Little Things and Changes

Not a lot changes in 4 months, but I think what does change the most is little kids (especially those under 1). They grow really fast in those 4 short months! And you don't realized it when you see them constantly during that time. My little nephew Dylan and my cousin Lindsey's little girl Lydia have changed so much since we saw them last! They are both SOO cute, I can't get over it.

(Brody and Dylan were both very intrigued with the movie Horton Hears a Who)

Speaking of little things and changes. Brody's sister got a new Husky puppy and he is the cutest thing. He likes to bite Sal's ear and Sal just takes it. It's funny/sad and pretty entertaining.

Surprise

When I found out that I was able take a few extra days off work before Christmas, Brody and I thought it would be fun to not tell anyone and just show up 5 days early. Well, we had to tell a few people-- Brody's mom, since we were going to be staying there for the first week, and also Lindsey to make plans about how to surprise my family. So after work on Friday we packed up and were gone by 6:00pm. We drove all through the night and arrived at 6:30 am. Conveniently, my entire family was gone at a little family overnighter and had left a key out for the paper route subs so get in, so we were able to go inside and sleep for a few hours until they got home. We also prepped the house to freak them out a little bit when they got home. We turned on all the lights, the radio, lit a candle, and put a few nutcracker dolls in the middle of the floor. Then we hid in the back room and had fun listening to them trying to figure out how the house got this way. Then we came out and yelled surprise!!! and everyone freaked out. It was great.

I was hoping to get a good picture of their faces, but my camera let me down. You still get the idea.

Christmas time= HOME

I love Christmas. Obviously. But I never thought I'd actually miss the freezing cold weather, snow and ice that this wonderful holiday brings. But I am now realizing how true it is that Christmas is just not the same without it. It doesn't feel right to wear flip-flops on December 15 and to look out the window and see bright blue sky and deep green grass and trees. It's my first time being away from home for a majority of the Christmas season and let's just say I can NOT wait till we're back in Utah in one week!!!!!

Birthday Boy

On Sunday November 29th, Brody Gunnell Hatch turned 25!! (yay for insurance discount) It had been a crazy week with my family coming and Thanksgiving and all that but I still managed to do a little something special (as much as I could do anyway considering it was a Sunday). For starters, I surprised him (sort of) with his dream present-- an xbox 360. Now let me explain. For years I've been resisting Brody's wishes to get an xbox because I just don't want him to waste his time on it, but it actually kind of fits our situation right now for the following reasons....

1. brody's last day of class is today, December 9 and next semester doesn't start till January 25. That's 47 days with nothing to do. (believe me, I know how boring that can be). We'll be in Utah for only 10 of those days. I work full time. What else is he going to do? Well, there are lots of other things to do, but with that much free time, I'm sure he'll be able to do it all.

2. when he IS in school he does get a short break here and there, but it's not usually long enough to go out and do something, so playing a quick game is just the right amount of time to take his mind off his busy school work.

3. he didn't give me ANY ideas of something that he wanted (besides things that are even more expensive than an xbox, so I figured it was the best option, considering). Plus, I still have to come up with even more ideas of something to get him for Christmas.

So, anyway, he was quite excited about that. Except I'm so dang easy to read and so BAD at lying to keep it a surprise that he figured it out before even opening it. Oh well, I guess that's better than me being good at lying.....? That night I had some friends of ours come over for a SpongeBob themed cake and ice cream party (cheesy on purpose) with those paper plates and cups that you buy at Wal-Mart for little 5 year olds. I was going to go all out with balloons and a spongebob cake, but it didn't happen. I was lucky to get what I did. Still, it was fun/funny, and the only thing I could really come up with to do on a Sunday.

I'm so grateful for Brody and all his hard work in school and his willingness to do what he needs to to be able to support our family in the future. I'm grateful for his desire to succeed and reach his goals and for never giving up. Here are just a few of the countless reasons that I am in love him:

- I love his unique style (especially because it's all so cheap!) but also because that's just who he is and I love it.

- I love that he loves to teach/speak in public settings and that he's so good at it. He spoke the other day in church and just got called as a sunday school teacher for the 12-13 years olds and I've never heard more people tell me what a good job he's doing.

- I love that he's always so willing to help me with things around the house when I have a busy week, even though he's just as busy.

- I love his taste in music and hobbies and that for the most part, they are the same as mine. I love that we have fun together no matter what we're doing.

- I love that he has a strong testimony of the gospel and is always willing to share it.

- I just love our life together and the fun times we have, which are many. Thanks for everything Brod, I love you and think you are the greatest thing that ever happened to me!

Thanksgiving

I guess it's time to do my Thanksgiving post.

