Many Moments of Marital Bliss

Dear Family & Friends,

The Fisher household has certainly been busy! As the end of 2008 approached, each day seemed to be more packed. While we did not necessarily bustled through the stores, we certainly buzzed through life. Fighting off colds, preparing fabulous Thanksgiving feasts, watching my new sister play basketball, meeting our new brother, Christmas cookies, Holiday cheer, and a NEWLYWED Christmas have all made up the past few months since we last saw you! So bear with me as I give you the update of the Fisher family!

One view of the table

My wonderful father-in-law & brother! :)
Cleaning up the turkey!

Hubby carving our first turkey!It was Gayle's birthday the day before!Our families.... and they are so great together!

Family and Friends,

I owe you a huge update. The past month has had it's ups and downs, but on this Thanksgiving Day of 2008, a number of blessings culminated in our little home. I am including a picture from the big day. We just wanted to say how THANKFUL we are to have all of you in our lives. God bless you!

Doug and Beth <><

I am pretty sure that after reading this blog a majority of you are either grinning from ear to ear, or throwing up from the word vomit of love. ;) Well for those of you who are weak in the stomach when it comes to words of love, you might want to click on another website. I won’t go into great detail about how and what happened, but I suffered a bad neck injury on Wednesday of this past week. This means that the woman of the household has been out of commission for nearly four whole days now. Now those women who run their household know that this is quite the large time to be down, and any number of things can happen to your household while out. In the Fisher household all has stayed well, due to my wonderful husband. During a time where I could barely lift my neck, let alone cook or clean anything, Doug took on the daunting task of household chores. Saturday morning we jokingly called him “Mr. Mom” (minus the whole children part). I told him tonight that he won the “Husband of the Year Award”. He worked hard to HAND-clean (aka handwash because we have no dishwasher) what seems like our millions of dishes, sanitize our impossibly small barbie-kitchen, pick up the living room, make our bed, straighten up our bathroom, and make sure that my every well being was first priority on this list. How this man does it all, I do not know. All I know is at this point there is very little I can do to repay his unconditional love; thus, I write. :) I guess this is appropriate for our year anniversary of the day we got engaged. I am truly living proof of the “for better or worse” and “in sickness and health.” Doug is an amazing husband. I am blessed to be married to the most sacrificing, selfless man in the entire world. This blog is intentionally spelled “OWED” to my husband, because while I know the it is in the territory of marriage for man and wife to give selflessly to one another, experiencing it is an entirely different matter. I was watching an episode of Oprah on how women feel absolutely spent, because they do everything around the household and are absolute control freaks. Well, I am glad to have met my match. One who be just as stubborn as myself to make sure that I am completely taken care of. So I will spend the rest of my life trying to pay back all of the love Doug shows me. Of course, I am incurring a long running tab, but by the end of our lives, I’m sure we will both call it even.

I love you Doug.

Dear Family and Friends,

It's hard to believe that at the time I am writing this blog, just a year ago today, I had no clue that Doug was going to ask me to marry him. It's been a year since that incredible day. Boy, am I so happy that Doug took the step to start our life as man and wife. While I loved the wedding planning, I am happy that we do not have to anxiously anticipate a single day of our life, but get to experience each day unfold (with a bunch of little anxious anticipations). Though this is a short note, I just wanted to say that last year the soon-to-be-Mrs Fisher is now this year an incredibly blessed and happy Mrs. Fisher. On a small side note (since my sister wants to be the one to share her excitement), on my birthday her boyfriend asked her to marry her! So now Julia gets to experience the excitement of the engagement time. Sissy, you are in our prayers! As we remember back to our special time, we just wanted you to know how excited we are for you and Andrew.

Well family and friends, we love you all. Thank you for sharing in the joy of our lives. The picture below is from that very special time, the engagement, just a year ago.

