Christmas 2010

This will be our last Christmas ever as the two of us. A part of me will miss this "just us" thing, being able to focus solely on the other's needs and not having to divide our time and attention. However, this feeling is dwarfed by the excitement of the coming of our son! Only a short time now - it blows me away to think that this little guy will be me and Tyson... together in a little being. How incredible is that?! And I just know I am going to fall in love all over again with my husband as I watch him be a daddy. *tear*

Here is Tyson with some Michael Jordan's for our son that he got off of Ebay.

Anyways, back to Christmas. We spent an afternoon with Scott and Monica before they left for California to be with Tyson's sister.

The next weekend (actual Christmas) was spent with my family and extended family. Had a great time of being together!

 With my brothers, Vance and Grant:

Instead of doing gifts with my family, we made gingerbread houses. It was SO much fun! Cousin Belinda came, too, and we had a great time!

 

Grant and Belinda's:

 Vance and Ellie's:

 Mom and Dad's:

Ours:

Here are pics of some decorations at our house. It is always much funner putting them up than taking them down, which I need to do today.

A Rancher's Daughter

I am the daughter of a very hard-working and driven rancher. Since I have become an adult, I have become more aware of all that really goes into this lifestyle. Not just a rancher's lifestyle, but MY dad and mom's lifestyle. They are often so tired, yet they continue on. In doing so, they have built and achieved. Each year they have a female and a bull sale. Tyson and I go each time to help out what little we can, to support my parents, and to watch all their hard work come together - it is very neat!

This is the sale barn at my parent's place:

A momentous amount of advertising is done and sure enough, people buy from all over the U.S. (even Canada). This year's female sale was in the middle of a white-out snow storm, so it had to be postponed for a few days. Thankfully, the auction is also online, with video and real time sound. High-tech right? Many were not able to attend the sale on a Monday but were able to buy online.

In the past, the animals were brought into the sale barn ring. However, in attempt to make things easier and smoother on the day of, dad has the animals videotaped beforehand - a very time consuming project! So now TV screens are set up and videos are played during the auction. Pens outside the sale barn allow the animals to be viewed real-life.

Dad had to build a tower to boost the cell phone signal at the barn. Tyson is at the top. He had to climb up there to fix the rope that raises the flag.

 
Also wanted to include the pics below. I'm pretty sure my mom is the only woman that could put all this on (it's like putting on a wedding twice a year), AND decorate the sale barn. It looked great! I loved the Christmas tree, decorated "rancher style."

This is a picture that hangs on the refrigerator in the barn. It was drawn by a little family friend. I love the saying on it: "If you build it, they will come."

Tyson went to Haiti in October

From Tyson:

This trip out of the country was an incredible eye opener to me and a definite life changing trip event. One of the biggest things that hit me on this trip was the power of prayer. The first couple days were very difficult when I realized there was nothing that I could do to make their physical lives here on earth better long term. I found myself lifting the Haitians up to God, knowing He was their only hope.

In the area where we were, there was a lot of believers so we got to meet, pray with, and encourage fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We got to listen to their stories and pray for their needs. We will never know how God chose to answer our prayers, but putting it in His hands comforted us and the Haitians, as we are confident He is capable to do anything we ask. Other areas of ministry we were involved with included food distribution at a tent city, ministering to children after playing soccer, and organizing a medical clinic. Because I certainly do not have any medical experience, I was able to spend time with the patients before and after they had visited the doctor.

We also went to an orphanage where we loved and encouraged the workers and kids. We were involved in the distribution of toys, mattresses, and formula. There are an estimated 125 kids in the Son of God Orphanage that need continued prayer because their life on earth will be very difficult. Since our return, we have found out that 28 of these children we spent time with have a serious case of cholera. Their only hope is in God and we are comforted in knowing that the Son of God Orphanage workers are true believers.

There is so much more I could say. I'd love to show you more pictures. As our church considers partnering with the Haitian church, please pray for wisdom for our church and also for myself, that we may know what our collective and individual roles should be. I also ask for prayer for the Haitian people, the Son of God Orphanage, and the cholera disease that is spreading rapidly throughout Haiti.

Telling our parents - July 2010

At twelve weeks, we told our families... we were bursting to tell the news, and could hardly wait! We ordered Chinese fortune cookies online and customized the fortune to say, "You will become grandparents in January." We had Tyson's parents over for Chinese the night before we left to go to Colorado with my family. We anxiously sat through the whole meal, waiting for them to get to their fortune cookies! FINALLY, Scott reached for his, looked at it... didn't say a word, and passed it to Monica. (He didn't want to spoil the surprise!) She gasped and said, "Is this for real?!" Yes, it is!!

Here we are with the fortune cookies:

The next day we left for Colorado with my family. We rode with mom, dad, and Grant to Colorado and met Vance and Ellie there than night. The next morning, we were all in the hotel sitting room when we gave dad his Father's day gift. Inside were corn nuts and...

Dad pulled it out and there were huge smiles and hugs all around.

We are so thankful to our parents for their examples to us and how they raised us. We are thankful for their support, generosity, and unconditional love. It is encouraging to know we do not start this journey alone!

"A mother's joy begins when new life is stirring inside... when a tiny heartbeat is heard for the very first time, and a playful kick reminds her that she is never alone." author unknown

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 The picture above was taken the night we found out the gender of our baby. We had an appointment at 22 weeks, and had an ultrasound. It was incredible! We got to see a picture of the baby that was "see through." The screen showed us his heart (we could see it beating!), his spine, and other organs that the doctor pointed out. The other type of picture we saw was of his lil body, showing us his skin. We could see his little nose (dare I say it looks like Tyson's!), little hand covering his face, and legs. Apparently my uterus was in the way, so the pictures we have of the ultrasound are distorted around his face. :( But we will get to see him soon enough! We had the doctor NOT tell us if it was a boy or girl, and we had him write it down on an envelope for us to take to dinner that night.

What an intense, special moment when we opened our envelope from the doctor. Inside, was written "BOY." We could not believe it! We had always imagined our first to be a boy, but we had thought for certain that it was going to be a girl. We were elated (and would have been either way!)!




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