Motherhood

As I sit in my recliner, thinking about all that I need to get done during the few precious hours that both babies are sleeping, I am overwhelmed with love for these little fellas. I'm not going to lie, I am EXHAUSTED. I don't remember a time in my life when I have been this tired before. Between diaper changes, outfit changes, feedings, bottle sterilizing, and pumping it's hard to fit much else in. Yesterday I was particularly tired. I hadn't got much sleep the night before and my house needed a good cleaning. I had just got the boys down and was taking a little break before jumping into cleaning and getting ready for the day. I was listening to the country channel on the satellite, and Reba McEntire's song "When You Have A Child" came on. If you haven't heard this song, google it. One line of the song says "The first time you hold 'em it's like you see God's smile, what a smile, when you have a child." I do see God smile every time I look at my precious little angels. It doesn't matter how many times I get peed, puked, or pooped on I see God smile every time I look at them. I never knew I could love this much. I would do anything for these little guys. They bring so much joy to our lives already, I can't imagine our lives without them. They are almost six weeks old. Can you believe it? They are changing so much already. I am trying to soak every bit of them in because I know they won't stay small for long. I feel so blessed to be given the gift of Motherhood.

Daddy & his boys

Stedson Jess

Treydon Jay

Little cuties

Stedson & Treydon

Stedson Jess & Treydon Jay made their grand arrival on October 27th! Stedson weighed 5lbs 13 oz and Treydon weighed 4lbs 13 oz. They are absolutely perfect. We love them so much. It was quite the experience getting them here, but it was worth every bit of pain. It all started with my doctors appointment on October 13th. Here is our birth story. It's mostly for journal sake so go ahead and skip ahead to the pictures if you don't really care. :)

I went in expecting to have a normal checkup and ultrasound and ended up being admitted to the hospital for high blood pressure. I ended up staying two nights and three days in the Gillette hospital. I was having contractions when we left but I was not dilated so they sent me home with strict instructions to be on complete bed rest. I was released on Friday night and by Saturday I was having a hard time breathing and I could feel my belly getting tight every few minutes. I was miserable. I had no idea that what I was experiencing was contractions. By Sunday morning, after being up all night long and having high blood pressure since Saturday morning we decided to go back to the ER. When we got to the hospital I had very high blood pressure again and was having contractions every 2 minutes. I was still not dilating, but they were very concerned that I was headed into Preeclampsia or Preterm labor. After having contractions all day on Sunday, and taking two doses of the medicine to stop them and getting pumped full of Magnesium Sulfate to stop the contractions there was no change. By 6:00 on Sunday they made the preparations for us to be life flighted to Salt Lake.I was scared to death. Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have a husband who was worthy to give me a priesthood blessing. The doctors were preparing us for the worst. Jase was able to fly with me and I don't know if I would have been able to do it without him. It was so comforting to look up and see him sitting in the seat in front of me. We got to Salt Lake late Sunday night. I was still having a lot of contractions and was completely MISERABLE from the magnesium sulfate. I can't believe how crappy that stuff made me feel! I couldn't hold my head up or focus on what the doctors were saying to me. I was still not dilating at all. What a frustrating feeling to have nonstop contractions that were doing nothing at all. They continued to watch me throughout the night and made the decision that I was stable enough to keep the babies in. Jase was so great. He was so calm and put together and literally never left my side. I was having an extremely hard time breathing by Monday morning without oxygen. They couldn't figure out why my saturation level was so low. After an Ultrasound on my heart, and an MRI they made the conclusion that I had fluid on my lungs because of all of the fluids that were pumped into me on the flight over. I ended up spending almost four days on oxygen before being able to breath completely on my own. By the 4th day of not showering or being able to get out of bed at all, they finally thought I was well enough to shower. I was very weak and wasn't able to stand up at all so my sweet husband rolled up his pants and helped me. I can honestly say that I have never loved him so much as I did that day. He was so patient and kind. I ended up staying one full week in the hospital before being released. We weren't able to leave Salt Lake so we checked into the Ronald McDonald house. What an awesome place.

