Our Spring Babe--Due 4.30.09

There's our peanut!! SURPRISE! We are having a baby this spring! And the rollarcoaster began over a month ago already! We are so blessed, and so excited to bring a little one into our wonderful life!
Yesterday, 9.25.08 was our 1st Ultrasound and our due date is at April 30th 2009! The other BIG question that has been asked is if we are finding out at 20 weeks, which the answer is NO, we won't be finding out the sex! Of course, I being a control person, would LOVE to know, but Nathan has a good point and says that this is a surprise from God, and that's just what is should be, a surprise!
My mom got to be here a month ago, and she pulled up the day I found out! Nathan was gone for his work to the Hills for a week, so Mom got to put up with my worried and scared attitude! Yesterday was honestly the first day I was excited. I was still doubting everything, and everyone, until I could see and hear that little heartbeat! Like Nathan put it, "I felt that high wash over me, just like the first time we kissed!" OH, I thought that was so cute!! He's right, a crazy feeling washed over both of us, and to see the little flutter of the babe's heartbeat going at 185 beats/minute, was awesome! We have said prayer over prayer for all of these moments, and God has blessed us!
On top of this high we are on, we are also getting packed to leave for the Black Hills on Sunday! We are going to the Custer State Park Buffalo RoundUp Sun-Tues for our 3rd Anniversary! We will be staying at Hill City and then going to an arts festival deal along with the RoundUp! Then after we get home, Tom and Cullen will be coming to hunt antelope! Cullen has a rifle tag, so we're hoping he gets his first antelope!
SO, lots of news happening in our little corner of the world! I am feeling great, only tired! I have had a few smells disagree with me, but havn't been sick yet! Since I'm almost done with my first trimester, my doc didn't think I would get sick at this point! My appetite has been weird, I was hungry for a few days, but usual I have to make myself eat. My bloodpressure, which was high to start with, was normal yesterday, thanks to the medication they put me on a few weeks ago! It hadn't been normal for 6 months, so that was a good feeling!
My house has suffered, I've used all my energy on everyone else's house, so today I am hoping to work on our house! I am a neat freak, but by looking around, you wouldn't know it!
All we can ask is to keep us in your prayers! What an amazing time of year, leaves are changing and the Black Hills are going to be beautiful! I will be taking plenty of pics, trust me!

3 Days of Antelope Hunting

We decided that September 17,18,&19th would be set aside for Archery Antelope. Our good friend, Kit Bramblee came from Philip and Nathan worked 10 days in a row so that he could have 3 days off to hunt! So we started our hunt early Wednesday and Thursday morning around 4:30 both days. To say the least, we all had a great experience, but came away frustrated. I should have had my antelope that first morning but missed my shot by shooting over his back, which come to find out, is pretty common, but mine was at 26 yards. The excitement and experience of getting to shoot at a buck that close was worth it, but there were a few tears shed. We started to take turns with holding the decoy, so the picture added here is Nathan holding the decoy and Kit with his bow. I was laying on the ground, getting a few cat naps in here and there. After this particular picture was taken, we decided to head back to the pickup. I usually watch pretty closely in where I'm walking since I am clumsy and roll my ankles all the time, which come to find out is a good habit to get into, because it saved me from stepping right on a rattle snake! I sure did a nice little dance over top of him, and screamed! He didn't rattle until after I screamed, but I think he was pretty cold and was trying to warm himself in the sun, since he was all coiled up. Whatever he was doing, he sure scared me!

Thursday morning we sat our blind up just South of the house, and had another great experience. We had 3 kids just 20 yards from us, we could hear them chewing and watched them blink. We also had quite a few does come right up the blind also, and that's when I decided to take a doe. Well, we found out just how small our blind is, and while I was trying to get Nathan to scoot over, I scratched my broad head on the blind, and it was just loud enough to spook the does that were only a few yards away! Once again, tears!

