Done Deal

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, but I just now got up my courage. Last week we sealed the deal on our house. It is no longer in our possession. This leaves us feeling a little homeless and out of place. We are hoping to use this to our advantage as we seek out a new home. I mean, come on...we are pregnant AND homeless. 

But we could never have finished everything in time without some very key players. Ammon and I have been fortunate in our lives to have wonderful families who are willing to go the extra mile for those in need. The person who did more for us and got the least reward (where rewawrd should have been) was Ammon's brother Enoch. Not only did he list and sell our home for us, but he was there to help with all the paperwork and all the heavy lifting of moving out. He sacrificed so much of his time to ensure that we got the help we needed. Enoch had his own move to consider and plenty of things going on in his own life. Yet, he was willing to take time out for us. We really appreciate him. We really appreciate his wife, Jennifer, for being willing to sacrifice her husband for so many hours. We are truly in your family's debt. It is so wonderful to be surrounded by such good people who would do anything for you. Enoch and Jennifer are wonderful that way.

Tabor and Enoch

No moving party in the Dahl family is complete without all the brothers there (although Ammon seems to be getting out of a lot of them these days). Tabor was a hero. He came over and spent the entire afternoon moving things and making everyone laugh (so I've been told). He has a very precious little girl at home who loves to spend time with him. He also has a wonderful wife who happens to be expecting their next child. I'm sure he would have loved to spend his day with them rather than lifting boxes for us. But lift boxes he did. The generosity in the Dahl family never ceases to amaze me. They do favors for each other all the time. They go out of their way to make sure that everyone in the family (and beyond) gets the help they need. For the Dahl family sacrifice is just a way of life. Ammon's brothers have put our needs in front of their own many times. I just hope we can somehow repay the kindness. We didn't end up getting any other help with the move. If Tabor and Enoch hadn't come to our aid, poor Ammon would have had a tough day of it.

My Dad with my brothers new truck

Another key player to our success was my dad. He came all the way down to help us out with some repairs we needed help with. He was already on his way to Pocatello, but took the 3 hour detour so that he could help us out. Most of the repairs didn't take a lot of effort, just a little time. Between Ammon and my dad we were able to get those all done in a fraction of the time that it would have taken. My dad is great. Ammon gave him a list of things that needed to get done. While Ammon was signing papers or doing a million other things, my dad just quietly worked away in his corner getting all the things on his list done. It was such a help. We truly appreciate him. Moving is something that my family does a lot. So coming to help us move on one of my dad's very few weekends off was a pretty big deal, and greatly appreciated. He made the day so much easier.

And now all I have are pictures of my first little home. It was a wonderful little place. We adored our house, especially the finished product that we only enjoyed for a few weeks. It was a good place and a good learning experience. Now we are ready for the next adventure. But we know that when the next adventure comes and we are in need of help, help can always be found on either side of our family. We love our families so much and are thankful for them and all they do.

Enoch, Tabor, and Dad, we appreciate your help getting us moved out. We couldn't have done it with out your help.

And Enoch, we especially appreciate you and all that you did to help us get to this point in the first place. You are a good man and we are in your debt.

Now on to the next adventure! Hooray.

Comments

Do you ever want to write a blog just so that you'll get comments? And lots of them? I feel like I thrive off of the comments made. For example, after professing myself a wimp, I was quickly reassured by so many women that I am not a wimp, I'm just pregnant. It made me feel so much better to know that I'm not alone. Yeah, I think I'll start writing my blog for comments. I'd much rather read what you have to say than what I do...

To Three Great Men

I know I'm a little late, but I wanted to wish the men in my life a Happy Father's day. I have been blessed to be around men that love their families and are excellent fathers.

First, my own dad. What a great man he is. My dad inspires me every day. He has given up everything and worked himself into the ground every day so that his family can have what they stand in need of. My dad is a dreamer and I think I get that from him. He is always thinking up ways to improve life. I had a chance to spend a lot of time with my dad this last weekend. I'm thankful for that time. He is a wonderful man, a great father, and will be an excellent grandfather soon. I love you, papa.

My own dear husband is going to be an incredible father. I kept telling him "happy half father's day" on Sunday, but the truth is, there will be nothing half about the way that Ammon is a father. I have seen how wonderful he is with his nieces and nephews. I have seen how attentive he is to me. I have seen the way that he smiles when we talk about our future son. He is an amazing person and I'm excited that I'll get to be close when he becomes a father in a few months. I adore you, Ammon.

I doubt that Ammon would have any clue how to begin being a father if it weren't for his own father. Mark is an incredible man. He loves his children dearly; it is evident in everything he does. I know that Mark is on our side. He is rooting for us to succeed, and he is always there with great advice when we are in need. Mark is an inspiring man. He is a wonderful grandfather. We love and appreciate you, Mark.

Happy Father's day to all you father's out there and especially to these special men in my life.