I was released from the hospital on Friday and by Monday we were back in the ER because I was having tons of contractions again. They ended up admitting us, because I had high blood pressure and protein in my urine, the two biggest signs of Preeclampsia. By Wednesday morning my blood pressure was extremely high and I had a pounding headache, which once again were signs of Preeclampsia. They took us from the OB/GYN ward to labor and delivery and told us to be mentally prepared to have our babies. They were taking my blood pressure every 5 minutes and were trying to decide how long to wait before they took the babies. They were worried that because I had a headache that wasn't going away that my brain was swelling from the Preeclampsia. By one in the afternoon my entire face was tingly. I couldn't feel my lips or any part of my face. We called the doctors in and they immediately decided that it was time to get the boys out. They gave Jase five minutes to give me a blessing. I once again don't know if I could have done it without him. I was a nervous wreck and just kept thinking that I was only 33 weeks and that my babies might not be ready. After my blessing, I felt very at ease with everything and I knew that everything was going to be ok. We were in the ER ten minutes later. What a crazy experience to be awake during a C-Section. Jase watched the entire thing and was completely fascinated. They announced the arrival of Baby A (Stedson) and his cry was music to my ears. They gave us a quick peak of him before whisking him away to the NICU. Treydon came out screaming quickly after. They were beautiful. They were born at 1:50 pm and I was not allowed so see them until 9:00 that night and boy oh boy was I an anxious girl. Jase kept going in to look at them and would come back and tell me how cute they were. They were finally able to get my blood pressure down low enough that I could get in the wheel chair. (Which was extremely painful by the way! No one told me it would hurt that bad!) Jase wheeled me into the NICU to see my little angels for the first time. Stedson had low oxygen levels and had a C-Pap to help him breathe. We were unable to see his face at all. I could just see his adorable brown hair sticking out of the bottom of his little hat. I was able to stick my finger into his little incubator and hold his little hand. I will never forget this experience. I knew right away that he was most definitely part of me and I loved him so much. Treydon did very well. He didn't need to be on oxygen at all. I was able to hold him right away. He was precious. When he looked up at me with those big blue eyes of his I melted. I had so much love for these two little guys. The boys ended up spending 19 days in the NICU and these were 19 of the hardest days of my life. I knew all along that I might not be able to take my babies home right away. I thought I was mentally prepared for what was ahead of me, but boy was I wrong. Checking out of the hospital three days after delivering, and leaving my babies in the NICU was honestly one of the hardest things I have ever done. I was an emotional wreck. I struggled with the fact that I had no idea how long my boys would be in the hospital. It could be weeks, or it could be months. Jase was definitely my strength. I have no idea how he stayed so calm and collected through everything. He is one heck of a guy! Jase and I spent our days at the hospital spending time with our babies. At first we could only hold them for a short amount of time, and we couldn't even hold Stedson until he was a week old and on regular oxygen instead of his C-Pap. We watched them improve and finally were able to give them a bottle. We then started working on getting them to take all of their feedings by bottle. It was a very emotionally draining experience for me. I had such a hard time being told when I could hold my babies and not being able to do the things that new mom's get to do. I was lucky enough to have Jase with me the entire time. We experienced so many blessing throughout our time in Salt Lake. The guys from Jase's work (most of whom do not even know Jase) donated their paid time off so that Jase could stay with me and still get paid. What a HUGE blessing this was. Heavenly Father was most definitely looking out for us. Stedson continued to improve and was finally off oxygen completely when he was two weeks old. They both did very well for being seven works early. We were once again very blessed to have such healthy boys. We finally were able to take them home on November 14th. What a great day! I have never been happier.

Thanks to all of our family and friends for the support you gave us the past month. We couldn't have done it without the love and prayers that were sent our way. We felt every single one of the prayers that were said in our behalf. We know that there is something to be learned from the past month and the trials that we went through. I truly feel that it has strengthened not only Jase and my marriage but our little family as well.

