A Christmas card for you

I was really bad about sending out Christmas cards this year. I wanted to get professional pictures done but things just kept getting in the way. I was always seeing free cards from websites that I would have done, but didn't have pictures at that time. Once December hit, I decided to just forget about it and just use a family picture we had taken on our Anniversary. So for those of you who didn't get a Christmas card, which is most likely all of you, here you go :)

A quick run down of what happened in our lives this year:

- Continued living in a hotel in Eden Prairie, MN through March

- Flew to Boise in February to see family and for my brother's wedding!

- Moved from MN to Oklahoma in March for Clay's next wind project 

- Went on a much needed family vacation to California and Catalina Island in June

- Found out we were pregnant with baby #2 in July!

- Flew out to Idaho for Quinn's wedding the beginning of November while celebrating our 5th Anniversary!

- Found out we'd be having another BOY!

- Clay left Mortenson Construction and has been settling into his new job with Enel Green Power as Assistant Supervisor allowing us to settle down here in Oklahoma!

- Kort will be turning TWO at the end of this month!

With Clay switching jobs leaving him with no paid time off built up, we sadly couldn't go out to visit my family this year in Boise. However, Clay's family is headed our way for New Year's so we feel very blessed to be able to spend time with family for the holidays. 

Merry Christmas!

A place to call home

Renting a place in Enid is so hard. I think I've mentioned all this in a previous post so I'll just move forward. We finally found a house to move into! We decided it was best to continue renting for a bit while we saved up more for a down payment and make sure things went well with the new job before we wanted to really "settle" here for years to come - although it's definitely cheaper to buy than rent.

We were oh so lucky to find this beauty. It has three bedrooms and 2.5 baths. A backyard for Kort to play in, and a big garage so we can put Clay's tool bench and everything else.

We moved into it the last week of November. We got rid of our rinky dink futon, which sadly broke on us after only having it for 7 months. We had saved up for a new set of couches for a while and had been eying the sactionals from LoveSac. We figured Black Friday deals was the best time to get them, so we got them ordered, and got them a week later!

This is how our living room looked while we set it all up!

That following weekend Clay was flying up to Minneapolis to pack up our storage unit and bring everything back to us! It had been over a year since I had seen anything. We drove to Tulsa the night before and stayed in a hotel. Clay got up early Saturday and flew out. (Kort and I went Christmas shopping the rest of that morning). One of our friends had picked him up from the airport. There were supposed to be two other guys that said they'd come and help. They never showed up :( Our friend had prior obligations set so he had to leave about an hour after unpacking, so they got all the big and heavy stuff packed into the truck first. Can I just say 

THANK YOU, RYAN!!!!!

You have no idea what a blessing it was to have you there. Everything would have fallen through if you weren't able to come. 

Although it did take Clay about three more hours to pack everything by himself, he got it done. It was already 7:00 p.m. and he just thought he might end up staying in a hotel and drive back all Sunday. Well, there was supposed to be a huge snow storm that night, so he made the decision to just head out for the long trek. About a couple hours after he left, Minneapolis had already gotten hit hard with the snow. Through the whole 13 hour drive, Clay probably only got about twenty minutes of weather. So glad he left early! And the next morning, well, Minneapolis had about a foot of snow already. I can't imagine him driving through that for that long of the trip. 

The following Tuesday, we were once again blessed to have guys from the ward show up to help unload the truck. It took them 40 minutes to do it all. THANK YOU!

Now most of these guys were military, which they have the blessing of being moved and don't have to do it themselves. So for them to come and help us move, 

I was indeed grateful.

Now we're all moved in, minus organizing and unpacking the odds and ends boxes. Just in time to get ready for Christmas! I decided to at least do the 12 days of Christmas, so that will probably be my next post on what we did!

Grateful

Thanksgiving seemed to just come and fly by! It was at such a crazy time with our lives so sadly I didn't get any pictures. We were blessed to be able to have dinner with our friends, the Clark's. It was an amazing dinner with yummy turkey, homemade rolls that were to die for, store bought pumpkin pie (I didn't dare attempt to use my homemade pumpkin puree for the first time), mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, and the list goes on.

