The Haps.

Here is what we have been up to!
1. Enjoying lotsa sunshine and 65+ temps! It is only March, and we have been to the park 4 or 5 times.
2. Lotsa stomach bugs. It seems to be just hanging out. We all get it. We all get better. We all get it again.
3. 2 trips to Minneapolis in 1 week! OYE! Cierra flew out of Minneapolis to Florida to spend time with her Father. She had a wonderful trip. Lots of beach time, they visited an aquarium in Atlanta, and her favorite part: She has a new stepsister! Very exciting for her! The night we took her, was AWFUL. I cried and cried. I ate a bucket of popcorn at the movie theater. (We took the boys to Mall of America to watch The Lorax.)
4. Deciding what to do with our business. We have 3 trucks. 2 are running, hauling scoria rock. 1 is sitting. It is set up for oil, but getting a contract seems to be more difficult than we had hoped. Woody is back and forth between quitting his job and hauling, and staying where he is at. I can't decide what I want him to do either.
5. We finally got internet...and cable....I was so glad to get rid of it, and I was so hesitant to get it back. But...The hubby won that battle. **Sigh** All things in moderation, I suppose. I am glad to have the internet again, finally though. Now maybe I can remove the Christmas layout....
6. Getting ready for Cierra's birthday and baptism. We are going to have visitors for the next 10 days. I think we will have a combined little family party for Cierra, Grandpa Howard, and Konnor. Then on the 13th, We have C's real party. We are going all out. I am excited!! Sleepover, manicures...All kinds of fun stuff. I am going to make her peace sign (She is obsessed with them) cupcakes. I am excited. Then in May, we are headed to Idaho for hers and her cousin's baptism. She is so excited!! (She has her interview with the Bishop tonight.)
7. Deciding what I want to be when I grow up! I am excited to announce that in 3 weeks, I will be buying the materials to start my personal training certification. Then, when life (kids, finances etc.) permit, I will go to school for nutrition and dietetics. I have spent my whole life figuring out what I want to be, other than a mom, of course. What did I want to do when my kids grew up. I knew I wanted something that I could maintain my first priority, which is being a mom to my children and a wife to my husband. I love fitness, and want to help everyone. Now, I am going to get the knowledge so I can! I am thrilled. It will be work, but, hey, I am good for it!
8. Getting to know our Missionaries. We split wards a few weeks ago, and now have missionaries here in Watford City. It is such a blessing to have them in our home. We try to feed them often, and it is a wonderful opportunity to discuss our missionary opportunities. Plus, I imagine of all the people we have in our home (Seems like we are always having someone over for dinner), having the missionaries is a good thing for my kids.

In general, life is good. Kids are good. Business....Well...it is better. (After paying 1600 dollars in fines...Not our fault. total misunderstanding...EXPENSIVE misunderstanding, and having our guys not run for 3 weeks) Woody and I are WONDERFUL! Have I mentioned lately how blessed I am to have this man as an eternal companion?? Seriously, nobody else would understand, put up with and reciprocate my sense of humor. He is supportive of all of my goals, and does his best to ensure I can achieve each of them, no matter how hard they may seem. He works hard to make sure he provides for us, and still makes the time to be home with the family. Every single day. I can't wait until August, when I get to spend 10 days, kid free, with this wonderful man!! Life is good!! I am so blessed!!

What's new with us, you ask...

Well...To be honest, not much!
But, for the sake of killing some time, I will post somethin'!
We have recently employed Woody's uncle to haul rock for us. He is living in our basement. In our other spare bedroom. (In case I hadn't mentioned it before, Woody's dad lives in the other) The "pink room", as we so lovingly call it, (It looks like a pink milkshake threw up!) has had about 45 possible inhabitants, and none have worked out for one reason or another. I am thankful to have this particular person inhabiting it. Woody's uncle and dad are so laid back and easy going. They demand and expect NOTHING! It is nice! The only downfall is the constant "oil-field" talk. Seriously. I hear it in my sleep. It. Makes. Me. Crazy. But, alas, this is our bread-n-butter, so I best not complain to loud, eh? (Like the North Dakotan accent in my writing?! When I start using oof-dah, you will know for sure I have "TURNED".)
Woody is still at his "day job"...Which is kinda a love-hate thing. He isn't the biggest fan of some of the people he works with, and his job is super frustrating, but we both feel strongly that he needs to stay put for the time being. We are looking into a third..YES THIRD...Truck...oye. This one will be for our oil hauler...At least that is the plan this week. It changes regularly, so I am never for sure that this is THE plan until it is set in stone!!

