A Lonely February

February has not been a month of love for us. Not that we don't love each other, but that we've been seperated since the 7th. Jason is working with his cousin, Dan, in Denver and I've been home keeping the "Home fires burning". I can't say it's been terribly hard for me. I kind of like to be alone in my house to do what I want to do. I can also add all the onions and peppers I want to my food and no one tells me I have bad breath! We do talk on the phone, at least 2-3 times a day. He told me yesterday that he's missing the 3 of us. (That includes the dog.)
(me at 31 weeks!)

It hasn't been all tough times for him being in the big city. He knows that's not something for him, but he did enjoy going to the Bass Pro Shop and spending 4 1/2 hrs browsing! BPS is a huge hunting, fishing, outdoors kind of store. He said it's probably as big as 4 Walmarts. They have tons of displays of animals, a waterfall and pond full of fish, a 100lb catfish and a tank full of trout weighing at least 10lbs or more. There is even a full restaurant there. He and Dan spent Valentine's dinner there. They forgot it was Valentine's and didn't realize it until later that there were couples of men and women everywhere, and here they were, 2 guys at a table on Valentine's day. Yeah, they got some stares. Jason has been staying with Dan at his house which helps with his costs and Dan's been showing him around again. It's been 7-8 yrs since he lived down there for a couple of months and things have really changed.

My Valentine's was about the same. I did some cleaning and called up my friend Sheila, to go for supper. Her husband was at a mens retreat for the weekend and she too, was alone on the day of love. We didn't know what single people did on Valentine's since it's been a long time since either of us has been single. We headed out to Hansel and Gretels, with babies in tow for a chance to get out of the house. Sheila is 22 weeks along and I'm 30. So it was easy to pack the two of them up. HA HA!

I also had a great visit from some fellow Canadians. Sarah and Myron Wiebe were travelling through the area and called on me for a visit. They had been to Texas and Kansas to see Sarah's family. They bought a horse trailer on Ebay from Casper, WY and were 3 hrs away from me. Their daughter Gracie, came down with an awful cold and were debating if they were going to stop in. I'm so glad they did. Even though Jason was absent, we had a nice visit and they could see our home. They brought along a bag of baby gifts from them and another friend, which I so appreciate.

29 Weeks!

Sorry it's not the greatest picture, but this is my expanding belly at 29 weeks. Where is the time going? Having a job sure makes the time go by much faster as you live for the weekends. I've been feeling good the whole way through and I can't really say that I've hated being pregnant. I'm just loving all the little extra attention people give me, or should I say the belly. People, surprisingly, have been pretty hands off with the belly up until this point. I get the few little pats or comments about "blooming" or "progressing".

I went out to my car after church one Sunday and found a big present on my seat. One of my good "older" friends had thought to give me this 3rd trimester gift box. Some new slippers, a "Life is Good" mug with Hot Mamma Hot Chocolate and a touching card. That so made my day. Her advice was to put up my feet and take it easy. I do have to say that I've had it pretty good.

Jason has really been a huge help. He cleans, does the dishes, empties the dishwasher and does laundry. (I'm not that pumped about laundry when it's my good clothes in with his work clothes or towels) So, what do I do if he's doing everything? I do those things too, or I have to go behind him and put things away where I put them and not just shove them into a cubbard.
He's been so loving and makes comments that I'm looking good pregnant. He feels the baby move when I lay behind him with my belly to his back. He's getting more and more excited about having a baby, which really helps me emotionally. I'm not just in this alone. He felt my stomach and commented how hard it actually is. I said that it's getting harder for me to clean out the dishwasher, and now he could see why. Some how, he'd gotten the idea that the baby belly would be soft and shouldn't be hard to bend over. Oh what he is learning! We actually have a week away from eachother this week. He drove down to Denver to work with his cousin for a week, painting a house or something. He called today and said that it's a major mission field down there.