Mrs. and Mrs. :)

Dear Family and Friends,

As I start to get older, I find the I constantly discover new information about myself. I guess this is the eternal quest on this journey that we call life on earth. Actually, as I think about that statement, my thoughts deflect towards a Bible study I am in now. Here is a quick story about God's faithfulness to us! I was praying for some kind of Bible study. Within a week of that specific prayer, a very old friend, Emma, sent me a message on facebook, asking if I would be interested in attending a girls Bible study put on by her sister-in-law. I immediately jumped at the opportunity, and PRAISE THE LORD it was available to me. In such a quick time, these ladies have been such a blessing to me. I always look forward to our Thursday night studies. Our Bible study is focused on the book of Daniel. During our first week of the study, Beth Moore, the creator quoted a verse in Isaiah 47:8 ...who says in your heart, I am, and there is no one else beside me ...... What she said about it, I found to be incredibly interesting. Modern day Christianity is so wrapped up into who we can improve as individuals. Whether we intend to say the above words or not, we are selfish individuals who think far too highly of ourselves. The truth is, we are all broken and in need of Christ's repair. So, long story short, I find myself laughing at the very comment I made about discovering myself. More accurately then, I should say, God is constantly reinventing his insane piece of work! :) That being said... let's talk about fall!

I had always thought I was a summer girl. This summer in Orange County certainly changed my mind on that fact. Our house was so muggy the entire summer. I would have much rather been in the Inland Empire any day. Our house was a HOOOOTTTT HOUSE! As you might imagine, I am incredibly happy to welcome the fall. Doug and I have been able to do so in so many wonderful and exciting ways. As most of you know, October 12th welcomed my 24th year of life. Doug spoiled the heck out of me in San Diego, just after we spent the weekend with my parents. We got to visit a wonderful childhood memory- Yucaipa. We tasted apples, apple cider, played in apple orchards, and enjoyed whole in the wall BBQ. My mom is absolutely the most wonderful mom alive (Gayle is too :)). She and my dad spoiled the heck out of my as well! :) When we went home, my mom and I were able to make caramel apples, eat lots of pie, and enjoy lots of chocolate. :) It was such a great birthday weekend. Of course, what made it the best birthday EVER was being able to spend it with my husband. :) 24 was the first bday as a married couple, and it will be special to me for as long as God will allow me to remember.

The following weekend, we headed out to get our pumpkins. Doug created his monster- Rex the Ripper, and I masterfully crafted Jimmy. Unfortunately, it has been in the 90s in the OC, so our pumpkins have wilted, and are barely surviving on our porch. Lol. I am not sure what we will do with them, since we have a Halloween party this coming Friday. Of course, they will find their way to their graves (the trash), but who knows if we will have more pumpkins. Probably not. Craving those pumpkins was quite the task.

While we do not live in a state that has definite seasons, the feeling of fall has certainly been felt in the Fisher household. All I know is, I welcome it to come in full swing. I feel blessed to experience these "seasons" for the first time with my husband. We are truly blessed that God has smiled upon us, and given us a life together. May God bless your fall, and may you discover all of the joys that the season has to offer!

Doug and Beth <><

Well Family and Friends,

What seems like a month ago, I gave you a preview to what we have been up to, but never gave you the information. Well, a lot has happened in the last month. Doug and I bounced back to San Diego a few times to handle some business, welcomed fall, and resumed the everyday grueling work life. Now that Doug is finished with his class, we have a lot more time to be together. It is nice to be able to see the love of you life for longer than 30 minutes. Lol. So the following is the adventures we have been up to! Enjoy!

End of Summer- QUICK day trip to San Diego

I must say honestly, visiting San Diego has stirred mixed emotions. There are moments when I just want to move back, times I REALLY miss college (and yes, even studying), and the others that I know God has something entirely bigger for us. That is not to say that if we were to move back we would be settling. That is not the case. Who SETTLES for San Diego?! Anyways, back to the topic. That day at the end of September was truly wonderful. Visiting San Diego is always amazing, because that is the place where we fell in love. I am not kidding you. I can look at almost any place in San Diego and see Doug. What a blessing to be able to say. Some of the things we did that day was visit an old favorite burrito shop- Los Primos. This burrito shop is located smack dab between where Doug and I used to live. Boy, am I glad that that place wasn't open for long when we lived there! WE WOULD BE SO FAT! After that (you know that burritos were our breakfast right?), we headed to our fabulous old church- Harbor Pres! MAN DO WE MISS IT THERE! Pastor Paul is a dynamic speaker, truly led by God! :) We also miss PASTOR DARIN! :( After church we were able to fun into one of my residents (more accurately said, FRIEND) and his girlfriend. Chris, if you read this, it was so nice to see you! :) After church we headed straight to the beach! Being the INSANE English teacher I am, I assigned my kids four essays in one week. I attempted to read some of them on the beach. Being an alum of UCSD, I am able to have much success at it, but I chose not to completely attend to the papers. I did get them done, just not immediately. My handsome husband reached out his hands and welcomed me to a walk on the beach. I just couldn't resist. After our amazing day at the beach, we hit the road and headed to another favorite- Pizza Port! :) Our day really only lasted about 5 and half hours, but we made the most out of every second.

