Where to start, where to start. How about on a good note….Sometime this week or next week we will be welcoming Baby Boy Mettert to the world. Anne will be a big sister! I think I am more excited then Joel for his arrival! I can’t wait! Continuing with Anne, she is almost walking and can say Hi and Bye and she can also tell you that Santa says “Ho Ho Ho!”

As you can tell (no post in a few weeks) we have been very busy. I don’t think we’ve slowed down since October. Our Christmas Tree is up with presents underneath waiting to be opened; and our stockings are hung by the chimney with care…including one for Kitty (: The cat has done lots better than I thought she would with the tree. The first day it was up she knocked off an ornament and kicked it around the living room, but since then she hasn’t touched it. Joel is busy with work and Ast. Coaching 8th Grade Basketball as well as Ast. Coaching Track at Huntington University. Track will keep him busy until April or May! I am still subbing as well as tutoring and working at the photography studio! I am also the Children’s Ministry Coordinator at the church we go to. I started at the beginning of December. I see to it that there is someone teaching Sunday School every week, as well as completing the lesson plans for each month. Now that I am working more, I enjoy those days off. Unlike last year when I had the days off and longed for work days.

Saturday we went to my work Christmas Party for the Photography Studio. We had a great time! There were lots of prizes to be won, good food, and good company. We won a gift card to Outback, and I was given a Colts Sweat Shirt and a Colts T-shirt for being an employee. All the employees had to fill out a list of what we would like to see under our Christmas Tree, and from that list the owner/my boss and his wife picked out presents for each of us. It was verrry nice of them! We played Bingho-ho-ho to win prizes and they had hidden $10 gift cards to Applebees around the house and the employees had to find them. In each room were 2 gift cards and we were in groups of three. I didn’t find one fast enough, but it was fun to watch others search for theirs.

This weekend we get to relax at home. Jon and Cadie (Kristina) are coming over on Saturday and Cadie and I are going to make cookies and a gingerbread house while Jon and Joel hang out and eat our cookies! Should be a good time!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

This year we had Thanksgiving with my family – my Mom’s side to be more specific. I will come back and write more, but right now I have to get ready for work. Here are some pictures that I took on Thanksgiving. Enjoy:

My sister and her Boyfriend Drew

My Aunt Terrie, her Fiance John, and his son JP

Take 1

My Dad and Mom

My Aunt Tina and Uncle Steve

Our good one!

My Goofy Family (:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM JOEL AND BRITTANY (:

Yesterday was a pretty eventful day for me. I had the day off for the first time in a few weeks; which is saying a lot since a few months ago it would have been my my first work day in a few weeks! Anyway, I went up to Busco to get the little entertainment center I had up in my old apartment. The one Joel had was fine, but the one I had was nicer. We have been talking about going up there to get this stand for months now. I had tried to get it once before but smashed my finger and got mad and quit (I am my Mother’s Daughter (: ). So yesterday while I was up there getting some things, I felt the need to try again. I had ask Perry (my brother-in-law for those who may not know.) if he could help, but he had practice, so once again I was all alone. I tried lifting it but that was a joke…I think this suckers pretty heavy. So I found a screw driver and started taking the thing apart. I got the top, sides, shelves, and doors off, but I couldn’t get the middles pieces off. I tried my hand at picking it up, now that there were parts of it off, and low and behold there was lift off haha. I carried all the pieces down the stairs to my car and managed to pack it in my car (normally I suck at packing things in the car and making them fit nicely). When Joel got home, we put it back together and did an little rearranging, and it looks pretty good in the corner. Now we will just have to see how many bruises start popping up by the weekend haha.

Now for the reason for the title of this post. A year ago next Wednesday (really the 25th) is when Joel proposed to me! Of course I still remember being in total shock after gasping and seeing the ring. And of course I remember Joel taking the ring out of the cheese cake and getting down on one knee and asking me to marry him! So this year I wanted to do something special to remember the occasion. Next Wednesday we will be in Ohio for Thanksgiving so yesterday (Wednesday) I made a nice dinner, got a bottle of wine, set the table the correct way (thanks internet ha) and lit some candles. He knew I was going to make dinner and we were going to eat at the table, but he thought it was going to be next week. He had called me on his way home from practice and told me to go ahead and start eating. I told him no I was going to wait. He didn’t understand why until he came home. He was surprised, and we had a lovely dinner. (:

I will leave you with a picture. This is one that I have photoshopped. I did it a few months ago, but never seemed to post it for some reason. Meet Super Shaikh (pronounced shake). He is one of Joel’s runners, and after seeing this picture of him I decided to make him a comic book cover. It ended up taking me longer then I anticipated…but it looks pretty good I think! Enjoy:

*Remember you can click on the image to make it larger. Sorry if it makes it really big…I haven’t figured out why yet!

