February:
My little sister turned 30!! Can you believe it! How are we getting so old??? I don't even know.
March:
I got laid off from Center Partners after 4 1/2 years of working for them. The company closed their Idaho Falls location and ended up putting about 500 people out of work. It was really, really hard. We found out in the middle of January, and it was a challenge to want to work, especially the last couple of weeks. Not fun. Not to mention that it was the sole source of income for our little family. Freaking out, let me tell you.
April:
Started getting my unemployment checks and signed up for food stamps. Talk about humbling. I had always worked hard to provide for myself, but I was so burned out and discouraged from everything that I just couldn't do it. But the Lord was kind and still blessed us. Dan was able to get a part time job working in the deli at Broulim's in Shelley. He was so excited to have employment after almost a year and a half of unemployment. And the income was a wonderful blessing, too.
May:
I got to spend a wonderful few days with my best friend Michelle at Women's Conference. It has become an annual tradition for us. She buys my ticket for me as a birthday present. This years talks were amazing and inspiring. I also got to knit a scarf as a service project. It was a lot of fun. And spending the time with my Shellah was wonderful, of course. The Saturday after that we helped Shelle's sis-in-law Emily at a function at Thanksgiving Point where she works (Em works there, not Shelle). She was in charge of the Princess Promenade and needed some 'Atmospherical Princesses' so Shelle, her sister Karrah, and I got volun-told. :)
I also 'got' to have my birthday on Mother's Day and turned 33. My sister and husband got me the BEST present... a new car stereo! It has an aux out function and is also specifically made to work with iPods/iPhones. Loves it!! In other news, my sis-in-law April made me No 2 Spray (it's the homemade version of Poo-pouri - http://www.poopourri.com/) and it works like a charm!! My other sis-in-law (well, I guess she isn't really anymore since she and my brother got divorced, but I consider her still since she's been in our lives for 20+ years...) Jamie gave me the recipe for my Grandma's bread (which she learned how to make at the hands of Grandma herself) as well as a dish towel that was my Grandma's. I cried. It was a wonderful gift.
At the end of the month I started a part time job working as a receptionist in a doctor's office - Idaho Falls Surgical Specialists. One of the doctors there was the one that took out my gallbladder last year. I'd had such a good experience with them that I was excited at the prospect of working in the office. And working part time instead of full time was a really nice change that I enjoyed.
June:
What a month!! Dan and I had our first wedding anniversary on 6/1. We didn't really do anything since we didn't have any money. And, frankly, we're both trying to get the hang of having someone that we need to celebrate anniversaries with. I'm determined to make next year amazing!
On the 19th we had a big event: we got our own apartment!! The process started the second week in June. We were very persistent (and probably really annoying for the office manager) but we were so excited at the prospect of having our own home. After many phone calls, lots of paperwork getting filled out, and two appeal letters to upper management, we had our own wonderful little piece of heaven. We live in the Carnoustie Apartments right next to the Shelley High School. We're on the second floor and we have an amazing view of the baseball and soccer fields. There are a whole lot of windows and a ton of sunshine. It was the apartment that the manager showed me when I first came for a look. The second I walked in I knew it needed to be our home and was glad when that happened for us. We love it here.
July:
On the 9th of July I had to wake Dan up with some bad news: he was going to have to clean the kitties' litter boxes because I was pregnant! That was exactly how I told him, too. It took him a second to get through the 'just woke up' fog, but he was so excited! We agreed that we'd only tell our parents and siblings until I was a little further along. He insisted that since it was my body it was my decision as to who to tell. Well, a couple of weeks after that I was visiting him at work and one of his coworkers congratulated me. Yup, he'd told her. And a whole bunch of others, too! I was able to forgive him, though, because he was so stinking excited. My silly sweetheart.
The sad part of this month was that Dan and I weren't able to go to the annual Butikofer Family Campout. It nigh unto broke my heart. We were all set to go when last minute someone at his job quit and they needed him to cover some time. It really sucked. A lot. That event is one of the highlights of my year and I was really sad not to go. Sigh...
August:
The best thing about this month was that my sweetheart FINALLY got his church membership fully restored! That meant he could take the sacrament, accept callings, pray and make comments in classes, use his priesthood, and go to the temple! It was such a wonderful, amazing day when he had that last interview. He'd gone a year and eight months without being able to do those things, and it was so hard for him. To have it all restored brought so much joy and relief. And it meant that we could finally get sealed!!! Happy days!!
September:
This was a month of good and bad moments for us. Talk about a rollercoaster. We'll start with the bad, just to get it out of the way.
There were some things that Dan's supervisor was doing at work that was causing a lot of difficulties for he and his fellow employees so Dan filed a complaint with HR in the hopes that his supervisor could get some training and the environment could improve. He did this in about the middle of August or so. Because of this his supervisor 'found' enough reasons to write him up enough to get him suspended and eventually 'let go' from his job. He had to wait over Memorial Day weekend to find out if they'd keep him or not, and was officially let go on 9/3. It was so difficult for him. He is a hard worker and puts his whole heart and soul into his jobs. It was a huge slap in the face for him and broke his heart.
