Update

I am so sorry everyone, we still don't have internet and that's my excuse for not writing more, but we've been so busy lately, I doubt I would have anyway.So, quick update... Carter is finishing up the semester and will get his Associates!!! WAHOO! He's doing FANTASTIC in school. Here's a cool story: Carter is in a college success class (mostly for freshmen but Carter needed a class at that time for the credits), they were discussing how different people learn. Carter said that what he does is thinks about what the professor is saying and analyzes it to see if it makes sense, if he understands it, he remembers it. So, his teacher said that some of his colleagues are doing a study on this subject and what they have found is that people who learn that way (the way Carter does) are the geniuses. So, long story short, Carter is genius (which I have known since high school because Carter never studied and always got better scores, which is really annoying. But now there's scientific proof). Anyway, hooray for Carter and school! He's also still working at Boss Engineering (which is where we are right now) and they still love him. Thank goodness that they still have work and new contracts coming in. They work with government and commercial companies for the most part, thank goodness.
As for me, I'm working is Husband and Wife and I am loving it. It's in American Fork, which is a bit of a drive, but soon (I don't know how soon, but I'm hoping ASAP) I will be managing a new store in Orem! Yippee! Much closer and better pay.
We're loving our little basement under Alesa and Jake. They just had their sweet baby Nora two weeks ago and we're having a ball being able to see her just about every day! She was such a cute little skeleton for Halloween! :)
This month (November) is our family temple month! Wahoo! I'm so excited. Every day this month, someone in our family will be in the temple. I've been trying to go every two weeks, and so far I've done it. It is so wonderful to be able to leave the world behind and feel total peace for a little bit, most times I don't want to leave.
I've been thinking about Thanksgiving that's coming up and how much we have to be thankful for. Lately I have thought a lot about the knowledge that the gospel brings into our lives. With the challenges we face and how crazy the world is getting, the Gospel is what keeps me hopeful. Everything is under control and if we are faithful we have no need to fear. So, this month I invite everyone to think about things that we are truly grateful for, things that can't be taken away from us.
We love you all.
C&K

Temple in Rome, Italy

Hello everyone!
I'm so sorry I haven't posted forever, we don't have the internet at our apartment yet. But I am writing to comment on the announcement that a temple will be built in Rome, Italy. I can't even begin to express my feelings. A few things went through my head when the announcement was made and I am just too excited not to share them. First, I thought of my families and friends there. The gospel isn't prominent there, most people haven't ever heard of the church, not even rumors or anything about polygamy. I am hoping that my friends will be able to visit the temple grounds and feel the spirit that is there. I want so much for them to feel the love the Savior has for them.
Second, I thought of my wonderful branch and all the members in Italy. The closest temple is in Bern, Switzerland. It's only about 5 hours from Milan, but for them, that's a very long way (distance is perceived differently there, my host grandma Rinna has never been to Rome because it's too far, it's about 4 hours away). What amazed me when we got to Bern were the members. It was like we were all part of a family. The Church owns a hostel about 20 yards away from the temple that everyone stays in. We walked into the kitchen and everyone came to hug us and welcome us. They all knew each other. They came from all over Italy, from Sicily to Naples to Venice. They all glowed and the spirit was so strong around them. I never thought that the term "brothers and sisters in the church" could be so literal, they love each other and love the Lord. The love they have for the temple is overwhelming and I can't being to imagine their joy to have a temple close by.
The third thing I thought about was ROME. Rome, Italy, the center of the Catholic church, the Vatican. Rome has been a huge contributor to world religion for centuries. It was the center of Paganism until the reformation to Christianity by Constantine the Great, and now the Vatican state is within it. Finally, the truth will be established there. How big a difference it will be from the grandiose halls of the Vatican to be on the temple grounds and feel the quiet peace and love the gospel brings.
I'm sure this isn't of great importance to most of you, I just needed to share my feelings and gratitude I have for the gospel and how excited I am for the truth to be declared with more power to a people that I love very dearly.

Thank Yous

From the company blog:
There are so many people to thank when I think about what it has taken to get me to where I am. This may seem a little overboard since I'm just setting up a company, not accepting an award or publishing a book. But this is a big step for me and I would be very ungrateful if I didn't take just a minute to give recognition to some of the people who have helped me through the years.
First, I am so grateful to my parents for giving me the opportunities to grow and stretch my creativity. They never discouraged me in any dream I've had. Dad is the one that said "Katie, why don't you go into interior design? You critique people's houses already". And I could never ask for a better mom, she has always been there for me no matter what. I could write all day about how wonderful she is. Any creativity I have, I got from her.
My wonderful husband Carter. There are so many things I could say to his credit. He knows who I can be and what I can accomplish, and his encouragement has changed my life.
I am blessed with the most wonderful family. All of my brothers and sisters and in-laws. I look up to every one of them and will never be able to thank them enough for everything they have done and continue to do for me.
I have had wonderful teachers and influences through the years. Mary Reeder, Lonnie Grater, Edoardo D'Angelli, Giuseppe & Guiseppina Fassina, Paolo Pizzinelli, Serafina Fassina, Lucia Muscardin, Cristina Baccella, Monica Riedel, and Marla Snow, just to name a few. My experience with each one of these people has had a huge impact in my life and has changed me for the better.
Finally, I would like to thank Chase Palmer for everything he has done to help me get this business set up. He has helped me with the ideas for the logo, the setup of the company, and has spent hours oh yahoo messenger with me, taking time from his work answering questions and being excited with me.

