Chris' 2008: Year in Review

So the year's all done. 2008 you certainly made your mark. Where to begin, Brooke and I were married. That was the single best moment of 2008 which leads to the single best moment of 2009, Olive Barragan. (Yep, I'm sure Olive will take the number 1 spot for '09.)

Back to 2008. In the winter I came to Utah, went through a few jobs (Zane Benefits, TriHealix and a nice long break until The Mahoney Group in September) and now we're off to Arizona to work for Eli Lilly.

I've been so blessed with new family, here in Utah. It's been especially nice with the Ellermeiers, Jenny and Mark, the Eatons, Jimmy and Alisha, Dave and Heather, the Cisneros', Laurie and Darin, and the Lees, Brandy and Mark. During Thanksgiving I was able to spend more time with the Carolina Eatons, Scot and Ann as well as Lisa and Scott who came from Chicago (my biggest regret is not being able to spend more time with Tim and Sarra and their little one's, a huge goal for 2009).

And let's not forget about my roommates for the fall, Gessie, Mallory, Ashley and Budgables.

Oh yeah and all of my newest nieces and nephews: Scottie, Emilee, Nick, Morgan, Lacey, Shane, Ethan, Madeline, Sarah, Allie, Samantha, Julia, Torrance, Azalea, Josh, Drew, Alexis, Dane, Troy James, Molli, Brock, Luke, Layla, Jane, Charlie, and Jacob (my only hope is that I got them all).

These twenty-six are joined by my siblings' children, Anna and Gabriel.

It's been so nice to be near friends, I got to spend so much time with Craig Tovey, I loved it. We made one lousy video this year, which you can find on my blog... Roommates.

I got to go fishing with Poopsie, Jessie, and Todd... Busy Life

And even got to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir... MoTab

It's been wonderful.

To Make An End Is To Make A Beginning

Chris and I each wanted to put up one final post for the year, so here goes mine.

2008 has been tumultuous and exciting and just a million new things. The beginning felt a bit bleak, mostly because of my own follies, but I must say the end feels huge and hopeful. I'm humbled at the mercy of the Lord, the space and time he continues to give me to fix mistakes and become better and to learn and grow. And I'm humbled at how generously he's blessed our little family. I really look forward to 2009. I can't wait to see my little Olive, to love and support Chris in his endeavors, and to make a life and home for us in Lake Havasu. And I'm eager to get working on my own personal goals and ambitions. It's going to be a good year.

Happy New Year to you and yours! Thanks for reading!!!

35 Weeks

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to Chris!

So, there was a slight change in plans and we ended up spending Christmas here instead of in Arizona. I was actually really happy about that, knowing we'd be gone from all these people real soon and feeling the homesickness setting in all too soon.

We've been getting dumped on with snow, which is a delight because we just get ourselves all cozied up with some blankets and some minty Stephens. On Christmas Eve we read Luke 2 and talked a bit about the birth of Christ. And then on Christmas morning we took our time and stayed in bed and read a talk by President Benson about keeping Christ in Christmas. It was a great way to start the day, making sure we didn't make the presents the focus. Instead we tried hard to focus on the Savior and thinking about ways we can continue to seek him.

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Alisha & me and our tummies

some of the girls on Christmas Eve

they love each other so

Happy 32nd Birthday to Chris!

The Absence, I'm Sorry Things Have Been Crazy

It's been a long time (believe me I don't want to look at the gas prices picture anymore either). And for our loyal four readers I sincerely apologize. In my defense I've been incredibly busy. I stopped working for the Mahoney Group in December and took a new job with Eli Lilly (not to be confused with Cotton Gin creator Eli Whitney). This was a job that I had been after for quite some time. I'm happy to have it. The past three weeks have I've spent studying Osteoporosis and a wonder drug called Cymbalta. It hasn't been anything but extremely stressful.

We moved our belongings (Brooke, myself and our newly acquired puppy, Maeby) to Arizona. We'll live in Lake Havasu full time after I return from training in Indianapolis.

