Dear Family and Friends, Another year is coming to an end and looking back at 2007, we find so many wonderful moments to remember and share. The first part of 2007 was spent planning for our wedding in June. Of course, we started this website where people could go to read updates about the event and now we hoping to continue to write entries about our first years of marriage. The wedding was beautiful and a day we will never forget. We are still thanking everyone for helping make it so memorable and for being there to help us celebrate. We left for Kauai, our honeymoon destination on Monday morning and had a great time. We did all of the touristy things. We took a helicopter tour of the island, took a catamaran adventure to see dolphins, drove up the coast to go snorkeling, went to a traditional luau, drove up to Waimea Canyon, ate lots of great food and somehow found time to relax by the ocean. Again this year we were blessed with many weddings besides our own. We would like to congratulate those couples and also those couples who are getting married this upcoming summer. Even with the wedding we found time to do a little traveling. Last spring I presented at a conference in Greensboro, NC and Dusty came along to keep me company. In August we went with friends to Chicago to tailgate at the Iowa VS. Northern Illinois game. This October a good friend of Dusty’s from college, Ian, got married and we were able to go to Ft. Lauderdale, FL for the event. The weekend after Thanksgiving I went to Chicago with two girl friends for a “Girl’s Weekend Away”. I am still an instructor teaching and coordinating our Speech Center. This spring semester I get the opportunity to teach Interviewing as well as a special section of Public Speaking for high school juniors and seniors getting ready for college. These will be two new courses for me and a lot of preparation over the holiday break. I’m very excited for the chance to teach something new and work with high school students. Dusty has had many changes over the past year. He started doing consulting while working full-time almost a year before we got married. Shortly after we got back from our honeymoon, Dusty decided he had spent enough time in cubicle land and quite his job to start a software development company, BrightMix, with a good friend of his. They develop web-based software for businesses and are working on developing a few products of their own. Recently, they found that working out of their houses wasn’t always the most productive and leased an office space. Dusty works more then ever but really enjoys working for a company he believes in, a company he started himself. Dusty and I were very blessed to have an unforgettable year and are hoping the rest of our first year together as a married couple is as joyous as the past six months. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Marlina & Dusty