GRAZIE MILLE.

Update

Hello everyone! It has been ages since I've posted anything, so sorry! Life has been busy. Since I wrote last we have moved, Carter has gone fishing in Alaska, I have set up (almost all the way) my design company, and we have THREE tomatoes on our tomato plant! YES! So, from the top, we MOVED! I never thought it would be such a tiring thing! We didn't even have to pack up all of our stuff, it was already in boxes and we just moved and unpacked and it was still so tiring. But, the good news is that we're all moved in! (photos on this post will be coming probably on Friday because we don't have internet at our new place yet) We are loving our new place and invite everyone to come over! I just found out that Catherine McAllister Shapiro is in our new ward! WOW. I am so excited because since kindergarten I've always looked up to her, she was always happy and full of energy, and she went on a foreign exchange to Belgium and from that time on I had a goal to go on one, and then I did! So anyway, I am so happy that I'll get to rub shoulders with her.
Ok, next, Carter went fishing in Alaska with all the boys in his family. I haven't heard all the stories from the trip, but from what I do know, it was lots of fun and definitely an experience. They each brought home 44 pounds of fish, so if anyone has some good halibut recipes let me know! From the pictures, Alaska looks absolutely gorgeous.
I am setting up my company! the name, Sera Lucia, is being registered with the state as we speak and I got my EIN. YAY! I'm going to go over some things with my boss to set it all up just right (it is so handy working for a lawyer). AND I started a company blog www.seralucia.blogspot.com . I am so excited to get the show on the road! Thank you everyone for your business name suggestions! I know I'm going to use all of the runner-up names for other purposes within the company. I think I'll explain the name I chose, since I wanted the name to be something that has meaning to me, not just a pretty name. the name Sera Lucia comes from my two Italian moms, Serafina and Lucia. I didn't really pay attention to design and architecture before I went to Italy, but over there, design is so important to them, it's such a huge part of their culture, and I really came to love their style. Anyway, I thought it was fitting for the company to be named something Italian, and Sera Lucia just sounds good.
Last but CERTAINLY not least, we have 3 TOMATOES!! I am so excited. I have been taking care of my little plants with no results. but finally yesterday I was looking and there they were! Three beautiful little green roma tomatoes. Carter is not as excited, but I was just giddy.
I'll be uploading pictures soon.
We love you all!

Tagged

Tedi tagged me!

JOYS:
1. Carter
2. Family
3. Creativity

FEARS:
1. Something happening to Carter
2. Something happening to any of my family
3. The world my kids will have to grow up in

GOALS:
1. FINISH SCHOOL
2. Have a family
3. Have a successful business

CURRENT OBSESSIONS:
1. Country time strawberry lemonade
2. Thai and Korean food
3. Blogging

RANDOM SURPRISING FACTS:
1. I've never seen It's a Wonderful Life
2. I have come into contact with the Italian Mafia
3. I got to leave the Sistine Chapel last and turn off the light.

I tag Steph, Anne, & Lis.

The Birthday Boy Cont...

The birthday boy!

Mom and Dad

STRAWBERRY PIE!!!


Yesterday Was Carter's Birthday and we had a nice night at home. I broke my "not taking pictures" streak, as you can see.
Thanks to mom for the amazing dinner! We had kabobs a la Janell Peay, potato salad a la Aysha Harward, spinach salad a la mom, and AMAZING strawberry pie a la Jim Brady! :) Then we had an exciting game of rook that I fell asleep in the middle of because I had taken Benedryl. :O I don't remember much of the rest of the night. So, in the picture I looked drugged, and I was. :)

Birthday Boy!

Well, tomorrow is Carter's big 21st BIRTHDAY! Woo hoo! We had our "Carter's birthday/our engagement anniversary" dinner. How that happened was: Carter's birthday was on a Sunday last year and we were going up to his mom's for dinner, but I wanted to make him a dinner too, so we did it the day before. What I didn't know was that Carter was going to propose that night too, so there you have it. We had the same dinner of steak and shrimp fondue with mashed potatoes, yummy carrots, rolls, etc. yum yum yum!
I have been such a horrible blogger lately, mainly because I don't like to post something without a picture, and I haven't taken any pictures lately! We've done such fun things these last two weeks and I just haven't gotten the camera out. But I suppose I can fill you in with what we've been up to. Well, two weekends ago was Memorial day and we headed down to sunny St. George. We had lots of fun with everyone there. We swam and ate and talked and relaxed, just what memorial day should be. This last weekend we went up to the Anderson's cabin to celebrate Zack's homecoming! It was so much fun to be with everyone from Carter's old neighborhood. We played games and rode the 4-wheelers and had a great time. I shot my first shotgun, well, my first any kind of gun and hit a clay pigeon, I am still pretty proud of myself. :) I don't know how I didn't get any pictures of any of this. tisk tisk.
Anyway, that's what we've been up to. Carter is in school this summer, we're hoping to get his bachelors next fall and then he might go on to get his MBA, which would be a really good thing. My boss put me in charge of all the advertising/marketing for the office, we're opening a new office in Ephraim so she really wants to get our name out there. Since this added responsibility, things have been really hectic at work, but I really love doing it. I created a logo for us that rocks (in my personal opinion) and I am also working on logos for two other companies as well! fun fun fun! We'll be moving to Provo in early July we think. I just realized that it's about a month away, where does the time go?! But I am SO excited for it. To have our own living space again will be awesome. Mom and Dad have been more than great and we'll miss all the rook. :) We hope everyone is doing wonderful and we love you all!