Lifes News!!

Hey so much to say! Its been over a year and so much has happened I don’t really know where to start, so ill just jump in! Warning long blog post ;)

Nick Halloween 2013

 Lets start with fall and halloween last year lol! Sir Nick started preschool again in the fall of 2013 and went his two days a week for 2 hours and received his ptot while there. He also got his wheel chair end of october last year, so for halloween he was batman with a batmobile :) We went trick or treating down main with the trail of treats,  (this is where the local businesses hand out candy or treats) then we went to the rec center to the halloween party.There were all kinds of games and activities for kids there. He won the rec center halloween costume contest! His prize was a $30 gift card to Wal Mart and a stuffed snake with a balloon :) He had fun with it! 

In November we took a trip to St Paul for Nicks Botox injections and we got a new car, Happy Birthday to me ;) It is a 2013 Lexus silver.. :)                      

 Baby announcement picture November 2013

  November 2013 was a busy exciting month as we also we found out I was pregnant and sir nick was losing his only child status to be bumped up to older brother in July 2014. We announced it to the family in november at thanksgiving in Powell at Kandis!! While at Kandi’s we did a family Christmas tree adventure up the Big Horns to try and succeeded at getting marc and Kandi a tree!! Nick finally got to take his first sled ride :) 

I know he was 5 and hadn’t gone sledding almost a crime especially when you live in snow country lol.

Nick and I sledding November 2013

December 2013 was a pretty laid back month, i got sick right after returning from Wyoming and was out pretty much the whole month.  With everything going on we decided to stay home for Christmas 2013, so we just did a family thing here at the house. We did go to a friends house for New Years and had homemade pizza :) With being sick i had to give up my mma workouts and shorly following that I had to give up my pink gloves for the remander of the pregnancy, then anytime fitness ended up canceling pink gloves so that is currently in limbo. 

January 2014

Elizabeths baby shower cake

 My mom ended up catching a ride up with bryan for the last 3 wks of January to help me out with nick and just keeping up on the house as I started to get headaches do to the hormonal change of being pregnant. The help was so much appreciated and Nick enjoyed having his grandma here to entertain him. My accomplishment for January was doing a cake for my friends baby shower. So January was a very laid back month as well 

February 2014

We took a trip to lander to get the baby stuff we had leftover 

from Nick from Jays parents house. We also returned mom back to dad. We celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary while in lander with a date night.  While I was in my hibernation mode I didn’t even really help with the charity ball that the oilfield wives were gearing up to do this year. I started feeling somewhat better by the end of February.  

We attended the family bowling activity that was put on by oilfield wives which mr nick loved and we will have to take him again sometime. We ordered the crib and started the baby room :) We also started our grow operation with marc and got peppers, tomatoes and some other veggies started for the garden :) 

Nick bowling

                    

   March 2014  

The annual oilfield wives charity took place, but fell on the same weekend that we had to take nick for his Botox so we weren't able to attend. Nick also met with his neurologist while we were in St Paul which all went well and there was no changes. We don't have to see him again until next  year unless something major happens, always good news to hear!  With operation baby room underway we picked up some baby items for baby girl layton :) 

Baby room in progress

Baby room in progress

Now on to april!

With the baby room under full construction we had to rearrange the office for our guest room as well. And the baby room was completed with the help of amazon and friends.. Jay started painting but I had some friends come out and help me with touchups, crib, dressers and wall stickers :)

April also brought my baby shower, which Kandi and Stephanie came up to attend and they ended up doing the 

cake :) My friends followed the baby room theme which as you can see is purple and owls :) They did an amazing job and I am very thankful to everyone who helped make it possible as   I didn’t get one with Nick because of the circumstance.

In May tooney moved in with us to help with sir Nick as I was not supposed to lift him as I progressed in the pregnancy.  While she was here, she accomplished quite a bit :) Got the garden in, helped jay plant trees and shrubs, put in the front flower garden and kept up the house and up with mr nick. 

Nick had so much fun with Grandma being here.                They would work on dishes and laundry, play with magnets and read books. They created so many memories and her help was priceless. 