Yesterday, we had a little birthday party/baby shower for Faith Kingston and little Noah. Kind of a double birthday party. Some friends from Meeteetse and I travelled to Erin Kreider's new "hacienda". It was a fun girl get together playing Balderdash and of course, eatting all the goodies that girls bring when they get together. We just didn't think that guys would eat very well, when they got together for a party without their wives' help.
Out of the nine that were there, 4 were Canadians and 3 from Manitoba. Pretty much the back row, minus Erin Geving's on the far left (sorry Erin) are from Canada and the 2 on either side of me are fellow Manitbans. Watch out, we're here to take over!

Life's Roll-overs

Here are some pictures from the roll over 2 weeks ago. It wasn't as bad as they thought it was. In the dark, it felt like a really bad wreck and the cab was really crushed on Jason's side that's why they couldn't get out his window. Actually they rolled into a snow bank on his side which blocked the window. The roll bar did a good job of keeping the back side of the cab from crushing. Needless to say, the truck is a write off. And for those of you that don't know, we have an identical truck but ours is burgandy. This was our friend, Jon's truck.

This is after the tow truck put it right side up. You can see the skid marks where they went off behind the back tire.

The week that this happened was a week of attacks from the devil on the families of those that were helping with the group counselling we were having the next Sunday. The roll over was on Sunday. Monday, our pastor's son David was cutting a rail with a chainsaw and the rail buckled because someone stepped on it. The chainsaw kicked back and cut David on his forehead. The doctor said that a 1/4 of a inch more and David could have died. He got 40 something stitches from about his eyebrow level into his scalp line. Thursday, our friends son Gavin had someone throw a ball into his eye. He lost his vision for a day and had some blood on his cornea. It is getting better and it's more like a bruise on his eye, but he still needs to see the doctor once more to be fully cleared to do anything. Saturday, I was stricken with a bad 24 hr. bug that had me visiting the bathroom and dead on the couch all day Saturday.

Sunday came, Jason and some of our friends went to the church to pray while the couselling was going on. Jason said it was pretty good. Some prophetic words were said and prayers were said for people who are self-employed. That work would come in, because there are a lot of people in construction that are out of work right now, us included. Monday rolled around and things started to happen for a bunch of people. Jason got a couple of calls he's been waiting for on some jobs. Our friends were wondering if the person who was interested in their home would buy it, and they got a call saying they would. So they called Jason to let him know they would be building a new home and they wanted him and another general to do it this spring/summer. Again, God comes through in our greatest hour of need, even when we continually doubt that He will. Oh what an Israelite I am! Forgetting the many times He has come through and fearing that He won't this time. It's also been said, that through this "economic hard time", God will show his abundance and provision for those that have put their life in the Lord. To show the world what wonders he can do, even when the times look dismal. It's up to us, whether we look to Him or to the circumstances that so often bring me/us down.

We had a blast yesterday at our Super Bowl party yesterday. It was supposed to be a quiet affair with some friends, but it turned out to be bigger than anyone had planned. Quin and Tracy, some of our closest friends, invited about 4 couples over for a little get together. Because of some sickness and other plans, the number dwindled down from 10-6. Nice and quiet. After church, the number slowly grew and grew. The phone was ringing off the hook once the news got out and the total jumped to about 16 people! Tracy and I were busy cutting vegetables, making tacos and putting out the goods. Everyone brought something and there was plenty to go around. It turned out to be a fun night with a surprisingly good game with a few good commercials that had us all in an uproar. I, of course, didn't have my camera to capture all of us wearing 3D glasses to watch some of the commercials. It was quite a funny sight, and a good night all around.

He Came Home to Me!

The devil just could not leave us alone yesterday. After my emotional "throw up" on Jason, the devil then tries to take out the man I love. I'll explain.

Jason had made plans with our friend John Willard, to go shoot some Coyotes in Sunlight Basin, after church. After my break down, Jason left and met up with John. It was a beautiful day and perfect for calling and seeing coyotes. Both guys wanted to prove to their wives that they could, in fact shoot a coyote, because there is a monatary bounty for them. They both had a good feeling and sent up a prayer that they would have a successful hunt. They did in fact see some and Jason brought down an unsuspecting coyote. Ah, the sweet feeling of success.