Life at the Romrell's

We have had quite an exciting month or so here in Wright, WY! Jase got offered a job with Powder River Energy, a co-op here in Wright. We decided this would be the best place for us to be at this point in our lives. It is a great company with a lot of fantastic benefits. One of my favorites is the fact that he is home at 3:30 every single day and he doesn't have to work on the weekends. This will be huge when the babies come. I am so excited about it. He has been working for a few weeks and really likes it. He feels like he is learning a lot. Another great thing is that there will be no more moving for a few years or so which is really a blessing. We are so grateful for the opportunities that have been placed in front of us.

We were able to make our last trip home the past few weeks before the babies come.It was so much fun. Each of our moms did a baby shower and they both turned out great. It was nice to see so many family members and to get a little bit more prepared for our little bundles of joy. Thanks to everyone who came and for your generosity. We really appreciate it! :)

The pregnancy has been going very well besides the fact I am getting a little large and a little miserable. I am measuring close to 40 weeks, my uterus that is and boy oh boy do I feel it. I just started the third trimester and it sure is a great feeling! Our goal is 34 weeks (at this point they will not have to life flight us out of Gillette and they are usually well developed by then) although anytime after would be great too. I can't believe that we are only five weeks away from this point. It's a little scary! We are getting really excited.

I am trying hard to stay positive. I now understand why women get so extremely uncomfortable the last month of their pregnancy. I am now "overdue" according to my uterus measurements. There are a few things that I will never take for granted again. Things like being able to pick something up without feeling like my chest is going to cave in, the ability to paint my toes, being able to get up from a chair in under a minute, and the ability to drink a class of water without feeling as if I am going to have a heart attack! But, there are definitely things that I have absolutely loved about being pregnant. Waking up to the boys dancing around in my belly, listening to Jase talk to them at nights and feeling them respond to Daddy's voice, seeing them on the ultrasound screen and hearing their little heartbeats. These are the things that I will miss the most.

I am very grateful that the pregnancy has gone so well so far. I have to remind myself daily that I was chosen to bring these babies into the world that not all women get the opportunity to carry and raise twins. Some days it is a very overwhelming responsibility. I know that Heavenly Father has faith in us, which gives me strength. Please continue to keep us in your prayers! We are getting so close, but we really need these little guys to stay in as long as possible!

Let's talk about babies!

The twins are growing rapidly, and boy oh boy can I feel it! I can't believe how fast the time is going. I am just finishing up my 23rd week,(although some days I feel 52 weeks) which is just so crazy to me. I can't believe that in less than three months my babies could be here! My stomach continues to grow, and sometimes I don't recognize myself in the mirror. We don't have a full mirror, so when we go places and I use the bathroom I honestly get a little freaked out when I see my reflection! It seems that everywhere I go everyone tells me how miserable I look (compliment?) and wants to know if I am due in the next week or two. This has become somewhat of a game for me to watch their faces as I tell them that yes I am a bit miserable, but I have three months to go! My health is good, and the babies are exactly where they should be at this point. I am loving getting things ready for the babies, but most of all I love feeling them move. I am trying very, very hard to stay positive and remember that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to carry these two little angels. The goal right now is to get to at least 34 weeks which is the first week in November although it would be great if I went longer! I am trying to keep the goal in sight and do everything in my power to get to that point.

We have had a lot of people ask if we have a baby registry set up anywhere for the twins. I finally sat down a few days ago and created one. So, for anyone who is interested in helping us celebrate these two little bundles of joy that will be arriving in the next few months you can find our registry at www.babiesrus.com. Once you get to the website click on "find a registry" and then you can search by typing in my name. I accidentally created two registries and can't figure out how to delete one, so the one you need to click on is the second one that comes up. :)

We are sure getting excited for these boys to arrive and feel so grateful to have been given this opportunity to raise twins!

Baby BOYS!