I am not up to much..Yet, somehow, I go nonstop...Funny how that works. I am loving having a house to clean. No, seriously. Nothing relaxes me more than getting my house all nice and clean and smelling good. I realized last week that I still have some emotional healing to do from the last pregnancy loss. A lady in our ward asked if she'd heard right, that I was part of "the pregnant-lady club" (SERIOUSLY. Like, 3/4 of our ward is pregnant!) It felt like someone socked me right in the gut. She was well meaning enough, of course, but that did little to squelch the urge to burst out in tears right there. I calmly said, "not anymore", walked around the corner, and cried. We have decided to give it until August to try again. It sseems it was a wise decision!

The kids are doing well. Cierra is like a 14 year-old trapped in a 7 year-old body. She has been talking a lot about baptism, and can't wait to turn 8! (April 1! HOW did that happen?!) She also gets to go to Florida and spend a week with her father. She is ecstatic. I am happy for her, sad for me. I am, however, glad he is finally taking an interest!! Blayke is...Blayke. Still crazy. Still busy. Still says random, off the wall stuff. (During sacrament, "MOM! Can I smell your armpits?!" After learning to pedal his bike with training wheels, "MOM! look, I'm a human!") He makes me laugh, and can be the sweetest kid! Konnor is SOO almost 2! (AGAIN, how did that happen?!) He has learned that this is survival of the fittest, and if he is going to survive HIS two older siblings, he better learn to defend himself. Unfortunately, that self-defense has come in the form of BITING! The other night, he bit Blayke so hard, he left a bruise, and a bump!! NAUGHTY!! He still doesn't talk much, but he likes to "read" when we do Scriptures and "pray" at dinner time. Maybe I should be more excited about him learning to talk...But I already have 2 that never stop....Sheesh! ;)

Well, that is all. I have to go get ready for our weekly grocery shopping adventure! Have a fab day!

Crazy Life

Well, lets start with the bad news...On Tuesday, I started spotting. I know that spotting can be normal in the first trimester but I still went to the doctor. They did an ultrasound, and found nothing but an empty sac. A baby never formed. We are so sad, but will survive. I am struggling because my body hasn't realized that I am pregnant (other than the light spotting) so I still feel pregnant...Morning sickness, fatigue all the fun stuff. It is making me crazy. It is one thing to feel awful and know you are getting a baby out of it, but to feel awful for NO reason kinda stinks. Since my body isn't taking care of everything itself, I go in Wednesday for a D&C. This is the 3rd pregnancy I have lost, and we don't know the reason. We will try again soon!

Now onto the good news! We got our house...Well....In a manner of speaking. Since we closed the day before Thanksgiving, we were not able to get a few things done that needed done before we moved in. We did spend Thanksgiving moving the majority of our stuff in, and we will be all in by Monday. I am super duper excited! Beyond, actually. I love my new home, and can't wait to enjoy the morning sun coming in my windows! (Basement apartments lack that!)

I didn't finish my thankful list. I have 2 more that I need to do. I am thankful for all of the love and support I have been shown this last week. I am soo blessed to know the people I do!! I am also thankful for friends inviting me to their house for Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving, but with everything going on, I did not feel like doing a dinner! So thank you Ann, for cooking for us and inviting us over! Also thank you to Audra for feeding us on Thanksgiving!

SUPER BUSY LIFE!