I apologize, but I will have to resume the catching up later. I am working Saturday school tomorrow, and I should get to bed. God bless you all!

Dear Family and Friends,

I am sorry that it has been so long since I have written. This is actually going to be very short, as Doug just got finished studying, and is giving me the eye of "spend time with me." :) I am trying to figure out some of the online scrapbooking programs to help spice this blog up! The above is my first attempt If any of you know anything about it, let me know. The little box is something I played around with online. For now it will be a part of the header. Of course, since this blog originated because of the wedding, I had to post the pictures from the wedding! Enjoy! It is a slideshow, so you can just press play. I hope you all are having a wonderful life. I have some fun updates for you on what we have been up to (you will just hear it a little later). The above is a little teaser though to keep you entertained. God bless you all!

Doug and Beth <><

Family and friends,

I write to you incredibly floored, amazed, and grateful for the beautiful day that September 15th brought. Today, I got to witness the miracle of birth. I have experienced a lot of things in my life, witnessed many feats, but truly today, I saw GOD at work. Thank you to Nikole and Zach for letting me be a part of this incredible day. Right now I am tired (but not spent and exhausted like Nikole), so I will make a long story short and come back to more appropriate details later. At 5:44 Nikole gave birth to her BEAUTIFUL daughter Leah. She weighs 7 lbs 11 oz. and is 18 1/2 inches long. :)

Leah, Doug and I are praying for you. We know your life will be incredibly blessed. You have wonderful parents, and we know they will raise you in the grace of our Lord.

Zach and Nikole- you guys rock as parents. You already have one incredible son. Can't wait to see what God does with the newest Terflinger hottie.

I am blessed. God is good. Can't say much more than that.

With love and excitement,


















Doug and Beth<><

Ps. And GOD WILLING, we will not be having babies for a while. But that doesn't need to stop you from praying for it ONE DAY!

Hello Family and Friends!
We hope that this finds you all happy and well. Boy, are we happy that it is the weekend. Well, I should clarify that I (Beth) am. Doug is working his behind off for his big test. It is almost here, so after the beginning of October we should be smooth sailing. Well that is, if there is such a thing. The feeling of fall is finally coming. The last couple of days have been a little chilly and gloomy in OC. Doug and I never thought we would appreciate that type of weather, but after living in our Bungalow, we welcome it. Mmmmm.... fall. I can't wait to write to you all about it when it comes. It is one of our favorite seasons (but California really doesn't have seasons, right?). We have really been up to a lot since our 6 month anniversary greeting all of you. We spent a wonderful day at the International Street Fair, attended the wedding of Brian Smith, hosted Doug's parents for a weekend, visited my parents, and between all of that, found time to deal with everyday work life.

Last weekend, we had the pleasure of hosting Doug's parents at our home. It was so nice to be able to do for them. Both of our parents always go out of their way to take care of us. It was nice to be able to cook a huge meal for them, and have them not lift a finger in the process of their trip here. :)

The weekend prior to that was packed. Jeff came to our house and we headed over to the International Street Fair. I hadn't been since I was about seven. It's amazing how huge places appear when you are a small child. When we go there, I found the street fair was still fun, but a lot smaller than I remembered it to be. We tasted some international food. I hit up Italian street. Doug enjoyed Italian street, and Greek Street, I believe. Jeff enjoyed some tea from an Asain food station, Greek Food, and one more place that I cannot remember at this time. We had a great time. After the street fair we headed to Rialto to spend time with my parents before Brian Smith's wedding. We were also able to see my besties, Pia and Porscha. The weekend was certainly filled, but such a wonderful last weekend before the start of school.

