MeRrY ChRiStMaS

We just wanted to wish all of our friends, loved ones, and everyone else a Merry Christmas! We hope your Christmases have all been as wonderful as ours! We went up to Layton to spend Christmas Eve with my family, and then this morning we unwrapped all the gifts that Santa brought us at our house. We've spent most of the day with Dar's family eating food, opening presents and playing the Wii we got as an early Christmas present back in September. This Christmas has been wonderful!

Also, we just wanted to share our good news that Darwin and I both got 4.0 GPAs this semester! We're really excited about it and hope to keep up with our good grades, despite our crazy lives.

Again, Merry Christmas! We love you all!

Little blessings to be thankful for...

The big move was this past weekend, and there were so many things that happened to make the move easier on us. The move went much faster than we expected, and thanks to wonderful friends, family, and a ward full of great young men, we were moved into our new place a whole day ahead of schedule! Here are a few of the blessings we saw that made the move so easy on us:

#1: We planned ahead and started packing early. Our entire spare room was filled with boxes that were ready to be moved out as soon as we got the keys.

#2: We got the keys early enough on Thursday for Darwin & I to move two loads of stuff by ourselves after work, with the help of Jared, Tracee, and Reagan (they're angels sent from heaven, and somehow became our best friends).

#3: Because we were able to get so much moved on Thursday, we were able to finish up moving everything out on Friday, before the snow came on Saturday.

#4: Darwin went slow on the freeway so that the things we didn't have tied down wouldn't fly out of the trailer. I was really nervous about not tying it down, but thankfully it turned out okay.

#5: We were blessed with patience on Thursday night when we went to move our stuff into the condo, and the power had been shut off, so we had to move everything in the dark.

Now for the blessings of being in Springville:
#1: We only live 5 minutes from J, T, and R now, so we all get to save on gas money!

#2: We actually own our own home!!

#3: We get to enjoy some leisure time in our pool and hot tub, and try to get back in shape with the gym we now have access to.

#4: We live closer to Darwin's family as well so we get to help them out more (and enjoy the perks of their huge garden in the summer time!)

Thanks to everyone who helped us move, or even just offered to help. We're grateful everything went so smoothly and that we've been able to get the house in such good order already. We even got our Christmas tree set up yesterday! The decorating will happen tonight :)

Updates

Update #1:
We weren't supposed to close on the condo until this coming Monday (the 8th), but we were able to close on November 21st, just over three weeks early! My mom was surprised because she said closing dates usually get pushed back, not moved forward, so YAY for us! Although we were able to close early, we are actually moving in a few days later than initially planned, which is kind of a bummer. The couple we bought it from did not have a new place lined up and needed some more time to move out (they either have a place now, or they're moving in with family so we can move in). So, being the nice people we are, we let them stay a few more days (we couldn't give them too much time because we now have a deadline to get out of our apartment), but at the same time, we get to charge them rent :) It actually turns out to be a pretty good deal for everyone involved, minus us having less time to move out. We'll still be moved in for sure by next Sunday (the 14th), and we can't wait to get the move over with...mostly because I REALLY want to get our Christmas decorations up!! I am a tad stressed about moving next weekend though, because it's just before my finals. Eek! Here's some pics of us having fun packing :)
Update #2:
I've had my blood tested twice since having my radioactive iodine therapy treatment for my thyroid back in September, and so far only good news has come from it. Both times I had my blood checked the results came back normal, which is AWESOME, because it means that I don't have to go back on thyroid medication!! I have to have my blood tested again towards the end of the month, and the results may change, but for now, no more medication!! WooHoo!

Update #3:
Darwin has nearly completed his first semester of his MS program! YAY! As of this time next week he will have finished his finals and be one semester down with only 5 more to go! Also, by this time in 2 weeks I will have FINALLY finished my Associates degree!! You have NO idea how good it feels to say that! Next step is to push through my BS degree as fast as I can and if all goes according to plan I will graduate Spring 2010, with Darwin completing his MS and graduating Summer 2010.

Update #4:
We had a really great Thanksgiving break that went WAY too fast, as usual. Thanksgiving morning Darwin went to play football with the Young Men vs. the Elders Quorum. He had a blast and came back with grass stains all over the place, but at least he was in better shape than last year. After he got himself cleaned up, he helped me make some yummy Pilgrim hats which I found on this blog. I thought ours turned out really well (although I forgot to take a close-up shot of the ones we made), and everyone seemed to enjoy them!

Dar putting the buckles on our Pilgrim hats.

Dar modeling the Pilgrim hats :)

Every year for Thanksgiving, Dar & I are blessed to enjoy two Thanksgiving meals. This year we first went to my cousin's house to have dinner with my side of the family. (My parents stayed up in Layton and had their own dinner so we weren't able to see them this year.) My three little cousins decided to play "makeup" and I couldn't resist taking pictures of their lovely art work, and I just HAD to post them. These girls are soo cute! I love them!

After having dinner with my side of the family, we went to Dar's parents house and had dinner with them as well. The food was delish at both places and we were so glad to see everyone!

Then, on Saturday I was able to meet up with some old friends I haven't seen for a long time! First, I was able to go see my friend Kate, who I used to work with. Her daughter got married on Saturday and we were able to stop by the reception for a minute before heading to the Gateway to meet up with a good friend from highschool, Melissa and her husband, Kenley. They met us at this yummy restaurant called Z'Tejas. It was soo good to see them after soo long! One of the reasons I love the holidays is being able to see friends and family we haven't seen in a while. This really is the best time of year!!

Kate & Me

The Wife Song

I thought this was a funny song and wanted to pass it along. Thanks for sharing, Devon! We miss you!

A Beloved Apostle

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles passed away last night around 11:30pm at the ripe old age of 91. Elder Wirthlin was the oldest living Apostle. You can see more information on Elder Wirthlin at the LDS.org Website. He was an amazing man, and I absolutely LOVED his last General Conference address titled: "Come What May, and Love It". You can see the entire address by clicking here.

It's always hard for me to see such great men of God leave us, but I think we all knew Elder Wirthlin's time was about up. We could all see the signs during the last few General Conferences. He inspired and uplifted thousands with his talks of encouragement and hope. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin truly was a man of God and will be missed by many.