For those of you who think stay-at-home-moms don't work as hard as you do, I say PHOOEY! I feel like I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off!!
Recently we celebrated Blaykes birthday. It was an intimate little family celebration. We bought him a bike, helmet set and movie. We had cake and ice cream. We were going to have friends over, but I didn't feel well. It was fun though. I am beginning to realize that "kids need" for lotsa presents stems from us always BUYING lotsa presents...Hmmm...Go figure!
We also celebrated Woodys birthday. That ended up being quite a celebration. That weekend, we went to a ward park clean up and a ward bbq/softball game. Sunday we had friends over for Taco Soup and games. That was a BLAST! On Monday, our friends upstairs had a bbq for Labor Day, and we ended up going to that...Even though I had a TERRIBLE cold. That was fun too. The best part was that Woody had 3 days off! (He normally only gets 1..Sunday...)

Other happenings? We started school. It is going REALLY well. I love it. Cierra is moving right along with second grade work. And we are having a great time doing Story Of The World. We both LOVE IT! If you are homeschooling your child...Well...Shoot....even if you aren't...You should get it, and read it with them. We are studying Ancient Egypt. We have made white crowns and later this week, we will do sugar cube pyramids. How lucky am I?!
Blayke is doing preschool. He knows his alphabet, so we are focusing on the phonics part of it. Hopin' to get him geared up for Kindergarten. I was so frustrated..I scoured the 'net for hours on Saturday, looking for the PERFECT preschool curriculum..(I was going for *free* because I am cheap.) I couldn't find ANYTHING! I was ready to throw in the towel, and BUY a curriculum....And I got a text from a good friend with a link to THIS: http://confessionsofaslackermom.com/ It is an LDS based preschool curriculum.....FREE! WOOHOO! I almost cried with happiness! It was exactly what I was looking for. I supplement it with some things from other sites, but for the most part, it is what we are using.
Konnor is growing so fast. He is 17 months old and recognizes his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, head, belly, fingers and toes. Last night, I told him to go get me the book Goodnight Moon, and he walked over to our bookshelf, and picked it RIGHT OUT!
Maybe I am biased, but I think my kids are GENIUSES!!

In other news, I am babysitting 2 little girls. One only comes on Monday. They are so good. And so fun. The kids like having them here, and so do I. I also got a calling in Church, and apparently Heavenly Father REALLY thinks I need to be with kids. I am going to be a primary teacher of 5 year-olds. I am excited. (I will admit, though, I was really looking forward to Konnor going to nursery next month so that I could enjoy my classes.... But I am a feather duster!)

Woody is VERY close to having his trailer ready, and handed in his 2 weeks yesterday! YAY! We have another potential employment opportunity that could come with housing, but it doesn't open until December, so we are going to get the truck on the road, keep a prayer in our hearts, and when that time comes, make the decision of whether or not to hire someone to drive, so Woody can have an 8-5, Monday thru Friday job, or to keep him in the truck. (Isn't being a growed up soo much fun!?)

We are still in our lil' apartment, but, hey, IT'S HOME! We are so blessed. I am so thankful for our apartment.

Life is good here! Will be back in Idaho in December and am super excited for it!

Why I'm here..At least...Part of it.

