2013 in review!

Hello, blogosphere! I have been MIA for a while, mostly due to family events, work and catching up on sleep whenever I can! But here I am, and 2013 is already over. I can't believe it!

New Year's has never been a favorite holiday of mine, mostly because I have a hard time staying awake past 10:30 on most nights. I like setting goals on a normal basis, so new year's resolutions don't have too much weight with me. But I love the fact that the new year prompts me to reflect on my past year in gratitude and to identify lessons along the way. Also, Matt proposed to me on New Year's Eve two years ago, so that makes it a lot more special :)

Matt and I have been so blessed this year. 

Here is our 2013 in review... mostly in pictures because those are the best! 

Matt thrived and I survived in the brutal SLC winter! It is so beautiful, but makes me grateful again for my rainy Seattle winters.

We sent off our favorite sister missionary to Toronto, CA.

Matt and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary with some snowboarding and a weekend away. 

I got into UW, the grad school of my dreams! Matt graduated from BYU with his Bachelor's in Exercise Science. Woo hoo!!

We "partied hard" with friends and did lots of camping during our last month living in Utah. I graduated with my Bachelor's in Nursing from the U of U. 

We camped some more at Matt's family property and left the first place we called home together for good. We moved to Seattle to begin our job and house hunt!

We made a quick trip back to Utah for my grandfather's funeral. We were lucky enough to also spend a lot of time with Matt's family! We miss them!!

Our little Lizzie got baptized, marking the end of an era in the Hutchings family! She's getting so old! *tear*

September was a busy month... we moved into an old, dilapidated farm house. We fixed it up and called it home, enchanted by the beauty of the fields and coyotes that came with it. I started my first quarter at the UW and we got to go to Coeur D'Alene and watch Andy play football. 

We both (finally) had jobs in October! Matt started working as a Personal Trainer at the Pro Sports Club and I started working as an RN at Pediatric Associates. We both love our jobs and are so blessed to have work. My best friend Lauren also got married (back in September) but I got to finally see her at her open house here in Seattle!!!

We spent a fantastic Thanksgiving with my family and counted our blessings many times. Also, kept up the tradition of the Turkey Trot! (we also moved out of aforementioned farmhouse, into a townhome in Bothell. We love our new place!)

We went to Matt's swanky work Christmas party where we both won some prizes - yay for Roulette! We got to spend more time with my fam for Christmas and my sister Mallory got ENGAGED! We are so excited for Tyler and Mall and can't wait to welcome him into our family officially!

Have a happy new year and a fun, safe night! Bring on 2014!!

Here we go again...

So, sad news: the farm has sold and we have to leave.

Good news: we found a place (in one weekend) to move that fits all of our picky needs!

We found a great, affordable town home in Kenmore, WA near Bothell. It only adds 10-15 minutes to our daily commutes and it seems like a fun location. 

The biggest bummer for me is that we moved into the farmhouse just two months ago. I probably jinxed myself because as I was unpacking in the farmhouse, I kept saying to myself, 

"I hope we aren't doing all of this work just to move in a month or two..."

Alas, here we are. I had my negative/pessimistic/woe-is-me breakdown the night I found out we needed to leave. Matt swooped in (like the super hero he is) and comforted me, held me tight and told me it'll be okay. Then we talked about all the great things this will bring for us.

-Heat in the winter! No more huddling by the space heaters every second I'm home.

-Neighbors! (a plus and a minus, I suppose) I won't be freaked out at night when Matt gets home from work late and I hear creaks around the house or have to run out to my car in the dark.

-Less actual/potential "really old home" problems: mold, mice, LOTS of spiders, plumbing issues, septic tank issues, moles, bad foundation, etc...

-Landlords and homeowners association to take care of stuff that we don't have time/money for.

-A year lease so that we know we'll be staying put for at least that long!!! 

We know that God is looking out for us. Although it is a HUGE pain to pack up and move again (especially with both of us working 40-60 hr weeks and me in graduate school), we are blessed to have been able to stay in a dirt-cheap home that allowed us to get our new jobs under our belts and get us on our feet. We are now able to afford a place, a new car soon (hopefully!) and Christmas, thanks to this almost-free home we had the privilege of living in for 2 months. I love looking back on our lives and seeing how we were always in the right place for us at the right time and how we are very well taken care of. We strive to remain thankful, stay humble, live a spiritually-centered life, keep working hard and always show our love for each other.

Have a wonderful week. Stay safe in this stormy WA weather and make sure you have flashlights handy!!

I will update about our new place as we move in :)

Happily EMPLOYED.

Yes, if you're friends with me on facebook (which is how most of you get to this blog), you probably know that this week I got a job. A JOB! After 4 months of searching, I have finally landed an RN job here in the Seattle area. I am beyond happy!

I get to work as a float nurse with a company called Pediatric Associates. They are the pediatric clinic that I went to growing up (and my younger siblings still go to). We love that place! They have seven clinics all over Bellevue, Redmond and Sammamish. I get to work 4 days a week and I am so excited that I get to work with kids. In my desperate job hunt, I've been searching for any RN job - so there was a very real possibility that I would be working in adult medicine. Not my thing. Go pediatrics!

Anyways, as far as "new grad" nursing jobs go, this is a pretty nice setup. I only work one weekend shift per month (that I choose), I work one holiday a year (that I choose), and no night shifts! Yay!!!! I was dreading getting a job at a hospital where I'd be the verrrrry bottom of the seniority chain and I'd be working three nights a week, every weekend and Thanksgiving and Christmas at the very least. 

Matt in his new work uniform. SO CUTE!

God's hand is in our lives. I am blessed to have such incredibly supportive friends and family, not to mention Matt, who all stood by my side through months of dead-end applications and frustration. You are all wonderful! And I know I will have many, many more lessons from upstairs on patience throughout my life... I don't think I was very pleasant while enduring this one. 

A beautiful rainbow over the farm yesterday. 

 Another note: this week I helped Andy ask his girlfriend to their homecoming dance by filling her car with balloons and writing a cute note and such... is this a dead tradition?! I have the feeling that not very many teenagers take the time/money/effort to "ask" people to dances in a clever and creative way. I think it is certainly more prevalent in the LDS culture, but I wish it wouldn't die out! I think it is so cool in that it makes whomever is being asked feel very special. It also takes a considerable amount of thought and planning - which are great for teenagers to practice, if you ask me! So I suppose I don't care if it's not a normal thing to do... as long as Andy is in high school and has bossy older sisters like Mallory and myself, he will definitely be getting direction from us on how to ask a girl to a dance properly and make her feel special. What do you think about this "tradition"?

Helping Andy get balloons for his homecoming plan

I hope you all have a happy Wednesday!! 'Till next post :)

My new friend Wiley!

Ah, I just LOVE rainy, gloomy Seattle days!! Today I dropped Matt off at work and then I was able to sit in Starbucks for a while to do some homework and drink one of my favorite hot chocolate-y drinks, all while watching the downpour outside. And we can't forget how much I love wearing my orange rain boots everywhere! Wonderful. 

Here are some promised pictures of what the inside of our farmhouse looks now - we've finally got everything put in it's place and hung on the wall.

Yes, we have a stuffed football on our bed - "Fumble." Those of you that know my husband will not be surprised :)

We just love our cozy home. It is a perfect place for us!! Here are a few pictures I took outside my window the other day:

And finally, I must introduce my new friend to you...

I mistakenly thought he was a fox... but Matt informed me that we have a coyote living on our farm! He comes here to hunt, and I've seen him almost every day this week! I think he is so cute. When I see him I totally stalk him and take tons of pics with my camera. Perks of farm life, I suppose!

Till next time... :)