Last Hoorah! (Buckle up, it's a long one)

Oh how absence makes the heart grow fonder!

3 weekends ago, I made the trip down to Denver to see my lonesome husband. He had been working and living with his cousin for 3 weeks in February and desperately wanted me to come down and see the big city. It was just my luck that a friend was driving down to Cheyenne, WY the same Friday I was wanting to leave and was willing to risk driving with a 7 month pregnant woman. This saved me a lot of money, not having to fly from Billings to Denver. I sure wasn't going to drive down by myself. He was kind of nervous that I would go into labor on the way and wouldn't know what to do. You would have to know Rob Hill, to know that he gets teased quite a lot for some of the things he says or does, from some mutual friends we have. Plus, he's from England and has the whole accent thing going too. Anyways... we made it to Cheyenne in one piece, 6 1/2 hrs later and found Jason sitting in Rob's hotel parking lot. I kind of had that butterfly feeling in my stomach because of the anticipation and couldn't quite smiling. It was kind of like we were dating again. After gathering all my stuff, it was off to Sonic for a quick bite and off driving again for another 1 1/2 hrs.

We stayed with Jason's great-uncle Paul and his wife Carol. They were so sweet. Saturday morning, we observed Paul's ritual of feeding his squirrels. He lays out a couple handfuls of peanuts in the shell and they watch 10 different squirrels come in and eat them. It's quite comical to watch, because they come from everywhere. Because the peanuts were salted, the poor squirrels were licking some water off of their pool tarp. Jason suggested giving them some water. Paul got out a pie plate and filled it up. Sure enough, a few of the squirrels went and drank from the plate. So to add to Paul's feeding of peanuts, he now gives them water.


After breakfast, we headed out on the town to find some baby shops where we could look for some much needed items. Our area doesn't have a lot of stores geared towards baby or kid items. I had wanted to find Babies R Us and we did. You could spend so much money on so much stuff for kids there. Our big ticket item that I wanted to find was a stroller/car seat combo. They were all pretty expensive, and the cheaper ones had the four plastic tires which we didn't want. Jason found a set that we both liked but there was none to be had because they were a good price. We walked down the aisle and found the exact same one just sitting there. So we asked a salesman and he said that he would give us 20% off! There was nothing wrong with it but it was probably a model. That was a huge saving. A $200 stroller for $160! And the colors are unisex, grey and green. I was pushing it around the store to see how it would maneuver, which it turns on a dime. We're both pumped to go for walks with it. Jason loves all the adjustment on it and the wheels make it push really smooth.
I also wanted to get a changing pad for on top of a dresser instead of buying a change table. So we found that, and an over the door hanger with canvas baskets to hold things for later and just some other little things. We've still got a long ways to go. We found another store that sold used clothing, but it's so hard to buy clothes when you don't know what you're having. So we've held off on that. I'll buy a few jumpers just so we have something to take our bundle home in and then we can go shopping or borrow clothes for the gender. If it's a girl, I've got a couple of friends who said they were willing to lend me clothes.

Late afternoon, we headed over to the "sacred" Bass Pro Shop outdoor store. This story was HUGE! Jason had spent quite a few hours here by himself and he was so excited to show it to me. This was a room full of very expensive guns. I had to wipe the drool from Jason's mouth and sometimes pull him from this room, to keep moving.
This is just one example of the many mounts they had all over the store. They had a huge aquarium with oversized fish and this 100lb catfish which was huge. The elevator went behind the waterfall that fed the tank and the glass. They also had a full restaurant, which we had to eat at. Here, I'm trying Alligator, which was really good if you didn't get a piece that was terribly chewy but it was really tender. The dipping sauce was good too. I tried Mahi Mahi and Jason had the Salmon.
Right in front of us, there was a 15,000 gal salt water aquarium filled with all kinds of fish. There was this one fish that was so funny. He would swim the whole length of the glass, float up, turn around and he was off again. He did this the whole time we were there. We could just hear him say, "There has got to be a way out of here. I know I'll find it." We asked a waitress about it and she said that it does not stop. He does it even when they close.

We made a few more stops and then headed to a hotel for the night. It seems like forever since we stayed in one and Jason knows that I like to because it feels like a vacation. He had the fortunate opportunity to work for a lady who worked at the DoubleTree hotel. She was able and willing to book us a suite room for $54/night! Unfortunately, we didn't have any swim suits, otherwise we would have made use of the pool. We were both so tired from walking all day that we crashed pretty early. While being in Denver, Jason had been going to Vineyard church for the services. After another quick breakfast, we headed across town to church. The music was really good.

I met his cousin Dan for the first time in 7 years, since the last time I met him. We went out to lunch to a cajun restaurant called Papadeaux. We all stuffed ourselves on their brunch buffet. The guys wanted to look at guitars, so they played around for a while at a nearby store. We headed back to Paul and Carol's for a nap and then went for supper with them. Paul has always been into cars, and has a Jaguar sitting in his garage. He opted to take us for a ride in it and showed us some of its power, much to our delight.

Monday came all too soon and it was time to pack up and drive home. But we had to stop first for some Chic-fil-a and get some sweet tea for the hubs and food for the babe. If it sounds like all we did was eat, we did. Jason thought it was so much fun to expose me to some of the things he grew up with in Texas, like Sonic and Chic-fil-a, and some of the tastes he discovered in Denver. I didn't mind, I was on vacation. And this kind of was our last big trip just the two of us. It won't take long and I'm going to pop. This is the 33 week body, very attractive. HA HA! I look at these pictures and think I'm so huge, but me looking down, I don't feel that huge. Go figure.

Tired of being Sick and Tired!

As I sat at my desk yesterday morning, I noticed my throat felt kind of sore and my nose started to feel fuller. Great, I'm getting a cold! After going all winter long with no sniffling colds, but one day of stomach flu, I thought I was doing really well. Somehow I couldn't outrun the sniffling virus that has plagued so many at school. I almost had a panic attack about being sick and pregnant at the same time. It's been bad enough that my nose plugs at night and I have to breath out of the mouth to sleep because of pregnancy. Now, as I was trying to drink and not be able to breath at the same time, I had a rush of feeling like I was drowning OUT OF WATER! Thankfully it passed.

Sleep has also been a struggle for me lately. My internal alarm clock is now set to 2:30 AM and has made it a struggle to sleep after that time. It's not the most restful sleep after 2:30, but I get in some extra minutes, only to wake up ever hour after that or to a nudge from the hubby to get the freight train to stop snoring in his bed. This makes work somewhat difficult. I sit a lot of the time in class and have found myself fighting the heaviness of my lids at every part of the day. I get up and walk, take a drink, eat something, only to sit and feel some relief for a few minutes. The human body is amazing though. As soon as the final bell rings, it's amazing how awake I feel and ready to go home. I think I may get a quick nap in before supper, but I'm not a napper.

Really, I can't complain with how I've been feeling through this very quick pregnancy. 6 1/2 weeks left until the due date! And still, no nailed down names. We haven't really discussed anything. We did start our prenatal class last Thursday. There is an apparent baby boom in the midst of a recession. Our class has 15 couples signed up in one class. The due dates range from April 25 - mid June. So there is a span but not by much.

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.