I live in Watford City, North Dakota. Never heard of it? Neither had I until about a year and a half ago. It is an hour from the closest Wal Mart and church. We drive 3 hours to attend the Temple or go to stake conference. I am 800 plus miles from my family.
Naturally, the question has come up, WHY?!
Sure, there is the employment thing...North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation.. Plus the jobs here pay DANG good.
I could do what a lot of people are doing, and move back to Idaho and Woody could come home ever 2 or 3 or 4 weeks. NOT an option. We like seeing him every night.
Still, if you have ever experienced a winter here in ND, you will continue to ask WHY?! It is a whole other world here. Sometimes I feel like I have moved to a foreign country..Sometimes a foreign PLANET!
This story does in fact have a point. Woody and I have often felt that the Lord wants us here. We don't know specifics. (Don't know that we ever will).... Well, this last Sunday, during Relief Society, our RS president was giving the lesson and said, "A lot of us are here, without knowing the reason. I believe the reason, at least part of it, is that we weren't being who Heavenly Father needed us to be when we were back where we came from." (Most of us here are in the same sort of situations.) Now, I pondered this...And then I pondered it some more. How true is this statement?! I mean, to stay active here takes work...like...a lotta it. If you wanna participate in most activities, you drive an hour. We woke up at 5:30 am this past Saturday to attend a ward park clean up.
If you were previously just doing just whatcha had to to get by.....If you move to good ol' North Dakota you will go one of 2 ways...You will either find yourself putting a lot of effort.....a lot of sacrifice...into being an active member of the Church...or you will find yourself sliding on the slippery slope of inactivity. There isn't a lot of room for that in-between-do-just-what-you-have-to-do-to-get-by thing here. <I feel like I am now, finally, 10 years after baptism, willing to do the work to becomethe person Heavenly Father needs me to be. It does take a lot of work. It isn't always easy to get up, get ready, drive an hour, go to meetings, drive an hour home. Especially because it is Woodys ONLY full day off in the week.
I know that I am here because it was actually the best way for me to become the woman, wife, mother and Daughter of God that I need to be for the eternities. And, I am THANKFUL for that, and even more thankful that I know it.

Update

Well...We are back from Idaho, and have been for a couple of weeks. It was a nice trip, but it is super nice to be home! We got to visit lots of people. We got to see Brayly (my sisters new baby.) We got to see Saydie.(My niece who was just diagnosed with leukemia) We got to spend lots of time with both sets of grandparents. Cierra had a ton of birthday celebrations, and got spoiled rotten! (So did the boys.) She got to go to a "Princess Tea Party". We had a lot of fun, and stayed vey busy!
Yesterday was Easter, and thekids got spoiled rotten! We decided against too much candy, and only got them a little bit. Instead, they got new movies, swimming suits, flip-flops, swimming toys and goggles. (We plan on spending lotsa time at the pool this year!) They also got 2 new outfits. (1 summer, 1 church!) We dyed Easter eggs, spent the week talking about the importance of Easter, and did some fun art projects.
The weather here FINALLY seems to be getting nice, which is fabulous! Hopefully, it will be nice this coming weekend, because we would LOVE to have a bbq for Konnors first birthday! Well, there isn't too much goin' on in our lives...just kinda hanging out, back into a nice comfy routine, an I love it!

At the park...in 2 feet of snow...in March...

Blayke in the swing..He could touch...

Konnor sitting on my lap in the swing!

We wrapped this swing around, so that she could actually swing..Then she kicked off her boots....35 degrees..PRACTICALLY SUMMER HERE! ;)

So, my friend "A" and I had similar thoughts a couple of days ago. Watford City hit a scorchin' 35 degrees, so we bundled up our kids, and went to the park. (It was SO warm, I ended up unbundling, and so did some of the kids!!)

HMMMMM.....