That night we decided we really didn't need to get anything from the Black Friday sales so we opted out from the mad rushes. We figured either people would drive 2 hours to the city to shop, or basically Walmart would be absolute chaos being about the only real shop at one stop store. Well, early morning came around (we're talking 4:00 a.m. early) and I had to relieve myself (sorry, tmi) and I could NOT go back to sleep for the life of me. I figured I might as well be productive, so I got up and got ready and headed to Walmart. Got there at 5:00 and it was pretty much desolate. Things were still on the shelf and didn't look like they had been hit. Come to find out though that it was a mad rush at 8:00 p.m. when they opened the night before. I got what I wanted and hit some other stores which was pointless. Anyway, it ended up being a long day without that extra sleep!

It was a fabulous Thanksgiving, especially having Clay home for all of the weekend. There are many things that I am grateful for.

Clay's new job - better hours and stability that allow him to be at home earlier and spend more time with the family.

The Temple - seems like it had been a long time since we had gone but we got a double dose at the beginning of the month with doing an endowment session and going to the sealing. I felt such a relief stepping inside and instant warmth and peace. I know that's where you can feel closest to our Savior, as He has walked those halls, as it is His house.

Family - sometimes you take it for granted living so close to family. Now, being 24 hours away, you definitely cherish the time you do have to visit.

Children - As much as I may get irritated or frustrated with Kort, I can't help but be so thankful for a strong, healthy child. I don't know how Heavenly Father has trusted me and Clay to raise His child(ren), but we are beyond blessed. It makes me wonder what I did with Kort to continue keeping His trust and begin growing and raising this new baby and grow our family.

Testimony - This is one thing that no one can ever take away from me. What I have come to gain a knowledge of about our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the best thing I could have. To know that families can be eternal, to know that we can live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again . . . I am truly blessed.

My eternal companion - I can't imagine life without Clay. He makes me laugh everyday, even if it may be him taking forever to get me out of my stubborn shell that day. I know he loves me - he shows it. He loves Kort and is the best father for him. He is my rock.

I know there are so many more things to be grateful for, but without those things, my life would be incomplete. I am grateful.

Idaho trip

I am just about a couple months behind on blogging! Yikes! I'll see how much I can catch up on while Kort is napping.

Back at the end of October, we flew to Idaho. I've already posted some about that so I'll just focus the rest on the wedding and other random things we did.

Quinn & Kaitlyn
Married in the Rexburg, Idaho LDS Temple
11.02.12
(They stole our anniversary date)

But it was the best way to spend our 5th Anniversary - to share in a sealing of family members, reminding us what we did that same November day. Perfect weather just like ours as well. 

We also went to dinner with these two crazies. What a blessing it was to have them make it for the reception as their flight schedules were all messed up due to hurricane Sandy just that weekend before. I'll also put a plug in for Brandon and Barb and Leland - they had tickets to fly from Vegas and they all ended up getting the flu super bad and couldn't make the flights :( We sure missed them.

On one of the days off, the guys were working on putting in a road/driveway where the new house will be for grandpa and grandmacita :)

Kort and Grandmacita in their matching hats!

This was on our flight home from Denver. We got a row all to ourselves so Kort got his own seat. Once he was buckled in, he was asleep before we even took off.

So in a previous post, we had bought that van. Clay had to get to work by Tuesday, so he drove the car all the way back to Oklahoma in 24 hours - with 3 hours of rest on the way. What a trooper! So in the meantime, Kort got to play and visit with the cows. I absolutely love this video!

Old Navy

I have an account with Crowdtap, which is basically a survey/sample site. The more I started answering questions about Old Navy, they gave me the opportunity of sampling one of their products. They sent me a coupon for myself and a friend to find a sweater that's hot this season for free! I was so excited to get something new to work around my prego belly :)

I got a cardi sweater and ended up buying a belt with it to keep me wrapped up on those cold days, which surprisingly have visited us in Oklahoma!

