Settling in

Greetings from Montana! We have been here for nearly a week so I should squeeze in an update. The settling in part is proving to be a challenge amidst busy summer farming schedules and adjusting to life with a newborn, so it looks like the process is going to take awhile. I promise to start posting more often as soon as I can get me feet under me. There is much to share!

So far mosquitos and moths top the list of My Least Favorite Things about Living in Montana. I can't go far without my can of Off or a Bounce dryer sheet (who knew? Jury is still out on whether or not it works well enough). And Tom and I are a sight as we declare war on the moths every night. We turn the light on in the kitchen to draw them to one room, then I hold the vacuum and Tom mans the hose as we suck up as many as we can find.

Fortunately my list of Things I Love about Living in Montana is much longer. At the top is sharing meals with my parents and seeing extended family more often. Between a church convention and cousin Kristi's beautiful wedding, it's been like a family reunion!

We've had plenty of adventures so far. One night a big storm knocked out our power for an evening so we cooked dinner in my parents motor home. That night I tended to Eva by candlelight, and we were sure glad to have our power back on the next morning.

I also made my first major grocery stock-up trip to Great Falls. I was so glad to have my mom along to help me because as it was, it took about twice as long as we planned on with 3 kids in tow. I want to know how anyone manages to accomplish anything with more than 3 kids. Spill it. What's your secret?

Eva is doing great, although I'm looking forward to days when she doesn't wake up every 2 hours at night. Nanna came yesterday and took the older girls to Bozeman for a week, so we will have 2 less to keep track of.

Tonight we have a big dinner with family and I made red velvet cake from scratch to celebrate Mom's birthday tomorrow. Happy birthday Mom! It's so fun to have time to bake and to celebrate with you!

Happy 4th everyone!!! Let us know how you are celebrating.

Goodbye, Stampin' Up!

Yesterday I went to the office one last time to say goodbyes and introduce baby Eva. It is a bit surreal to say goodbye to a job I've held for 10 years. (I can only imagine what it would be like to retire from a job after 30 years as some do!)

The day was bittersweet and I will miss the great friendships and amazing talent that I had the privilege of working with everyday. Goodbye, and I will miss you all! Keep in touch.

Sent from my iPhone

A big journey

Blogging from my phone seems like a great way to stay awake at 3:00 AM when I'm up with a newborn. I might not make a lot of sense and I might fat finger a few words...

Today we headed home to Montana--for good this time. We started off after Eva's doctor appointment (she has regained her birthweight of 7 lbs. 11 oz. and looks great)! Tonight we are in Butte enjoying the comfort at the Comfort Inn. Eva was delighted, as she expressed like only a newborn can, to be rid of her carseat for the day. We normally would have reached the farm after spending 11 hours on the road, but we were happy with the progress we made and are glad to only have what would usually be about a 4 hour trip ahead of us tomorrow. It might only take us 8. :) Traveling with a 2 week old is for the birds. My mom and Sarah are with me, and Tom and Abby follow us up tomorrow (or later today, that is, at this point). Soooo glad to have my Mom's help. You're the best, Mom!

See you home on the range!

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Feeling so blessed

We have a healthy baby girl! Eva Grace was born at 12:25 today, June 11th. 7 lbs., 11 oz., 19 inches long. (We are pronouncing her name ee- va with a long e.) I went in this morning to be induced but was well into labor on my own before we got there. More photos later!

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Our Big News

No, not baby news. (Psych!) Hopefully that news will come in just a few days.

This may be old news to some of you, but now that both of our employers know, it is nice to finally be able to be open about our plans here on the blog. I haven’t been the best blogger over the past 9 months, largely due to the fact that most of our news centered around plans we needed to keep to ourselves for awhile as they developed.

We are planning to move HOME—to the place we both still consider home even after living in Utah for 10 years—MONTANA! It was an idea percolating in the back of our minds for a couple of years, but since we have had a great life in Utah, there seemed to be no reason to rush the decision. THEN, we got pregnant. It was the first event in a series of events that made it obvious to us that it was God’s plan to lead us in that direction.

Our plans are to move to my family farm in Fort Benton. My parents could use some extra hands, plus, when they are ready to retire they would like to see their years of hard work stay within the family, so it is a great opportunity. Yes, it is a major career change for both of us, but we both feel like it is a different pace of life that will be so good for our family. And the best part is being closer to both of our families!

