First Wyoming Christmas and Welcoming in 2015!

What a year we have had!!  This last week, Scott and I have been reminiscing about the year we’ve had.  Today it is cold (currently a high of 1* with a low of about -10!!) and it reminded me of our first weekend we were here in Wyoming! It was in May, the wind was blowing so hard that our trailer was rocking and it really truly did scare me!  The temperatures got down into the 20s at night and inside our solid metal trailer it was in the mid thirties!  I remember clearly just how cold it was!  We were cuddled under mounds of heavy blankets, sleeping in our long johns and multiple layers of clothing, all while all 4 cats cuddled with us either under the covers or sitting on top of us to try and stay warm! 

Living in our house now, most people probably think we are nuts (it’s ok because sometimes I think we are too!! I mean we have to be a little nuts to try to take on this adventure right?!?).  We still do not have running water; however we fill 12-14 5-gallon buckets every week at our neighbors house that way we have enough water to do the dishes, flush the toilet, and even take ‘showers’.  We only have 1 extension cord of electricity that extents 300’ from out house to the plug in!! But we are managing just fine – no complaints here!  We don’t have television channels or cable/satellite (not in the budget) but we’ve been utilizing the library and our friends have been so kind to send us movies to occupy our time too.  And we haven’t even begun to finish out the inside of our house yet – still living on plywood floors, no walls up (just a blanket hanging for the tiniest bit of privacy when we use the toilet), but we feel right at home here!

Just imagining all the work that went into this place so far… all the long hours forming up the concrete, building the walls and putting them up, getting the trusses set, and the never ending foam insulation (for which we are so thankful for now!). 

The best part for me is knowing that we did it, we did it together, we built it all ourselves, and we can now call this home.

To think that we started the year with nothing, just a cargo trailer, some tools, 4 cats and a HUGE dream, and now, we are ending the year, in our wonderfully perfect home, 4 cats and baby Adkins on the way! Wow! 2014 has been a monumental year for us and we are so very excited for everything to come out way in 2015!!

I was hoping to add pictures of our Wyoming adventure throughout the entire summer, but alas, but internet is way too slow to upload them, so I will do that next time I get to town.  But I did want to give a few updates from our first Wyoming Christmas, baby progress, etc.

We had a wonderful Christmas!!  The weekend before Christmas, our neighbors Joe and Helen had a neighbor get-together.  It was just perfect! Helen really outdid herself as their log cabin was decorated from top to bottom with the most beautiful Christmas decorations! Even Joe’s mounted Caribou had his Christmas hat on! 

On Christmas Day, Scott and I slept in and watched several episodes from the first season of the A-Team.  In the afternoon, I was antsy to do something, so we headed into Cody to have a late afternoon lunch at the Irma Hotel.    It was delicious!  They had carved ham, stuffed pork loin, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn casserole, a full salad bar, and all sorts of deserts.  It was really nice to get to have a wonderful meal together.  Because we are trying really hard to pay down our bills and try to prepare ourselves for the August arrival of Baby Adkins, we didn’t actually buy each other gifts.  But spending all day together was the perfect way to spend Christmas!

We did have one minor negative from these last few weeks – I haven’t been feeling very well.  Aside from the baby stuff (slight nausea, tired all the time, etc), I have had this horrible cough that has actually made me get sick.  Today, after much insistence from Scott and our neighbor, I went to the Express Care in Powell.  Luckily I do not have Pneumonia!!  I’ve had it before and I was afraid of getting it again.  But they didn’t tell me for sure what I have or even suggest I get any further testing… However, I do have an appointment with my family doctor/OB at the end of January where I’m going to insist they do some sort of testing to see what I have exactly (especially if it doesn’t get any better!).  Today they said I may have something that’s related to my heart burn, but I refuse to take my heart burn medicine while I’m pregnant – Baby Daryl comes first and I don’t want to take any risks in hurting the baby.  So fingers crossed whatever I have doesn’t get any worse!

Scott’s still working and loving his job!  Today I had lunch with him and I told him I still feel so weird seeing all the green where he works. 

We have some really amazing friends to brag about too!!!  They have us spoiled with some really amazing surprised this last week!  First, my friend Shannon surprised me with some little baby clothes and a pacifier with a frog on the end of it.  I think it has a special name, but off the top of my head I can’t think of what it’s called.  Also, my friend Jessica surprised us with a little Case IH outfit!  How funny would it be if after we have the baby, we go to surprise Scott at work wearing his Case IH outfit!! When I do that I’ll let you know what happens!!  Ladies, I can’t thank you enough for your generosity!!  It means so much to Scott and I both!

