So I thought I'd add a little something to the post, since the blog is really Brittany's strength. As I was listening to Christmas music to and from Idaho Falls this winter, I thought It would be appropriate to make a montage of Christ and send it out as a Christmas card. It would be our first one in almost 3 years of marriage and I thought I owed it to all my family and friends. I would have posted it earlier but i have been enjoying, oh so much, this break with being graduated and all. I did make this after school was out though and I wanted everyone to have their own copy but that came with challenges of it's own and It didn't send like I thought it would. So i have been trying every available means to get it out, with Facebook, personal visits, and now this blog. We want you all to know that we do think upon each and every one of you and hope that your doing well and that your dreams are coming true.

Enjoy and I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

So, What's Next?

It seems that Mike and I have reached a crossroads in our life and find many people asking us, "What's next?" Our last two years and eight months of marriage have been spent as college students. But as of this last weekend, we have officially lost the title of college students and are now college graduates! WAHOO!!! For those of you who don't know, Mike graduated in Business Management, with an emphasis in Finance, and a cluster in web design. I graduated in Biology and Health Education. For those of you who are wondering, here is what is next: (...and keep in mind, that like usual, we only have the next six months of our lives planned. After that, who really knows?)

For Mike: Michael was offered a second internship with World Minerals in Lompoc, California. It is a huge company, the largest open-pit mine in the United States and is owned by the largest mining company in the world. Mike doesn't actually work in the mine, he works in their corporate offices punching numbers and figuring out problems. But, he does now own a hard hat, steel toe boots, and can technically be called a miner... It is for six months and after much thought and prayer, we have decided to accept their offer. The people there absolutely love him and Mike completely loved his job there, as well as the people and the beautiful beach! This time around, he will be working in the Customer Service department, rather than the logistics and supply departments, because he didn't have time to get any experience in that area last summer. He's a little worried about that because he will be dealing with more customers directly, who sometimes can get really irate, but it can't be worse than pest control, right?! He has already signed up for a class to help him prepare to take the GMAT within the next few months, because he wants to go to Grad school in about 2 years. I'm voting for grad school in the east coast, another adventure! He plans on spending his free time studying, playing golf, basketball, and soccer, learning more about web design, playing his xbox, and just enjoying life like he usually does!

For Brit: I am doing my student teaching at Bountiful High School in Utah. Yes, this means that Mike and I will be separated for about 2 1/2 months, but it just couldn't be avoided. We feel that it is the right thing to do. For some reason, the Lord wants us in Santa Maria, California and this is the only way to get us there. I am excited for this challenge, but I will miss Mike more than anything in the whole world! I will be living with my parents and working so hard to make my cooperating teachers happy. I am actually going to be teaching my major and my minor, which hardly ever happens, and means twice as much work. But, I will have a rockin' portfolio by the time I am done, which will hopefully help me find a job in California...which seems impossible for most people to do, except for Mike, so wish me luck!

For both of us together: When we are reunited once again in Cali, we are going to spend more time sight-seeing in that beautiful area, enjoying each other's company! We have several trips planned that we are looking forward to this next year. For graduation, Mike's parents surprised us with a trip to anywhere we wanted to go in the world. We have decided to visit where Mike served his mission, the Dominican Republic, in June! We are so excited! Also, we have my family reunion in August, at my most favorite place in the whole world, Catherine Creek Lodge. Mike's Colombian family is having a reunion in Idaho sometime during the summer and his dad's family is having a family reunion during October on a cruise (last I heard, we're probably going to be cruising the Panama Canal-so cool!) So many adventures!

I know that the next six months are going to fly by in a blur. I will try to keep everyone updated on where we are going after that! Hopefully, we will be able have plans that extend past six months, but we just seems to love moving, making new friends, and having adventures. I want to thank everyone, most especially our families, for all of their love and support. The last few years have been hard work and we are so grateful for all the help we have received along the way. I know that we are going and doing what the Lord wants us to do and that gives me great confidence that we will be given great opportunities to help build His kingdom and become better disciples. If you work hard and are obedient, YOU WILL BE BLESSED, we have definitely been!