The second hard thing was that I lost my job, too. The doctors decided that they needed to hire someone to help the billing lady in the office. And they really did, too. She was drowning in the mistakes of the previous 2 people that had done that job. It was rough. But they didn't want to hire a second part time employee, so they decided to make my position full time - part time receptionist, part time billing assistant. As I have no experience in medical billing it was clear that I wasn't a good fit for the position. It was a hard thing to face, especially since the only other possible income was the unemployment I had left from my Center Partners job. I really enjoyed the time I got to work in that office. The doctors and the clinical staff were just wonderful. I even let them know if they need me to cover for any of the receptionist work they should give me a call.
While these two things were very scary, especially since we had a baby on the way, both Dan and I felt peace and knew that the Lord would take care of us. We have continued to pay tithing and do our best to keep the commandments and the covenants we've made. The Lord has truly blessed us to be able to make ends meet, with help from family and the church, and we continue to have peace in the face of the fear.
On a happier note, Dan was finally able to attend his first Spud Day in Shelley! He was so excited. Sarah was with us and we went around to all of the booths, watched the events, and even caught the last match of tug-of-war over the pit filled with instant mashed potatoes. (For anyone that's never been, you need to go! It's so much fun! It's like a mini, potato themed state fair with no animals.) It was a wonderful day. By the end of it I was plum tuckered out. Because of my fatigue we left before Dan could jump into the pit of mashed spuds, which he'd been looking forward to all day. If only I'd known! I'd have stayed and watched him frolic. I promised him that next year he'd be swimming in that thing. :)
Also, a group of us got to go down to Utah to see my Uncle Kelly and pseudo-Uncle Wil in a stake play. April, Sarah, Dan and I got to ride down there in April's new car. Even though it was a really short trip (We went down Saturday afternoon and came back Sunday morning) it was just wonderful. We spent most of Saturday afternoon going to different Chinese markets looking for a particular rice cooker for April. And Kelly and Wil were awesome in the play and we had such a fun time.
October:
Let's see... This month was filled with job applications and a lot of time spent together. While it has been difficult and stressful to be out of work, I have greatly enjoyed the time I've been blessed to spend with my sweetheart. I discover more and more each day how the Lord has prepared us for one another. We are truly perfect for each other. He is such a blessing to me.
Conference was spent at Sarah's house (aka Grandparent's house, aka The Homestead) and we listened to the proceedings on the radio. We enjoyed the messages and the Spirit that was felt there. Dan and I stayed the night from Saturday to Sunday, and it was fun to spend that time with my Goob.
On the 22nd we had a family birthday party at my brother Wayne's house for the October birthdays - this consisted of my Aunt Alice, Jamie's grandma Marlene, Wayne Donald, and Wayne. My nephew turned 13(!!) this month! It's crazy how tall he is and how deep his voice has gotten. He is really growing up fast. Dan and I spent the next few days at Sarah's putting together a jean quilt and weeding the garden. It was a lot of fun.
The Monday before Halloween Sarah and I went to Jamie's place and had a treat making party. We made some fun yummies for halloween - a couple of different kinds of 'ghosts', some bones, and a whole bunch of spiders. All edible, of course. We had fun constructing the goodies and chit chatting our way through the evening. We even put on the movie Warm Bodies because Sarah hadn't seen it yet. It was a whole lot of fun.
The day after that was a big, big day for us. We were scheduled for the big ultrasound where we'd find out our baby's gender. I'd had the feeling that it was going to be a girl, but I was open to it being a boy, too. Since the appointment was at 1PM we decided to take Dan to donate some plasma first. We got there at 11:30 and figured we'd have plenty of time. We were wrong. The person helping Dan really dragged his feet and didn't get him in the chair until almost 12:10.
I ended up having to leave Dan there and go to the appointment by myself or we'd have had to reschedule. Thankfully the doctor's office was close to Biolife, so Dan was able to walk over. He didn't miss too much, but it was still hard to go in there without him. We got to see our little one in quite a bit of detail. The ultrasound tech, Bonnie, needed to check and make sure she was healthy and everything was in place and developing as it should. And as soon as Dan was there she let us know that we were having a little girl. :) Dan was so excited afterward that he missed two turns going home! He said he just kept thinking about daddy-daughter dates, sparkles, and princesses. And that he'd need to get a gun. lol! We bought a pretty little outfit for her and took a picture of it for our Facebook announcement. We also called or texted all of our family and even some close friends to let them know the good news.
It was so special getting to experience that ultrasound. It was amazing to see our little girl moving around, and to be told that her little body is developing the way it should. The doctor had already told us she was a very active baby, and we actually got to see her in action. Our pretty little girl. We are so blessed.
Here is a picture of her foot:
Another thing we got to do this month was to schedule our sealing!!! We chose Nov 29th - the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We're getting sealed in the Rexburg Temple since we were married in Shelley. We got everything set up and even received a confirmation letter. We were so excited to realize that we'd be sealed before the baby came so that she could be born in the covenant. I can't even describe the joy that I've been feeling because of this.
November:
Some good news hit us right at the beginning of this month. Dan was able to find a part time position. He's going to be working as a lifeguard at the Mountainview Hospital swimming pool. He was so excited to get hired on. He's also been doing some day work, covering the office for a man named Brent that runs Alpine Medical on Woodruff. As I said, the Lord has been taking good care of us.
So, that's all the summary that I can think of right now. I know there was a whole lot more that happened, but those are definitely the highlights. Here's to posting more frequently in the future so that I don't have to do these summary things!! :)
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