Lots of news

I have so much to catch up on and I'm going to try and get it out in as little words as possible. For me, that's tough sometimes :)

First things first, it's Christmas Eve... Wow. Where has 2011 gone?? I cannot believe the year is about over. Scott and I are going to have dinner tonight with my Dad's side of the family and split tomorrow up between my Mom and his parents. I have not been in the Christmas mood at all this year, there have been so many things going on (I will get to it all ) that I haven't had much time to actually sit and think about. We are planning a very low key Christmas this year, and that sounds pretty good to us!

Next on the docket... We bought a house!

Scott and I bought our first home in Blackfoot this month. We will move in around January 27th. SOOO crazy. I will be in school at the time, and two days later Scott will be going to Florida for a week for training. We are so excited, a little overwhelmed but very excited to have a home to call ours. It's about 6 or so miles out of town, it's so peaceful and quiet. We are in a neighborhood that has about 12 homes. The lot to the left is empty, but there is a home on the right. We haven't met any of the neighbors yet, but we did hear the ones to the right own the Arctic Circle in Blackfoot. I'll keep everyone posted about how moving in goes. We have already started packing... Good knight do we have a LOT of crap!

Scott gt a promotion last week at week. He is now the Asphalt Operations Superintendent. He is in charge of all things asphalt, the stationary plant and the portable. Best news of all, he doesn't have to live out of town for 6 months out of the year!! Who has 2 thumbs and is excited as all get out?? This girl right here! I am so proud of him, he has busted his butt and has proved himself to the company. He deserves this so much and is so excited about it! Which he should be!

I just finished my 2nd to last academic semester of school! Spring 2012 will be my last one, then my practicum and I will graduate a year from now. I would be done in August, but since the University is so short on money, they cut a dean in the summer and they about force you to stay an extra semester to do it. I am convinced it's to squeeze more money out of you, but that's my own thoughts! :) I am so proud of myself! I cannot wait to be done... Oh wait, I'm not done! I've made the decision to go back and get my Master's as soon as I'm finished. My program will only be 18 months and it's fully online! I am hoping I can get a job and do my schooling at the same time. the nice ting aout being where we are is I can go North to IF, South to Portneuf, or stay in Blackfoot and work at the hospital there. I am hoping I will be able to find something by the time I am finished.

Weding plans are going along very nicely. I found a dress the day after Thanksgiving for like 55-60% off and it is to die for. It's amazing! Really all we need is clothing for the boys/men, cake, and flowers and we're done. I've been making sure every spare second I have I am doing something wedding related. We got our proofs back on our invitiation, I designed them, and they look magnificant! I think I would like our cake to make them in some way. I am hoping to stick with my table idea, but it has changed already since we first started. We were originally going to go Vintage, but after I got my dress, which is more modern, I decided to change our idea. So now we are going rustic feeling. I think it fits us more, Scott is kind of a rugid little individual and I have always wanted to get married in my cowboy boots :) Haha... So, it kind of makes sense!

We had a very easy going Thanksgiving. Scott, me and my mom just ate here at our house and had a pretty casual get together. I made a few pies, cookies, and some rolls. Scott made his famous Candied Yams, famous to us anyways! It was a nice time. My dad had to work and Scott's parents didn't want to come up, long story, so it was just the 3 of us and really I wouldn't have had it any other way!

Well friends, Merrry Christmas. I hope everyone has a great holiday with your families and friends. Remember it's not about what you get or how much you get; Christ is the reason for the season.

My Mama

Well, my mom made it home in one piece on Oct 8th. I wasn't suppose to pick her up from the airport because a friend of mine was getting married that evening, but some things happened and changed, and I had to make the trip. Her plane got delayed a little while in San Fran and she didn't end up getting into SLC till 8ish. She was VERY ready to get to the States and even more ready to see someone she recognized :)

She had a great trip and was able to see a lot of things she may not of had the chance too. On her last day I'm Beijing, she was able to go to the Forbidden Temple and Tiananmen Square. She said she would go back just to see those things again. She said those places were amazing; A once in a lifetime opportunity.

Once she gets all her pictures organized a little better I'll will add some. I am so glad to have my mom home and I know she was very grateful to be home again and to eat American food again, something other than rice!

Thanks to those who checked in on me and made sure I hadn't burn the house down!

And thanks to those who made sure to ask me about how my mom was doing while she was gone, she and I both appreciate the prayers and the phone calls!

The Story

I know I was very vague about our engagement, so I'll give you the story!

I had absolutely no clue he was plotting anything, he had wanted to go to dinner last Wednesday night, but I said no because I had a ton of homework I needed to get through. So after he and I had finished dinner, I was sitting at the table doing English revisions and he was bugging me- hovering around me, wouldn't leave me alone type of things. Basically the kid was annoying me (oops!). Eventually he asked if I would close my eyes, but I really wanted to get my homework done so I could watch Law and Order (haha, really) anyway, I finally agreed. And when he told me to open them, there he was, on one knee with a big box and a shiny ring! He gave me a little speech and ended with "Will You Marry Me?" I was honestly so shocked, I told him for the first time in my life I was speechless. He told me he expected more emotion, I didn't cry at all - I was honestly SO SHOCKED. After what seemed like 5 minutes, he told me I still hadn't given him an answer, and I said "Crap! Of course, yes! I'm sorry!" HAHA.

