Christmas 2010

We went down to Merrill's mom's house for Christmas. Ellie had a lot of fun with a little dancing Santa that she had. And I thought it would be great for her to be dressed up for her first Christmas.
Merrill's new shirt and tie--thanks Monica and Shelby! (I still need to get a pic of me wearing the awesome apron you guys gave me!)
Here are some funny clips of Eliana before, during, and after Christmas:

Devil in a Blue Dress

Well, she ain't a devil, but these pics of her in a blue dress are pretty darn cute. I realized I hadn't taken pictures of Eliana for a long time, so I picked out a dress I thought would look good, sat her down in the middle of the floor, and started shooting.

The Past Two Months

Where to begin? The last two months have been quite interesting, to say the least. We were planning on moving to Utah so Merrill could go to Weber State and for better job opportunities as we weren't finding any here in Portland. So, we sold all of our stuff and hoped that everything would be better in Utah. Then in the beginning of August, Merrill thought he would try one last shot at applying for apartment managing positions in Portland. That week, we got interviews and were offered 3 different positions. Thus, we decided we were staying in Portland. Now we've got a job that provides a rent credit of $750 and salary of $300/month. Merrill can keep going to school, and I can stay home with Eliana. This works out so much better for us, knowing that if we had gone to Utah, there was a slim chance of finding jobs, an apartment, and a way for Merrill to pay for school (out-of-state tuition; financial aid would not have covered everything). We know Heavenly Father answered our prayers. He really is mindful of what each of his children are going through and is looking our for us.

We love our new apartment! It's a 2 bd/1 ba. We were surprised at how big the apartments are, compared to what we've been living in the last 3 years. There is a grocery store right next door, and a park just south of us (Mt. Tabor). We're surrounded by a bunch of local restaurants and shops, some of which are pretty good.

We like our new ward, too. But it's really small, almost like a branch, because there is 77% inactivity. There's a lot of work to be done. Merrill and I gave talks our second week in the ward and the Bishop has already talked to us about past callings we've had. We're just anticipating the interviews to be this Sunday or next.

I haven't been able to post pictures for awhile, so here's some of Eliana. I'll get more up as they come.

My New Favorite Outfit:

New Dinner Fave

I found this recipe on the back of the pepperoni package that we buy. It's easy, simple, inexpensive, and Merrill and I LOVE it!

Hormel's Delicious Pepperoni Pull Apart Pizza

2 (7.5-ounce) tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 cup pizza sauce
1 (3.5-ounce) package HORMEL sliced mild pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut refrigerated biscuits into fourths. Place biscuits onto lightly greased pizza sheet in a circular fashion to form a 10-inch circle. Top with pizza sauce, 1/2 of pepperoni, cheese and remaining pepperoni slices. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until biscuits are baked through and cheese is hot and bubbly. Serves 6-8.

So Sleepy

After going on a walk this afternoon, Eliana was sitting on my lap, and then fell asleep. I love the affects of sunshine on a hyper-active infant!

Catching Up on the Past 2 Months

Here are some pics that I've neglected to post.

Sitting with Daddy, first time on her own, propped up.

This is how she prefers to be put to bed-and she finds it comfortable.

A man with a sling-one of my favorite things!

Most recently...

When she discovered her tongue...

Her very first time rolling over (at 2 months!)

I wasn't sure what she wanted... so I tried it all at once.

Squeaks and Squawks

Playtime with Daddy

Merrill and I have decided that we've had enough of life in Portland. It was nice for the first few months, but after Eliana was born, we've had several things happen that are signs that Portland is not where we are supposed to be. First of all, we've had major trouble with finances-it's just too expensive for a student to support his family here. Then there's the job situation, where if you aren't in the medical or engineering fields, you're out of luck in landing something. Not to mention that Oregon has an incredibly high unemployment rate (thus you have people pumping your gas for you throughout the state). Portland State offers little help in career preparation for Merrill, and he hasn't really gotten any closer to graduating despite all the classes he's taken here so far. And, even though we thought we could survive on our own, we realize now that having family and friends nearby is very helpful.

So, life continued getting harder, and staying in Portland seemed increasingly like a pit of despair. In contemplating how to better our situation, we decided we should have stuck to our original plan from a year ago: move to Ogden, UT so Merrill can attend Weber State and I can find work. Looking back, when we visited Weber State, Merrill and I felt really good about Merrill going there. Now we are going to step back and try this moving thing one more time: we're moving to Ogden!

Right now we are applying for jobs to start in mid-August, after Merrill finishes summer term at PSU. If we land something, we'll move to Ogden ASAP. If not, we will be moving to Roseburg, OR to stay with Merrill's mom until we can find work in Ogden or winter semester starts at Weber State. Whichever happens first.

Moving to Ogden will really help us where living in Portland failed: there are more job opportunities in my field (English and Design), better education and career opportunities for Merrill, and family and friends nearby. Please keep us in your prayers, so that we may find work in Ogden and be able to move there soon!