Our Future is Clearer: California, Ohio, Alabama

Yes, in the next two years, Luke and I will be living in California, Ohio and Alabama.  Let me back up. 

Luke has accepted a full-time position with Parker Hannifin.  It's a large company (#211 on the Fortune 500 to be exact) specializing in motion and control technologies. They make anything from filters to parts for Boeing airplanes.  Luke has taken a position within their "Lean Manufacturing Management Program". For two years they will train him in four areas of lean manufacturing engineering.  Some aspects will be heavily focused on engineering and others on the business side of operations.  It's an amazing opportunity to become well rounded in the field by a very well respected company.  For these four areas of training, comes living in four areas of the country.  Every six months we will move to a new location. Although we don't find the order of our locations until May, our locations are Modesto, CA (an hour from SF and 30 minutes from my grandparents); Los Angeles, CA (beach, Disneyland, sun, fun); Sylacauga, AL (an hour from my Aunt in Birmingham, southern fun); and Toledo, OH (Right on Lake Erie, an hour from Detroit). We are so excited to experience life at these locations! And moving won't be a burden either.  The company packs us and pays for each move and provides a fully furnished corporate apartments that we pay almost nothing for.  We couldn't be taken better care of.  At the end of the two years, we then choose which of the four will be our permanent location.  Luke will continue to work on from there.  Luke also plans to get his MBA, and the company will pay all his tuition and books when he does that after the two years, a benefit which we all know will save us thousands.

The past few weeks Luke and I have just felt... blessed.  A lot of other opportunities that didn't work out would make us discouraged.  We were learning to really trust in the Lord as he guided us to where we needed to be.  One day I found an anonymous quote that reads, "When God gives you a 'No', give him a 'Thank You'. He was protecting you from less than his best." Those were words I lived by.  We trusted with each disappointment of the long process of recruitment, there was something still better out there.  And we found what was the best for us.  We are still amazed how amazing of an opportunity this is and do not wish at all that we were anywhere else.  It's perfect for us and we are so excited for the adventures we'll have and the people we will meet and learn to love in these four new cities. 

First Christmas Married and California Getaway

Last Christmas when we were engaged, Luke and I were on opposite ends of the country, but were reunited just a few days later when we went on a New Year's Caribbean cruise with his family.  So this was our first Christmas Day together and it was absolutely wonderful.

We stayed in Utah because his sister and husband live here and so his mom decided to just come out to Utah to be with us which has been very convenient for us. Christmas Eve we carried on the Christensen tradition and watched "It's a Wonderful Life" all snuggled up on the couch eating popcorn (Cameron can make great movie theater popcorn) and yummy hot chocolate.  

That night we went home and Luke and I set up a little bed next to our Christmas tree and we slept next to it.  I was so excited for Christmas I seriously could hardly fall asleep.  

The next morning we got up and opened presents! We were both more excited to give each other presents than to get presents, and we got each other great presents! 

It was then finally time to talk to my brother who is serving his LDS mission in Hungary right now.  We had a conference Skype call between us, my parents in Washington and my brother.  We got to talk for over 90 minutes and it was a blast! I hadn't heard my brother's voice in over 4 months when he was in the airports leaving for Hungary after his training in the MTC.  It was great to laugh with him and hear him speak Hungarian. 

Around noon on Christmas, we were off with Luke's family (his mom, sister and brother-in-law) headed to California.  We decided to go via Las Vegas so we could spend the night there and be tourists at the strip.  We walked a lot (probably like 7 miles) but it was so fun to get to see all the hotels again and spend fun family time. By the time we hit the hotel, each of us were absolutely exhausted and got a good night's sleep.  

The next morning we got up and drove on to California.  My grandparents live outside of San Francisco so we stayed with them and they just spoiled us with Christmas presents and good food (yummy pies).  We loved of course that the house had all of its Christmas decorations, and especially loved my Grammy's little village. We watched 'A Christmas Story' together and then fell asleep after another day of driving.  

The next morning all seven of us headed to the beautiful city of San Francisco.  I get to go about every year and each year is more and more special.  Since we just had a few hours before the game we went to Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square.  The weather was perfect and things weren't too busy (well, it's always busy I guess).  We had some yummy bread bowl soup at Pier 39 in a cute little restaurant that my grandparents treated us all to.  We then continued to troll along the piers and on to the square.

