It has been over a year since this was updated! I have left this poor blog in the dust and haven't looked back. Until I thought about taking a look at it today. Not only do I love being able to see the pictures from so long ago, but I love having those thoughts written down to reflect on. I now realize that it is a year of memories that I won't get back.
So, write I must! And I hope people can follow along as I revert back quite a ways.
The last post was in September, 2011. We were living in Idaho with the in-laws and DBop was working at a potato warehouse. He loved that job because he had gone from working to the Pentagon to working in a bin with potatoes. It was where he belonged and he felt good about the decision to leave Washington D.C. However, that job was for harvest season only (which usually means only October and a bit in November).
We also celebrated Monkey's 1st birthday with a few presents and a day trip to West Yellowstone. He was so happy with one glowing ball that he didn't really care too much about the other presents!
When the potato job was said and done, we needed another way to make money. So, we decided to drive down to Utah and stay with my parents for a month so my husband could lay flooring with my dad. The men kept busy while the women stayed home and held up the fort. DBop continued to look for a higher paying job, and while he went on interviews, I went and helped my dad with the flooring. Which was so fun for me, because I grew up helping him. It was fun to do the hard labor.
During our stay in Utah, I got a call from a restaurant back in Idaho that said they needed my help just after the holidays. My dad didn't have enough work to keep DBop busy after then, so yet again, we packed up, and drove to Idaho to stay with the in-laws - for the 3rd time! During this time of the year was our hardest. DBop had had interview after interview and it was wearing on him that he hadn't gotten another job yet. Christmas was humbling because we were given so much and we both had a hard time accepting it. We appreciated it more than people knew, but it was almost as though we felt like we didn't deserve it or that we didn't earn it ourselves. But it was definitely humbling and made us realize how wonderful it is to have family and friends who supported us so much.
January, I worked at the restaurant as a server 5 nights a week, and made great money. It was nice to be able to walk home at the end of the night, and have cash in hand. It was something I had done before, and, not to sound high and mighty, I found that I was really good at it. Which made me enjoy it that much more. I took as many extra shifts, and closing shifts as I could because I was the only one making the money in my family. The people working there were probably my favorite coworkers I've ever worked with and made me feel at home right away.
In February, we had a friend call DBop and tell him to apply for a job in - of all places - North Dakota! During the fall and holidays, I remember DBop kept talking about North Dakota, and how he thinks something was going to happen soon. So he applied for this job, and they interviewed him over the phone. This was one of a million interviews, but this one was different. We both felt at peace with this, not worried like we had been with other interviews. They wanted to interview him again, so he made his way out to his hometown in ND. He was gone for about a week, while I worked, and grandparents so graciously helped out with the kiddos.
When he got back, a week or two went by and I decided to take a nap one day because I was so tired from working. DBop came into the room, and I remember seeing a smile and tears on his face to tell me he got the job! After all this time, moving, job after job, and trying to find ways to make money, he finally had a salary again. He went back 2 weeks later, I put my two weeks in at the restaurant, and he went back to ND by himself while I stayed with my parents in Utah one last time.
He worked a few weeks, enough to make some money to get a place to live, and we moved out here in April. The ironic thing, was that he got the same EXACT apartment we lived in the first time we moved to ND. Everything about this move was right. His company is great and he is doing exactly what he wants to be doing.
I sometimes looked back and thought, "Was leaving DC the right thing to do?" or "Should we have left ND in the first place?" and other things like that. I sometime wonder what people think of our decisions and if they were too hasty and not well thought out. I can't look back with fondness because things were hard and got ugly. I can say one thing for sure, I know that our Heavenly Father had a plan for us all along, and although our faith sometimes was stagnant and wavered, I had to have that blind trust that He would lead us in the right path. Yes, we were trying to keep ourselves from drowning and were merely trying to survive. I honestly now can say that I don't care what other people thought about our decisions, they lead us here. Where we are happy and have more of a testimony than ever. We know that no matter what, we will be taken care of by our Lord and Savior, and each other. And we so appreciate everything our families and friends did. There are people who don't have that, I know we are so blessed that we have such wonderful people in our lives. I am just so happy to know all of these things were for our good and made us grow. We got through it!
And now, we are never moving again. Ever. Possibly no vacations for the next 10 years also ;)
Now.... onto the fun stuff. Our kids have REALLY grown since the last post and I just have to talk about them both.
First: my Teeny Bug, who is now 3 1/2 years
* She is ALWAYS trying to make us laugh or giggle. She cannot stand to see people unhappy and loves to make us laugh.
* She is so smart and loves learning new things. She has a thirst for knowledge and I hope I can keep up with her as she gets older.
* She has one GREAT memory. This, she gets from DBop. I cannot believe some of the things she is able to remember.
* She is really getting good at drawing. She is doing a joy preschool, where the moms do it at a different house every week. And she is drawing, coloring, and learning so well.
*She loves going to church, nursery, and playing with people her age. Every day, she tells me of a new boy she loves.
*The last thing I can say about Maggie, is she is my helper. She always helps me when I need it, getting me something, throwing something away, and what not. She IS the oldest, of course.
And now, Monkey, who is just over 2 years old
* I call him my Sour Patch kid. He is really aggressive, hits, bites, but then he is sweet. He loves to snuggle, suck his thumb, get his back rubbed, rocked. He even has a crocheted blanket, which is getting very worn, that he has to stick his fingers and toes through. It's a pretty funny habit.
* He is ALL boy. He loves cars, balls, tractors, noises of any kind. His favorite thing to do is go see DBop's "drive" (golf cart) at his work.
* He loves playing with anything that's mommy or daddy's. Shoes, the iPad, books, anything. I think he is going to be one who wants to grow up too quickly.
* Lastly, he is always hungry! He will eat his whole meal, and want a snack 10 minutes later. I can't wait till he's a teenager!
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