I am discovering a lot about myself as a teacher, as I am going into my second year of teaching (well basically second year). Teacher is a lot of hard work. I can see why some of the older teachers are lazy. I have the honors freshman this year. I am truly trying to prepare them to be the best writers, especially for their entrance to college. This does give me a lot of work. I will probably spend the entire day grading papers. Ugh! But, if it means that I have to do more work to make them successful, then so be it! I have a very good friend from the credential program, Brianna. She decided not to pursue the avenue of teaching. She constantly asks me if I am going to teach for the rest of my life. I would like to say yes, but if I find that I am becoming a lazy teacher, I know I will need to let it go. Teaching is an awesome responsibility. I am going to give to the "profession" as long as I can. I have some truly amazing individuals in my class this year. The entire prospect is very exciting. On a very random note, I would just like to send some love to the girls from the teaching program. I have found that other than Pia, Porscha, and the girls in my wedding party, they have really been true friends. I miss you girls!

Something I find very amusing is all of the pessimism in the world. Many people ask if Doug and I still like each other, and other sayings to that extent. I know the divorce rate is very high, but truly, the word is not in our vocabulary. We find it awesome that we are falling more in love with each other every day. We still have a lot of life to face together, but I do feel like we are growing up together. Our friendship is developing deeper each day. A certain peace, and happiness has found us. In moments where life seems unstable or tiring, I have a mental picture of Doug smiling burned into my brain. Often, his simple smile gets me through. We are having so much fun being man and wife. I can only pray that everyone can find the kind of happiness that we have found. God is truly good. We know that this kind of joy only comes from God. :)

A couple weekends ago we got to witness Brian Smith, and his wife Ashley join as man and wife. I just want to send a shout out to the newlyweds. We hope that God will bless your marriage deeply. Thank you for letting us be a part of your beautiful ceremony. It was such a wonderful evening. If many of you notice the picture of that adorable boy, that is Shane, my boyfriend. Doug is ok with it, but I thought I would also share the ADORABLE picture! His wonderful mommy, Tami, is helping him get ready. I also had to include this picture to the left of Debbie. Debbie is Brian's mom. Such a lovely, and classy lady!

On another random note, we miss the people from Grace. Susan Parker e-mailed me a bit about the church directory (and I need to get back to her. If you are reading this, I am sorry). We know that a lot of you at Grace are supporting us in prayer. Thank you so much. We love you.

I know this entry has been a little static. My brain is fried from grading too many papers. I must return to the fabulous task of attempting to make students better writers. Sending you all lots of love. Have a wonderful Saturday, and a restful weekend.

Doug and Beth <><

Hello Family & Friends!

We hope this finds you happy and well. This post will be pretty short, as we just wanted to check in. Today, Doug and I are celebrating 6 months together as a married couple. The thoughts on time are all so cliche. We feel like March was certainly ages ago. I guess it comes with the territory of what this time in our life produces. We are experiencing so many rapid changes together. It really is crazy to think that if we were to go back exactly 6 months ago to the moment I am typing this, Doug and I would be already pronounced man and wife, and we would be taking formal shots with our family! As special as the one wedding day is, Doug and I are truly blessed to experience the adventure of the marital moments. We truly enjoyed our wedding, and can't thank all of you enough for making is so incredible, but we love even more our married life. While we are not experts by times standards, everyday that we wake up, and find that we love each other more, we know that we have found success.

So what does our fabulous 6 month anniversary have in store for us? Well, like most young couples we are "broke a a joke", so we will be dining at the fabulous and illustrative Micky D's, get a cheap bottle of champagne, work on some LSAT/school work, and enjoy a rental movie together. I am not sure if God has a future of abundant wealth in store of us (I doubt it, our career goals equal devoting our lives as PUBLIC SERVANTS... hahahahaha....money....hahahaha), but I know when we acquire more wealth than we currently have, we will look back on these financially struggling days with a nostalgic longing.

Enjoy these few pictures. I am including pictures from our wedding rehearsal, since we didn't really have a post dedicated to that! Thank you again family and friends for your love and support. Thank you for being a part of our special day, but most importantly for continuing to pray for us through our marriage! We wish you love.