Our last stop in SF was what with whole trip was about: THE BOWL GAME.  Luke's mom bought us all tickets just days after BYU was picked for the game back in late October.  Our 9th and 10th row seats were awesome.  The AT&T Stadium that the Giants play in is absolutely beautiful.  It was fun playing the University of Washington from my home state.  Sadly we lost (like to an extent of embarrassment) but there was so much other fun surrounding that game that the loss was just a tiny, tiny fly in our soup (Luke told me to write that one).  All in all it was a great little getaway! 

Birthday Post

My birthday was perfect. Not as planned but perfect.  I've always been told that your first birthday married is a special one and I didn't know how Luke could top my last birthday he spent with me, but in its own special way it was magical.  I woke up to Luke having already gone to Kneaders (my favorite little bakery in Utah) and bringing me back breakfast-in-bed. We both don't trust him to actually make me breakfast out of the kitchen, so this was a simple way for him to still bring me breakfast in bed.  I opened presents and go to talk to lots of family as they called in. Luke is in the middle of all his final engineering projects and so it's a SUPER busy time for him, but he worked extra hard (I'm talking like 3 hours of sleep some nights, poor guy) so that he could spend the day with my on my day.  That itself was probably the best part about my birthday. Also that day, it snowed, and when I mean snow, I mean snow a LOT.  We got around 6 inches of snow I'd say, and there was already about 5 on the ground.  At first I was not at all excited for the snow, but in the end it was MAGICAL. Luke and I put on our snow boots and went for a nice walk in the snow for about two hours.  We were tosty warm with our snow gear on, and hearing Provo suddenly silent was astonishing.  And along the way we stopped by my favorite little sandwhich shop in Downtown Provo. 

We planned on getting together with friends for ice cream, but cancelled because of the snow storm.  I really didn't want someone dying on the way to just watch all of us gorge ourselves on ice cream.  So it was sad that we cancelled, but it meant that I got to stay cozied up next to the tree longer.  Since we didn't want to drive anywhere, lucky for us our house is right across the street from a great sit-down restaurant in Provo called "Brick Oven".  So we walked the few feet in the storm and got all warm again in the restaurant and enjoyed a nice dinner together.  When we got back, we continued to sit by the Christmas tree and watch Christmas movies.  The best part of my birthday really is that I get to always have a Christmas tree on my birthday.  

All-in-all, it was a magical birthday.  My first white birthday actually.  I loved that it was a Saturday and we could just enjoy the day instead of having to be in work and classes.  So grateful for the friends and family that I heard from that day that also made my day so special.  Oh and in case you're wondering, yes Luke and I did dance and sing to Taylor Swift's song "22".  

'Tis the Season! Thanksgiving and Christmas decorating

This Thanksgiving we did something different.  My parents flew out to spend the holiday with us instead of us going out to them.  Luke has so many projects going on, including his big one with Boeing, so it was nice to be able to stay home, but still be surrounded by family. And it worked well that we have a spare room for them to stay in. I was excited to be in charge of all the food and I think that the food all came around nicely. This was my first Thanksgiving in years not being in California at my grandparents with all my extended family, but trying new things is good and it ended up being a perfect Thanksgiving.  

I was excited to present my first home made apple pie!

We were lucky to have Chelsea Sue with us too! 

Dinner in our college home 

Candid shot :) 

I went with my parents to Salt Lake City with the train

After my parents flew back home, Luke and I headed off to get our Christmas tree! We picked a great one and were so excited to get it.  However... I definitely bought too small of a stand for it and so it didn't fit, and we weren't about to take it back.  Luckily, I married an engineer who has access to some pretty powerful tools in the BYU lab.  So we drove our tree to the lab, hauled it in and went to work.  It's a lot harder than you'd think to make the diameter of a trunk smaller.  But we finally got it done! Took it back, decorated and lit it up and it is beautiful!

We spotted a great one!

"Faith is not knowing what your future holds, but knowing who holds your future"

"Faith is not knowing what your future holds, but knowing who holds your future." This Muslim proverb has been words that I've repeated over and over again in my mind the past few weeks. Why? Graduation. Jobs. Real life.

