smart plugs and what smart plug you should buy for your home. So over time I can add on to the things the app controls.

A Happy Home

We've been in our home for six months, now, and I'm so proud to say that it has turned out to be the most rewarding decision we've ever made together. Making our house into a home has given me a new reason to get out of bed in the morning. Despite statistics, I feel safe while taking the proper safety measures, and we've even made a couple of friends.Little pieces of our families and Texas have helped us really feel at home in New Mexico. Even though distance separates us, the memories and mementos help us feel right at home. When I miss Texas, all I have to do is look around and I'm reminded that it will always be a part of me. We carry it with us.Six months ago, I wasn't sure if it would be possible to be this happy here, but we are. We're so happy and we love having Albuquerque as our new "home base". I think back to the worries I had at the beginning of our journey and I realize that you're never truly safe anywhere. As much as we'd like to think "it could never happen to us", it can. That's why it's so important to protect your home. Use code MYIRISSECURITY to receive 10% off Iris starter packs and smart hubs to protect your home today (offer valid 5/30/17 – 6/29/17).

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Iris by Lowe’s.