It was fun to get out shopping with a friend without being distracted while Clay watched Kort at home.

Thanks, Old Navy!

Good-bye and Hello

This summer had been a lot busier than it seemed to be. Maybe it seemed to drag on because I was sick through most of the latter part, but Clay was also putting in extremely long hours at work. He had worked a 90+ hour 6 day work week and him and some other guys had actually figured out how much overtime he was working and what his hourly pay would have boiled down to if he was paid hourly. It was roughly around like $3.15/hr. Absolutely pathetic. 

We both knew this was going to be our last wind project because we just couldn't do the long hours anymore, we needed to settle down a little more permanently because of this baby coming, and I just wanted some stability, as well as Clay did. So, the option at the time was to figure out what we wanted to do next with Mortenson - try and get back into the FCG group that we originally started in, or try and get into one of the offices to be more settled. 

Clay went back and forth with the main guys of each group seeing if they had any positions opening up anytime soon. We had been told so many things that we thought we'd end up in Virginia for a while. Then it was North Dakota or Iowa. Or we could have gone to the Seattle group. I also thought that Clay would enjoy working somewhat with his old boss in the Phoenix group. As for me, I hated not knowing what we were going to do, when we would be moving, and where for how long. 

Out of the blue, one of the guys Clay works for (he works for the owner/company of the wind farm) commented that he should apply for the assistant supervisor position of this company, Enel, and work aside him which he is the supervisor of the wind farm. We looked into this company more and asked about its benefits, etc. and then thought long and prayed hard about this. 

I was at the point where I wanted to get out of Enid. I just wanted to move anywhere else. I didn't want to live in Oklahoma, of all places, for the rest of my life. So I may just have had a little bit of a bad attitude in thinking about this position. 

A little about it - it would be a permanent position. We wouldn't be moving in 6 months or a couple years. This position would be running the wind farm for as long as it was there. That's what we wanted. Clay was to the point where he wanted something more consistent - not the type of job where it's different stuff/tasks everyday - that's what's been giving him so much stress. Also, it would be a 40 hour work week. No Saturdays or Sundays, which Clay pretty much has been working every Saturday and lately most Sundays. Anyway, the list goes on of the pros with this company and position.

So what the heck, he applied. 

To make a long story short, from the application process to the end, it probably took three months to find out he got HIRED!!! 

What a relief! I finally know what we're going to be doing with our lives for quite some time now. We are moving out of this apartment (thank goodness!) and moving into a HOUSE the weekend after Thanksgiving! We'll rent for a little bit so we can save up to hopefully buy our own house in the near future :) Finding a house to rent has been an adventure itself. The rental market here is crazy! Because of all the oil workers and air force base, it's very much a demand so once you find something you like, IF you find something, you better pounce on it fast! We definitely lucked out. 

So here's to our future - with Clay being home earlier than 7:00 p.m. and having time to spend together as a family!!!

As for our old company now, MORTENSON, they've been incredible. 

Great company to work for. Clay has been lucky to work with wonderful people and we've met some great friends along the way. Although the wind group wasn't exactly the route we thought we'd end up in, it in itself has helped us out tremendously. It has gotten us completely out of debt, been able to save up an emergency fund, and even buy a new (used) car and still stay out of debt! (Thank you to Dave Ramsey as well!)

Don't be jealous that I joined the mini-van club. I'm cool like that. You can thank me later when I haul all your stuff around town that couldn't fit in your sedan. 

We had originally planned to get another Accord from the same guy we bought the one we have now. However, he was a bust and did not help us until the last minute, which the cars he found was out of our price range. Clay kept hounding me saying it would be a good idea to just get a mini-van. I said I would NEVER own one, and stuck to that. But as I was getting desperate to find a car (maybe not that desperate), it just made sense to get a mini-van. Clay's parents had picked us up from the airport and it was SO easy to get Kort in and out of his car seat in their mini-van. And with my belly ever growing, it made it a lot more comfortable to do so. Then we found this pretty. And we bit the dust. Purchased. New mini-van owners. Let's just say it's kind of hard adjusting to a bigger car to drive, but I sure love it. Now you can make fun of me. I don't care.

