::Sigh:: :)

I decided you needed a good entry. :)

Really, not that much is new. We're busy- as young married couples tend to be. I'm still loving my job and i love the people that i work with. I miss some of my good friends in provo, but i'm often talking with them- even if it's mostly work. Many people ask what I do. I'm a supervisor at the DC office of Ancestry.Com. During the day, I make runs to the archives to exchange records and then help the team scan those records. Mostly, it's a lot of answering questions, fixing problems, having 1 on 1's, and making spreadsheets. I'm quite tired by the time i get home. i take the metro to and from work- which is actually quite awesome. I really do enjoy reading- but due to lack of time, i've been a slacker at it for- ummmm.. 5 years. So I read ever morning on the metro. I'm on my 3rd book since November. Plus I read 2 over the Christmas holiday. :)Sometimes i'll read the paper or something, but i prefer the news online anyway. When I get home from work, we usually have dinner and then I try to work out. Mondays- FHE, Tuesdays- Boy Scouts, 1st wed of the month- Missionaries for dinner, and 1ce a month- Ward temple night. We don't have many free nights. i'll start teaching the 7 turning 8 year old children in Primary this week and I'm super excited! What a great year- they will get baptized! :)

Matthew is busy too. He's so awesome. makes me breakfast, lunch, and dinner. he also cleans the house and runs most of the errands. If he didn't, we'd never have a free day because we'd be running all day saturday! i know that he loves me and that's why he does it. He's also finishing up his classes. Right now, he's taking a history class, and an english class. It'll be nice when that's all done with. He's also looking for something part-time to do. :)

This last weekend, we were able to go home to PA. It was a long weekend and we had a super great trip. It's what i wanted to do for my birthday :) We were going to go to nyc but decided it was to cold and would rather do it on a warmer day... While we were home, we ate at Savos- my favorite pizza place.We hung out with some friends and spent time with my family. What could be better..

Life is good. :)

happy 23rd

happy birthday to me. <3 posts to come soon.

Christmas

Christmas was so much fun this year! Matthew and I celebrated by ourselves in our new apartment! We had amazing food and played games and watched our new movies. We are so blessed. Enjoy some photos! (Nags Head vaca to come soon)

Enjoying lobster tail for Christmas Eve Dinner

Our Christmas Eve Dinner. Lobster tail, Linguine, and tomato salad

Our Christmas Dinner: Ham, Sweet Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, and Crescent Rolls

Matthew enjoying his Hickory Farms gift.

Merry Christmas, Matthew!

Merry Christmas, DeAnna!

New Years Resolution

 A teacher of mine whose blog i follow has a idea for New Years' Resolutions that I find so promising and so I have decided to try it this year.
Basically, instead of goals- she chooses one word for the year. She then uses that word to motivatae herself throughout the year to become a better person. Some people, through her comments, take that word and then make it more specific for each month. It's a lot less "burdensome" than a goal, but it has many little goals within it.

I thought about this for a little, and have decided my word will be "MOTIVATE". I want to motivate myself to be a better person: in spiritual, physical, and emotional ways. I want to motivate my husband to finish school and strive with me to be a better person. I want to motivate my empoyees to love the work they do and help them to see what potential and growth there is in their lives, both in and out of the company. I want to motivate my friends and family to seek more truth in their personal lives and help them realize that there are always ways to improve.

What is your "Word for the Year"?

Our New Years' Letter <3 for you to enjoy!

Well, Here we are! A year has come and gone and so many wonderful things have happened.

We started the year off in our little basement apartment. It was crazy there but it was great to be so close to school. I was working part time at Ancestry.Com and Matthew was at Orange Soda.

I graduated in April from BYU! It feels so great to FINALLY be finished with school. Contrary to what many people thought, I don’t really miss it. I would like to take a few classes again one day but purely on a recreational basis. I’ll take classes like pottery or interior design.  Matthew is still busy with his independent classes and has just a few left. He’s looking forward to finishing as well!

Around graduation, we decided it was time to get out of Provo. Orem really has a whole different culture from Provo- even though it’s only a few miles away. We loved our apartment- a two story townhouse. It was wonderful to have light coming through the windows, 2 bedrooms, and a washer and dryer. We were called into the Spanish ward at church as language missionaries. It was so wonderful! Even though I didn’t know much Spanish, it was amazing to feel the love of the brothers and sisters in that ward.  Matthew enjoyed being able to use his Spanish again.  I was still at Ancestry. Com but became a full time employee.  Matthew was also put onto a new team at Orange Soda, where he was able to make bigger sales.

Then things became a little crazy! In August, we went out to California for Spencer (Matt’s brother) and Morgan’s wedding. We went out the whole week before to be able to enjoy the beautiful California air and family time.  I was also promoted to team lead for the daytime shifts around this time. In September, a position opened for Supervisor in our DC remote location. Matthew and I decided it would be a wonderful opportunity and so I applied for it.  I found out I got the job on September 30. We got out of our contract at our apartment and started packing. We came out for a house hunting trip and some training for 2 weeks in October.  We used the other 2 weeks to sell some of our furniture and get everything organized. We drove across the country and stopped to visit some close friends along the way. Home cooked food and a normal schedule felt amazing after our couple crazy weeks! I started work on November 2. Talk about Fast Paced!

We sure do miss our family out in California but we love it here. We found a great place to live and our new ward is amazing! We were able to go up to Pennsylvania for a short trip at Thanksgiving and will go to North Carolina for Christmas.

We truly have been so blessed this year. So many wonderful things have happened, things we couldn’t have even imagined.  We are excited for a new year in a new place with new adventures. Hope your Christmas was FANTASTIC <3 and Happy New Year!

Long Break

Merry Christmas Eve! and- Merry Christmas. and Happy New Year!
Matthew and I will be busy the next few days snapping a ton of photos, opening gifts, eating yummmy food, and just having fun together. Saturday we leave for NC to spend a week with my mom's fam for the holidays. I'm super excited because it's going to be awesome.  So- i know you'll miss me but you'll get some great pictures and stories when I return <3

dear snow:

Dear record breaking snow:

You have given us almost 2 ft of white, hurt your eyes to look at in the sun, snow. it's beautiful except near the roads- then it's yucky. But I wanted to thank you- even though I'm not usually a fan of your outpourings. I needed this break, where I was able to lay in my robe and watch movies and tv for 2 straight days. i slept about 12 hours a night and got up and relaxed more. I had a snow day today- something i haven't enjoyed for about 5 years now. I was able to get some more christmas shopping done, clean up the house, and relax even more. So- even though I don't want you to come again for a very long time, thank you for coming now.
:) love, DeAnna