So, apparently during Church Sunday, there was a discussion about Facebook and the detriment it is to families. I have been thinking a LOT about this, and it makes sense. Truly. Here is the hang up for me though. I live 14+ hours from everyone and everything I have ever known. I live in a tiny town with VERY FEW friends. I am lonely, and sometimes bored. (There are always things I could and should be doing, but sometimes, I just don't feel like laundry!) Enter Facebook...My link to the "other" world..To my family and friends. Well, Woody and I got into this discussion on our hour long drive home from church, and we have decided I will keep my Facebook account, but limit my time spent on it. I wont be on it when he is home. Ever. Even from my phone.
We have also decided that I am not the only one that is in this boat. To understand this, you would have to come to North Dakota, and spend some time. I think Idaho, Utah and Colorado have doubled North Dakotas population! We read in 3-4 new names A WEEK in church! (And 90% of the time, they are from Idaho! The husbands are here, working 12, 13, 14, 20 hour work days, leaving wives (IF the whole family comes) home all day long, in towns with very little to do, that have LONG, HARD, FREEEEEZING COLD winters, hours away from everything they know, and truth be told, I don't think any person dreams of living in NORTH DAKOTA! It makes sense that we would cling to this lifeline. To this connection to our worlds!
So, the question comes, how do we fix this?? I don't know that there is an answer. However, Woody and I have decided that we are going to make this ward our new family. Our new friends. We are going to give others something to cling to other than Facebook. We are going to start doing a dinner and game night once a month, and invite a different family from the ward to join us. We are going to keep it small, so that we can really get to know people. So that we can visit, and noone gets lost or feels umcomfortable. And we are starting this Friday. And we are starting with some people that, for personal reasons, it is really important that we start with. Pizza and game night! I am excited. (I will only be having 1 slice! ;) ) I hope that this will help me feel at home, help me meet new people, and help others know that we are here, and we want to know them!!

Life is good. Life is so good. We are so blessed. We still have our trials (STILL no place to live. We have been allowed to stay in our apartment, for now. But whenever someone knocks, I have a bit of a panic attack.) but, life is mostly sweet.
I truly feel as though we are in our own corner of the world here. I am mostly ok with that. (I have days I miss the real world, life outside of Watford City, North Dakota.) We do our own thing without much interference of the world. Without TV, I rarely even know what's going on outside of this cozy little bubble!
There are some things coming up in April and May that we are all super excited for! My little sister is having her baby at the beginning of April, and I get to go stay with her and help her out for a while after Brayly makes her debut! Cierra turns 7 on April 1st! (WHAT?! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN!? How am I the mom of a 7 year-old?!) Konnor turns 1 on April 26th! Yep, that year has gone by in the blink of an eye!! (I am still coming to terms with it already being the last full week in February!) Then in May, we are loadin' up and heading back to Idaho to be sealed in the Temple. I am hoping to have even more exciting news before then, but we will see! (NO, I am not pregnant!) But we are hoping for a big change coming for our family soon!

Other than that, not much on the horizon. I am looking forward to spring and summer, and fully plan on spending a lot of time at the pool this summer! (You with me A?) The winter is seeming to DRAG ON! I want the snow to melt and the sun to be out!

The kids are doing well. Growing fast and driving me crazy. (And no, I wouldn't want it any other way!)

Life is sweet. We are so blessed!

The best things in life ARE free!

I am in such a wonderful mood today. You know the kind. You wake up happy and nothing can ruin it. (EVEN -19 on the thermometer when you head out in the morning! BRRR!) The kind of day where you notice and recognize all of your many, many blessings.
When you notice all of the little things that bring big smiles. Things you never want to forget, but somehow manage to on those "other" days. So, in order to help me remember, I am going to write (**type**) some of these things down. So here is my list of what has made me smile or just made me happy today! (I never published this, and it is Saturday, and I am again in a good mood, so I am going to add things through the week that have made it so good!)