Our lives have sure been crazy this past week! We went to the doctor a month ago and they told us that they were 100% sure that we were having one boy and 60% sure that the other was a girl. We were a little annoyed that they couldn't tell for sure but we were very excited, but also knew that it could change at our next appointment. Last Friday we had our big Ultrasound where they check the hearts, spines, brains, etc of the babies. Jase took the day off so that he could go to the appointment and it was so much fun! We found out that we are most definitely having two little boys! :) We are very excited. As soon as she said that they were both boys, I looked over at Jase and he was smiling from ear to ear. He is so excited!!! They are not identical, they each have their own sacs. They are both doing very well. We were able to see their little faces, hands, and feet in 3D. They are growing very well and are exactly the size they should be at this point!

I have felt these two little boys moving quite a bit the past few weeks. It's a wonderful, humbling feeling and seems to make it all a bit more real. I love laying in bed at night with my hands on each side of my belly and feeling their little movements. I am growing two babies in my belly! What an amazing feeling.

For the most part I am feeling pretty well. I have had quite a bit of swelling in my hands, feet, and face the past week or so and ended up going into the doctor a few days ago to get it checked out. There is an increased risk for Preclampsia in twin pregnancy so they like to keep a close eye on blood pressure, swelling, and protein in the urine. My blood pressure has been exactly where it's supposed to be but they just want me to start taking it easy. They wanted me to pick up an at home blood pressure monitor so that I can monitor my blood pressure on a daily basis. Overall though I am doing very well and am trying to stay positive and enjoy every part of this pregnancy. :)

We are very excited about our two little sons. I can't wait to see my little boys and hold them in my arms!

One down, Eternity to go

Jase and I have been married for one year today. Where did the year go? We have been through so much this past year. When I woke up this morning to make Jase's lunch for him, I began re-living the details of our wedding day. Everything was perfect, in every single way. I have never felt so happy as I did on June 19, 2009. I remember being in the temple with Jase, waiting for our sealing ceremony to start and thinking "There is no way I could ever love him more than I do right now." I was wrong. I love him so much more than I did then. All morning long the song by Brad Paisley, "Then" has been stuck in my head and I think it describes perfectly the way I feel about my hubby. I am sure we will look back and think, "Man, and I thought I loved you then!"

Jase and I have been through so much this past year. I am blown away when I think about the places we have been and the things we have been through.
Here are a few of our highlights of the past year:

-Jase started and graduated from Lineman College
-I started online classes and finished three semesters
-We lived in four different states (Utah, Idaho, Kansas, Wyoming)
-Jase has worked as an Apprentice Lineman for six months
-We bought a truck
-I got pregnant!!
-We found out we are having TWINS!
-We have fallen more and more in love with each other every single day.

The past year hasn't been easy. We have had a lot of bumps in the road that we have had to jump over, but we have been so happy. I know that we can handle anything as long as we have each other. :) Happy Anniversary honey!

TWINS!

On Monday, June 7th at 3:40 p.m. our lives changed completely.I went to this appointment, expecting a normal, routine check-up and ultrasound, but it turned out to be a moment in time I will never forget. Jase doesn't get a lot of time off, so we have been picking and choosing the appointments that he goes to, hoping to keep him at the most important ones. I had a different doctor than my regular one who was doing the ultrasound and just a few minutes into the ultrasound she said something that will be forever etched into my memory. She said, "You know you are having twins right?" Upon hearing this, I could feel the air leave my chest, and I felt a little light headed. The one word that I could muster out was, "Shutup!!" She laughed, realizing that I most definitely did not know that I was having twins and proceeded to show me "Baby A" and "Baby B" on the screen. I was in shock. I cried, and then I laughed as I watched these two miracles do little flips on the screen. I could see each of their hands on their face, and at one point one of them looked directly at me. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I was literally blown away and had a hard time focusing on what the doctor was saying about how carrying two babies is different than carrying one. It felt so surreal. I could not believe it. I kept thinking..."Twins? I am having twins? Can this honestly be possible?" Apparently it is most definitely possible, and we are most definitely having twins!

