20 weeks!

Yesterday, I hit the halfway mark of this pregnancy!! My! How time flies!!! BabyAdalyn is still not as active as Konnor was.... But she is definitely getting stronger!! Woody and Cierra have felt her kick. We are all so excited for this baby!!! I do kinda wish it would slow down a bit. She will be here before we know it...and the she will be 2! At least, that is how it seems to happen!
There is so much I can't wait to experience again:  breast feeding, cloth diapering (already have a pretty good stash started!) baby-wearing, and breathing in the delicious smell of a newborn baby!! (Yes, I know it won't all be rainbows and roses, I have done this before!)
She already has gobs of clothes, (thanks mostly in part to a lot of clothes that I bought from Craigslist.) a playpen, (thanks to a thrift store here in Billings!) and diapers! We may be a bit excited for this Wee One!!! And, OH the flowers!! Lol!!girls are so much fun to shop for!!!!

Super cute lotj!

My cute kids

20 weeks 1 day!

If you take a husband..

If you take a husband to the zoo, he will want to see the turtles. If you take him to see the turtles, he'll decide he wants one, and you'll have to take him to the pet store. While at the pet store, he'll discover their turtles are a bit spendy, and your daughter will find the guinea pigs. Finding the guinea pigs will make him forget the turtle...and...you'll end up taking home a guinea pig and 2 beta fish...(the beta fish were the compromise for not getting 3 guinea pigs.) Upon arriving home, your husband will start reading about what social creatures guinea pigs are, and will want another.. And chances are...if he wants another...You'll have to take him back to the pet store. After naps of course!

So, yea... We have a guinea pig named Oreo. And Woody is going back to get another. Thank goodness I have a huge, tiled schoolroom! Here are a few pics of the zoo here in Montana (which I would not recommend!) and one of Oreo.. Who is kinda cute... Shhhh... Don't tell anyone I said anything!!

Even though I love it here...

Being without Woody has been tough. Even more so than I might have thought it would be. Mind you, I have several things playing against me:  hormones, a 2 1/2 year old who *still* won't sleep in his own bed all night, (he starts out there, then ends up in mine.. And I am too tired at 2 a.m. to get my hiney outta bed and put him in his own bed.) and a stomach bug that has caused my other son not to sleep well either. Plus.... I like my husband, and like having him around. Today, after a vomiting/not sleeping/wiggling around/ending up with 2 little boys in my bed fiasco, I have been in a particularly foul mood... So, I am trying to refocus on all that I am thankful for.. 

1. Church.. Even better church that is close. We went to our first Sunday this week. It was wonderful.  We have a nice little ward, and the kids loved their teachers!

2. My kids. I love these little people. They amaze me every day. They are smart, kind, funny and love me, their daddy and each other so much.

3. My home. We have so much more than so many. Our home is beautiful, warm and full of love.

4. Awesome neighbors. The people who live next to us are amazing. They are kind to me and my kids. They have one 8 year-old daughter, and her and Cierra became instant friends.

5. An amazing, hardworking husband. Nope, he is not perfect, but I adore him nonetheless.

6. A precious little girl growing inside of me. After 3 miscarriages, a healthy pregnancy is not something I am likely to take for granted ever again. I am feeling little nudges every day, and they never cease to make me smile. (By the way, her name is Adalyn MaKaye. We already call her Addy. Woody and I picked her first name, and Cierra picked her middle name.)

7. Prayer. Because I know my husband and I made the right decision, even though sometimes it is really tough!!!

8. Heavenly Father for listening to me whine, and always finding ways to remind me to be thankful because I am so very incredibly blessed!!!

9. Living in a regular city. I truly do love it here.

10. My phones navigation device... The only thing that allows me to venture out of The Heights. (The section of town I live in.. It is like its own little city.)

11. My phone. Seriously, when my Mother-in-law was visiting, she was telling me about my Father-in-law driving before cell phones...while raising 7 kids...5 of which were boys who were no strangers to the ER.   Talk about making ya thankful!!!!!!

What a blessed life I lead!!! I am so thankful!

