Been a while!

Devin and I have been trying to keep busy with our little tweeks within the house, our jobs, getting involved in our new ward, and keeping each other sane, so I haven't really had time to write in the blog!

However, I thought you guys should know how things are going here in Omaha, and should know that we're still alive, though my blog seems to show otherwise.

We've been having a lot of fun getting to know the area. Devin is getting a little more accustomed to his job everyday, and he's meeting new people and learning lots of new things. He's enjoying it so far. My job has been a little different. As you know, I've been working from home. It's been a little rough simply because I'm also doing school online this semester. So I sit in my "office" working 8 hours, and then I start doing school work for the next 3 hours, and then I go to bed and get back up and do it all over again. It's been weird for me to learn how to separate work, home and school .. because it's all under the same roof. I find myself checking work emails all day long, doing school during work hours, etc. It's weird for me, but I'm definitely learning how to adjust, and it'll come along eventually.

We're really liking our new ward so far. For the first couple weeks it was kind of scary because we didn't know anybody, and everyone was so busy it was hard to make friends .. but there was a relief society enrichment this past week that I went to, and it was fantastic. I got to meet lots of the sisters, and really had a blast. Phew! Now I have a few friends!

So, life is good, the house is great, our jobs are going well, school is going well, and we miss Chicago in a healthy amount.

Now if we can just get rid of this awful cold weather.

2014 Goals

I decided to make some goals for the new year, and I'm pretty proud of them! I've decided to take a few things to a different level, doing them more often, on a more personal level, and just working harder than I have been in the past. I'm super excited about them!

Prayers that I can keep up my endurance and turn my goals into habits! :) 

      

Hole in the wall

Devin and I have a gas dryer, but our new house only had an electric connection .. so we had to have someone come and put in a gas line. Lo and behold, he cut open our walls, made a huge mess, and by golly we fixed it! Dad taught me how to patch holes in the wall, and it was actually a ton of fun! Here are a few pictures of me doing it after my dad first taught me :) 

Thanks Dad, for being handy, and teaching us non-handy folk how it works! :) 

        

        

Nom nom.

I love it when the Hart's come over, so much delicious food :) Including one of my favorite treats, vegetarian tacos, deer chili, and french dip crescent rolls! 

I have two pretty adorable brothers also !!

    

Sleeeep ..

Zoey must have been super tired after the whole family left, because once she got comfy in the luvsak, she did not want to get up! Man she looked so comfy! :) 

Christmas Morning

I must have been having too much fun, so I didn't take any other pictures than this one .. but Christmas morning was a blast here at the Despain home. First of, Devin got to fly in to Omaha to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with us, and then we got up at 3 the morning after to drive him back to the airport to fly back to Chicago. That was hard. 

But we had so much fun with him home. When Devin walked into the door, Zoey jumped and ran in circles crying and so excited to see him.. it was the cutest thing in the world. 

We got Zoey a huge stocking full of dog toys, and the pups fought over them for the entire next week. Zoey would play with one toy, and Sally would want it .. Sally would pick a different toy, and Zoey would want it instead. Silly pups. 

Funny sleeping spaces

Looking through some photos on my phone, Sally had some interesting places to sleep. Inside my desk, underneath my bed, with her little feet sticking out .. And some interesting places to use the bathroom ;) 

Project Proclamation

I've realized a new love of design in the past year .. and a coworker of mine introduced me to InkScape (Kinda like a free version of Photoshop) .. and I made this for our new home. I also made one for my parents and my grandparents who were just recently baptized. 

I loooove it and it is now hanging proudly on my wall.

Merry Christmas, Harts!

My dad decided that he really like our puppy, Zoey, and he wanted one of his own. So he looked and looked and I helped him search, and we finally found a breeder in Iowa that had Cockapoos ready at Christmas time. So I went and picked this little cutie up the Saturday before Christmas near Des Moines, Iowa and kept her until my family came to visit a week later. 

They named her Sally, she's super adorable, but don't let those sweet puppy eyes fool you. She's a stinker. Hahah, okay not really, she's just an aunery(no idea how to spell that) puppy who hasn't learned right from wrong yet. Once she learns that, she'll be uber awesome :) 

     

We had a lot of fun taking care of her throughout the past couple weeks. She did such a good job at playing with Zoey and getting her worn out and ready for bed. :) 

Christmas Eve Dinner

We had our Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve because I started making the rolls a day too early. Such a weird thing, but they take like 24 hours (even though their called 12 hour butterhorns .. Barbara) Hahaha, and for some reason I decided on the 23rd that it was a good idea to start making the rolls so they would be ready for Christmas! Silly me. 

Oh well, it was great to have it on Christmas Eve and then Devin and I had leftovers the next day. Christmas leftovers are delish. :)

I was so happy to have Devin home .. it was a relief after so much time being apart, and doing everything myself .. and even paying bills. Ugh. Not fun. I'm definitely grateful for all that he does and even for the little things like having his warm feet at night next to me to stick my cold feet on.  Hahah. He hates that, but I love it :) 

Also, I made our turkey in the crock pot since there are only two of us and we had a small turkey. Seriously it was the best thing ever. It was juicy and tender, and just great! I made it with lots of water, a gravy packet, seasoned salt, and a stick of butter cut up into slices and placed all over it. Cooked on high for about 5-6 hours. 

IT WAS HEAVENLY