Here's to Enel, Clay's new company, with high hopes for our future here in Oklahoma!

(Now there's no reason why you can't come visit us now. No excuse to say that you don't know when you could because we'd just be moving again . . . cause we won't, for a while :))

C + J = #2

For around two months this summer I wore these puppies day and night.

They look just like sweatbands.

But they helped my sanity.

My MIL asked me one morning via skype if I had just gotten done working out because I was wearing these "sweatbands". I told her no. Then I quickly made something up as to why I was wearing them. That's when I knew I had to be tricky on what to tell people if they asked me what they were.

Then one afternoon I was at a playgroup at the splash pad with Kort. My friend asked me out of the blue if I was pregnant. Dead end. I quietly told her "yes" and she went on to explain that she thought I had been because of these seabands. She'd wear them for traveling due to motion sickness and she knew of people wearing them during the first trimester of pregnancy to help with the morning sickness and nausea. 

Well, my friends, yes, I am pregnant with baby #2!

I have already announced it on facebook. But, I want to document it on here so I don't forget because obviously (to me) I don't write in a journal so this is what I have for remembrance. So to start from the beginning . . .

Clay and I felt it was the right time to continue on with growing our family. With Kort, once I got on my thyroid medication, it took two months to get pregnant. I didn't know how it would go the second time around because my period was still kind of messed up, but nothing like it was before the medication. I heard also that it was harder the second time around. 

Well, our trip to Catalina Island had come. I was prepared to be miserable right in the middle of the trip - if you catch my drift. So I thought it would be fun just to be stupid and draw this in the sand: 

C+J = #2.

Never did I think it would ring true.

I never did become miserable that week. 

And about two weeks later . . .

(sorry if this grosses you out)

I put a puzzle together for Clay to find around the house to find out the surprise!!!

I still couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the double line. I was in shock. There's no way this could happen again. I thought being pregnant was a one time deal. It was done and over with. Even though we wanted more kids, it still didn't seem like reality. I started tearing up and said a quick prayer to my Heavenly Father and thanked Him for this miracle happening.

The rest is history.

So, after about two + months of suffering through major fatigue and 24/7 nausea, I finally started to feel better about the 15 week mark. Kort was still taking 2 naps throughout that time which was a tremendous help so I could get in that much needed rest. 

At that 15/16 week checkup - I had to go by myself - the doppler wasn't working so the doctor just did a quick ultrasound to check the heartbeat. We got a pretty good look at what our little babe would be - and how could you miss such a thing!?! I felt bad because I knew before Clay and he wasn't even there. He was for the 19/20 week u/s however and we both saw!

PURE BOY!!!

(I won't already embarrass him so no gender shot, but trust me)

We headed to Idaho a couple weeks later. I was going to have a "gender reveal" party with blue food, etc. but time just ran out. So no creative way to announce. I wanted to do something for Halloween though and incorporate my belly since it's getting "out there". I don't even know how I came across the idea, but I decided to do Dr. Seuss' Thing 1 and Thing 2. Kort was obviously Thing 1, and my belly was the Thing 2. I was going to get Clay that red and white tall hat but procrastinated so we didn't quite have a full family costume. 

(There was supposed to be a white background of the circles so it's hard to see)

And since the Things have blue hair (other than for me - ha ha), I found this darling crochet tutorial and made Kort's hat!

Now, to finish off this super long story to bring it up to date, sadly, I have only taken one belly picture, and it wasn't even for my belly - my awesome sis in law and I were making maxi skirts so I took a picture of how mine ended up, which just so happens to partly show my belly at 21 WEEKS!

I'm huge! AHH! Yes, it's true you are much bigger quicker after your first one ;)