Snow Day!

Last Tuesday we had a much welcomed snow day! These days I'm pretty much open to any excuse to take a day off of work. I just get so drained after working all week that any sort of break is much appreciated.

The Loyd's got us this for Christmas and we didn't think we'd get to try it out this year, but sure enough it's come in very handy already:

I spent alot of the day cooking, since I don't seem to do that much anymore. I thawed out the last bag of strawberries from my garden and made some strawberry shortcake for a summery, winter treat! I couldn't believe how well they kept--they tasted great! I also made chili for lunch and swiss steak for dinner.

It was nice to get to spend some time with Luke. Seems like we have been on very different schedules lately and haven't really had much time together. Although I did get nervous when I walked into the kitchen and saw this little project he was working on. Maybe it's just me, but I always get nervous when he starts bringing saws into the house...at least it wasn't the chainsaw this time:

We are supposed to get more snow again this weekend, so maybe we will be in luck again!

Celebrating 10 Years

Last weekend Luke & I went to Columbia to celebrate his 10 year reunion with his pledge brothers from the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity. It has been 10 years since he started college and joined the "brotherhood". There was a lunch banquet in conjunction with the AGR Classic Cattle Show on Saturday that we went to and then we spent the afternoon hanging out with his pledge class & their wives. Ten out of the 18 members were there, so it was a pretty good turnout. I hadn't met hardly any of them since most had graduated and moved on before I came to the University of Missouri. It was neat to see how they were all kind of at a new stage in their lives. All but one was married and most of them either had pregnant wives or little kids (so we fit in pretty good).

Here is Luke with his 10 year membership certificate:

Luke's pledge class, 10 years later:

Now we are looking forward to his 10 year high school reunion this summer in Carrollton! 10 years seems like SO long ago, but I'm not too far behind him!

Working Cows

Two weekends ago Luke's parents came to stay with us and help work the cows. Luke has finished the inside of the barn now so we can work the cows without having to be out in the mud/snow or the dark. It worked really well and since I'm not much help these days, it was really nice of Steve & Debbie to come and help Luke.

Luke preg checked all the cows and sorted off the few that were open. On Sunday we hauled them to Kirksville for the sale on Monday. The REALLY good news was that we were finally able to sell the crazy longhorn cow that we have hated for SO long. This is the cow that jumped over the hood of Luke's pickup the last time we tried to sort her off by herself. She then jumped at least 3 fences on her was out to the far corner of our land. Needless to say we didn't see her for a few days (maybe even weeks) and we really didn't care! So, we finally got to sell her and she was almost 1600 lbs so I'm glad that we finally got some money out of her.

The Millers brought their 6 month old puppy, Baxter, with them too. Baxter is already as tall as Kelly and much stockier. They had a good time keeping each other company, chasing cows & playing with sticks.

Ice

Here are some pictures from a couple weeks ago when we had some ice. The whole "ice" thing still amazes me as we never got anything like this in Montana.

Half Way There!

Friday was the half way mark! 20 weeks down...20 weeks to go until Baby Miller is here! I spent the day laying on the couch--called in sick to work because I was not feeling good at all. I did get to feel the baby kick though, so that was exciting!

19 Weeks

We went in last Friday for our 2nd trimester ultrasound. It was a great experience and we were told the baby was "perfect" so we are proud parents already!

The baby is not very cooperative though--"shy" as the ultrasound technician called it. It was all curled up in a little ball and was really hard to see. We tried to wake it up & get it to move but it would just move it's arms & make "sucking" motions with it's mouth (which was really cute). So...the bad news is that now we have to wait until the baby is born to find out if its a boy or girl. I'm just so happy that its healthy though that it's not too big of deal--just wanted to be able to plan a little better.

Here is the best picture we were able to get. You can see the spine across the top--the head is on the right and it's eyes are kind of the lighter spots. (It was really hard for me to get anything out of the pictures, but once it was explained I kind of could see it)
This was the last picture we got. The baby had it's arm away from it's body and looked like it was waving good-bye. You can see it's arm, hand & little fingers.

2009 In Review

2009 was a big year of change & a big year of travel for us! Here's a review of some of the highlights of 2009:

2009 started with us hosting a New Year's Party at our house. Luke's parents, Amanda & Tol & Matt & Emily came and stayed with us & The James' & Glasgows joined us also. It was a great time--maybe not as rowdy as our many New Year's in Billings, but a great way to start the year.

Calving started in February and it was especially neat to see the AI calves out of our heifers. I always really enjoy calving season--we don't have enough cows to make it super stressful--it's mostly just exciting.

March brought a new adventure for me & Lynmarie. We went on a cruise from Florida to the Bahamas and had a fabulous time. It was full of gorgeous beaches, warm weather, fruity drinks & much needed "catch-up" time!

In May, I saw my first tornado & the damage that it brings. NOT COOL!

Starting in June I had quite the fiasco with my job which resulted in me quitting. It was a really rough couple months after that as I tried to get over what had happened & started to look for a new job. But, the upside of being out of work was that I had more time to spend with Luke & to travel to see friends & family.

In June, Luke & I went to Branson for the Berry Family Reunion & spent lots of time visiting with family, fishing, swimming & relaxing in general. It was a really nice break.

In July we flew to Billings and stayed with Mandy, Tim & Tucker for a few days, while traveling to Wisdom for Erik & Courtney's wedding. The wedding was so pretty and so much fun. We are so happy for them!!

In August I started a new job as a graphic designer for a print shop in Kirksville. It's taken some adjusting to, as I have a 40 minute drive each way, but I'm very thankful for it. Also in August I was able to spend some time in Kalispell with my family for the first time since the previous Thanksgiving. There is nothing like spending a couple days horseback, moving cows on the ranch to make me feel better about myself & more grounded. It was a much needed boost to my spirits.

September brought another wedding--this time it was Mariah & Lyle. Once again, we got to spend time with Mandy, Tim & Tucker as they were gracious enough to let us crash their house once again. It was so fun to see how much Tucker has changed since we had seen him in July! Mariah's wedding was absolutely gorgeous & it was such an honor to be a part of it.

2009 also brought changes for Kelly Jo. She hasn't enjoyed my new job and the amount of time she is alone because of it. She had a rough December after she had some "extra parts" removed. This led to having to wear a cone for several days--which she despised (and smashed). Unfortunately, the incision still hasn't healed and we are still dealing with this...but she seems to be doing okay with it.

Another big change for us was that my body went from being normal to this in 18 weeks:



Which also resulted in me being extremely ill for most of October, all November & much of December--NOT FUN. But, I'm starting off the new year feeling much better & in much better spirits!

This also led to the decision to trade in the Neon. After over 8 years & 80,000 miles I traded my car in for a bigger, more "family friendly" vehicle, with 4 wheel drive.

It's a 2004 Explorer & it has already been really nice to have (although I still miss my car sometimes--just so many memories)!

We ended 2009 with another trip to Montana. This time to Kalispell to spend Christmas with my family. It was exciting to show everyone my "belly" and really nice to catch up with family & friends. On New Year's Eve we hosted a get together again with the James' & Glasgow's and had a really nice night playing cards, eating & drinking (well, water for some of us).

I'm really looking forward to 2010 and the many more changes that the year will bring. The baby is due June 11th & I'm pretty sure life as we know it will also change forever once the baby is here!