Warmest wishes for the holiday season! In January we finally closed on our house in a Portland suburb and have been diligently working to make it feel more like home. We planted two rose bushes in the front yard the first week of April with the hope of adding more in the years to come. We painted the dining room and one of the bedrooms, and are still trying to decide on a color scheme for the other rooms of the house. We have a list of other things we would like to change – big and small – but still enjoy it as it is.

Painted Dining Room

In March we adopted a dog from a local rescue group. Miss Cleo is a six year old corgi and Tibetan terrier mix. She’s a relaxed and affectionate dog and we’ve enjoyed adapting our lives to include her.

Cleo (Click the image to see more)

In June we traveled down to Sacramento to spend time with Emilie’s parents, sister and her family who had traveled from Kansas for the visit. In August we got to join Ben’s extended family in Cambria, CA for a week long vacation at the beach.

For our two year wedding anniversary we adopted a kitten from a shelter. Elwood will be a year old in March and is a spunky little tuxedo cat. He has brought a quite a bit of excitement to our lives.

Elwood and Ben (Click the image to see more)

Also in September we had the great opportunity to participate in the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure at the waterfront park in downtown Portland. We hope to be able to do this event annually.

In November Emilie participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and is proud to declare that she was able to meet the 50,000 word requirement before the close of the month.

Ben is still working for the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon Ministries as their main Web Developer and assisting in tech support. Recently he helped launch new web sites for each of the organizations contained within the Sisters’ ministries. Emilie is still enjoying her job working for Insight Schools, Inc. as the Receptionist and Administrative Assistant. She had the opportunity to travel to South Carolina and Nevada to help with information sessions for the schools Insight was starting there; she also gets to write for the monthly company newsletter.

December has been a fairly low key month for us, aside from the excitement of the snow storm we’ve had this past week – unusual for our area. We look forward to the New Year and the joys it will bring.

With Love,

Ben & Emilie

Over President’s day weekend Ben and I flew down to LA for his little brother’s Bar Mitzvah. The weekend was jam packed with exciting events, including a trip to Magic Mountain for the two of us. It was so nice for me to finally meet the extensive branches of Ben’s family, many of whom for one reason or another couldn’t make it to our wedding. What a crowd to share my first Bar Mitzvah with! The visit was far too brief, but never-the-less a delightful one.

Ben’s dad gave us a call not too far in to December with news that he had a free ticket for Southwest that he had to use by the end of the year and what a better way to use it that to come up to Portland for a brief visit. What a nice little treat. During his visit the three of us took a trip to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) to catch the Star Wars exhibit before it left. Afterwards we enjoyed a nice dinner in down town Portland, all the while enjoying the extra little sparkle the city gets around the holidays. When we got back home, Ben and his dad lit candles for the third night of Hanukkah – a new but exciting experience for me.

On the 23rd Ben and I attended a fun little holiday gathering across the river in Vancouver and got to meet some new people as well as reconnect with some friends we hadn’t seen in a little while.

Christmas Eve and Day were both relatively uneventful. We spent them both at home, enjoying each other’s company and a little time off together. We exchanged presents Christmas morning and ate a nice ham dinner that evening. We watched on of my holiday favorites, “A Christmas Story”, and Ben worked feverishly on his new Knex roller coaster set which had been a gift from his family. Hopefully we will build family traditions over the coming years to enjoy.

That’s it from the newlywed home for now. Until next time,

Emilie

Ben had to work the day before and the day after Thanksgiving so we decided that it would be best if we just stayed home and celebrated the holiday with just the two of us. I found a recipe for turkey breast with corn bread stuffing. With green beans, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce, it was the perfect amount of food for just the two of us, if not still a little too much. We enjoyed the food and the day off together.