June brought so many changes to our family as we welcomed Miss Katie Raye to our family on the 18th :) She arrived by c-section weighing 5 pounds 9 ounces 17.5 inches long. With the C- section i wasn’t able to lift, and Tooney went home, so Jay took some time off  and Steph came up to helped for the first little bit then leighanna stayed the rest of summer with Jay helping when he could

July was spent getting used to a bigger family and healing up. My mom and dad came up for a couple of weeks to see the new baby. They were here when Marc and Katrinas new little one arrived. 

Baby Blessing 

Katies Blessing dress

                                                                                                                                         Katie and her new cousin Isabella were blessed on the 20th here in Williston with Jay doing Katie's blessing and Marc doing Isabellas. We had a family dinner with Katrinas family and Mom and dad at our house after.  Uncle Ralph passed away the end of July so Leighanna the kids and I made a quick trip to Billings for the funeral. 

First Day of School :)

 In August we went to MN for Nicks Botox and took Leighanna to the Mall of America :) We also did school shopping because Nick started Kindergarden on the 18th.  The kids and I went to the family camp in the big horns and met up with Steph to return Leighanna. Rex was able to come out so it was awesome to see him :) The camp was fun didn’t really do much with Katie and the weather but it was nice to have a technology break and just relax. We played in the rivers a little bit, got some card games in and went shooting. We also saw a bear from quite a distance away!  Would have been better if jay could have joined us but he had to work. End of august we took a quick weekend trip to lander so Jays parents could see the baby, did Nicks birthday pictures for his 6th birthday. 

September brought trying to get into a ritual with school, starting back up with working out and harvesting our tomatoes, Marc and I canned spaghetti sauce a couple of weekends the end of august and into september. 

Jay is still with weatherford and working tons of hours and is amazing :) He is such a great husband and dad. Thats all for now sorry for the book but you are all up to date on our family :)

Life Update!!

   Welcome back!! As true to form I never think to update our blog!! We are doing great and have lots to update everyone on!! In December last year we decided to try and buy a house.. For us and in the williston area we did the process pretty quickly..  We got approved the end of november and found a house in January and moved in on valentines day!! Needless to say BEST Anniversary and V-day gift ever!!  We seem to be settling in and loving all our new space, but with a new house comes lots to do, so we are still a work in progress !! The house is a 4 bedroom 2025 sqft home on 1.88 arces of land just outside of Williston.. It is all on level so nick has access to the whole house which he loves!!




We made our last medical trip to salt lake in may where saw the neo-natel and nutrition clinic which didn't have much to say other then to continue what we are doing.. Nick had 3 major seizures starting with the one in december..  We met with an amazing seizure doctor at MINSEP in Minneapolis in February who recommended we do an in-patient seizure study at Gillette childrens hospital.. We got back from that about three weeks ago.. The study went really good and instead of having to stay a full week we got the reduced sentence of, go in on monday and leave on wednesday!! The EEG showed constant seizure activity (low but still there).. Which means we control them with medication, but getting sick, to hot, to cold, or a major bump to the head and other things that can up-set the electrical balance in his brain can cause a seizure.. So we just have to be careful and take them as they come.. They think what re-triggered them after going 18 months without one was the pneumonia and Influenza AB he got the end of December 2012..
  While we were in Minneapolis he received another round of Botox for his legs and he had his hips x-rayed.. The x-rays showed no change in his leg/hip socket which is really good!! His legs  due to the high tone he has in them started to pull out of socket.. The lack of weight baring he does also attributes to this.. But with the Botox and more and more weight he is learning to bare it is helping to prevent them from getting worse..   The bone doc wants to see him in a year with x-rays in 6 months when go back for Botox in the spring! We go back in November for another Botox treatment He continues with his therapies and has completed summer school!! He is getting so big and continues to amaze Jay and I with his strength, spirit and will to fight!! He beats the odds all the time, starting from when he was a amazing little 1 lb 4oz baby boy who wasn't supposed to make it past the first 24 hrs.. Can't believe that was 5 yrs ago!! So the Minneapolis trip wasn't bore of all medical we took Nick to the zoo which I'm not sure who had more fun me or nick.. I mean that is a photographers heaven with lots to take pictures of.. (My battery died thats how many pics I took) Nicks favorite part was splashing in a fountain and the petting zoo!