1. Woody is still getting up every morning at 5 a.m., going out into the freezing cold and starting the pickup for me to go to the gym!
2. Baby Konnors dancing to our "Kids in Action" CD! Sooo CUTE (Oh, and if you have little kids, and don't have this CD, I recommend you get it. It is so much fun for them to do!)
3. Great friends! Seriously, I don't think I could survive North Dakota without Audra and Nancy!
4. The warmth of baby Konnor when he wakes up. (He woke up from a nap today, and I just RELISHED in his sweet warm cuddles!)
5. When I am reading the Scriptures, and actually get something out of them. I really struggle with understanding them while I am reading them, and often get frustrated. I recently read Jacob, Chapter 5 in the Book of Mormon, and I was getting the general idea, and I could tell it was an important chapter. So, I reread it. Then I looked up some references on it. Turns out I was totally grasping on what it was teaching, and I loved what some of the past Presidents of the Church have said about this chapter.
6. My family and I are doing so well with our goals for 2011. I made a list of all of them, and stuck it on the fridge. A lot of them were spiritual, as I feel an intense need to "ready and prepare myself"-Audra- in all ways, but I especially have a long way to go in this area! (especially after reading Sheri L. Dew's talk on being "You Were Born to Lead, You Were Born for Glory talk that was reccomended by another blog I read. **Read it! It is SO worth it! http://speeches.byu.edu/index.php?act=viewitem&id=984 )
7. The awesome imaginations of Cierra and Blayke. I mean, really. Last night, Blayke came down all dressed up, and said, "Mom, I am goin' on a journey!" And Cierra is always drawing these awesome pictures, and making up stories to go along with them!
8. Being able to spend my days with 3 of the 4 most amazing people I know!
9. Being able to see the the 4th on a somewhat regular basis!
10. Blayke running around in my SUPER DORKY ear flap hat. (I don't know what they are really called, but you know what I mean.)
11. Woody getting off of work at 2 today! YAY!!
12. My mother/daughter date with my little girl.
13. Blayke telling me about his dream about paper towels the other day!
14. Cierras excitement for the Sabbath day. We always try to prepare on Saturday, and she is always so excited.
15. Having a house that is organized in a fashion that allows me to prepare for the Sabbath on Saturday so that I can spend Sunday enjoying my family and worshipping the Lord.
16. Weight Watchers chocolate cakes. (SO yummy, and only 2 points.)
17. Being one of those people who honestly cannot tell a difference between fat free and regular in most things. (means I can eat more of my favorites: cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream and cool whip!)
18. Sweating. Like hardcore sweating when I go to the gym. I had a couple of not so great days, because of being sick, but I love sweating.
19. The things my daughter comes up with to make out of paper. (She just made a shirt.)
20. Blayke yelling from his room, "MOM! I woke up all night long!" EVERY morning!
21. Getting some sort of justice for the money stolen from my husband at work. (ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS!)
22. The epiphany I had while listening to a radio talk show on marriage....


**LIFE IS GOOD**

Television

One weekend last summer, I realized that Woody and I had spent an ENTIRE Saturday watching NCIS. We had not spent one moment with our children, except Konnor, who was an infant, and we didn't really have a choice. That Sunday, we made a choice: in July we got rid of TV. I mean, we still HAVE a television, but it is solely used for watching movies and our LIVING room is no longer CENTERED around it..And neither is our life.
It is funny, what you become desensitized to when you hear it all day every day.
I never knew exactly how inappropriate TV is. I mean, I knew how bad some of it is, but I didn't realize the stuff I had become unaware of. We also usually only listen to Church music. Not always. Sometimes we will turn on a country station, but the kids LOVE the primary song CD's I bought them, so I would rather they listen to that.
Well, recently I have been going to the gym..With going to the gym, part of my little 'bubble' has been popped. The television is on there, and I busted out an MP3 player to work out with. WOW! How I have changed. I find myself skipping songs I used to love because their message or language really bothers me. I find myself bugged by certain commercials. Commercials I would not want my children to see! I am to the point I want to change all of the songs on my MP3 player because they don't make me feel good. And I am going to the gym so that I feel good.
This is all so very bizarre to me. I don't remember ever really having limits on what I could watch. I am pretty sure I was watching rated R movies by 12. Cursing and crude language has never bothered me, and at points in my life have been very big parts of my vocabulary. I never thought most of what I watched or listened to was 'that bad'. (I know, Grey's is an exception. I knew it was bad, and I still loved it. However, I haven't even watched my old episodes on DVD since I got rid of the TV.) Then, I got rid of it all. Now, when I hear it or see it, I realize how blessed I am to have been given the guidance to get rid of the the negative influence of television.

Just a little bit more than a little bit frustrated...