We were originally planning on being on our own for Thanksgiving for the first time this year but then my family decided to take a trip down that week and I'm so glad they did. Big holiday's like this just aren't the same without family. They stayed two nights at our house (yes, 7 mostly grown people in a 700 sq ft apartment, and a dog. Thank goodness for blow up mattresses. It was tight, but fun!) and then we all spent 2 nights in Mesa to visit friends and family. We had a really busy but very fun weekend including things like....

-- Card games (of course)

-- A hike on the morning of Thanksgiving

-- Eating 2 Thanksgiving dinners! One at our apartment and one at my grandma's the next day. I don't think I could ever get sick of Thanksgiving food!

-- Multiple shopping trips including one on black friday (6:30 am)

-- Playing shuffleboard (my family, including me, has a weird obsession with this game- I think it started on our cruise where we played at least 5 games a day).

-- Eating out at the yummiest mexican restaurant- Tia Rosas.

-- Going to the movie "The Blind Side"

-- Checking out the swap meet

-- Eating Pie and Ice Cream with my cousin Jordan and her cute family

And of course just enjoying spending time together. It was so

great to have them here for a few days and I'm so glad we were able to spend Thanksgiving with family. Thanks so much for coming down! We will miss you. But not for long since we will be back in Logan for Christmas before we know it!

*** I am so grateful for so many things and just as much as the actual things themselves, I'm grateful for this time of year when we can focus on how truly blessed we are and for the many opportunities we have to serve others.***

Update

My Job:

I'm just now realizing that I forgot to mention on my blog that I got a new job! I started the week of Halloween with a small Medical Billing Company that is owned by a family in my ward. My job is to call the insurance companies (or check online for the bigger companies) and make sure they are paying what they are supposed to. If they aren't, I have to figure out why and fix whatever is wrong and get them to pay. I spend a lot of time on the phone (on hold for most of that time) and on the computer. It doesn't sound like anything exciting, but it's really an awesome job compared to some of the other options I was considering prior to getting this job. It is just the perfect situation for this time in my life. Here's a few reasons why:

- It's full time. YAY! Finally. Something to occupy my time and something to pay our bills.

- It's Monday-Friday from 8:30-5:00 just like I wanted. I NEVER have to work past 5 and I NEVER have to work Saturday or Sunday. I am guaranteed to have that time to spend with Brody and enjoy life, no matter what. I love that.

- It pays better than any job I've had thus far in my life-- by $1.00, but still, it adds up!

- It's exactly 2 miles away from my house. I can get there in 7 minutes. 5 if all the lights are green.

- I can wear whatever I want. Which is perfect for me because I don't own very many "nice/dressy" clothes.

- I get to work with my friend Meghann. It was so nice to already know someone when I started and it's great to carpool and eat lunch together.

- The work itself is fairly easy and not too boring (for the most part anyway- Wednesday's get a little hard, but that's normal right?).

Here's the view from my desk. Not bad... eh?

(we work out of a house, so this is the backyard)

It's a whole different world working full time. Aside from a few busy weeks at my job in Logan, I've never had a permanently full time job. It was a little weird at first having to do all my laundry, grocery shopping, house cleaning, working out and errand running in the evening or on Saturday, on top of making, eating and cleaning up dinner, and trying to find SOME time to relax, but I'm getting used to it. (Brody does help a lot with things around the house and I am VERY appreciative of that!) The thing that makes it all worth it is knowing that down the road, our roles will switch and Brody will be working full time and I will (hopefully) be able to do what I've always wanted-- stay at home with the kids. And let me just add how comforting it is to know that Brody will (most likely) be working at a job he truly enjoys. At least that's what we're hoping will come of all his hard work at school.

{P.S. I really look up to my dad who doesn't love what he does, but does it anyway to support his family. I know it's hard for him at times, but that's what makes him such a great person!}

Brody's School:

Speaking of Brody and school, he has been super busy lately with classes, homework, group projects, assignments and any and all other school related work. He usually does school work all day while I'm at work, and then we can hang out for the rest of the night. Grad school is definitely more time consuming than undergrad was, but he loves what he's doing and enjoys learning more about it, which, like I said makes things much easier. I guess if we wasn't super busy, we wouldn't be getting what we are paying for!!

Trips to Mesa:

It is SO nice to have multiple family and friends just 45 minutes away (and Jordan and her family who are even closer!!) to do things with. We try and make a trip down there once or twice a month, for sure to go to the temple and then to just hang out if we can make it down again. I love the Mesa temple and I can't wait to do a session. So far we've done baptisms and sealings, both with our friends Stu and Alyssa, which were both really awesome. Thanks to everyone who has invited us into their home and made us feel welcome here in Arizona!

(did you notice that one panel that is missing windows?

Weird huh?)

A Birthday

Today, Salomon the dog became 2 years old.