   As it seems to be a tradition anymore nick had his cousins up for a while this summer starting with Brooke and leighanna joining a couple weeks later!! Bryan brought brooke up when he came to work the about week of June and she went home the first week July.. Stephanie and kids came to visit and leighanna wanted to stay so she stayed until the 4th when Steph and Kandi came to visit.. We didn't really do much more then the normal for our house which is therapy, and working out lol.. We took a couple trips to minot for supplies for the house and nick got a pool which he and the girls played in quite a bit.. While Steph was here on their first trip we went to lois and clark state park for an afternoon and hung around the house.. We took all the kids to the splash pad both times the company came..
 
 
 Jay continues to work hard to provide for us.. He is still pulling lots of long hours and busy weeks but he seems to be home more which is really nice for us as a family.. He hasn't had much luck with losing weight but i don't think his heart or mind is set for it just yet.. that will happen when he is ready.. He had a good checkup with his doctor who yelled at him about his weight but otherwise he is healthy.. which is good :) He is am amazing father and husband and we can't ask for more than that!!

   I am blessed to be a busy stay at home mom and wife and I love it.. I spend my time in the gym doing a MMA boot camp and just started a women's MMA class to learn more about the sport.. It is so much fun to learn but I could never do it a actual fighting level.. No cage fights for me lol.. I add that onto my Pink Gloves Boxing to keep me busy and sane.  I am learning so much for self defense and physical fitness which seems to be my passion lately.. I am going to try in the next year to get my personal trainers license so i can start to share my passion and learn more for myself.. I still love taking pictures  and am  active with the Oilfield Wives Williston group.. Which I raised $1200 for our relay for life team.. I don't have the team total yet so I'm not sure how much that is.. I love getting out and being active in the community!!  Well I believe that is all for now and hope to update you all soon!!

Saying good bye to 2012 and Hello to 2013!!

  As the year ends you reflect on the good the bad and the in-between, over all 2012 was a good year for us as a family.. Jay worked a ridiculous amount of hours over the year which allowed us to have many blessings!!

Four Wheeling out Government Draw
September

 We traveled and had some amazing adventures.. We went to Vegas in February with my parents. In March the Oilfield Wives Williston through a Charity ball to raise money for relay for life which was amazing!! We raised $4,000 at the event!! Nick, mom and I made a trip to Salt Lake City for a couple of drs. appointments in May which ended up good, (leighanna came back with us and stayed a month), we went to Rapid City, SD in June with Leighanna. We went home for the 4th of July and were able to purchase a new Four-wheeler and proceeded to break it in over the family camp!! We went to St Paul in Aug and again in November, where Nickolas started a new and exciting adventure for him as he started Botox treatments in his legs to help with his muscle tone so he can hopeful learn to walk!! He is responding quite nicely and has loosened up tremendously!! We have made that trip twice now for two treatments and have more to make in the new year!!

Pink Gloves Certification
October 

 I also became a certified Pink Gloves Boxing instructor.. I have been doing the circut style boxing for over a year now and love it so i made it a goal to become a instructor when they said the class would be in Williston, I said bring it on!! I have been working out and doing crossfit workouts for a while and love the lifestyle.. I also completed a 12wk challenge losing 12 pounds and 7 inchs.. I plan to concur another one this year with a goal to run a half marathon in lander for the 4th of July!! I have also taken up photography this year and have become popular among my friends, so i am excited about that adventure as well!!

Nick has started back with school and continues his therapy 4 times a week.. He was a pirate for halloween this year, and attended 3 parties making  out like a bandit!!

  We stayed in williston for thanksgiving and had dinner with Marc and Katrina and family!! Two days after thanksgiving we had quite a scare for our family as Jay had a minor heart attack and was flown from Williston to Minot for treatment.. He started having chest pain, on friday after thanksgiving but was on a job so he treated the pain with ibuprofen and went on his way thinking it was heartburn or something not really sure what he thinks sometimes other then he was to young to be having a heart attack..