Still busy in the Childs’ household. Joel has switched from Cross Country to Basketball. He is trying his hand at assistant coaching 8th grade boys basketball. They have not had any games yet, but I believe they will start after Thanksgiving, if not sooner. Photography has picked up for me. I have had a shoot just about every night this week and next. I am getting trained more and more so I can be ready to go out as an actual photography for them in the spring! I need to work on being louder and faster. I am so focused on how centered the picture is that I take a little too long. When I don’t have to be so accurate since the photo lab can crop. I am learning every time I go out, and it’s great experience and lets not forget enjoyable!
Yesterday, Joel, Perry, and I went down to Terre Haute for DIII Regionals and then had dinner at our Grandparents house. We had a good time and wonderful visit. My hips and ankles are a bit sore today. The ground for the spectators at the course was uneven and I am not use to running on uneven ground.
This year we will be celebrating Thanksgiving with my family! Last year we were in Connecticut with Joel’s family and had a great time. I love this time of year. Thanksgiving followed by Christmas and then New Years. I could do without the cold weather except for on Christmas, then it can be cold (:
This coming weekend we will be celebrating our good friend Jon’s birthday! I think that is all the news that we have to share at the moment. I will leave you with a few pictures of us on Halloween. We were Max and the Wild Things from the book (and now movie) Where The Wild Things Are. If for some reason we don’t update this before then…Happy Thanksgiving!

The Huntington North Mens Cross Country Team finished 9th at the State Meet this past Saturday, the 31st! They got 12th last year, and was hoping to be in the top 10, which they were. I think at the beginning of the season they could have been top 3, but with injuries throughout the season it was not possible. I will miss the 7 seniors that will graduate in May. A few of them are looking at Anderson University, so that is awesome! Good luck in the future boys (:

Our washing machine bit the dust, oh maybe at the end of September.  Of course it died right at the beginning of a wash cycle, so lucky me (britt) got to wash the clothes by hand in our bathtub.  Talk about a total body workout! lol  Our land lord said he had an extra washer that we could purchase from him and he would pick it up in the next couple of weeks…great!  When I went to see my parents, I took our laundry with me…just like college (:   We have been patiently waiting, while we run out of clean clothes, for our land lord to bring us this washer.  He came by last night to inform us that he did not know that the washer was sold a few months ago.  Ha!  So now we have to go buy a washer…not something we were wanting to spend money on, but oh well.  Let’s hope it can handle the almost 3 weeks of laundry we have waiting for it.  Now if only we had the time to go look for one….

***edit: So right after I posted this yesterday, Joel had stopped by Sears and picked one out since we need it! lol

This past weekend (9th and 10th) I had the pleasure of going to my Ohio Home. I call it this because it is no longer the house I live in, but I still consider it home. I went down on Friday and made dinner with my mom, and had a visit with my grandma. Saturday, my Aunt Terrie and her Fiance John were having a fishing tourney/end of the season grill out. We went over early to help them set up and get things ready. I had a good time…I only caught 1 fish, but I managed to catch 3 trees and a chair. It has been a while since I’ve been fishing, but I do enjoy it. I of course had my camera and took some photos (some shown below). Sunday, we went to Skyline and spent the rest of the day watching football (: I love spending time with my family!
Before I forget, I got asked to take some family photos around Christmas! It will be my first official shoot on my own!! I’m going to add my photography page on here(ok most likely it will be Joel who adds the page on here lol) so check it out and let me know if you want to schedule a shoot!

Here are some pictures of the weekend:

This weekend we went to Chicago for a concert and some sight seeing. We left on Saturday morningish and got back Sunday night. Once we got to our hotel we met up with Jon and Cadie (Kristina), checked in and headed to the Cheesecake Factory where we met Angie and her Husband Johnathan. The Cheesecake Factory was a surprise for me from Joel. It is soooo gooood. It was raining on our walk there and back. We didn’t mind but I’m glad it cleared up on Sunday. After Dinner on Saturday we headed to the Aragon Ballroom for the Manchester Orchestra and Brand New Concert. It was PACKED! But it was a great concert!! Sunday, Joel and I walked around Chicago. He had been there a few times but this was only my 2nd time being there. We went to Millennium Park and saw the Bean and walked to Niketown (store) and also had some Ghiradelli’s. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Here is the Bean

Me at the Bean

Joel and the Bean

Big Statue of American Gothic

Probably my favorite picture of the trip

Our Ghirardelli’s Ice Cream Sundae, Hot Chocolate, and Free Peanut Butter Square

I forgot to mention yesterday, how if forgot I don’t know, that Anne turned 1 yesterday! Anne is the daughter of our good friends Al and Elizabeth. Since we don’t have any nieces or nephews yet, Anne is our “pretend” Niece. Elizabeth told us that once Anne learns to talk she is going to teach her to say Uncle Joel and Aunt Brittany. Anyway she is absolutely adorable! Here are some pictures we have of her.