Here on the Range....

Yes, I admit, I'm too busy these days to blog, much less get supper on the table in a timely manner. (Caleb, sweet as he is, has decided that supper time is a good fussy time, usually because he's tired.) But I did find time during a nursing session to locate a new blog background, which I love once I figured out how to change my font colors - ugh!

We're feeling a bit claustrophobic with all the rain and cool weather we've been having here in MN. I won't complain about not having to run the a.c., but it would be nice to see the sun once in awhile. Tomorrow's finally supposed to be a clear day, so we're planning an outing to a special park. Hopefully I can remember my camera and take some photos of the boys.

We're also getting ready for Ethan to go to his dad's for a week. This is both a physical and emotional preparation for Ethan (and us). There's usually some behaviors that present themselves when a visit has been scheduled, though thankfully this is getting slightly better each time. He will be missed by everyone and I'm already thinking of activities to do while he's gone as Elijah may be a little lost without Ethan to play with (and fight with!).

Home improvement projects take up the weekends this time of year and now my husband is declaring war on the pocket gophers on our property. Should be interesting to see where that leads. I still regret telling him when we first moved in to not shoot one we saw, "because he's sooo cute!" I certainly learned my lesson on that one as it's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandgophers are the ones destroying our property now.

Well, I'm off to bed - finally! Have a blessed week!

Caleb Update and Life on the Range

I'm a bad blogger.

I'm getting so caught up in all that needs to be done this time of year, that writing blog posts has been put on the back burner.

Last weekend my parents took the boys so that Paul and I could have a little alone time and time to get some projects done around the house. On Saturday we drove into WI to pick up the 1/2 beef, 1/2 pig, and chickens we ordered from a small farm that does 100% grass-fed beef and pastured hogs and chickens. That took up the majority of the day, but it was fun to talk with Paul and not be interrupted by little ones. Sometimes it feels like all we ever talk about when we're alone is the boys, but it certainly didn't feel that way last weekend. Plus, we now have two (yes, two) standing freezers full of meat for the coming year. If you've never purchased meat this way, we highly recommend it. Especially if you can get it grass-fed. It's a hit on the bank account, but then we don't have to buy much other meat so your monthly grocery budget decreases greatly.

I'd also like to say that my cooking skills have improved as I have tons of different cuts of meat that I wouldn't normally buy at the grocery store. This is our second year doing it, and last year, I had to learn how to cook certain cuts that I had never done before.

We also got the top bunk put together for Ethan. Both boys were sleeping together on the bottom, which is a double, but that stopped working this past fall and we had to have Ethan sleep in the spare room. Ethan is thrilled to be sleeping on the top and it has become his favorite place to read as well. And I'm thrilled to have them back in the same room and have our spare room back. I'm all for keeping them together as long as possible.

I did a bunch of cleaning in preparation for Caleb while the boys were gone too. Got out the changing table to some of the clothes. I ordered wipes. Next month I'll buy some disposables. I do cloth diapers at home mainly, but in the beginning, it's nice to have disposables on hand too. I buy wipes and disposables on Amazon.com, because it's much cheaper. Especially if you do the 'subscribe and save' option. Not to mention the free shipping and delivery to your door.

Once the boys' came home it was craziness again as usual, with school and AWANA and getting Ethan ready to spend a week with his dad for Thanksgiving. They left very early this morning to fly to Alabama where the majority of Ethan's paternal family lives. (His dad and new stepmom live in OH.) I miss him like crazy already. We've had some issues with him lately, but things have been improving greatly and I really felt the changes we had made are drawing us closer to him. It's hard not to have him with us and he wasn't too keen on going, knowing what he'd be missing out on at home. He's still adjusting to being with his dad once or twice a year and reconciling that wiht the rest of his life here. Definitely hits home to me that God hates divorce. I can see now how much better our lives are, but there's still many ramifications, the majority of them being for Ethan who is the innocent one in it all.

It will be weird parenting Elijah as a single child this week. But it will give us an opportunity to focus on him, especially before Caleb arrives. Plus Paul is on vacation the entire week - WOOHOO!

Yesterday was Caleb's 30 week MCA scan. He did well again. I read into everything the doctor says, of course, while Paul's able to remain completely objective. I got the feeling that Caleb's numbers were "okay" as opposed to "great" like in past scans. We don't have to go back for two weeks and by then, we'll be nearing the home stretch. We still have a birth plan to write and decisions to make about delivery. Our closest hospital does not have a NICU, so we're debating about delivering in the cities, so if something does happen after birth, he won't be separated from us. Please pray for wisdom in making these decisions.

Have a great weekend and a blessed Thanksgiving!

Happy 4th Anniversary, Paul!

Friday is our 4th wedding anniversary. I'm writing this a little early, because I won't be able to do it that day and because the boys are with Gramma and Papa and it's so much easier to blog when they are not here. And by easier, I mean that I don't feel guilty blogging when they're not here. That and I can think clearly. (I miss them like crazy!)

Four years ago, we said our "I do's" (or were they "I will's"?) atop a scenic overlook in southeastern MN. We called it our "planned elopement," since it's pretty hard to elope when you have a three year old. So it was planned - in seven weeks!

He asked me to marry him at Outback Steakhouse, not a terribly romantic place, but I was just glad he was asking. You see we had recently almost broken up over a silly issue of where we would live if we got married. (He came to see my point of view pretty quickly on that one!)

We picked out rings together after he asked. I shopped for our wedding attire. We began premarital counseling which we didn't finish until after we were married. Then we struggled to find a pastor who would marry us in such a remote location (a long story!), but finally found the perfect one. We had never met him before, but the way he wrote his sermon and our vows, it was like he'd known us for years.

We each had one witness. I asked my aunt Cathy to be mine and Paul's friend Bill was his. My parents had left with Ethan the day before to travel to their yearly vacation spot. We struggled with whether or not to have Ethan and them there, but in order to have a honeymoon, we needed to do it while they were gone.

Neither of us regrets not having a big wedding! It was a perfect day - a Sunday. We went together to church in the morning and then afterwards left to travel down to the location.

The pictures aren't professional and the wedding video still isn't edited, but it was a wonderful day. We shared our first kiss that day.

We've been through a lot in four years! Adapting to life as a blended family, moving, 4 pregnancies, and the deaths of two babies. Only God knows what the future holds, but I pray the next four years will be filled with joy!

I'm so blessed to be married to you, Paul! I know we've had our struggles and will probably encounter more before this life is through. Thank you for being loving and patient with me! You are an amazing husband and father, far better than I ever imagined. I pray God gives us many more years together! I love you!

A badly scanned photograph of the scenic overlook where we were married (at the top of the rock outcropping).

Ethan and "Daddy Paul" though the Paul part was soon dropped. Ethan was thrilled to have a consistent father in his life and it's apparent by their relationship today.

Our first Christmas photo as a new family!