After the ultrasound, the doctor told me I could take a few minutes to get myself together before I went to make another appointment. As I sat in the ultrasound room by myself, I was filled with so much emotion. I immediately got my phone out and began texting Jase, knowing very well that he would not be getting my texts until he got service on the home, at 7:30 or 8:00. I was dying. I had to share this news with someone. I knew that I had to wait and tell Jase first.

I believe that afternoon may have been one of the longest of my life. I paced, I looked at the ultrasound pictures a million times, just to reiterate the fact that I was for sure having twins, and this wasn't some kind of dream. The second Jase got home I sat him down at the table and proceeded to tell him everything about the ultrasound. I wish that I would have snapped a picture of his face after hearing the big news. He was just as shocked as I was. After a tearful hug and kiss, and validation from the ultrasound pictures we began making the numerous calls to our families.

We are very excited. I have had a whirlwind of emotions the past few days. It is going to be one heck of a ride! I have spent many hours the past few days researching twin pregnancies online, trying to soak in as much information as possible. I ran across this blog, that a woman created to explain her feelings and emotions of being pregnant with twins. One of her recent blog posts said this at the end, and I think it is beautiful.

"I am glad that God chose me to have twins. I love that I am different from most of the people I know. I am excited about the challenge and the joys that will come from two babies at one time. I feel strong and confident…like I was chosen for this job. And I feel privileged.Sometimes I am still surprised when I think I am having twins. Mentally I know it. I can feel it and see it. I have two cribs in my nursery. But sometimes it strikes me and I smile and sometimes laugh. I can’t wait to hold to tiny little boys in my arms. I can’t wait to count 20 tiny toes and 20 tiny fingers. This is what I have been waiting my whole life for."

I do feel privileged. I have numerous feelings of inadequacy, but I know that with Heavenly Father's help I can accomplish anything! I feel so blessed to have Jase in my life. I have been quite crazy the past few days, moody and very emotional, and I know I haven't been pleasant to live with. However, he has been very patient and understanding and is simply tickled pink that we are having twins. I love him so much. :)

We are having a.......BABY!!!!

Yes, that's right, I am PREGNANT!!!! I am 3 months along right now, and life is finally looking up as I enter my second trimester. My first trimester was a little rough at times, I constantly felt sick, smells sent me over the edge, etc. BUT I have been feeling a lot better the last week or so. We are very excited. It has been quite the overwhelming ride so far, but we are just trying to hang on, and enjoy it.

We told our families while we were home for Mother's Day, and they were all very excited. It was so fun to see both Mom's reaction. Jase and I wanted to tell everyone in a creative way, so I decided to write a poem and put it in a frame and then give it to each of the moms as part of their mother's day presents.


Here are the three frames for each of the moms




The baby seems to be growing and developing great so far. We have had a few doctors appointments, and I LOVE my doctor. I feel so blessed to have found her. She is truly amazing. Although some days are scary, and some days are very overwhelming, we honestly could not be happier!

Mt. Rushmore

It has been raining here. A lot. The company that Jase works for signed a contract saying that they would not tear up the land owners property. So, when it rains, it takes a day, sometimes two for the place that they are working to dry out and then by the time it does dry up, it rains again. As a result, Jase has not been working very much since we got home. At first it was a little exciting, we were grateful for the opportunity to spend some much needed time together. Although we are still happy we get to see each other so much, our days have got very boring. On Thursday we finally decided that we needed to get out of the house. It had been two weeks, and a whole lot of boring and we needed to do something to save our souls. We decided to go to Mt. Rushmore which is only about two hours from where we are living. We ended up having a great time! The drive was beautiful, and it was fun to see somewhere different than Wright, Wyoming.





We also stopped and went through Bear Country, which was so fun! There were so many bears, cute cubs, and just so many cute little animals.