It was getting dark now and time to hit the road. The boys took John's truck because he had better tires. John doesn't know the lay of the land or roads in that part of the country and got to going a little too quick on some turns. Jason kept telling him to slow down but didn't want to play the "nagging wife". Jason thought he had it in 4 wheel drive, but he didn't. They came around a curve and John hit his brakes, which skidded them off the side of the road, down a steep embankment and then rolled the truck onto the roof, crumpling it on them. They both didn't have their seat belts on, which may have saved them as they rolled in the cab. Jason's passenger door was smashed shut, the windshield was crushed to the hood and there was a headache rack blocking the back window. The only access the even had was John's window which was still crushed. The saving grace about that truck was the headache rack which prevented the whole roof from crushing in around them and keeping them in the cab.

They both climbed out unscathed, but for a cut on John's forehead, which was gushing blood. At that moment, Jason's cell phone rang and it was our other friend John Henson. Before the call could be dropped, Jason told John where they were, call our pastor friend to help them and that they were okay. Praise the Lord they had cell reception! Praise God they were safe and alive! They knew where they were but didn't want to take the chance of walking, especially if they were in shock. Jason usually doesn't bring his hunting pack along, but for some reason he did which has some of his survival gear in it. They were able to start a fire and they had a candy bar for supper as they waited for help. Pastor Roger got there with another friend and was happy to see that they both were okay. Looking at the truck he was amazed they weren't seriously hurt. Praise Jesus!

Jason had called me to let me know he would be late because they had a truck accident. At least they were okay and I didn't have to worry too much because Roger was going to help them. Roger had been at our Church prayer night and had brought up that they needed to pray for Jason because he was going to help him next Sunday with some counseling and the enemy would try and attack him this week. They had prayed for him, and a while later Jon Henson called the church and someone told Roger that Jason had been in a truck roll over. His heart stopped and he thought about me, if I had been in there with him. Thankfully I hadn't because I don't know if I would have been able to have squeezed out of the window. Angels had been around them. Roger was telling stories on the way back that helped lighten the mood.
John and Jason had been talking around the fire about how every vehicle that John has had, he's had an accident with right after he makes a commitment to do something. Yesterday, he had made the commitment to help with the youth, and then he rolls his truck. His wife Theresa was pretty shook up when they got home, because it hasn't been quite a year since her rollover 2 days before their wedding.

Yesterday, my life could have changed forever and not for the good. Thankfully, the hand of God was over them and they are both safe and sound. Today, they have to tow the truck out and see what they can salvage to get it paid off for them. Of course Jason wants to bring home his prize. Just pray for John and Theresa and their finances. They have had a hard go at marriage from the very beginning. Oh, and while Jason was gone, I went for a harmless walk, slipped on some ice and scraped my knees. I fell forward and couldn't catch myself. I felt like such a little kid falling and scraping my knees. It's been a long time since I've done that. Don' t worry, I'm okay. I'll live through the embarrassment.

Words for '09

Two Sundays ago, our pastor spoke on what the New Year will bring. I don't know about you, but I am the type that is very apprehensive about the New Year because of past struggles and thinking that it will repeat itself. (I'm also somewhat of a pessimist if you didn't know that already :) Something I would love to change about myself. We need to leave the past behind us and not dwell on the the failures or the triumphs of the past year or years. It is a year of new beginnings. We heard this last year but that was more for new births of ministries and God birthing desires in people. 2008 had its struggles, that's for sure, but God is bigger than our struggles. It's hard to see that in the middle of them, I know. Also it will be a year of new provisions for people financially, which is something we could all use.
I know it is a year of new beginnings for us, because we will become a family of 3.

