I promise we did not get married in "The Little White Wedding Chapel" in Vegas.
This cute little chapel was found in Old Town Tustin - who knew!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
happily ever after part 1
I promise we did not get married in "The Little White Wedding Chapel" in Vegas.This cute little chapel was found in Old Town Tustin - who knew!
Well into Month 4 ...
and blogging continues to lag. Sigh. Life is so busy and complicated! But here is what has happened in the last month or so - in list format:
- I decorated our little apartment a wee bit for the holidays!
- We listened to Christmas music, baked pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and put together an awesome San Francisco puzzle.
- Worked at our Stake's Creche exhibit as ushers and were asked to play Mary and Joseph for a bit as well. It was really a fun experience to share.
- Shared our first Christmas together with our families! It was sooo much fun! Spent Christmas Eve and morning with the Soelberg and Winder Families (missed Ben, Katie, Jonas, Joe, Sara, Libby, and Jenna)! I really enjoyed playing Christmas Songs on pipes as a family - who knew I had musical talent! We also had a blast watching Jimmie open his presents and holding baby Annabelle ... it almost made me want a baby ... (but I knew those feelings would be tempered with a visit to the Johnson house on Christmas Day ... and they were.)
- Shared the remainder of Christmas Day at the Johnson house where all 6 of us, our spouses, and all 8 grand kids were running around like crazy. Its hard to get that bunch sitting still and opening gifts when there are soooo many cousins to play with! One trip to the emergency room and six stitches later marks a good holiday! Christmas dinner, done in shifts, was shared with the Johnson Aunt, Uncle, and cousins - it is always soo much fun to get together with them. Needless to say our house was full of laughter - not just from the kids.
- Nate and I had a chance (amongst the commotion of my niece Mikyla going to the emergency room) to exchange presents on our own and as much fun as both of our families are ... this was a well cherished moment for us. Heartfelt gifts were exchanged and there may even have been a tear or two as we both felt overwhelming gratitude to have one another. Our love grows stronger everyday and for that we are grateful.
- Before leaving Eugene/Springfield to head down to Southern California for the holidays, some not great news came to me at work ... while the company I work for generously gave me a holiday bonus, they informed me (and all the Administrative Staff) that our hours would be reduced to 32 hours a week due to lack of work and a struggling economy. I work for engineers and architects and the building/construction industry is not an area of the economy doing well (what is these days). With that news we felt we would not be able to live in Oregon much longer if Nate did not find work. Our plan was to return to Oregon after the holidays and set the wheels in motion for moving to Korea.
- Of course, once we sent in our passports for renewal and an update on my new last name, the University of Oregon came knocking and offered Nate a job! YAY! While staying in Oregon is not a long term priority or preference for us, we are eager to get our feet under ourselves and begin to start chipping away at our school debts. This is really great experience and the position offers a little bit better pay than previously anticipated. We feel really really blessed right now, especially at a time when so many people are searching for work. We give thanks to Father in Heaven for the blessing of work and testify of the importance of faith and paying tithing - even when you have almost nothing to give. So looks like three more months in Oregon for the Soelbergs!
- Another exciting thing for us - new callings in the ward! I have been called as the Sunbeam Teacher (3 year olds) and it is an eye opening experience. Lets just say that Nate laughed a little when he heard what was in store for me. Two weeks into it and I am slowly getting the hang of it. Nate is teaching the 16 and 17 year olds and its giving him a little bit of a tough time as well. Teenagers are a rough crowd - not much feedback or positive reinforcement for the teacher and they don't give you much to go on. Whoa - does that make us old feeling this way already? We both are getting small glimpses of what it is like to be a parent. Its kind of a thankless job ... but super important.
Sooooo that is the update!
- I decorated our little apartment a wee bit for the holidays!
- We listened to Christmas music, baked pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and put together an awesome San Francisco puzzle.
- Worked at our Stake's Creche exhibit as ushers and were asked to play Mary and Joseph for a bit as well. It was really a fun experience to share.
- Shared our first Christmas together with our families! It was sooo much fun! Spent Christmas Eve and morning with the Soelberg and Winder Families (missed Ben, Katie, Jonas, Joe, Sara, Libby, and Jenna)! I really enjoyed playing Christmas Songs on pipes as a family - who knew I had musical talent! We also had a blast watching Jimmie open his presents and holding baby Annabelle ... it almost made me want a baby ... (but I knew those feelings would be tempered with a visit to the Johnson house on Christmas Day ... and they were.)
- Shared the remainder of Christmas Day at the Johnson house where all 6 of us, our spouses, and all 8 grand kids were running around like crazy. Its hard to get that bunch sitting still and opening gifts when there are soooo many cousins to play with! One trip to the emergency room and six stitches later marks a good holiday! Christmas dinner, done in shifts, was shared with the Johnson Aunt, Uncle, and cousins - it is always soo much fun to get together with them. Needless to say our house was full of laughter - not just from the kids.
- Nate and I had a chance (amongst the commotion of my niece Mikyla going to the emergency room) to exchange presents on our own and as much fun as both of our families are ... this was a well cherished moment for us. Heartfelt gifts were exchanged and there may even have been a tear or two as we both felt overwhelming gratitude to have one another. Our love grows stronger everyday and for that we are grateful.
- Before leaving Eugene/Springfield to head down to Southern California for the holidays, some not great news came to me at work ... while the company I work for generously gave me a holiday bonus, they informed me (and all the Administrative Staff) that our hours would be reduced to 32 hours a week due to lack of work and a struggling economy. I work for engineers and architects and the building/construction industry is not an area of the economy doing well (what is these days). With that news we felt we would not be able to live in Oregon much longer if Nate did not find work. Our plan was to return to Oregon after the holidays and set the wheels in motion for moving to Korea.
- Of course, once we sent in our passports for renewal and an update on my new last name, the University of Oregon came knocking and offered Nate a job! YAY! While staying in Oregon is not a long term priority or preference for us, we are eager to get our feet under ourselves and begin to start chipping away at our school debts. This is really great experience and the position offers a little bit better pay than previously anticipated. We feel really really blessed right now, especially at a time when so many people are searching for work. We give thanks to Father in Heaven for the blessing of work and testify of the importance of faith and paying tithing - even when you have almost nothing to give. So looks like three more months in Oregon for the Soelbergs!
- Another exciting thing for us - new callings in the ward! I have been called as the Sunbeam Teacher (3 year olds) and it is an eye opening experience. Lets just say that Nate laughed a little when he heard what was in store for me. Two weeks into it and I am slowly getting the hang of it. Nate is teaching the 16 and 17 year olds and its giving him a little bit of a tough time as well. Teenagers are a rough crowd - not much feedback or positive reinforcement for the teacher and they don't give you much to go on. Whoa - does that make us old feeling this way already? We both are getting small glimpses of what it is like to be a parent. Its kind of a thankless job ... but super important.
Sooooo that is the update!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
