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

We had a plumber out on Monday to fix all of these weird little things the previous owner had managed to over look or screw up and was discovered in the home inspection. Like the standing water under the house because of a clogged sump pump… I came home from getting a load from the apartment and saw water gushing from a pipe in front of our house in to the gutter. A very good thing. The plumber said he thought they pumped out near 400 gallons from under the house! Now that the pump is fixed though, we shouldn’t have that issue any more.

I am very much looking forward to getting a garden started come spring. I am already researching planting techniques and all sorts of other fun stuff. The yard is pretty much a blank slate so anything I do will be a nice change. I’m thinking of putting in quite few rose bushes, some rhododendrons, maybe a hydrangea or two… I need to start drawing out the plans. I really shouldn’t put anything in the ground until late March at the earliest because of the late growing season around here.

On the job front, Ben is still enjoying his work a Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon as a web programmer and IT support. He loves the familiarity and the new challenges every day. Emilie is enjoying her position at Insight Schools corporate office where she has been working as a receptionist and administrative assistant since early October. The work is challenging and rewarding.