Fairy Hill

Outside our rather large front window we have the view that you can see above. For whatever reason this hill makes me think of Fairy Tales and other mystical things. In the fore-ground there is a community garden. It has been fun to watch as all kinds of different people from all over come and cultivate different parts of this spot of land. In the back is the mystical mountain. I always imagine that on top of that mountain there is a castle looking down on the valley. Like something you would find in Goose Girl or Princess Academy. Below the castle is a village full of people working together to create a wonderful kingdom.

Or perhaps there is a dragon living in the side of the mountain. This dragon is a good dragon and takes care of the valley. But the villagers are afraid of her and have plots to smoke her out and rid their village of her. Yet in the end she will willing sacrifice herself for the ones she loves. 

Maybe there is something hidden deep within the mountain that only the dwarves know about. The villagers all fear going inside the mountain. Deep under the mountain there is a princess waiting to be saved and take up her rightful place as queen of this valley. But so far no one heroic enough has ventured forth.

Ah, or maybe...

I'm a wimp

Let me see if I can talk this out. I need to find out what my problem is, and why I complain so much.

~ It took Ammon and me well over two years to even get pregnant, so why do I feel the need to complain so much? I think that I should just be grateful that we didn't have to spend thousands of dollars to have this outcome.

~ I complain all the time of how fatigued I am. I am so tired all the time. I rarely do anything anymore. But I shouldn't complain. I don't have a job right now, and I don't have other children. What a better time to be fatigued when my sweet husband finds it totally acceptable for me to lay around all day, and I have no one else to answer to.

~ I feel heavy! This is probably the one that scares me the most. I'm completely uncomfortable and I feel enormous and heavy. I've not even gained 10 pounds yet. I'm supposed to gain at least 25 total. I have no idea how my frame is going to support that kind of weight. But, other women do this and they do it well. I don't know why I feel so heavy, but I suppose that is an occupational hazard of being pregnant.

~ My nose is stuffy, runny, and bloody all the time. But to be perfectly honest, it has always been those things. It's just a little more intense right now.

~ I have to gain more weight and I don't want to. What kind of a complaint is that? When else in my life will I have the opportunity to gain weight like this.

~ I miss my dogs. I think that this is a legitimate complaint.

~ Tomorrow I will be half way done with my pregnancy. ONLY half way! Will it ever end? But shouldn't I be saying, half way! almost done!

~ My heart is freaking out all the time and it scares me. It is supposedly perfectly normal for this to happen, but it sure feels un-normal. But if it is normal, then...

~ Did I mention that I need to gain more weight. Have I mentioned that I have no appetite and rarely want to eat. And what I do want to eat when I want to eat is very low in calories, vitamins, minerals, and everything else that would be good for my baby. I should not be so overwhelmed.

So, basically what this all comes down to is that I am a wimp and a pessimist. I am excited to see my little boy. I enjoy feeling him kick. But I am not looking forward to the next 4 months. And the reason is simply that I am a wimp. This has been a good session. Thank you blog for talking me through that. Now I feel a little lighter and maybe if I just look around at the inspirational women around me who have done this before I'll feel stronger and more able to take on the last half of this pregnancy.

We need a new Dahl house

Much has happened in the Dahl house of late. As you all know, if you read the previous posts, we were able to see our little guy this past weekend. We were also able to find out that he is indeed a little guy. Everything looked great. They were all impressed with how strong his heart is, his vital organs are all looking great, and he is hitting all the marks like he is supposed to. After the appointment we went and bought the first outfit that this little guy has owned.

I hadn't bought a single thing for him yet. Below is a picture of everything I have in preparation for our little boy. Yikes!
At least he won't have to come home from the hospital naked. We learned that our little boy is doing great, but his mom needs to step it up a bit. I'm behind on my weight gain. I have a really hard time eating still. I need to eat a lot more protein as well, which, of course, happens to be the last thing I want to eat. IF I want to eat, which is rare. But if it means a healthy baby I'm just going to have to fight the gag reflex. 

Not only was our weekend filled with exciting news of our baby, but we also got some exciting news about our house. On Thursday morning we got an offer! We were pretty excited. As of Friday night we were able to get our house under contract. I'm not sure what we are doing right, but the Lord has truly blessed us lately. We were able to get the majority of our stuff boxed up this past weekend and will go back in a couple weeks to move it all to a storage unit. We should close on the house a few days later. Then we just have to find a new place to live when the time comes to move back to Utah. Right now the plan is to be back at the first of September; to give us plenty of time to settle in before our little boy shows up.

So, we are in need of a new home at some point, but we are pretty excited about all the recent happy events. Now if Ammon could just work shorter hours life would be bliss. But I guess we can't have it all.

It's...a...

Boy!

Pink or Blue?

We will have our big 20 week ultra sound in 2 days. Any wagers on what we are having?