Our e-Christmas Card

We really wanted to do a Christmas card this year but decided against it. We even had beautiful family pictures taken on Gonzaga campus back in October thinking they would be perfect for a Christmas Card. So for the purpose of documenting our 2010, here is our e-Christmas Card (Bargain... no postage or killing trees, right?).


Dear Family and Friends,

We hope this Christmas season finds you full of joy, love, and happiness. We have been so abundantly blessed in 2010. As many of you know, we moved to Spokane, Washington in August 2009 in order for Michael to attend graduate school. We were set against it at first, but Heavenly Father knew our plans better than we did. The day we moved in, we both had an overwhelming feeling of knowing we were in the right place for this phase of our lives. It felt almost magical.
We were quickly called to serve in our ward. Michael worked with the 11 year old boys in scouts and Sunday school. I worked with the 16 and 17 year old girls in the Laurel class. We fell in love with our classes immediately. We enjoyed camp outs, dinners at our house, baptisms, and lessons of true love of service. Michael got called at the very end to be Elders Quorum President and it broke his scouts hearts. When he said, "well guys, I am moving in a few months anyways" they looked on the verge of tears.
Michael was a ROCK star at Gonzaga. A two year MBA program, he attacked and finished in 15 months! I was so proud of him and how hard we worked. Often putting in 12+ hour days, we missed him a lot but were proud of his dedication. He worked for the Arena Football team, the Spokane Shock, in charge of on-the-field entertainment during the games. It was a wonderful franchise to work for and we were grateful to be a part of their Championship season.
In February we decided that it was time for me to become a full-time stay-at-home mom. It was hard for me at first, but I soon found it to be the most rewarding and best job on earth. I kept busy getting in shape, having play groups, hanging out with friends, and playing with Houston.
Houston went from baby to little boy in the last year. He loves anything that is round and hints of being a ball and always has. His favorite activities are shooting hoops and playing catch. He loves playing with other kids and accessorizing. We went walking almost everyday that the weather was higher than 20 degrees. We loved our beautiful walking path and our walking buddies.
In July we found out the great news that we are expecting our 2nd in March 2011. I am excited to meet our new addition as well as see how Houston handles the change. He is WONDERFUL with babies! I just hope he stays that way when he finds out this baby lives with us!

We packed up our lives in Spokane the first week of November. I knew that our time in Spokane was unlike any we would ever have again. The memories I have there will be precious to me forever. It is where our little family learned to be our own little branch of a family tree. It is where my baby Houston became a little boy; learning to walk, talk, make friends, and make me laugh. It is where I began learning how to be a real mom and realized it was the BEST job a person could have. It is where Michael became an adult while still managing to make me giggle with his silliness. It is where we made friends that will last through the eternities. It is where we learned that truly forgetting yourselves and serving others, brings the greatest blessings. It is where we learned that home is where we are together, no matter how far we might be from our comfortable circumstances.
We will miss our time in Spokane but look forward to our next phase of life... Employment! Our lives as students is officially (and FINALLY) over! We have no idea what it will be like without one of us being in school We moved back to San Ramon, CA with Michael's parents while we start the job hunt. Houston thinks he runs the house already! We are excited for what the future holds for our little family and look forward to seeing what exciting things we will have to report for 2011.
Happy Holidays to all! We hope that you have a 2011 as perfect as our 2010 was!