We will be moving into my Grandpa’s home that is filled with memories of both my Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa reached a point this fall where it was just too much house for him on his own, and we appreciate all the efforts of my parents and other family to get it ready for us to live in.

So, we have sold our lovely home of 5 years and are living with a dear, kind and generous friend from my work while we wait for the baby to arrive. Soon after, we will head north, for good! We look forward to keeping you up-to-date on our adventures!

Until then, we have many goodbyes to say to the wonderful people we have come to know here in Utah. We will miss you all!

Oh, how to decide!

The lovely and talented Darla took some belly shots for me recently, and she mixed in other shots of whole family. It was impossible to choose just a few favorites to post here, so please be sure click over to her blog to see more from our shoot and more of her fabulous work! Oh, and leave me a comment to tell me which is your favorite! (I can't decide!)



Silly, I know . . .

. . . to obsess about a diaper bag, when there are much more important things in life to worry about. But alas, it is a major baby necessity. I posted my dilemma on Facebook and the answers were too mixed to be helpful. (Yeah, I know I should listen to you, Mom. Moms are always right. You almost have me convinced, too, but then I keep seeing myself with this other bag casually slung over my shoulder . . .)

So, now I'm going to reveal the bags in question and poll my blogging friends.

Would you buy the one on sale (the brand I've been eyeing, but an older model at 1/2 price!), or the one you really love (same brand, but the "premium" model), not on sale, which roughly translates to 4 times (gulp) as much as the other one?

Believe me, I have justifcation. I mean, if I carry this thing every day for 2 years, the cost per wear is merely pennies. Okay, cents. And this is my 3rd baby, so I know how much I rely on a good quality diaper bag. And people spend crazy money on designer purses all the time. This is going to double as my purse for the next 2 years. And . . . alright, enough.

Here are the diaper bags in question, in no particular order. Which one do you like? #1 or #2? (Don't cheat and look up the prices!)



I do actually already have one of these bags in my possession. But I also have a receipt, and I'm not above using it!

the many faces of Dawson

As Tom and I browsed through the photos the kids took at Easter brunch, we were highly entertained by one particular nephew.






This isn't the first time he has hammed it up for the camera. I looked back through my archives and found many such photos. Here are just a few. He has food on his face in almost every single photo I have of him.





Dawson, you rock!

Easter Sunday

We dressed in our Easter finery for a lovely Easter brunch at the Gallatin Gateway Inn.


You know how the kids always finish eating first? (Perhaps because the adults are too busy taking pictures of their food.) Well, they begged to use the camera while the rest of us finished eating. And you know what? That turned out to be a grand idea because in the end, the best photos came from them.









Family: you can find more photos and order prints here.

4th quarter stretch

30 weeks down, 10 to go. Here I am, posing for the obligatory belly shot:

Seems like a good time to take one, before the 4th quarter "stretching" begins. Ha ha.

I also thought I'd share a few tips on maternity clothes, since I was looking for info when I was at the stage of outgrowing my regular clothes. I did have a few clothes left over from my previous pregnancies, but many I had given away or loaned out, and the rest, well, let's face it. Most things are pretty out of style after 5-8 years!

I wanted to be fairly modest about what I purchased, so I bought mostly pants and just a few tops. I've been able to use a lot of tops, elastic-waist skirts, and jersey dresses from my regular wardrobe which has been great. My options are thinning as I get bigger, but hey- only 10 weeks left! People can forgive me for wearing the same things all the time for that long.

So, in the photo above I am wearing a pair of dress slacks I bought from A Pea in a Pod. Their pants fit me the best by far (they have a what they call a "secret-fit belly panel" that is very comfortable to wear.) I needed dressier clothes because of my job, and even though I wasn't able to find these on sale, they were worth the money since I wear them once a week at least.

I'm also wearing an open cardi from Anthropologie. I have several cardis like this and they make a great transitional wardrobe item.