Today he spoke on finding our purposes in life. We're not just here to live but to do His work. I've heard that phrase so many times and I'm still struggling with finding what is my purpose and not hanging off Jason's coattails of his purpose. The whole sermon I was pointing a finger at myself. With finding my purpose, I should find joy, which is something I haven't had a lot of, ashamedly. I don't know if I'm having a pregnant moment or it's something deeper, which it probably is, but I have not been able to stop crying today. Have you ever had one of those days? I've heaped some much "stuff" on myself about finances, baby stuff, my job, life, that I just dumped on Jason today after church and kind of freaked him out. He doesn't know why I'm crying and doesn't know how to help me and I can't articulate why I'm crying! I feel like such a mess. Life is just being life and I'll get through it.

On other happier notes, my pregnancy is just clipping along at a rather fast pace I might add. I had my glucose test on Friday and passed, but was found to be low on iron, so I'm on a supplement for that. My next month check-up I'll have to schedule my appointment every two weeks. Where is the time going? We don't really have any names picked and nailed down. Our "baby room/guest" room has nothing changed, other than Jason did build us some closet organizers this week which gives us more room for our clothes. We don't really have much of anything right now, but we still have some time.

I started school again after the break, which didn't really feel like a break for me. I'm not working 1 on 1 anymore which is such a relief. My first 3 classes are all juniors or seniors and 1 student in each, my fourth class is freshmen with 4 kids in there and it's not too bad. So that's going better, but that still doesn't mean I'm anxious to get out of bed every morning. We've been having some late nights and I'm starting to feel tired again at times and during some classes it's hard not to fall asleep.

The babies of '09 are starting to show their faces. Congrats to Christine on having Dylan Mark Peters, Faith on having Noah Josiah Kingston and Teresa Wiebe on having Zachary Peter Wiebe. I hope this boy thing isn't a trend for the year. My husband my not agree with that trend.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009! Wow, where did 2008 go?

December has been quite interesting and emotional for us. The first couple of weeks I was just trying to get through work to make it to my 2 week holidays. We did have our ultra sound the first week which was really exciting. Seeing the little life that I often feel is out of this world.(a Side profile)(Here the baby was folded in half touching their feet. There is a little foot to the left of the head that is showing the sole and the toes)

I made it through the last weeks of school and happily went onto my holidays. We weren't planning to go to my parents, but to just stay home and have a quiet Christmas and go and see Jason's parents and hang out with friends. I was having a really hard time getting into the Christmas mood because we hadn't found a Christmas tree and didn't put up any decorations. Jason knew that I was kind of down in the dumps. He went out and surprised me with a beautiful tree! This is our second tree in the 5 years we've been married. We just never got one because it wasn't worth it if we were going to Canada for Christmas. Just the thought that he wanted to cheer me up and went out of his way to find the perfect tree for me, brought tears to my eyes. He got the decorations out and decorated the house with our little collection. It was starting to feel like Christmas. (those things sticking out of the tree are pheasant feathers. We got a little wild this year!)

I had talked to my parents on the 20th and they told me that my Grandma had been moved to Eden Mental Health Hospital in November, which I already knew, but they had to move her the week I talked to them, to the hospital because he had pnemonia. She was not herself. They thought she was starting to have dementia because she was paranoid about everything. She was being watched, or someone was listening to them through the phone or she was seeing bugs and water on things. She had changed mentally. I had talked to a friend the weekend before about her own grandmother dealing with alzheimers and how difficult it was for her to visit her grandmother. I didn't want that for my grandma. Very unexpectedly on the 23rd she went home to be with the Lord, with her daughters and husband at her side. This totally changed my idea of Christmas. Presents aren't important, but rather the people we spend it with.
Our plans for Christmas took a drastic change and we packed quickly on the 24th and headed to Billings for Jason's family dinner. That was fine, but Christmas evening turned into a flop with Jason and his mom having an argument. What a way to start a very emotional week. We had to stay an extra day due to some snowy weather and left the 27th. The 28th we got together with my mom's side to have lunch. It was hard to not have Grandma there. The sister's are pulling together to help their dad out and not leave him alone so he doesn't get lonely in this hard time. That is the hardest thing to see is my Grandpa alone. He made my Grandma his life and now she was gone. We left in the evening to see my dad's side for supper. It was nice that we got to see all my extended family around a hard time. Jason also wanted to go see a movie so we left the gathering and saw Marley and Me. Really cute movie, but I needed some Kleenex. It was too close to home with having our own dog. I would totally recommend it. Very clean and funny, a good family movie.
I was able to run into a couple of friends and see their new babies which was great to see. They were also excited to see my little baby bump.(23 1/2 weeks)