Back to single parenting

The one downfall to moving to Billings was knowing that we would be without Woody for various periods of time, thus making me a single Mom. A pregnant single Mom. I am not, by any means, the only Mom I know who is doing this.
Woody wasn't supposed to leave until Monday, so he could go to Church with us once (we still weren't unpacked last week, so we were unable to go.) before he left... But as usual with the oil field, our plans were disrupted when the company we are leased to asked him to go back early because they are swamped and gave us the opportunity to run 2 trucks. (If you know anything about the oil field, this is not an opportunity you turn down!) so early Friday morning (like 2 a.m.) he left.
If you know me, you know I suffer from anxiety... Especially while pregnant.. To say the least, I was nervous about him leaving. However, we are surviving.. Even made a trip to the library,  (which is downtown, and you have to use parking meters... A first for this small town girl) and did grocery shopping... Small things that become huge when the idea of walking into a public building makes my chest tighten.
Anyway, even though we miss Woody, we don't regret this decision. Neither does he!

In other news, Cierra heads to Florida the 5th, and is sooo excited. (The girl is gonna be a professional fly-er by the time she is 10!) That weekend my midwife offers a weekend seminar full of birthing classes, and my Mother-in-law has agreed to come watch the boys during the day so I can attend. I am excited!!
We signed the older 2 up for tumbling/gymnastics and swimming lessons starting in November. Cierra is also going to do Girl Scouts, we are just waiting on the leaders to put troops together for this area.
I am learning the laws for homeschooling in MT, and they aren't awful. No standardized testing required, but I think starting this year, I will have her tested every couple of years to make sure we are on track.

HOME

I HEART BILLINGS!!
We are all moved in, and loving it here! We have met quite a few neighbors, and always have extra kids playing in our yard. Love it. The house is wonderful, spacious and quiet!!  We all love it here! 
Pictures are included! (Sorry for the sideways ones, I am posting from my phone!)
I met with my midwife Monday.. Have I mentioned how awesome she is?! I love her! On Friday,  we got an elective ultrasound to ensure Woody would be here when I found out. Adalyn MaKaye is due February 21, 2013. (A fact that was confirmed at an anatomy scan Monday.) We are all thrilled to be welcoming a Baby Sister. She is already lovingly referred to as AddyMac. 

2 1/2 more days!!

Til I  am outta here!!!!! Woohoo! We will be heading to Billings first thing Thursday morning, and are thrilled! We have ordered the furniture we are replacing, (living toom.. Our current set is a nasty used set.. Perfect for the oilfield! Dining table.. We have out grown ours, and are fearful that it will not hold up for another move.. It is about 10 years old. We got it from my Mom who got it from my best friend...) super exciting stuff!! The kids and I have been counting down the days!!
In other news.. I am feeling the Wee One kicking more and more every day. I cannot wait to meet this baby, but at the same time, my pregnancy is going by much too quickly. 16 1/2 weeks today!!
Woody got more oil contracts, and while we are weary of the company, right now we aren't left with a lot of options. His dad, his mom, him and I have all been running around like chickens with our heads cut off to get all of the paperwork done, and training for our employees set up. (have I mentioned what a pain owning a business can be?? We are very blessed though!) with the new contracts, comes the need for more trucks.. Yay.
Well, for now, that is all there is.

Wowza!!

It has been sooo long since I updated this. My goodness!

Well, we have had a fun adventurous summer. We spent nearly 3 weeks in Idaho. We visited, we camped, we fished... We had a blast! And it was lovely to get away!!

The kids are doing well, and growing up so fast. Blayke turns 5 this month, and we are having a party for him and Woody. Cierra has been visiting her father in Florida regularly and loves it!! Konnor is no longer a baby... Every day he is more of a big kid.. Bittersweet for sure!

The business is doing very well. The only problem is, of course, housing. We have has our employees living in our basement. Now... This has created some issues, and has led Woody and I to an important decision. When you have a young, growing family, the last thing you want or need is 3 extra men living with you. The problem is, we need employees.. And if you are hire a driver, you have to have housing to go with it. Since there is nowhere here to put them, and Woody only works when his employees go on break, we have decided to turn this house into employee housing, and we are moving to Billings Mt. I am thrilled!! We found a nice house in a beautiful neighborhood! The best part?? Everything is right around the corner!! We move mid-September, and I cannot wait!

One of the things that is right around the corner is my midwife. I am 14 weeks pregnant tomorrow, and am so excited about this midwife! She is awesome. I met with her when we were traveling home from Idaho, and sh talked to me for 2 hours!! It wasn't an in and out rush.. I feel like she will get to know me. We talked some about what happens in case of emergency, and she said she is wry conservative, and will transport at the first sign of trouble. (which is good. I don't want a midwife who will risk me or my baby because she is too proud to admit danger.). We won't be finding out what the gender of this little one is, and I am pretty excited about that!  I am thrilled at the idea of another baby, and can't wait to hold the sweet little one in my arms!  

For now, I think that is all!!