Luke and I both graduate in April. Crazy right?! I register for my last classes ever tonight at midnight! I can't believe it. Luke is graduating in mechanical engineering with a Spanish minor and I am graduating in Psychology with a nonprofit management minor. For engineers, this is the thick of the recruitment season. Luke and I have spent hours and hours filling out job applications for him online. Probably about 200. Boeing for example, thy say to apply to about 70 jobs and your lucky if you get a couple of interviews. It's nerve racking, but it's nice that the engineering field is a in demand field so we will see what our options are. 

As for me, I plan to work as well next year. My real passion while getting my education has been in nonprofit work and I've accumulated a lot of experience over the years in it. I'm applying for something I never thought I'd apply for-- Teach for America. Out of the blue the head recruiter  assigned to BYU personally emailed me and said that they were impressed by my BYU portfolio especially my experience in nonprofits and asked to speak with me one on one. The next day I was meeting with him and talking about the program. I walked out convinced I should apply. Good job Mr. Recruiter. It's a very prestigious program to get accepted to. They're mostly Ivy League students and it's only a 12% acceptance rate right now. But it's worth a shot. It'd be amazing to be a part of. I've had experience working with children in poverty for a couple years and there's something so special for me to be humbled and learn what it is you need to help them with, and in my case they almost help me more in the life lessons I learn. It would be an amazing experience that I would be honored to be chosen to help in. So I've applied and get word on Halloween if I make it to the first round of interviews! 

Even if I get in, it depends on Luke's job whether or not I will be able to teach in the program. We will need to move to a big city where Teach for America operates. We will go wherever  Luke needs to go, since let's be honest, he'll be making a lot more than me :)

But life is good! Do we know where we will be living in May? No. Do we know we will be where we will need to be? Yes. January just needs to come so we can start seeing those job offers. But like the quote said, we have faith that The Lord knows our future and will steer us in the right direction. 

To say that we are busy would be a gross understatement. Luke is doing his 20 hr/wk internship at BD Medical that he's now had for two years, on an engineering research team, applying for jobs, and the usual insanity of engineering school work (although the hw is a little lighter this semester thank goodness). As for me, I'm working 20 hr/wk, doing my on-campus internship still after two years as well, on 3 student boards (which is busy but I love it!) and taking a German literature class that's kicking my booty. When life is busy though, we still find time to spend together and enjoy every minute of it :)

Life is uncertain, but good :)

BYU homecoming vs. Georgia Tech!

Happy Fall!!!! My fun little pumpkin craft

The New Life

Luke and I have been married just over a month (I can't believe it) and are just loving the new life! It's so nice that we got married in the spring, meaning that we have a whole summer to enjoy together without the stress of school.  With Luke studying Mechanical Engineering, I was lucky to see him for more than an hour a day during the school week.  But this summer has been so nice. Luke has worked at the medical technology company BD Medical for almost two years as an engineering intern.  It's an awesome job, and he just loves it and excels in it.  Over the summer he works there for 40 hours a week, so he's gone most of the day.

I keep myself busy by having two jobs on campus that I absolutely love! I'm currently working as an executive assistant at The LDS International Society , a nonprofit organization that BYU has to help link LDS international professionals. I'm studying nonprofit organizational management, so this job is great for me to get awesome experience. I am also a psychology teaching assistant, which allows me to work with a professor that I think is awesome, and lets me help students (especially the baby freshman who I just want to take under my wing and help so much!)

Besides work I get lots of housework done, including lots and lots and lots of cooking!!! Anyone who knows me well enough, know I absolutely LOVE cooking! Now that I have my own kitchen, fridge, and pantry, it's like my own playground. And Luke doesn't mind, what man wouldn't want a nice big meal just waiting for them when they get home? [it's true.]

We really, really love our apartment.  We will be moving to a house around the corner in the Fall, but until then, this place is great!

Yes, Luke still has his Love Sac

My playground!

All newlyweds experience the shopping that takes place to get the new place all equipped.  I of course just loved shopping for the stuff.  I was in heaven.  Luke on the other hand... well this picture sums it up. [someone had to test out the beds.] 

Also not captured, I found him on the floor of Target trying to get a rest. I was too embarrassed to snap a picture. But he got through it :)

Besides the intense shopping and work filled days, we still enjoy the evenings that we get that we wouldn't otherwise have during the school year.  Utah is just stunning in the summer, so we have enjoyed taking walks [strenuous hikes] together.

A wonderful Saturday morning at Rock Canyon

Enjoying the view

Gorgeous view of Mt. Timpanogos