Let's see, today is the day before Christmas, and its almost time for "Christmas Eve". The weather is cold outside and a storm is on its way. I welcome it. It's been a long year and I just want to duck under the blanketing storm and rest for a little bit.

This year has been full, Brooke and I are married, with Olive due in a little over a month. I've been through four different jobs finally getting the one I had been after since the beginning of January. I've moved to Utah and now from Utah.

I'm very happy. I'm so happy to be with Brooke, to be having a little daughter. Happiness I suppose doesn't come close to the feeling I have for Brooke and Olive. I have such an immense gratitude for both of them. Stress has distracting me from truly realizing how lucky I am. I hope whoever reads this is having a little bit of the same fortune as I have this year. I promise lots more posts. I have good stories and I intend to share them.

Merry Christmas.

Love,

Chris

Maeby We'll Keep Her

Or maybe not...

Shower Olive

Here are some shots from the shower - none of the pictures turned out very good, but you get the...picture...

i have good friends

ashley (grinning in the background) made the loveliest quilt

we played some fun, and embarrassing, games

jenny made one of her signature cakes - booties for olive

I had such a good time - thanks again, everyone!

The 7 Wonders of Our Life Lately

1. We're moving to Lake Havasu City, Arizona! Chris started a new job (see #2) and they're moving us to what appears to be either the Retirement Capital of the West and/or the next featured location of MTV Spring Break. I've never lived in such a hot climate, and I've never loved the southwesty feel of Arizona. But we found a weird little place to live in (I'll post pictures of it later), we're only a couple hours from Vegas and the Pionkes, and there will be tons of state parks and stuff to do and see around us. I'm really excited for the adventure of the next chapter of our life. Please plan a trip to come see us!

2. Chris started a new job! I'll let him give you the details, but I do just want to say how proud I am of him. He worked so hard to get the job in the first place, and it's been a lot of intense hours of discipline and study and testing since he started; and he's done great on all of it. I'll keep him.

3. Olive comes in 6 weeks! I realize I haven't posted a good pregnant picture, so I'll get on that as soon as I get my camera cord in my hands again (I forgot to grab it out of the desk drawer before the movers came and packed us up). And I'll hopefully have new ultrasound pictures of her at about 37 weeks. I had a doctor appointment this morning, and everything's looking good. It's starting to feel more and more real which is exciting and scary. More exciting than scary; I'm actually really interested in seeing what the birth is going to be like. More on that later, I suppose.

4. We're headed to Arizona tomorrow! We're going to Lake Havasu to meet the movers and at least start on getting settled there. Then we're heading to Phoenix to spend Christmas/Chris' birthday with some of la familia Barragan. We'll come back up here a day or two after Christmas so I can sit on the egg till the baby hatches. Chris has to be in Indianapolis for 3 straight weeks in January and then Lake Havasu after that. I didn't want to change doctors or be alone so far away from all my family and friends this late in the game. So, the plan is to go into labor on or around my due date (January 30th), hope that Chris is here but if he's not then get him on the next plane, and not panic in the meantime. Anyway, we're looking forward to a week in Arizona, although Christmas without snow is weird!

5. Jared Dehghani's been here visiting for the past week! He's been fun for Chris and me to hang out with, and he's been helpful and gracious and sweet. I just hope we've shown him a good enough time. The girls around here certainly can't get enough of him.

6. I had a lovely baby shower last week! I scored in the way of gifts (thanks girls), and had a really good time. If I may say so, my favorite gift was the quilt that Ashley made. It's wonderful. Pictures to come later.

7. We got a puppy! You're probably thinking what lame timing it is on our part, and you're right, but what can I say? Chris and I are suckers. She's a mutt of sorts - they say lab and some kind of hound - and she's lovely. Her name is Maeby (and as per Jessie's suggestion, we may or may not get a boy dog someday and we may or may not name him George Michael). Pictures, and even a remarkable video, are coming.

Seven wonders. That does it.

Giving Thanks

We just got home from our 10-day Thanksgiving sojourn in Maryland. It's achy being back. I miss my marvelous mom real bad. Nevertheless, here's a rundown of our trip to the beloved east.