So for a few months I have mentioned how we were moving, then we weren't, then we were, then we weren't and so on. MAN OH MAN! This housing situation has me at my wits end!! Our apartments got bought out by a big oil company in town, Power Fuels. Welll...Since they bought it out, they and the old property manager have been giving us quite the run around! So, we decided to start looking. Well, these people that we know (We'll call them J and K) had a house that they were having NO luck selling, so they offered to rent it to us. We agreed. We settled on an amount that worked for both families, and figured that as soon as J and K moved into their new house, we were all set. NOT QUITE!! Rumor has it that all the while that they were telling us that they would rent to us, they had also promised it to another family. GAH! Well, something went on, and that family ended up buying it. (BTW, J and K didn't mention to us that they had a sell pending until probably the day it sold..We were their 'back up plan'!) So, we were biding our time here at the apartment, and still looking when they started renovating the apartment next to us. The day that they started, the guy who was working on it said that he had been told that instead of kicking us all out, they would shuffle us around. Woody decided maybe he would call the property manager about it. He called "Bob" yesterday. "Bob" said that that was in fact their plan for now. WELL..I went to get the mail today, and we had a certified letter. I signed for it, and as soon as I saw 'Power Fuels' as the addresser, my heart sank. I ripped it open, and lo and behold it was an termination of tenancy. We have until December 31, 2010 at midnight to be out. NOW, for those of you in Idaho or Utah, you may be wondering why this is SUCH a huge deal..Just go find another apartment, right? WRONG! Not in Watford City, North Dakota. Not in Williston, North Dakota. Not anywhere within 3 hours of here..Maybe further. You can barely book a hotel room. They have WHOLE families living in hotel rooms and camp trailers. We were so blessed to find this apartment. We are smack dab in the middle of a huge housing shortage!!! And for now, we are homeless come the first day of 2011. Now, if you could, keep us in your prayers. We know that with faith something will work out.....We have an amazing Bishop and Bishopric helping us scour the area for a place to live. (I think I have mentioned before that our Bishop is very adamant that we are meant to be in this area!) I am doing my best not to have hard feelings for any of the parties involved..J and K, the people who bought the house, Power Fuels, (although the weasels won't answer our phone calls, and mailed our termination of tenancy.) Being angry will do nothing more than to add to the stress of it all..Right?! Let me tell you what though, when my Oh so sweet visiting teacher asked if kicking all their bu**s could count for her teaching this month, I only half-heartedly turned her down! (We were JOKING, BTW!)

Our Snowy Day! And other stuff!

Well, I have to tell you, I have been a serious chicken about this cold weather. I actually hate it if I have to be in it, so in the winter I stay inside as much as possible. Welllll...the kids were, of course, DYING to go play in the fun, fluffy, white powder that has blanketed our front and back yard. (As well as the rest of the town!) And since being a mom is ALL about sacrificing, and sometimes doing things we don't necessarily **like** (such as being out in the FREEZING cold!) I gave in and took them out this morning. Turns out, other than the hour it took us to get ALL of our snow clothes on, it was quite fun. We attempted a snowman, snowfort and sledding..Apparently this isn't **the snow** for such things! We did make snow angels, run around, write our names and the kids ATE the snow. (I know they saw we shouldn't let them,but I survived it....)

These kids are just so amazing. They are growing way too fast, and I am scared of the day they are 'too big' to hang out with mom. I dread the day I am no longer the center of their world...







Other things that are happening: Konnor is into EVERYTHING, has learned to climb onto the bottom shelf of the table and bakers rack. We found out this morning that they are just remodeling apartments and letting the families move into them as they get them done. So, we should still have a place to live. Meanwhile, may I tell you, remodeling is NOT a quiet thing.....GAH! Woody is starting a new job soon. I am ecstatic to have him out of the truck for the winter!



I have to include a little bit about our FHE on Sunday (we were counciled to do it on Sunday so that Woody would be there.) After our lesson, we played a game of Uno. Cierra and I against Woody and Blayke. Man oh man they took us! LOL! And Cierra said to her dad, "maybe next time I will be on your team." This, of course delighted Woody! So, we switched kids. Then Blayke and I won. So we are tied. 2 games to 2 games! It was so fun. And every single night Cierra wants to play Uno! LOL!