And a funny story for you – a few nights ago at around 2am, I get this text message from our friend Jack, “Get ready for some weirdness….”  Well he got lucky I was up for my nightly bathroom break, so I asked Why?  Jack works for the Post Office in Dayton and he works on the mail machines when they get jammed up.  He said, ‘Pulled a jam at work, 0415… never seen one so bad so I took a pic.’  Then he told me it was all my Christmas post cards that caused the jam!!!  He took a picture of the post cards that made the infamous mail jam and included cards to: Jack and his wife, The Browns, Scott’s mom, Don and Charlotte, and my Aunt Jone!!  How crazy is that! He said the see millions of pieces of mail each day and that it was crazy that not only did my mail cause the jam, but there was a letter in there to Jack too!

Well, I need to go stoke the fire and start working on our large mound of dirty dishes before Scott gets home, then get back to some of my sewing projects too.

I hope you all had a very MERRY Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

And I want to give one piece of advice for everyone entering into the New Year – Stay Positive!!  If it wasn’t for our positive outlook on our situation here in Wyoming, there is no way we would have made it through the year.  It’s easy to think that grass is greener on the other side, or to feel sorry for yourself and have a bad attitude about it, but when you seriously try to make the best out of every situation you are presented with, even the bad ones, it really makes for a more pleasant year.  It would be easy to look at our situation now and our situation all summer and complain about every little thing, but instead we enjoyed it and really had a great summer all because of our positive outlook on life!

So here’s to a positive, and amazing 2015 for everyone!!

Baby Update/Wyoming Update

Baby Update/Wyoming Update:

All is well here!  Over the weekend we went to Costco and purchased our first box of diapers!  We talked and every time we go to town, we’ll get something for baby Adkins so it won’t be a huge financial blow come August!

We officially have a pre-birth name for our baby! We were talking about it because we wanted to silly and come up with a fun name.  Scott came up with Daryl.  And if we happen to have twins they will be Daryl and his other brother Daryl! Haha!!  I guess this comes from The Bob Newhart Show (I’ve never heard of it, but it’s something Scott remembers).

We’ve made some big adjustments to our eating.  We are both eating lots more fruits and veggies each day plus I’ve completely given up Dt. Soda and all Soda for that matter. 

I’m starting to really feel pregnant!  I’m not showing yet, but I’m feeling a little bloated, I’m peeing a lot, and parts of me are sore.  Also, I’m so happy that I find I cry a lot from being happy!  So far I’m not having morning sickness, but I do find that I feel slightly nauseous at different times throughout the day.  Fingers crossed it stays that way!

We also were surprised this last week with gifts from our neighbors!! Joe and Helen surprised us with a little stuffed animal cat and their betting I have a little girl.  Our other neighbors, Jackie and Rich, gave us flowers!  We have the absolute best support system with so many amazing neighbors and friends that are excited for us and said they’d be there if we ever needed anything!

This week I’ll be picking my doctor and setting my first appointment.  I’ll keep you all posted!

On the home front – there isn’t much new.  We won’t be making any more improvements to the house until spring time.  But we do have a MUST-DO list of things that will be accomplished before Daryl arrives. 

Must: have electricity to the house (not just a single extension cord), have our water/well hooked up to the house, have the shower stall completed, and purchase a refrigerator and freezer (that way I can prep food in advance).

On a completely different note, last week, we had a few days of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets!!  I had a chance to snap some pictures and here are my favorites. 

Have a great week everyone!

Let the Adventure Continue!!

Well our excitement continues!  If you read my blogs, remember a few weeks ago I mentioned there was some really exciting news? Well, we thought we had sold our house.  We had accepted an offer on it, but the buyer didn’t come through with the necessary pre-approval paper work, so unfortunately it’s still on the market.   But I guess you can say we still have some exciting news to share!!! And Christmas came a little early this year!

I’M PREGNANT!

Last month Scott started his new job and with that came health insurance.  Some of you may not know this but I’m 29 and Scott is 39, so we wanted to start trying for a family.  I honestly thought, and have believed for quite some time, that it would take me months if not years to get pregnant.  Now I feel like a walking billboard that it only takes once!

All joking aside, we are through the roof excited!!!   I think it’s still sinking in with Scott, but he sent me a text from work yesterday and said, ‘Yes MOM!’  That really made my day! I still am in disbelief that I’m going to be a mom!!

On Tuesday, December 9th, when Scott got home from work, I was overly anxious.  I told him that I couldn't wait till the weekend to head to town to find out if my premonition was true or not.  So without hesitation, we headed for Cody.  We stopped to eat first and our waitress happened to be 5 months pregnant! She asked why we were in town and I was completely honest with her - to buy a pregnancy test.  And she told me to wait till the morning to take it because of something to do with my hormones.  So I did just that... I didn't want to! I couldn't sleep all night!  And as soon as 6am rolled around when Scott's alarm went off, I rolled over and said, 'You better not have to pee because I can't wait anymore!'  Within just a few minutes I discovered the news.  I then handed Scott the pregnancy test and he was all smiles!!

I will be meeting with potential doctors here in the next week or two, then having my first appointment.  Our hospital here in Powell puts on free classes for expecting moms and I think I’ll take them up on it!