Have I Helped Anyone in Need?

While I was listening to Christmas music today, a special song really touched my heart. In between hearing about Mama Kissing Santa Clause and how All I Want For Christmas is You, I heard one of my favorite songs of all time that brought Christmas back into perspective for me today. It is Mary Did You Know and I would like to share these special lyrics with all of you:

Mary did you know that your baby boy,

Would one day walk on water?

Mary did you know that your baby boy,

Would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy

Has come to make you new?

This child that you delivered,

Will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy,

Will give sight to a blind man?

Mary did you know that your baby boy,

Will calm the storm with His hand?

Did you know that your baby boy,

Has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little baby,

You kiss the Son of God.

The blind will see.

The deaf will hear.

The dead will live again.

The lame will leap.

The dumb will speak.

The praises of our Lamb.

Mary did you know that your Baby Boy

Is Lord of all creation?

Mary did you know that your Baby Boy

Would one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your Baby Boy

Is Heaven's perfect Lamb?

The sleeping child your holding,

Is the great I AM.

When I heard this sweet song, I was reminded that Christmas isn't about the lists, the gifts, the food, the decorations, the cards, or even the songs. It is about remembering our Savior and trying to be a little more like Him. It is about remembering that He lived, He loved, He served, and He died for each of us. The best gift that we can give to Him at this time of year is to find ways to serve those around us. We were reminded during

this last conference by President Monson that, "Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish--and in effect save their lives...How many times has your heart been touched as you have witnessed the need of another? How often have you intended to be the one to help? And yet how often has day-to-day living interfered and you've left it for others to help, feeling that 'oh, surely someone will take care of that need.' We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives." Christ was never too busy to help those in need. Like the song said, He healed the sick, raised the dead, and loved us enough to die for us. All He asks for in return is this, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

If we love our Savior, we need to serve those around us. There are so many who are sick, poor, and in need of comfort. We need to be like the Good Samaritan and be aware of the needs of those around us and being willing to take the time out of our busy lives to actually reach out and help. I challenge myself and all of you to find those people who stand in need of comfort and obey Christ's commandment to love one another, not only during this wonderful Christmas season but throughout the entire year.

Summer Lovin'

We love summertime in California! We have been having a blast and have stayed very busy. Mike is still working away at his internship and has been putting in lots of overtime. He is loving the purchasing department and is about to be moved into the logistics department which will give him some good experience. He just had his 26th birthday last weekend and got very spoiled. I am working away at JC Penney and feel like I live there most of the time. A couple of weeks ago, I went to Utah/Idaho to visit my family and see my best friend Janelle get married! It was beautiful and I am so happy for her. Other than work, we have had the opportunity to visit Disneyland, Hollywood, Solvang, Morro Bay, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Laguna Beach, hike one of the seven sisters, and see Les Miserables! Here are some pics of our adventures:

Beach, Beach, and More Beach!

I just wanted to write a quick update to let everyone know that life is great! We love Cali, the beach, and just life in general. Mike has really taken off in his job and is enjoying every minute of it. Last week they had several corporate executives from Atlanta come visit the office and he was included in all the meetings and discussions. It was a great experience and he is impressing people left and right. I was able to get a job at JC Penney's here in Santa Maria. It is perfect and a complete blessing! It gets me out of the apartment and adds a little extra change to my pocket to buy clam chowder from Splash Cafe in Pismo Beach...which I am absolutely addicted to! We spend our free time playing on the beach and have explored many different ones, finally finding our favorites. Unfortunately, Mike's favorite is different from my favorite, so we have to alternate. Besides work and the beach, we just play and enjoy each other. The other young couples in our ward have been very friendly and accepting and we have been invited to several beach bonfires and BBQs. The area that we live in is well known for their farmer's markets and stands. Last week we drove down to San Luis Obispo with some friends and went to a farmers market that really resembled an Idaho County Fair. The only thing is that they do it every Thursday here! The food was incredible and the whole experience was just fun. I am tempted to make it a Thursday tradition. I would love to write more but it's really not that interesting, and I'm headed to, you'll never guess, the beach!