Kit had a nice wide buck to shoot at, and shot at 34 yards and ended up doing the same thing that I did, shot right over his back! We ended up seeing the buck later in the day, and I know Kit just wanted to scream! Poor Nathan never did get to even pull his bow back to get a shot! We still have a couple weekends left to hunt, so we're hoping to get back out there!

On Friday, Kit took off to Philip. Grouse season opened on Saturday, and he is in grouse country, so he needed to get back home to work hunters too!

We don't clean up too bad now do we?! :)

On Friday night, Nathan and I got all cleaned up from a few days of being stinky and sweaty, and went to supper in at a friend of ours, Jamie Swan, who is a teacher in Buffalo. We had a wonderful time, and glad that we got to get together! We didn't stay too late, and it felt good to go to bed early, especially when we knew the alarm would be going off early again on Saturday!

On Saturday I went up to Bowman, ND which is 45 miles North of us, to go to Rural Woman in America convention with my friend Shawna from town. It was an all day event, and on top of early mornings for the past 4 days, I was beat Saturday night!

I can't believe we are already to September 21st! Next week we'll be down in the Hills for our 3rd Anniversary, watching the Buffalo Roundup at Custer State Park! In the meantime, there is a week full of work, and now that grouse season is open, more hunting!

Today, Nathan, Jade, and another friend, Jason are out grouse hunting! They left Libby home with me, so I'm hoping that the next post I will have some bird pictures to post! This is Jade's first time out in the field without Libby, and her first time with a shock collar! She is such a lover, and has been a natural at everything, so I'm hoping it's going great!

Hills Trip

On Friday 9.5.08 we went to the Hills to get groceries and to enjoy a day off together! We took the girls on a walk in Spearfish park, and just enjoyed the wonderful fall weather. One of the places we stopped at, is called the "Open Cut" and it's in Lead. We had never been there before, and were glad to stop and see some history. It was so nice to not have to rush around, because we were planning on staying at Painter's ranch on the river at Belle Fourche. After going to the Open Cut, we went to play a round of mini golf at Gulches of Fun in Deadwood. We were the only crazy ones there, since it was so cold! We had a blast though, and Nathan almost got beat by his wife, but ended up getting a hole in one right at the end! Trust me, he was getting a little nervous! haha. We ended our driving tour around the Northern Hills, got the oil changed and tires rotated, and then headed to the "Branding Iron", a great steakhouse by Belle. We hadn't been out to eat at a good steakhouse in a long time, so we had a wonderful time together. After that huge meal, we headed to Painters to turn in for the night. We stayed in the Cow Camp, it's a barn with living quarters in it. Shower, little kitchen, loft, and bed, decorated in barn wood, and then they have their cabing to stay in too. It's so nice, and we appreciated getting to stay there!

On Saturday we got up early to drive East to Nisland, so that I could attend the SD Bow Hunter Safety Course! You have to have this course to bow hunt, and since I am going to harvest my antelope with my bow, I needed this! Nathan wouldn't overlook it I guess, so now I am "legal"! haha. The class went from 8 a.m. to 4 in the afternoon! It was fun, and they had a huge turnout of around 40 people! It's good to see that many young kids interested in archery! We got done with the course, and headed home. Painters rent out the trailer house that is across from our house for hunters, and until Wednesday there are 3 guys staying there. Kind of turns our routine in a different direction for a little bit, but it's fun to talk with out of staters, and to get their reaction on antelope and deer hunting in Harding County.
This was also taken on Friday 9.5.08 above Terry Peak! This is another place we had never been to, but I can tell you it's a place we're going back to again! It was around 40 degrees with lots of wind WAY up there! As you can see, I was glad I packed my winter coat! They have an observation tower you climb, and then you see throughout the Hills. We could point out lots of areas being that high! We didn't stay long, because it was freezing! Friday and Saturday flew right on by, and today Nathan is working since he took Friday off. I'm so glad the fall weather is here, and I can't believe that we've already turned our heat on at night! Over on the river bottom, where Painters live, it's already froze! All the signs are pointing to an early winter, I guess we'll find out soon enough! Enjoy the wonderful weather!