Life is Good

A few weeks ago we were finally able to spend some time with our families. We hadn't been home for about 3 1/2 months, which I know to some isn't very long, but it sure felt long for us. We had so much fun. Jase had ten days off, and the timing could not have been more perfect. We were both very ready to go home and spend some time away from Wright. We were able to go to my sister Jordan's temple endowments the first night that we were home, and then go to Jase's Grandparents 50th wedding anniversary party the next day. We were also able to watch Jase's older brother, Kolby,graduate from Utah State. It was so fun to see everyone and spend some much needed time with both of our families. I even got to eat at Einstein Bagels, Texas Roadhouse, and The Red Baron, which made my trip complete. :) I took my camera with high hopes to come home with hundreds of pictures, and didn't take a single one. Shucks! Maybe next time.

We have been considering buying a truck for quite sometime now. Both of our cars had some costly issues, and the miles were getting very high on both of them. Plus, with all the moving that we have been doing, renting a uhaul has been getting very costly. Moving every four or five months seems to be our future, at least for now, so we decided to invest in something that we would really benefit from. We got an awesome deal on a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado, and decided to buy it. We love it. Jase is in heaven.





Life is good here in Wright. Jase is back to working long days. The weather has been nice so I have been able to spend some time outside, which makes all the difference for me. I am still busy with my classes, trying to get as many done as I possibly can. We have a new hobby, fishing. :) Although, we haven't caught any big fishes yet, it is nice to have something to do instead of simply sitting around all night. I will post some pictures soon!

Our Busy Lives

A lot has been going on with the Romrells lately. We were lucky enough to spend an entire week in Arizona with my dad and his family. We had sooo much fun. It was definitely something that we both needed. We got to Phoenix late Monday the 29th. We did a lot of fun things while we were there, but mostly it was just nice to be around family. We have both been a little homesick lately. They took us to Toby Keith's restaurant called "I Love This Bar & Grill." It was really cool and the food was yummy. We also took a drive up the mountain to a place called Appalachian Trail. It was beautiful. I had never seen soooo many cactus. We did some fun Easter activities and did a little shopping. Oh, and my favorite part of the whole week was the time I got to spend laying in the sun. It was great to rejuvenate and relax with my family.








The week before we left for Arizona, Jase got a call from a company out of Heber City, Utah called Probst Electric. They are working on a job in Gillette, WY and they wanted Jase to join their crew. It was a very hard decision for us to make, but after many hours of prayer we decided to make the change. So, the day we got home from Arizona we picked up our U-Haul and loaded it chuck full. The next day we woke up early, cleaned the apartment, and we were on our way! It has been a very hectic, stressful week for us. We ended up having to live in Wright, Wyoming a small town just outside of Gillette. The job is closer to Wright then it is Gillette, and the rest of the crew is living in Wright. Wright has a population of 1000 people. It is TINY! There were many tears shed when we first arrived here and I realized that our choices for living quarters was a single wide trailer, that was way overpriced, or a motel that used to be an apartment complex. We ended up choosing the motel. I am sure you can imagine how hard it was for me to get used to the idea of living in a motel for four months, but once we got settled in it really hasn't been that bad. We have a kitchen, and a small dining room and there are two bedrooms and a bathroom. Everything was obviously furnished so we ended up having to put the majority of our stuff in a storage unit. I was able to put a few decorations up and I took off the comforters and put our own on. It is feeling more and more homey. I don't have an oven or a stove top, which will be interesting, but I am sure my crock pot and skillet will be put to good use. :) We have decided it's all in our attitude. We felt good about this move, so I am positive that there is a reason that Heavenly Father wants us here. The company seems great, and Jase will be making a little bit more money, which should make it all worth it.

