2015

This is how we rung in the new year! Dan was feeding Jane and I was up with crying boys.

We joked before we went to bed that night, that if we were both up at midnight, we should pop open a bottle of Martinelli's that we had leftover from Christmas. In the moment, we opted for sleep instead!

Challenging but very blessed is how I would describe 2015 for us.  Here are a few highlights: 

We were blessed with many things! Dan started a new job with Textron's flight department. He loves it and for a pilot job, he gets to spend a decent amount of time at home. 

Before he started his job, he deployed for the reserve unit. This was challenging to have him gone for three months, but I was blessed to be able to spend a lot of the time at my parents' house. My youngest brother was there part of the time too. We were also able to visit my in-laws and good college friends in Arizona and my cousin. 

We went to the Ozark's as a family and got to spend a few days just relaxing with the boys. They loved fishing, throwing rocks in the water, and roasting marshmallows. 

I was able to continue to help run the primary at church. It was challenging with this pregnancy, but I really enjoy teaching the children. It always amazes me how easily the children learn the gospel. There is something to be said about the faith of children. I'm excited to have more energy for this new year in primary since I'm feeling much better. 

We had several visits from our parents and some siblings too. Wichita isn't exactly a destination place (although it is a great place to raise kids), so we know it is all out of love that they come. One visit included a BYU football game in Kansas City.  Too bad they lost, but it was still fun. 

Christmas was wonderful--I wrote about that in the last post.

The greatest blessing of the year was the birth of Jane! Sweet Jane! She is wonderful! She has us all wrapped around her finger, but she is sooooo good, so we can't help ourselves.  

But, with this greatest blessing of the year also came the greatest challenge--being pregnant. This was my most difficult pregnancy. I never felt well, beyond just the normal morning sickness and all, and was exhausted the whole time. Sometimes it was debilitating. I'll spare you the details but just say that we were in survival mode for a lot of it. 

I share this because with this challenge, also came an abundance of blessings, particularly in the timing of everything. 

Much of the first trimester, I spent at my parents' house. They were so helpful with the boys. My younger brother was there too and let's just say he wins "Uncle of the Year" and "Brother of the Year." I would ask him to keep an eye on the boys, just to make sure they were safe while I would nap. He didn't do just that but would play baseball with them or other things. He also helped me to take the boys to the beach and do fun things with them.

After the first trimester, Dan started his new job. It seemed like on the days that I was the most exhausted and feeling the poorest, he was home. Either a day off or on standby and didn't get called in.

Then at the end of my pregnancy, his work was really slow and he spent a lot of time at home and was there when Jane was born. Then when I got the shingles he was still home and so helpful.

My mom's arrival the day before Jane was born was also perfect timing and having her help was really nice especially when I got sick.

Now Dan is in class for one of his certifications and not traveling. Also great timing since Jane is still so young. 

The week Dan was gone, his mom was here to help. Once again the timing was not planned, at least not on our part! 

The timing of everything was a tender mercy from Heavenly Father I'm sure. He didn't make the pregnancy easy but provided a way for me to make it through. He has also blessed me with answers to prayer about all the things I was worried about with having a baby. Being in survival mode also taught me to evaluate and focus on the most important things in my life. I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father's awareness of me individually! This year constantly reminded me of that!