An Updated Welcome!

Welcome to our new and hopefully improved blog. I'd never been very happy with our previous one, especially since I made it half-heartedly to communicate with other friends slowly trickling onto Blogger. Now that family blogging has really gotten popular, it's about time I put some effort into this thing! I figured there was no better way to start than to start fresh.

I (Kelli) graduated from Utah Valley University in December with my Bachelors in Graphic Design - HALLELUJAH. Two months after graduating and right before the big move, I found out I was pregnant with our first child! We'd decided to just let it "happen" whenever it happened now that school was over - and it happened right away.

Once the weather in Utah warmed up, we decided we were ready to finally move back east closer to family and our roots. It was too hard to secure a job 2000 miles away, so we packed up our growing family and headed east with nothing secure except a place to stay. We aren't really sure what this "troubled economy" is that everyone keeps talking about however. Adam found a job less than two weeks of searching out here in the Washington, D.C. Metro area. He is a field tech engineer for a computer company in Vienna and so far, he loves it. It was more money than we could have hoped for at this point in his career, so we feel very blessed!

Being pregnant has both limited my options (and if we're being honest, desire) to find a full-time job. However, that's not to say I haven't stayed busy! I have been able to make extra money by making a name for myself at church and amongst friends for cutting hair and I've been doing freelance work for my previous company in Utah. In addition, I am a professional photographer currently working on revamping my branding and portfolio for the D.C. area.

Our baby is due in October. I'd say my pregnancy has been medium - lots of nausea and all day sickness (to call it "morning sickness" just simply wouldn't be factual) for the first 3 months. Then came the dizzy spells, relentless exhaustion and now the aches of a growing belly/legs/everything. I've only put on 15 pounds 5 months in, but I am sure the most gain is yet to come! We found out we are having a baby girl and are excited to welcome baby Autumn Michelle in the fall (or Autumn - clever how that worked out huh? Thanks Mom!)

We are currently living at the Casa de Mattingley, aka my folks place. We do have an offer in on a townhome, but it's a short sale property (the amount owed on the house is more than the sale price or current value of home) and now we're playing the waiting game and hoping to hear from the bank soon. It can take anywhere from 3+ months, so if I haven't mentioned it, I haven't heard anything yet. You'll know when we do!

5 comments

  1. I LOVE your new look! Maybe someday I'll be as creative as you!

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  2. Love the new blog! And I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself at figuring out how to update the link from my blog to yours! (When you get older, things that like are a big deal...) =)

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  3. You're so creative. Will you teach me some of your tricks sometime? Oh, wait, you live thousands of miles away. :(

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  4. Thanks for the compliments! I finally found a layout I really like, so I am hoping that will help spur more interest into updating over here. :)

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  5. I enjoy your updates and all your pictures. Looks like you had a good time at the beach. Don't hear from your Mom much so it is nice to see what is going on. Good job!

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