We had a family time at the funeral home Monday and the funeral was Tuesday. My grandpa wanted the grandchildren to be the pallbearers, but with myself and my youngest cousin being pregnant, Jason and my cousin's husband Russ stepped in to help the other 4 girls. I come from a family of 6 granddaughters. A Mennonite funeral was a whole new experience for Jason and something he'll never forget. The church was packed with a lot of white haired family and friends. Over 350 people came which was a big support to my family. One thing that mom told me that I will always treasure, is that even though my Grandma may not have been herself at times, she was excited about the new generation that was coming to her family. She had asked her sister-in-law to make both babies a quilt. So when it is done and sent to us, it will become a very special memory of her for me.
We left yesterday so we could get back and Jason could get back to work. I also wanted a few days before I head back to work, already. We were pretty tired last night when we got home but we did head out to our friends house for a short time and headed home to go to bed at 11:30pm. No big party for us, maybe next year. Although next year it won't just be two but three of us.

Wow, December!

Well, we've made it through November and we're shockingly in to December. At the moment, I'm 19 1/2 weeks prego and starting to look somewhat pregnant. Let's just say, the jeans don't fit anymore. We have a doctor's appointment on friday along with our first ultra sound. I actually like going to my appointments, as weird as that my sound, but I like hearing the heart beat and now we'll get our first glimpse of what is to come. It also helps that my doctor is really nice and I don't feel stupid asking dumb questions. My friend, Sheila Henson is also pregnant with her first and is about 12 weeks pregnant. We compare notes on how we've been feeling. Sorry to say but she's had it a lot worse than I have. I've started to feel little kicks and punches and it excites me. I've been told I have "The Glow".

We had Thanksgiving last thursday in Billings with Jason's family. It was a small gathering with only 8 people and a 19lb turkey! We ventured out into the Black Friday shopping frenzy and I found a lot of pregnancy clothes that were at some good prices even without the sale. We didn't get the big sale items as my agenda was clothes. So we hit, Ross and found some cute shirts for cheap and at Target I loaded up on clothes. So there went my birthday and easter money, but it was so worth it. I even had a good time clothes shopping with Jason, as I'm usually picky, cheap and just get a bad attitude about it. I do have to say, he saves me a lot of time by telling me if he likes it or not. I'm far to hard on myself. We even found some things for him and decided to end the hectic day by going to see "Australia". Save you're money, it wasn't too bad but it's kind of a renter. Some of the graphics are really fake and didn't impress us. I had to take Jason to Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream and we headed home with our treasures in tow.

The weekend before, we went out with 6 other couples to a Christian comedian that was hosted by a local church. The night called for a mexican dinner and lots of laughs. Check out Tim Hawkins on Youtube. Somehow, laughing with friends just makes you laugh that much harder. We all had a really good ab workout, only to head to McDonald's before heading home. We'll have to plan another mass couples night out again.

We've been pretty fortunate to have such great friends. Our other "mom and dad" friends, took us out hunting and let the "baby mama", as I'm affectionately called by them and my husband, shoot a whitetail doe on their property. We were also with them when Jason shot a really big mule deer buck. They were bored and called us to go with them and shoot something. They're so much fun. Jason also helped someone pack out an elk and he gave us a half or 2 quarters of it. Then some friends of ours were moving and cleaning out their freezer and dropped off some pork for us. So our freezer is full and I'm waiting for some snow, as crazy as that sounds. But it is that time of year. This Saturday is the annual lighted parade in Powell, along with all kinds of Christmas activities. We'll see what we all take in.