And here is another photo of me modeling my favorite (and only) pair of maternity jeans:

I bought and then returned 2 other pairs of more expensive jeans before I found these. I found them at the Expected maternity boutique in Fort Union. They carry a few pricey high end brands also, but the brand I really liked was the more affordable Lilac line. These jeans were long enough for a change, stretchy, and super comfy. I got them on sale for about half of one of the other pairs I had purchased and returned. Lilac specializes in maternity clothes that can be transitional (worn after your pregnancy too). These jeans do have a fabric belly panel, but they also have an elastic band on the inside that can be tightened, much like those they put in kids pants these days. How cool is that?

I also bought 2 shirts at Expected; the red patterned shirt in the jeans photo and the white shirt in the top photo. Both were on sale (even better!) and both have ruching on the sides, so I do think I will try them after pregnancy as well.

Hope that info is helpful to all you newly-preggos out there!

April Fools!

I got to stay home with the girls today because my sitter was going out of town. Abby had us dress up as monsters for Fool's day. (She made our masks and hands out of paper.)


Oooooh, scary!


This is what it looked like out our front door today. Mother nature's idea of an April Fool's joke?


Blogging hiatus

My blog has been neglected lately—as I'm sure you've noticed. I've been focusing on more important things like baby-making . . . and sleeping. I figured I would return with a vengeance when baby #3 makes her appearance but the thing is, now I'm worried I'll lose all my readers in the meantime. Are you still there? Really?

Actually, I've missed the interaction I get through this blog, so I'm feeling some renewed motivation to post more often. And I don't want to look back on these 9 months with no memories to show for it.

So, with that, above I'm sharing one of my favorite photos from last fall. Mom took this when Dad walked the girls to the babysitters house on the last morning of one of their quick visits to see us. If I remember right, this visit was when I very first found out I was pregnant and was very uncertain what the outcome would be. Mom and Dad came down to lend their support. I had a lot on my mind at the time, but it's great to have this photo of a happy memory.

(Speaking of, see that cute little jacket Sarah is wearing? Has anyone seen it? I've been missing it for a few weeks I think, and I can't remember with my pregnancy-governed mind where on earth we may have left it.)

redneck recreation

We began our first day in Vegas doing the tourist thing. (This isn't the redneck part, by the way, in case you are wondering). We went on a fabulous tour of the Ethel M chocolate factory. Well, they weren't actually making any chocolates that day . . .


but the free samples,


and the chocolate shop . . .

. . . made up for it.
Here is our crew for the trip:


THIS is the redneck part of the trip:


Yep, we made the adventure to the Nascar races. On top of that, we actually stayed in RVs in the parking lot. Here is our campsite:


But to be really be considered a redneck, we would have had to have astroturf, couches, and our own flagpole complete with flags for all our drivers:


At least that's what I told myself.

Hanging out with Uncle Lee:

Striking their best poses:

A view of the stadium from our seats. The place was gigantic and the amount of people stifling.



See the black cover on the car? That was because of the rain delay we had the first day. In Vegas of all places.


And this is the face of bored children while they waited for the track to dry off.


Eventually, the drivers entered their cars. We had a good view of the pits (here is Danica Patrick getting in her car).


And the green flag flew:


(Notice the empty seats in this photo. This was the Nationwide series race. The next day for the Sprint series race, these seats were all full.)

After another rain delay, they still finished the entire race. And some of us (Sarah and I) were finished too by the time the race was over. Oh well, nothing a little cotton candy can't fix, right?

We were glad for sunnier and warmer weather the next day.

The noise level in this place was out of control. First, there was this:


Next to the air force base with heavier than usual air traffic meant that we heard these overhead from 6 AM to 10 PM everyday.


Then, at the track, we wore these headphones for noise protection, and to give us something to listen too other than the roar of the cars during the race. Aren't we cute?




Here are our race buddies, Tawnya and Lee:


If we were seriously redneck, we would have race jackets for our favorite drivers:


Even if it means sporting a sponsor like Viagra:

As it was, we did sport some of our own memorabilia, but we were more into M&Ms:



All in all, it was a grand family adventure and we enjoyed our time with the girls' cousins. Speaking for myself, however, I can honestly say that my first Nascar experience with likely also be my last.

Ultrasound update

Everything looked great today, and I am cleared to go back to full time days at work next Monday. No new anatomy revealed itself either, so we are still prepared for a girl!

Being the 3rd time around we are running out of brilliant ideas. How about some name suggestions? Other than the fact that the first two are both biblical names, we have no patterns to follow (A, B, C, or T, T, T :)

Help!