So we've set a date of June 2, 2012

I am very excited, still in a state of shock and have an overwhelming feeling of my last sememster of my undergrad and wedding planning... What have I gottem myself into?!

Thank you all for your well wishes and love, it's very much appreciated!

6 Times 2 Equals 12

6-2-12

That's when Scott and I are GETTING MARRIED!!

A Week & A Half

That is officially how long my mother has been gone! To be completely honest, time has really flown by and granted, it has been tough, but not nearly as terrible as I had anticipated. I will say Skype has been a total sanity keeper for both my mom and I. We can email, but really, the only really communication we have is through Skype. What a cool thing! I have heard about people "Skpying" with family and bla bla, but never used it until now. What a blessing!

From what I have gathered so far, things are going great. She has her own interpreter name Laye and she wants to bring him home :) She loves him! He and his wife even had a couple of them over for dinner at their home. She said people have stopped her and the group she's with to take their pictures, to stand with them and have pictures taken. She said it's crazy how much they LOVE Americans. Apparently not many go to where she is, I'm not totally sure. On Sunday they took a little 'field trip' to see the Panda exhibit. She said it was amazing! (I have pictures from her and I'll get them up shortly) They got to see 4 baby pandas in their nursery as well as two red ones, which I guess are very rare.. She said they are learning a lot. The operation that they are teaching them is very strenuous and hard and she is adjusting as best she can. I guess today they are doing it without any help. So she was a little nervous about the outcome!

Another thing she talked about is how cheap the Chinese work for. The company she is at, Tianwei, only pays their workers by how many Poly rods they can get out in a day and other places only pay $2/hr. And she said they work their butts off. So I guess now, as we (Americans) complain about our jobs being sent overseas, it's easy to understand why. Why would we want to pay someone here to do a job at $20/hr when it can be shipped to China and it can be made for $2/hr. My mom said it's a sad fact of life. They don't have much but Laye offers her anything she will take. She said his generosity is outstanding. She is serious about 'putting him in her suitcase and bringing him here.'

Another thing they do for the group my mom is with, is provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner at specific times everyday. She has has some VERY interesting meals so far. (Pictures to come) She said they eat rice with every single meal, but the dish they serve in the morning is more like a fried rice, where the rest is just plain white rice. She told me the other day she NEVER wants to eat rice again after she gets home :) Lucky for her we packed almost an entire suitcase full of protein bars and different foods for her to eat just in case.

Well, I'll make sure to get those pictures up as soon as I can. And when I talk to her again I'll make sure to give everyone an update.

Hope you all are enjoying this fabulous fall weather. I love it. There is nothing better than that crisp fall breeze. Before you know it.... It'll be snowing. Who knows, it just might this weekend... It always snows on the ISU Homecoming parade :)

Until next time,

-M

9/11

10 Years Ago...

I was 14

I was in Mr. Hale's English class in the basement of HJH

I was mad I had woken up late that day

My mom called me and said a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers

"Mom, planes hit builds all the time. I have to go!" and hung up

Expect this wasn't like anything America had ever seen before...

I walked into class just 'in time' to see the 2nd tower fall.

I heart fell too.

Another plane had crashed into the Pentagon

and another in a field in PA.

Why is this happening??

I feared for my own life

even though I was miles and miles away

I felt bad I was so angry at my mom.

I had a chance to tell her I was sorry,

but those people... They'll never be seen again.

Again, Why?? I just don't get what's going on.

God help those people.

For days afterward, there were glimmers of hope.


Like this....

God Bless America, the land that I love.

9/11/01

Never Forget

A BIG Week

Well, in a week from today, I will be shipping my mother off to China. It's a lot for me to handle. Being the only child I have had A LOT of parent-child time. I consider my mom and dad two of the best people around and without them, other than the obvious of me not being here, I would not be complete. The thought of being in this big house, by myself for a month scares the hell out of me. Luckily my dad isn't too far away in case I need anything. And I'm sure there is a whole slew of people, known and unknown to me, that have been told by my mom to 'keep watch' on me while she's gone. As wild as this sounds, this will be the longest she and I will have ever been apart from one another. She went to Greece for 2 weeks and a few years ago my dads side of the family went to our beach house for 2 weeks. That's it. Now I know you married with children folk who live out of state are thinking this is nothing. But it is. It's a BIG something.

Days won't be so bad, they are occupied with (LOTS) of homework, 2 jobs, and a never ending list of pages of read. It's the nights I worry about.

So for now, we'll we make a list, check it and check it again,

pack, probably cry a little

and check the list again hoping we haven't forgotten something very important.

We'll pray the time goes quick

We'll pray that she learns a lot.

We'll pray I 'can be brave' (as my mommy would say)

We'll pray she 'can be brave' (as I would say)

We'll pray she is safe

We'll pray for comfort when it gets hard

We'll pray and thank Christ for these many blessings

which sometimes... I wonder how He chose us.

You'll hear from me shortly.

Until next time,

Maren.