It All Comes Down to This...

I have already announced that I completed my college education. After countless hours of classes, tests, and many, many essays, I received a piece of paper in the mail the other day summing up the total existence of those 4 and 1/2 years. What's kinda weird, though, is the sticker on my degree says "Summa Cum Laude" denoting that I graduated with the highest honors. However, according to the school website and my cumulative GPA on my transcript, I technically would've ended the year with the 2nd highest honors of Magna Cum Laude. Fortunately, the error is in my favor making me look even smarter than I really am. :-) Here it is:

A Brand New Year

2008 is a year filled with endless possibilities for the two of us and I'm more than excited to discover what it has in store for us.Originally, we were planning on moving into a new place as soon as our lease was up. However, as it turned out, we either had to renew our lease on a month by month basis and pay $50 more a month, renew it for 6 months and pay $20 more a month, renew it for a year at the same rate we pay now, or move out by the end of January. While, we thought we may want to move, the idea of having to find a new place, pack up, and pay multiple fees and deposits in moving into the new place seemed like too much in such a short amount of time. The whole reason we wanted to move was to save money and prepare for a future family by gaining an extra bedroom. However, after rethinking everything, we realized that if I were to become pregnant right now, the baby wouldn't be born for another 9 months, leaving us with only 3 months out of the entire year to use that extra bedroom for its intended purpose. Therefore, was it really necessary to move into a two bedroom place so soon? Furthermore, we're making our rent payments perfectly well so we figured we didn't need to spend the money or the time to move into a new apartment/house when it probably wouldn't save us very much and a baby would be too far down the road to make the extra room worthwhile.Speaking of babies, that's actually what we're hoping for the most in this upcoming year. At the beginning of December, Jesse and I decided that we were ready to begin a family together. Up to this point, we've kept it very much on the downlow. I've wanted to be a mom my entire life. Just getting married and having kids was my goal from a very young age. When we got married, I had to accept the fact that Jesse was a couple of years younger than me and not quite ready to be a dad and that we had just gotten married and needed time to be a couple apart from kids. At that time, I began watching friend after friend announce their new pregnancies. Without exaggeration, I have known over 20 people in the past 6 months who have been pregnant. During this same time period, the most common question I have been asked is if I was pregnant yet. In fact, during the first months of our marriage, I was asked, on average, 5 times a week, without exaggeration. This has been especially emotional for me, but I've had to lay it in God's hands and trust that He knows best. When Jesse told me a month ago that he was ready to have a baby with me, it was one of the most joyous events in our relationship. But I didn't want to reveal the good news to everyone for fear that I'd never hear the end of the pregnancy inquiries. I promise, though, that as soon as I have an answer to those questions, though, everyone will be informed.As for other new things this year, having just completed my final term of school, I am excited to be done with classes, essays, and tests, receive my degree, and walk in the commencement ceremony in May. I am also interested in seeing how God wants me to use this education in a future career or ministry. I have no idea what kind of job I may be doing long term, but have many passions and talents that I am interested in pursuing. But, for now, I am going with the flow until I have a clearer direction.Jesse is realizing more and more that he loves his job and it sounds like he may stay for a long time. Depending on finances, his job, and a possible baby, though, Jesse may decide to return to school to further his education. That could change his whole direction, but with as well as he's been doing in his job so far, there could also be more opportunities in his workplace.Furthermore, while we've been doing just fine financially, Jesse and I recently began going through a financial seminar in our marriage class at church. We've been learning a whole new way of saving and spending that we are trying to implement in our lives. I look forward to seeing how these changes can impact our pocket books in the future months.Aside from these things, I have no idea what could be in store for the next year, but just imagining all of the possibilities is exciting, and as each new event occurs, I'll be sure to let you know...

Our First Christmas Together

This year, we were particularly excited to spend our first Christmas and New Year's together, and the holiday proved to exceed our expectations. On Christmas Eve, Jesse spent the day preparing a wonderful meal. He made stuffed chicken breasts, potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob, lots of cookies, and a cherry cheesecake. Late that afternoon, my brother and mom showed up to spend the evening with us. Jesse did a fantastic job on the food. I was so proud of him because he had never made such an extravagant meal and it turned out really well. We all enjoyed a platefull of food and watched the movie Elf. Afterwards, we took turns opening our presents. It was a joy to watch everyone unwrap something they'd really wanted or really liked. My biggest gift was a brand new digital camera from my awesome husband. It was the one thing I had really been wanting and Jesse splurged to get it for me. He also wrote me a note to go with it. I couldn't even make it past the 2nd line before I could no longer read it due to the tears streaming down my face. He, instead, read it to me while I cried uncontrollably. I truly am extremely blessed to have married the love of my life. He is the biggest answer to prayer I have ever received. I, in turn, bought Jesse the complete first season of his favorite show Heroes. His other favorite gift was the video game Assassins Creed he got from my mom. I liked the fact that Jesse got a pair of Santa boxers and a matching hat. :-) David's big gift was a guitar that my mom gave him, while my mom received several items of clothing that she really liked and a picture of Jesse and me. In addition, it hailed giving us an almost white Christmas! Everyone seemed to have a very nice time. The next day, we moved everything over to my aunt's house where more of my family joined us for a big lunch and more gifts. Jesse and I got a gift card to the movies, a scarf for me, an ornament marking our first Christmas, and money which we always like.

It's been really enjoyable to have this time with Jesse. The best Christmas we've both ever had. We hope sometime to visit Jesse's family in Coos Bay this next week and I'm excited for all that the New Year holds in store.

Pictures

I'm Back!

So it recently came to my attention that people really DO read my blogs and have been wondering why I haven't been writing anything new. With that realization, I have a renewed sense of writing and will do my best to keep everyone updated on the latest adventures in the Peterson household. Having just recently talked to those who check this blog and having just finished our Christmas letters that will update the rest, I will postpone writing more until Christmas, but will post our recent Christmas portraits! I hope that everyone has a great holiday. Check back soon!