One Crazy Fun Month of May!

Well, time sure flies when you are having fun! May was a month full of travel, fun, and family! We were able to spend time with the Hoggans and the Maxfields and were spoiled very much and are grateful for wonderful families that we love so very much! After visiting family, we headed off to California, arrived safely and soundly, and moved into a cute little studio apartment. I am surprised to say that I love my studio apartment more than I have ever loved any of my other apartments. It is cozy, easy to keep clean, and pretty much just wonderful-except for the fact that I have a mini-oven that doesn't fit any of my cookie sheets in it... California is fabulous and I have become a regular beach bum! Mike started his job and loves it! He is working for a company called World Minerals, which is a subsidary of a company called Imerys. They have treated him very well and have given him many, many projects to start working on. He is very fortunate to have gotten this job because they only took 9 interns this summer and Mike was told that they chose him from a stack of hundreds of resumes. He admits that it is a little overwhelming, but this opportunity is giving him excellent experience and is quite a resume booster. All the ladies in the main office love him already and everyone else will as soon as they realize what a hard worker he is! I am so proud of him! Since we have arrived, we have just been exploring everywhere! We have visited several beaches, found a library close by for me, a movie theatre for Mike, and spent time with family in Riverside. We hope that everyone else is doing well, we love and miss all our family and friends, and will keep you all updated the best we can!

2 Down, AT LEAST 48 more to go!

Mike and I have officially been married for 2 whole years! Time sure flies by...Our anniversary this year was amazingly fun! Mike really went all out and arranged an adventure for the two of us. For those of you who are familiar with the story of our anniversary last year (remember: Bad Lands, Bad Movie, Bad Restaurant, and Bad Bad Bad Bad Hotel ran by people from India), it was not that kind of adventure and I must admit that this year totally makes up for last year! So no more laughing at our expense! This year, we got to spend a couple of days in beautiful Sun Valley! Mike surprised me with reservations at this really charming Bed and Breakfast called the Inn at Ellsworth Estates. It was built in 1915 and since then has had quite a colorful history. There are many weddings, anniversaries, and other events held there. It has the charm of an earlier era and is one of the few homes of that quality and size which were built in frontier Idaho. Needless to say, I LOVED it and would highly recommend it to everyone I know who wants to have a romantic get-a-way for a couple of days! We spent a lot of time walking around Hailey, Ketchum, and Sun Valley. There are a lot of fun shops and some great restaurants. We ate dinner at a really yummy restaurant called the Sawtooth Club, which I think was the highlight of Mike's trip. He loved his food and talked about it the entire way home and has mentioned it to everyone he has come in contact with since! We were going to rent bikes in order to use the bike pathways that run all over the mountains and connect Ketchum and Hailey, but this really neat couple who live in Hailey loaned us their bikes for the day. This was so nice of them and really made our day because bike rentals are about 25-30 dollars per person for a couple of hours. We spent an entire day just riding around and exploring. It seems like everyone there uses bikes instead of cars to get around, which is so cool! Mike and I have decided that we absolutely LOVE the Sun Valley area and are going to build a house there someday! All I have to say, is if you have never been there before you are missing out and should make plans to visit soon!



A little taste of the cute town of Ketchum, which was my personal favorite out of the three!



The historic Inn at Ellsworth Estates

Our room at the Inn, there are eight others to choose from and they all are very unique.

This is our table at the Sawtooth Club..the food was fantastic and the atmosphere very romantic!


Beautiful...Need I say more?

This one is for Mike, he loves taking funny face pictures for some strange reason.