Doug and Beth (The now 6 month newlyweds)

Hello Family and Friends,

Happy middle of the afternoon to you all. This will be the last time until our next vacation that I will get to write in the middle of the afternoon. As you all know, I taught summer school this year. I got to have a two week vacation. It seems like enough right now. I always think about the people who just get their two weeks during the year, as opposed to the 9 weeks or so in the summer that teachers usually get. Then again, most people don't work with kids ALL THE TIME. Lol. But I think about those year long professionals, and then feel like I should be able to hack it without the extended break that others take. Next summer Doug and I certainly will be taking advantage of all of my vacation time. Only time will tell where we will go and what we will see, but we are planning a trip to Hawaii. It's been so long since I have been back there, so I am really looking forward to it. :) I am excited for Doug to meet the family.

In my two week vacation, I probably took a good week off. The rest of the time was devoted to fixing up my classroom. I FINALLY HAVE A CLASSROOM! WOHOO! I inherited a rather NASTY, smelly, bug infested room. So I spent nearly a week cleaning it up. Now it smells good, has less bugs, and is a lovely place to be. I hope you all enjoy the pictures of the journey through my classroom. :)

Doug is hard at work studying. I am so proud of him. I need to put a little shout out to my wonderful husband right now. He is working full time and attending classes every Monday and Wednesday night until 10pm. He often has Saturday sessions as well. Last night, I had the profound discovery that I was married to superman. :) He still manages to have an amazing attitude towards life, keeps it together, and cares for me every bit as much as if he had all of the time in the world. I am blessed to be married to superman. :)

So for my last few hours off, I am going to be doing homework and home work! :) It's time to get the house one last scrub-a-dub before the year begins. Also, Jeff will be coming over for the International Street Fair. I will certainly post pictures and updates on that this weekend!

May God bless and keep you all.

Doug and Beth <><

Hello family and friends,

We both hope this finds you happy and well. Doug and I are catching up on the Olympics right now. I need to be honest when I say that I am on a little bit of Olympic overload, so I, Beth, am writing to all of you. This update is long overdue. I meant to write last Monday. Last Saturday and Sunday (Aug 16-17), we spent a wonderful weekend with Doug's side of the family. The trip was so fun. While it had to be short, the weekend was packed with memorable moments. We stayed at the Avila Hot Springs Campground. It was an intimate campground. The purpose of this weekend was not only to have fun with the family, but to also bid Kelly a warm and friendly aloha, before her big move to Iowa. Kelly, Doug's sister, received a basketball scholarship to play for an NAIA school in Iowa (I am refraining from listing the school, just in case there is some psycho out there who wants to hunt her down). I don't like to say that we said "goodbye" to Kelly, because she will be back. Kelly, we are so proud of you. We know that you will be nothing but successful in your newest adventure. Luckily, we are going to be able to see her in action in San Diego this coming December. Until then, we will have to catch the highlights on ESPN.

The weekend started very early in the morning. Jeff arrive at our house at 5am. We left the house soon after. Our road trip was nice, and pretty short. We arrived at the campsite around 9:30. The Haney's beat us there by about a minute. We saw everyone, Grandma and Grandpa Wright, The Haneys, the Calamia's, and my wonderful new family (Gayle, Rich, and Kelly). We spent half the morning camping, and then headed for Pismo Beach. The Pismo Beach area is absolutely gorgeous. I can see why my mom wants to live there. We met up with the rest of Doug's family. Most of the Wright side of the family was present. I am sure Kelly will never forget this weekend. As the newbie of the family, a lot was put into perspective for me in such a short amount of time. I have been loved, accepted, and welcomed by this family for so long. It was just awesome to be there not as Doug's girlfriend, or fiance, but as his wife! As I sat there, just chilling with the family, I was able to step outside myself and see myself as family. It is a very awesome, and somewhat indescribable feeling. I know a lot of people probably won't experience this. I can only wish this for my own baby sister, Kelly, and Jeff one day (and for all of you still waiting to experience it). I am truly blessed to have such great in-laws.