We have become professional movers, and I am sure that we will continue to just get better. Life is good. It's times like these that makes me realize how much I love Jase, and that all we really need is each other. :)

February 2010

You would think with all the down time I have, I would be a better blogger. Here's what's been going on in our neck of the woods:

On February 4th, my studly husband turned the big 23! Funds at our house were a little tight from moving, rent, down deposits, rental trucks, etc. I had so many great ideas of what to get Jase (he never buys anything for himself) and wanted to get him something great sooo bad but we just did not have the money. Birthdays are a huge deal to me and always have been. My mom made our Birthdays so special growing up and I inherited her love. I felt so sad, really, really sad that I couldn't get Jase a present. I decided to buck it up and make do with what we had. :) I spent some time the day of his bday making him a homemade birthday banner, and scraped up enough money to buy the fixings for his favorite meal. Our apartment is too small for our kitchen table, so we took the legs off and have been storing it in the coat closet. I dug it out, and layed it on the floor (just the table top:) and decorated it as cute as I could. I even bought him a Mt. Dew and made him gift certificates for a back rub, dinner, a movie, and coveralls which he desperately needs. I think he enjoyed his little dinner and cake, and overall it was a pretty good b-day for him. :)
The Decorated table on the ground

All of his "presents" and cards from home

This is his homemade banner



We have been in Ulysses for one month already. Can you believe it? Jase works four weeks, six days a week, 12 hours a day, and then he gets a week off. I have been looking forward to his week off since the day we got here. He was definitely ready for a break. We decided to go to Denver, which is about five hours from Ulysses, and stay for a few nights. We had such a great time. We don't get to see each other very much since Jase works so much and this little vacation was very much needed. We left on Monday and checked into our hotel and then decided to try a Mexican Restaurant that we both had heard a lot about, Casa Bonita. They have live entertainment while you eat, gun shootouts, divers that jump from the top of rocks into a pool, singing, dancing, etc. It was a fun experience!






On Tuesday we walked around a few of the malls and went to see a movie. It is amazing how much we have missed being in a big city, with so much to to. We enjoyed a steak from Outback Steakhouse that we have been craving for four weeks, and Jase even took me to Olive Garden on Wednesday. We decided to go to the Temple on Wednesday, and it was a lot of fun. We had a fantastic trip.

Life In Ulysses

Well we officially live in Ulysses, Kansas! It is SO different here then anything we have experienced before. Ulysses is a very small town, literally in the middle of NOWHERE! :) It is so flat. I have a horrible time figuring my directions out (not that I was good before) because I have always used the mountains as my guide. We have been here for two weeks now and we actually like it so far. Jase is working an outrageous amount of hours, which will be good for the paycheck, but not so good for me. There are literally no jobs here. I have been around to everything. There is a dollar store, Alco, a few grocery stores, and then three or four fast food places. No one is hiring. So for now, I spend a lot of time on the phone with my family, work on my classes, and watch way too much T.V. Jase seems to really like work so far. He has been working about 12 hours a day, six days a week! He is very exhausted when he finally gets home and wants to relax and watch T.V. I, on the other hand, am so dang stir-crazy from sitting around all day, I want to go do something!

The people in Ulysses seem very nice. We went to our ward for the first time last week and we honestly felt like celebrities. EVERYONE came and introduced themselves and made us feel very welcome. We have already ate dinner at two different families houses. It's truly amazing to me that no matter where you go, the Church is still true and a ward family still exists. It honestly has been a great experience so far.

It's amazing how everything has seemed to work out for us. We have had a few setbacks, and have felt very stressed at times, but The Lord has definitely had a hand in our lives the past month. We ended up renting a Penske truck to bring some of our stuff out here with us, and I am SO glad that we did. For a while we considered packing the car full and calling it good, but I would really be crazy if I didn't have a bed! We had to take the truck back to Amarillo, Texas because that was the closest location to Ulysses. We ended up driving through six states in two days, and let me tell ya, it was enough driving for the next six months! We drove from Idaho, to Wyoming, through Colorado, down to Kansas, to Oklahoma, and then to Texas! It was really a fun experience though. It has been so much fun experiencing new things, especially together.


This is the sun setting on the way into Ulysses. Beautiful.



Enjoying the loud, bumpy Penske ride!


Driving through Oklahoma!


TEXAS!