We arrived in Baltimore on the Monday before Turkey Day. It was coldy and wet and all we wanted after a long day of plane rides was a warmy meal. Gaily Balls took us to a diner in Frederick for supper. She had said, "I've never eaten anything that wasn't delicious here," but as we all dug in we were all disappointed. Not a yummy meal, but we didn't care - we were just excited to be together.

Mom had to work the next day, and she caught a ride into Bethesda with a co-worker so that Chris and I could have her car. We went to Washington and saw the Arlington Cemetery and the American History and Natural History museums.

Arlington Cemetery - JFK's grave site

Arlington Cemetery - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Arlington Cemetery

American History - Kermit

American History - Lincoln death mask

Natural History - Hope Diamond

Natural History - Tyrannosaurus Rex

That night we had dinner with Mom and Jen at a brewery in Frederick. I had the crabcakes...and got food poisoning. I was in pretty bad shape. Mom missed work the next day because she ate the crabcakes too and got a milder case of whatever I had contracted. We laid pretty low all day Wednesday, and then Lisa's and Scot's families got there that night. Naturally, and in the Eaton family tradition, we stayed up late talking about anything and everything. And I felt better by Thursday morning (phew, just in time).

On Thanksgiving day, the boys (Scot, Scott, Nick and Chris) played football all morning while we started getting things ready and even took a last minute trip to the store. Fixing dinner was as fun as eating it. I made homemade rolls and stuffing, Chris made cranberry sauce, Annie made her yummy broccoli casserole, and Mom took care of everything else. It was a delicious spread. I was really discouraged at how fast I got full.

OK, so the kitchen was a little crowded.

Watching football, playing Scrabble, laughing and talking is how we spent the day. That night we did the yarn web thingy that my mom loves to do, and we talked about what we were thankful for. And then we exhausted ourselves with more talking and laughing till the wee hours of the morning.

Our yarn web.

Emilee fell asleep next to me; she melts my heart, and she moved up Chris' list of favorites real fast this week.

On Friday we went to Boyd's Bears, the battlefields in Gettysburg, and shopping at the outlets. Dinner was at Five Guys that night, and then Scot made bananas foster for everyone. Yum!

Grandma Gail let the kids make their own bears.

Lisa couldn't resist buying some big wax lips.

Here's a few of us at the top of Little Round Top in Gettysburg.

Chris and a soldier at Devil's Den.

Megs and Nick up on the rocks at Devil's Den.

On Saturday we had a lot of extended family over.

The boys played football again, and Chris presented Scottie with the game ball.

Emilee was dying to hold Maddie; I loved her outfit!

MJ and Kelly - just one picture out of a million of extended family that came over that day.

Saturday night, after all the extended family left, was another long night of talking, maybe even a little pontificating, but definitely laughing and enjoying each other. Scot's and Lisa's families left early the next morning, and Chris and I went to church with Mom. We lazed the day away after that, watched Dances With Wolves (one of my mom's favorites), and then spent a few hours listening to her recount some of her colorful life stories. I don't think Chris or I will soon forget the content of that conversation.

Monday Mom went to work and Chris had to study and work, so I did some laundry and paid bills. We went with Mom to her Weight Watchers class that night, and then had dinner at Friday's and then went and saw Australia. It was great! Gaily leaned over about 20 minutes into it lamenting about not liking it, but I think she eventually got sucked in. Chris and I sure did.

Tuesday was more work for Mom and Chris so I busied myself with other stuff. Mom took us for some Italian for dinner that night and then we shopped a little bit. When we got home we wrapped presents and stayed up way too late for a school night, trying not to let our last few hours together end. This morning Gaily took us to the airport, and I hated leaving. She's an amazing mother, and my hero in a million ways.

So, needless to say, we had a delightful Thanksgiving holiday. We both feel particularly thankful for Mom's generosity and nobility, for the changes that are coming our way in the next couple months, for Olive and for each other, and especially for our knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His True Church.

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you had a lovely one!