Trying to think if there is anything else?? There are so many things I want to remember..That I never want to forget...I wish I was better at keeping a journal...

Just What I Didn't Know I Needed

Woody and I have been having some issues with his job, and have been praying and pondering about what we need to do. We have so many options, which, while we are thankful for them, it makes for a long decision-making process!! We have considered him changing companies, but still driving, we have considered him NOT driving (I am fond of this idea, especially since we are headed into winter!) and staying in ND, but doing something else, and last but not least, we have considered coming back to Idaho permanently.
HOWEVER, since I have been back on this visit, I can tell things have changed. I don't mean the obvious, like my best friend being divorced and living in a new house, or my mom moving out of what is the closest thing that I had to a 'childhood home', but little, subtle changes about my feelings here. I feel as though the changes we have made, make it hard to fit in anywhere. This no longer feels like ''home''. In just 4 months, things have changed, and North Dakota has FINALLY become HOME! NOTHING this trip has gone how I had thought/planned/hoped, and I think that I needed it, and that the Lord knew I needed it. We have already been told that we aren't in North Dakota for the oil, but to help build the Church there. What an awesome thing, we are so blessed! And I am so thankful that nothing has gone the way, I thought/planned/hoped!

A few things....

So, we went to Minot to the zoo last weekend..Oh so fun!! I loved it. Woody loved it. Blayke loved it. Cierra loved it. Konnor...Well...He slept through it! (LOVE the wrap!) It is such a fun zoo! We saw lions, bears, monkeys....No baby giraffe though! I was a bit disappointed...They had little dispensers that you put a quarter in and you could feed certain animals...Deer, ducks, sheep. I loved the orangutangs. The one climbed the fence to the food bucket, dug through, found a banana, put it in his mouth, and continued to dig until he found another one. Then he laid down on the ground with his hand on his head and enjoyed them! SOO funny! I laughed and laughed at them! =)
We were there for 2 1/2 hours, ate cotton candy, and enjoyed our family time!!
I am so thankful for my awesome family and husband..... I love them, and REALLY love making memories with them!!

On another note, my daughter (Who, by the way, is missing BOTH of her front top teeth) wakes me up EVERYMORNING telling me how many days until Idaho! LOL!

Still LOVIN home school! Still lovin cloth diapers! And have decided breastfeeding is THE BEST thing EVER!

Watford City is growing on me! I have met another AMAZING woman! Her name is Nancy..(weird to meet someone who ISN'T 80 with my name!! LOL!) She is super cool! She and I seem to have LOADS in common, and I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know her!

AND FINALLY! We are likely getting kicked out of our apartment soon...STRESSSSSSSSSS!! Apparently, an oil company bought the complex, and wants it for their employees families... USUALLY, in most areas, this wouldn't be the CRISIS it is for us. But seriously, houses here are hard to find, and reasonable prices are impossible! Hopefully, we will figure it out!!

That is all for tonight! Good night ALL!

Brown cows in Watford City! YIKES!

Today we had the opportunity to visit a couple of places in our little town that we haven't been to yet. We started out with a morning drive, and then went to a little local pharmacy that has a little soda fountain and got the kids root beer floats. Or as they call them at the pharmacy "brown cows". It was sooo stinkin' cute in there! We all enjoyed it. It was like we went back in time. All of Watford City kind of feels like that. It is such a nice little town. After our floats, we went to the Long X trading post. It is this cool little building, and has a museum in it. The lady told us, and I don't know how accurate it is, but it makes sense, that McKenzie County wasn't open for homesteading until the 1900's because it is surrounded by water. We saw a lot from the early pioneers. Really neat stuff. My favorite part was when I showed Cierra an old writing desk. She looked at me, confused, and said, "Well....It isn't big enough for a computer." I laughed and explained that computers weren't around then.

Well, I better go, Woody is trying to pull out C's loose tooth! YIKES!