As we were in the midst of breath-taking Pismo, we cruised along a pier. There were certainly some wonderful picture moments. My favorite was when Doug braved the aggressive seals/sea lions for some pictures. After the adventures on the pier, we headed to downtown Pismo, and enjoyed Mo's BBQ. Some of the family got some clam chowder. The day was cool, the city bustled ever so slightly, and the family was in good spirits. It truly was such a memorable, and essentially perfect. We had no worries, and good company. To top this all off, Rich treated us to my favorite treat- ICE CREAM. If you look at the picture immediately to the right, you can see a family picture. Looking at this picture has really been a moment of pride and joy for me. It's one of those moments that you realize you are permanent in a family. :) Doug's family took a picture in front of this same ice cream shop years ago. This time his wife got to be in the picture. :) I love it. Even though a person can spend most of their life away from the LOVE OF THEIR LIFE, it doesn't matter the time apart, because the time together truly does breath new life, excitement, and joy. I am proud to be married to Doug. I am proud to be permanent in his family. Wow..... God is good. :)

When we got back from Pismo, a lot of us headed to the mineral pool. Our campground was located on a natural hot spring. Even after a wash, my swimsuit still has a bit of the sulfer smell lingering. The evening proved to be relaxing, and a bit nostalgic. Doug built the biggest fire we had seen in a long time. The family sat around the area, some just chatting, others playing chess. Dusk fell as quickly as the dawn came. Stomachs growled, and we headed all of a couple hundred feet away to Mama's Meatballs. The campground had an uncovered treasure trove- a great Italian restaurant. The entire family headed down for a night of wonderful food, wine, and toasts to Kelly. On the way down, all of the girls took a picture with their beaded flower rings (from downtown Pismo). This classic shot will probably be repeated nearly a year from now as all if these ladies will be heading to Vegas to celebrate Kelly's big 21 and Meg's bday! Yet again, another moment where I experienced BEING a part of the family. I hope you all enjoy the picture.

Dinner was incredibly sweet. We fit all 17 of us on a long table. The family shared tears, toasts, and what Rich would call "Roasts." Really though, there were few roasts, because Kelly is just that loved.

It is an awesome reality to know that your family is there for you. Not all people have the comforting knowledge. I know that Kelly walk away from the family, just like Jeff & Doug did, because she knows she will walk back successful, a different woman, independent, but still incredibly loved by her family. I am happy to say that I have seen a foreshadowing of it with my own family. Julia went away five years ago now. She has blossomed immensely, and there will never be a moment where my parent, (Doug,) or myself won't love her every bit as much as the moment she was born. So as it is often hardest to let go of the baby, it is equally as easy to see them grow.

I know this entry has been super long. If you haven't had the change to visit the Pismo Beach area, it is a must sea! The town has really built itself up, so the next time I'd like to go is during off-season (and hopefully Doug and I can go with my mom too :)). Back to the Olympics. The "Redeem Team" is currently taking a beating on Argentina. Go USA!

God's richest blessings to you all.

Doug and Beth <><

Hello Family and Friends,

Greetings from Palm Springs! Doug and I went (or are currently on) our first vacation together since the wedding/honeymoon. WOW! What a breath of fresh air. Like most of you hard working people out there, we have been going to the grind, non-stop since we graduated college. While our honeymoon was AMAZING, we were so tired from the preparation, anticipation, and implementation of the wedding, that we pretty much crashed. That is not to say that we aren't exhausted now, but there is something so refreshing about being here!

I, Beth, spent that last week in San Diego. Now, when one thinks San Diego, I am sure the thought of seeing friends, enjoying the scenery, and eating lots of wonderful food comes to mind. No, this trip was not like that for me. I went on my first "business trip." Obviously, teachers are not in the corporate world, so this came in the form of the AVID Summer Institute conference. It was a week long conference. There were valuable moments that definitely contributed to my professional growth, but I left the area exhausted, EATEN ALIVE BY BUGS (yes, my hotel had bugs, and I left with 9 bug bits... GROSS HUH! DONT EVER STAY AT THE TOWN AND COUNTRY IN HOTEL CIRCLE... GROSS). I spent my first week away from Doug. :( Now, I won't go on this rant of complaining (because I did learn a lot and it is just wasting space), but on Friday 8-8-08, I took the trek back to the OC. When I got home, I expected to see a house that was a little bit messy (Doug is not a slob, but he did have the opportunity to go back to his bachelor days for a week.... and he is BUSY!).... as I walked in, I saw a perfectly immaculate house. I was so happy. I LOVE A CLEAN HOUSE! :) Then as I looked to the right I noticed a sign. Then to the right of that were a dozen gorgeous pink roses! Can you imagine my excitement to return to that! Soon after, Doug was able to come home for his lunch break, so I was in HEAVEN! Doug and I definitely stand by the thought that absence truly does make the heart grow fonder. THANK GOD we are back together again!