We told all our family and close friends, who were all happy for us!  One of the best responses I got was from my brother Ty – I sent him a photo of the pregnancy test and his response, ‘Did you fail a drug test??’ HAHA!  Scott’s mom almost didn’t believe me when I called her.  This will be her first grandchild and I think she was so shocked it didn’t really sink in!  And when I told Scott’s brother he was going to be an Uncle, he was very excited!  We shared the news with the rest of our family and close friends too!

I’ve had several people ask how I’m feeling.  Technically I’m only 2.5 weeks along, but I think how they track it I would be 4.5 weeks along (they start it from the end of my last period, which is 2 weeks before conception).  I don’t have a definite due date, but based on my calculations, it will be sometime in August 2015!

I’m feeling good so far! I’ve noticed I get very tired quickly.  I’m taking it easy and being very careful of what I do and what I eat.  I’ve completely quit drinking Dt. Soda which is my dirty habit.  I don’t drink or smoke, so that isn’t an issue.   I’ve been taking pre-natal vitamins for several weeks now.  And, Scott is on official, full-time, kitty litter duty! (Trust me, I’m so thankful for that!)

I honestly still can’t believe it!! I can’t believe we are going to have a baby! We are so happy and so very excited to start our family!  I hope you all can share in our excitement with the continuation of our Wyoming adventure!

Our First Wyoming Christmas Tree!

Our First Wyoming Christmas Tree!!

Growing up, I have never had a real tree before (Scott said he has though), so this is a completely new experience for me!  Unfortunately, I haven’t felt well all week so Scott and I didn’t go to cut down our tree.  However, we have the most amazing neighbors!!  The Brian and his parents went to cut down theirs and they got us a permit and go one for us too! That was the nicest thing and we are so thankful for their generosity. 

Here you can get a permit ($8) to go into the national forest and cut down your own Christmas tree.  There are some pictures that Jackie took of Brian and his dad cutting down the trees. 

They dropped the tree off to us, then Scott chopped off the bottom limbs and brought it in the house.  We put it in the stand, filled it with water and there you go! We have a Christmas tree!  The cats were fascinated with it!  Our Princess (small short haired orange cat) just kept sniffing the air while the other ones were up close and personal with it.

So far, they haven’t climbed it, but I’ll keep you all updated!

Also, this week we received our first Christmas card!!  Thank you Kristin and Chad!!  I’m going to be saving them all and creating a ‘book’ out of them.  I found something on Pinterest where you take an old book, cut out all the inside pages, then us the hard cover to form the cover for all your Christmas cards for the year.  It will be fun to collect them all and remember this first Wyoming Christmas for many years to come!! 

I'll upload pictures soon....  they won't upload from my phone on here :(

A Week of Surprises!!

My goodness it’s been an exciting week for us!!

First, we received a very special surprise gift in the mail!  A friend of mine that I met on Facebook, Kathryn Krouse, has been following our adventure here in Wyoming and surprised us with a chocolate tower!!  And let me tell you it is good!  There are a series of 6 boxes and all are filled with wonderful chocolates/candy!  Kathryn, if you are reading this, thank you so very much!!!  This surprise was absolutely wonderful and we can’t thank you enough. 

We also had another wonderful surprise this week too!

Scott’s cousin, Ken, flew into Billings for work and called me yesterday afternoon that he wanted to come down and see us!  I didn’t tell Scott so that it would be a surprise, and later we joked that it probably isn’t a good idea to surprise an Army Ranger! But it worked out perfectly! Ken had a gorgeous drive down through Red Lodge and then into Wyoming to our place.  I think he was completely mesmerized by the scenery.  I tell everyone, my pictures do absolutely no justice.  Out here it is a world of its own, our own little piece of heaven on Earth!

Anyhow, Ken arrived to the house just before Scott got home from work.  It was so much fun watching his expressions when he saw our house.  He loved it here and we loved showing him everything!  When Scott arrived, he walked in the door and if I remember correctly I think Ken said ‘Don’t shoot!’ haha.  I said, ‘Scott look who came to surprise us!’ and then it was all smiles and hugs!

Ken also treated us to dinner at our favorite hole-in-the-wall burger joint.  We had a blast! The best way to explain it is: Great food, Great friendship, Great memories!  I still am on cloud nine from his visit!  Most of you reading probably don’t know Ken, and I just met him on our trip back to OH when we got our stuff to bring to WY, but he is the nicest man with two of the best kids I’ve ever met!  We didn’t get a chance to see his wife, but I know she has to be pretty amazing too to have raised their kids.  All I know is when we have kids I hope the turn out like theirs! That’s how amazing they are!

Ken, if you are reading this, THANK YOU! You made us so happy with your surprise visit! I hope you enjoyed seeing our place and we can’t wait to see you again! And bring any of the family with you anytime:)

Here is a group picture when we had dinner (if this picture doesn't show up, I'll repost it on Friday):