Savoring Surprises and the Things I Didn't Know About Pregnancy

I love surprises, always have. Even when we were little, I remember us four kids waking up on Christmas morning and, as the oldest, Katie would lead us down the stairs, then we all would cover our eyes with our hands to go by the Christmas tree on our way to Mom and Dad's room. Even seconds before
we were going to open our presents, I didn't want to risk seeing or even guessing at what my presents might be…Although now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad made us crawl into bed with them and wait a half hour because apparently we'd gotten up really early that Christmas morning. I doubt that half hour earned them any extra rest though with four kids and two adults in a queen-size bed. :)

With a baby on the way, there is one surprise neither Taylor nor I want to spoil. We don't want to know whether we're having a boy or girl. We want to savor that surprise on the day of our baby's birth.

As far as pregnancies go, I can't complain at all. After watching my older sister puke constantly during her pregnancies, I am very glad to say that I have not had the same problem. Mostly I just had some nausea, but I was able to keep that pretty well under control by keeping a little food in my stomach. Now that we're into the second trimester, even the nausea seems to be lessening.

Our first picture of our baby. It will be fun to see it once it looks a little more like a baby. :)

Speaking of food controlling nausea…I can already tell this baby takes after Taylor in at least one area - Taylor LOVES bread. And since I've been pregnant, bread and carbs were the things that helped the most to keep the nausea down. Pre-pregnant Lyndee only ate very limited amounts of bread in an effort to be healthy and watch her figure. Pregnant Lyndee has relaxed that rule considerably. ;) Although now that I'm feeling better, I'm going to have to start putting those rules back in place.
But at this point this baby also takes after me at least a little because it is definitely not a night owl. Most nights by the time I finish making supper and doing dishes, I'm usually ready to shower and go to sleep. The other night we went out to dinner with some friends and didn't go to bed until after 11 p.m. The next day I had to have an hour nap and it felt like it took me two days to recover.
Simply writing this blog post has taken me over a week because any evening I would sit down to work on it, after about 10 minutes I'd pass out. :)

One thing I didn't know about pregnancy was how much you dream (or at least remember your dreams). Nearly every night I have woken up from at least one crazy dream. One that stuck with me more than any of the others was a dream where me and my little sister were young again, but in my dream, instead of being best friends like we always have been, I truly disliked her and was mean to her. The next day I talked to her on the phone and had to apologize because of how much I disliked the feelings I'd had for her in the dream.

Western Kansas Fact: (actually this is more of just a cattleman's wife fact) Any experience you have while pregnant will be compared to that of a pregnant cow. Taylor and I both frequently refer to me as a "heifer" (a young, first-time-pregnant cow). We just laugh about it - it's the thing we are most familiar with that we can compare our pregnancy to, and I'm sure as time goes on and I get bigger, the comparisons will only increase. :)

A Scripture lesson I liked that I had read recently was Isaiah 38:17.  You have cast all my sins behind Your back. 
This Scripture reminded me that I will never have to stand before God in judgement. My sins have already been judged and the punishment for those sins was taken by Christ. I am free of sin in God's eyes because I have accepted Christ as my Savior. I pray I can live well for Him to honor His sacrifice and bring Him glory.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Lyndee

Roshel's Dream Come True

Sorry for the long delay between posts…milo harvest drug on forever and the holidays had me pretty busy; then we were getting ready to take a family vacation to Hawaii so I figured I might as well wait until after that to do a blog.

Our trip was amazing - we spent 5 days in Maui and 5 in Kauai. We did a bike ride down a mountain, went whale watching, snorkeling, drove the Road to Hana, did a dune buggy trail trip, took a helicopter tour, not to mention ate a hefty amount of amazing food and spent time relaxing on the beach in the sun. 

But out of all those awesome things, my favorite day/experience was the very first night we got to Hawaii. 

The day had had a few glitches - our flight was delayed for several hours because of a problem with the plane. They ended up having to change planes before we could leave. Then we found out the new plane was 12 seats short, and we were worried for a while that we wouldn't even get seats to make it to Hawaii when we were supposed to. Thankfully we did get seats, but then there was such a strong headwind that it took over an hour longer than it was supposed to to make the flight. 

Sadly this meant we weren't able to make our dinner reservations we had planned for Stewart and Roshel's anniversary (their 31st wedding anniversary was that day).

Nevertheless, we eventually made it to Maui, but by the time we landed, got our rental vehicles and drove to the resort, we were all feeling pretty tired and hangry :), so we went straight to the restaurant at the hotel. Sitting in paradise with some good food in our bellies made us all feel a lot better.

While we were getting ready to enjoy a nice dessert, Taylor and I pulled out the anniversary card we had brought along to give to Stewart & Roshel.

Inside we had stuck this picture:

I have to say it was pretty awesome to watch them open the card and then just stare for a few seconds trying to comprehend what we were telling them. :)

Even though we were only 7 weeks pregnant at the time, we knew that with more than 10 days of constant family togetherness, there would be no way we could keep the surprise. They would easily figure out I wasn't drinking any alcohol or coffee, and then our chance to surprise them would be gone. So we decided to tell them a little earlier than we otherwise would have. (I'd already had to do a lot of faking over the Christmas and New Year's holidays, and poor Taylor had to drink my share of champagne and wine on top of his. Luckily, for his sake, I'm not a big drinker).

