still newly married and poor college students

since our life is about to completely change and never return to being the same, i wanted to at least write down where we are now. we are still freshly married (it feels like) and just starting out. we are trying to get through college educations so we can begin careers. and we are learning who we are and how to get along. all of these things require work and resilience. in our marriage, we have lived in four different places:

1. las vegas. we lived with family friends in las vegas for a summer. we rented a bedroom in a home and shared everything else from the kitchen, to the bathroom, to the pool. it all felt like an extended honeymoon and we enjoyed the luxuries of a house with a washer and dryer and pool parties. sometimes newlyweds might enjoy a little more privacy, but we never complained and had multiple weekends "house-sitting" at other homes and this served as even more of a honeymoon experience. 
2. provo, ut. then, we moved to provo while i attended two semesters of BYU. we lived in a tiny studio apartment that barely had room for two people. but it was comfortable and cozy and all to ourselves. eventually, after 9 months, it did feel way too small and claustrophobic, but that may have been due to my hormones from being pregnant. i stopped caring, cleaning, and cooking. it became cluttered and i craved open spaces to breathe! however, it was a darling space and looking back, i really enjoyed it. plus, huge bonuses of a washer and dryer AND dishwasher!! 
3. mccammon, id. we discovered we were pregnant and due in october. i decided i wouldn't be able to attend BYU for the fall semester if my baby was due smack-dab in the middle. so we moved back to idaho to be closer to our families and drake began attending ISU. that was really good for him to finally get started and it was nice being back with family all the time. we lived in my grandparents home across the pasture from my parents. i felt like i was home, where i grew up, in a fully furnished and very comfortable house. we watered plants and mowed the lawn. it was nice having so much space to spread out in! the commute to pocatello every day for both of our jobs wasn't the best, but we enjoyed the comfort of the home and being in mccammon. 
4. now we are in pocatello, id. after spending the summer at my grandparents, they moved home and we moved into pocatello. this was a nice change since our commute was shortened so much and we are still very close to our families. we got another apartment, but this time it has a bedroom. because it is fairly old, the rooms are very spacious. seriously, our bedroom is huge! and this feels nice since we'll be adding another human to the mix very shortly. it doesn't have a washer and dryer or dishwasher, but it is comfortable and easy to like. it does have a lot of "personality" however... 

our "fridge"

our fridge stopped working (the freezer remains in perfect condition, just not the fridge part) and ruined most of my groceries. chunky milk. moldy cheese. disgusting things happened. so, in order to keep milk and orange juice and sandwich materials in our diet, we use a cooler we got for our wedding. pretty handy, actually. 

obviously drapes are out of our budget

we are indeed poor college students and only paying for necessities. baby things and decorations can be justified (they're a need, right?) but apparently drapes don't make the cut. so we use old sheets. or a towel. 

the "dishwasher" 

we must resort to human energy sources for washing our dishes now. and a rack for drying. oh, the joys of being young and just starting out. 

all in all, i love our life right now. i've also been having a lot of extra fun preparing decorations for zenna's arrival. i said i wouldn't do this because we'd only be here for two more months, but it was too hard to resist! i want her corner to be as cute as i know she will be!

yes, we've had horrible car troubles resulting in needing a completely new engine for our car. yes, that's suuuuuper expensive and we flat don't have it. so the car is parked in my parent's driveway until january when a good chunk of financial aid will go towards a new engine. in the meantime, we bought a jeep from my aunt and uncle! (thanks nate and gabby)! we actually really like this jeep. it is old. it does have over 200,000 miles in it. but it has been a lifesaver and for right now, it's what we've needed. hopefully, after january, we'll have two vehicles to head back to utah with. whoohoo! 

like i've mentioned, we are poor college students. we are trying to work and get by with what we can manage, and we're sure to pay our tithing :) we are full tithe payers, and things have been coming together for us. sometimes family members become angels and slip us a little extra cash if we're overdrawn, or buy us groceries, or make a payment for us. but we're being taken care of, and we're so extremely grateful. we have been humbled, and we're okay with that. we still love each other, we're still excited for our baby girl to enter the world, and we're still looking forward with faith. 

so our life right now is a lot of month-to-month and doing what we can with what we have. i worked full-time at a daycare and drake worked while attending school. we have been able to spend a lot of time with family members and that is the most important thing anyway, right? we haven't missed out on sibling's baptisms, or weddings, or football games, or football practices, or soccer games, or sunday fundays! we've been able to make a comfortable "nest" to bring baby zenna home to. we're happy to have family so close by to support us and spoil us and the baby. we are lucky people. 

we definitely know that money doesn't buy happiness. we could be the richest people in the world, but unhappy with such luxuries like family and love. we have found a way to be optimistic and happy and full of love and faith, even with the struggles everyone starts out with. i can honestly say i do love my life, and i'm so so excited for it to all flip upside down when our family grows a little bigger. 

"your future is  as bright as your faith." thomas s. monson

"come what may, and love it." joseph b. wirthlin

"life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." gordon b. hinckley