Four wheeling government draw

He came home from the job on saturday afternoon still having the pain so he took some more ibuprofen and went to bed.. He woke up sunday morning with the pain still there so I took him in and it went from there.. They confirmed is as a heart attack, did cath scan, ekg, ridiculous amounts of blood work and a ultra sound all coming back normal.. There is a chemical your heart puts off when it is stressed, it usually hangs out at about 2, jays at one point was 22.. He was in the hospital for 3 days because he didn't have to have surgery it was a long (seemed like forever), but a short stay.. He took a week off of work going back light duty for another week then released back to full duty.. They think weight and stress caused it so he is embarking on a major lifestyle change.. We see the dr again in june and he is supposed to be down 30 lbs but has made a goal of 40-50!! He will be starting nutrisystem as soon as it arrives!!

Because of Jays heart attack we decided to save some money and go to lander for christmas as apposed to going to west yellowstone.. We all made out like bandits, Jay getting tools and toys and a brand new truck, me getting a new phone and nook, and Nick getting toys!! After we got home from lander for christmas we decided to end the year with a bang with Nickolas having a seizure caused by pneumonia, influenza ab (respiratory) and a 2 1/2 day hospital stay.. He was on a nice antibiotic cocktail, and breathing treatments which we are currently finishing up!!

Over all like I said we have had a amazing year and can't wait to see what the new year has to bring us!! Hope everyone had a great year and holiday season and enjoys the new year with all it has to offer!!

Nicks 4 yr pictures!

     Hey, its been a couple of months, so i will try to catch y'all up on all things this house hold.. Since i last posted we have been to lander, then Salt Lake City, UT then back to lander.. While we were in Salt Lake we saw a bunch of different Dr's over the course of 4 days.. Everything went good.. One Dr referred us to St Paul to see a Pediatric Orthopedic doc and a Physical Med Dr. We make that trip at the beginning of Aug..
     After spending the weekend in Lander leighanna came back to Williston to spend some time with us.. We made a weekend trip to Rapid City, South Dakota and went to Mt Rushmore (which isn't as big in person as I thought if you can call 60 ft wide small lol..), followed by Bear Country, and Reptile Gardens ( i recommend the aligater .. It was a much needed break from work for Jay and a nice get away..He has been working like crazy all summer!!
We went home for the forth and while we were there purchased a new four wheeler and then proceeded to break it in with a week camp out up above lander!!

   Welcome back!! We have been busy, with nick in school, theropy and play group!!
    What else have we been up to lets see, in the last post I said we were working on organizing a charity ball for Relay For Life, and we put that on and were able to raise $4,000 for that!! I thought that was pretty good for a 1st time doing something like that!! After the ball I jumped into planning a bake sale to raise money for march of dimes, march for babies.. We pulled that off on band day which is kind of like a early 4th of July minus the fireworks!! We were able to raise $610 to go for that!! The walk is this weekend so it will be fun to see the total raised from our team!! I am excited for this because of nickolas!!
 We are getting ready to head to Salt Lake City, for some follow up visit!! Jay is still working like crazy and we are blessed to have a great job!! After the trip I will try to update the blog more frequently!

Welcome

So we are going to try this again!! My other blog started to have some problems so I ended up deleting it and have restarted it with this one.. So like everyone else I am saying I will try to keep this one up and try to update it monthly! we will see..

We are still living in Williston in the apartment we moved into a year ago, but are debating moving to a bottom floor as nickolas isn't walking yet and living on the third floor is becoming a issue.. We still have some time before it is a major one so we will see.. The apartments have a two bedroom we are debating about downsizing to but aren't sure we want to lose the space.. so it is up for debate..

We went to vegas for our anniversary in Febuary and flew mom and dad out for the two weeks we were there.. We did about everything you could, saw a Cirq show, went to hoover dam, mom and dad went to donnie and marie, we saw tournament of kings, did the csi experience, ate a some buffets, saw the shark reef aquarium, and relaxed.. It was fun and a good vacation.. I think we wore mom and dad out pretty good tho!!

The oilfield wives page has taken off and we are busy planning a charity ball for relay for life, it is going to be fun and for a good cause!! we keep busy with what do with events every week or every other week!

Nick is busy with school and theropy, he is rolling all around the place and causing trouble were he goes.. Like i said before he is not walking but continues to show signs that he is going to so we shall see.. I am pretty sure he will in his own time!!

Jay continues to work like crazy avaraging about 80-100 hrs a week.. But he likes what he does for the most part!! Like every job there are ups and down!

Hope all is well with everyone!!