So right now, I write to you from Palm Springs. Friday after Doug got off or work, we drove to my parents house. My mom and dad took us out to our FAVORITE Mexican Restaurant, Cucas. Really, we could eat GOOD Mexican food everyday. :) Thank you Mom and Dad. Orange County has NASTY food. Saturday morning we woke up at 5:30. We headed out for some morning coffee (that used to be our dates, just a year ago, when we were working on my parents backyard). Then we hung out with our parents and headed for the real desert! At first, Doug was not impressed with the Palm Springs area. Then we pulled up to our hotel! I had the opportunity to stay here before with some of my girlfriends from college, so I knew what we were getting ourselves into; however, nothing beats exploring places with the love of your life. Doug and I always have the discussion about visiting places that we have seen together as individuals, but really, it is like exploring it for the first time. :)

We arrived in P.S. just before noon and hit the pool! :) We were there for hours. Afterwards, we checked out our amazing room. They have gone through renovations since the last time I was here, and they did a great job. We had some rest relaxation, hour long massage, and relaxed in the air condition. Then, we went to a fabulous Mexican Restaurant, Las Casuelas Terrzas in downtown Palm Springs. WE WERE IN HEAVEN! Of course, we had to get our Millers, and we enjoyed them on our little balcony.

This morning Doug is checking out the gym while I write to you. We know the rest of the day will be filled with fun and relaxation. We hope that you all can find rest as well. God bless you all!

Doug and Beth<><

Hello Family and Friends,

As I pause from what I call a "housewife day", I want to share some of the progress that we have made with our little bungalow. As you know and might imagine, we don't have enough money to own our own house; however, we were blessed enough to be able to rent one! We are so spoiled to have a house be our first little place. If you remember way back to January, we told you a little bit about the house. It's one of those antiquated 1920's craftsman houses. It has all of it's original floors and craftsman features. Today I would like to share just a few spaces that we have made ours. Obviously we are limited in our decorating abilities, since it is a rental. Seriously, it is so amazing to come home to each other in this little space that we created as ours. I almost entitled this entry "your wedding gifts to work", because we truly could not have set this place up without all of your generous love and gifts. The whole concept of a wedding is pretty awesome. Doug and I got to stand before GOD, family, and friends, and commit our love and lives to each other and our precious Savior. Not only were you all there, but you so graciously gave so much to us to help get us on our feet. So I wanted to share the love of your labor and ours. We want to have so many of you over, but as you know, time slips away so quickly. So we will have you over one day, but until then, check out the house that we made into OUR HOME!

Before we moved into the dining room....

Note, we are obviously still your typical young couple who is struggling to put it all together. Our dining room won't permanently stay like this, but it will suffice for the next five years or so. I love this hand-me-down table from my parents. Doug's parents graciously offered Doug's grandmother's table, but unfortunately we live too far away!

The Dining Room AFTER we moved in.....

If you notice, we used a lot of the decorations from the wedding. We have placed some of the candle centerpieces all along the walls. Notice the beautiful picture by Jonilyn Brown. We al


The living room before.....

The Living Room After....


Many of you may remember the fun story of my first night at the place (I say my first night because Doug did not move in until March, so he was only here for half of the evening). We tried to be romantic and light a fire. We laid down a blanket, because we had no furniture, bought 5 dollar Little Caesar's Hot and Ready pizza, and got some Miller Lite. The fire was romantic until it filled the entire room with smoke filled the entire room. I went to school smelling like smoke for probably about a month!

We hope you enjoyed a look at how we are making a house OUR HOME. :) Thank you for caring about our lives. Until next time (which will probably be tomorrow)....