A little bit of history - since about…oh…the day Taylor and I got married, Roshel has constantly joked with us about when we would give her some grandkids. Actually the first year we were married, at the gym Roshel and I go to, our class was supposed to dress up for Halloween. I simply stuck a pillow under my shirt and said I was "Roshel's Dream Come True" (hence the title of this blog - although I'm pretty certain Stewart was just as excited as Roshel).  ;) We were able to video tape their reactions when they opened their card. It was fabulous, but sadly the video file is too big for me to upload.

God willing, if everything goes smoothly, we should have a new little one sometime in the middle of August! Taylor and I are really excited, but I'm pretty sure until we are holding a baby in our arms, it will continue to feel kind of surreal.

For now we would greatly appreciate any prayers for strong and healthy baby growth as well as for God to prepare Taylor and I so we can be good parents and raise our child to know and love the Lord.

Here's some pictures from out trip:

Sunrise bike ride down Mount Haleakala in Maui. Taylor and I first did this on our honeymoon 4 years ago.

Luau in Maui

Helicopter Tour in Kauai 

Whale watching in Maui

Be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18

In the Greek language this particular Scripture meant to be filled continually - not to be filled and then stop. I am guilty of this. I may have an especially meaningful experience where I feel filled with God's Spirit and my faith is renewed, but then I allow life, activities, obligations, etc. to get in the way and keep me from focusing on Him. Each day I want to work harder to make sure I am allowing my Heavenly Father the time and space in my life to fill me continually with His Spirit.

So I guess I could have written a blog sooner, but once we found out we were pregnant, that was all I wanted to write about so I figured I better just wait. :) I'll try to update a little more often from now on.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Lyndee

I Want to be Smarter Than a Chicken

In July we moved our baby chicks into our new chicken coop, and we had plans to get a connecting pen built shortly thereafter so they could also go outside.
"Shortly thereafter" was both ambiguous and, apparently, ambitious. We started working on it in August…and finally in the middle of October it was finished. It's a good thing we don't do this type of work to make a living - we'd probably be homeless and starving. ;)

Admittedly, we had all the posts set and a lot of the framework done, but we just hadn't found a chance to finish the rest of the framework, build a door, and put up the wire.
But, earlier this month, Taylor and I went back to my hometown for my cousin's wedding. While we were gone, Taylor's parents surprised us by having a couple of their employees, Carel and Martin, finish the pen.
They did a great job and it was wonderful to come home to such a nice surprise. (Thanks also to TJ and Jim who helped as well throughout the process!)

But...our chickens are definitely not the brightest bulbs in the box. We opened the little doors so our  chickies could enjoy their nice new pen in the beautiful fall weather, but they would not venture outside. Even when I tried to lure them out with food, they would just stand at the edge of the opening, too afraid to take the next step.

Taylor even picked one up and pushed it outside, but it quickly ran right back in the door - back to the place where it felt comfortable.

I can make fun of our chickens all I want, but the truth is, I can be just as bad. I am a serious creature of habit, and I cling to the things I know.

Even when I was little I didn't like to be out of my comfort zone. Unlike my two older siblings, I never went to 4-H camp because I was afraid to be in a new place away from my home and my mom. For the same reason, I never went with my Grandma and Grandpa Patterson on their annual Branson trip when I was young like my older siblings and some of my cousins did. Looking back I can say I'm sorry I didn't take the opportunity to make those memories with my grandparents.

Another time I was going to stay at my Grandma and Grandpa Whitesell's but in the middle of the night, my mom came and picked me up because I was crying and wanted to go home. Luckily we only lived 7 miles from Grandma.
I was kind of like our chicken that got put in a new situation and quickly ran back to what was comfortable without really giving it a chance. :) (Go figure that it would be me who moved away from home when I got married!)

They finally made it outside!!!!

But if the chickens can figure it out, there's hope for me too. Now when I look at our chicken coop, I'm going to try to use it as a reminder - be adventurous; make memories; and be willing to try something new  - God may have amazing things in store for me if I do!

We've been running pretty hard the past several weeks with corn and milo harvest. We finished the corn last night, but we still have several fields of milo to cut. The rain that came through today is allowing everyone to have the weekend off, though, which is pretty nice! :)

This was one of my favorite pictures from the wedding we went to a couple of weekends ago. Their faces cracked me up!

Last weekend I went to the Southwest Women's Encounter spiritual retreat. I went to my first one in April as an attendee, but this time I went in a leadership role. I did it because I wanted to give back - I wanted to help give the women attending for the first time the same type of wonderful experience I'd had in April. I had no idea how amazing and rewarding the experience would be for me as well by serving in this capacity.  It makes me think of a Scripture out of the book of Luke.

Give and it shall be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure - pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. Luke 6:38

Have a wonderful, blessed weekend everyone!

Lyndee

A Few More "Firsts"

Since Taylor and I have been married, we've experienced a lot of "firsts"…first home, first time buying property, first time starting a grow yard (and all the little things that went with that),  first time traveling to Africa, and so on. This summer I've got to experience a few more "firsts," albeit, maybe of a less exotic nature than others, but it's the little things that make life truly great! :)

For instance, I've never raised chickens before, but earlier this summer we had a chicken coop built and our first order of 25 layers came in. That number has been trimmed down to 20 hens and one rooster (whom we've decided to name Billy Bob). :) They're still growing and it will probably be a few months yet before they are old enough to start laying eggs, but we're excited about the prospect. In the mean time we're working to build a pen out from the coop so they can go outside.

One of the other cool firsts for both Taylor and I was a direct result of the wonderful rainfall we've received this summer. For the first time (since either of us have lived out here) there has been enough rain to make the Arkansas River run through Lakin. It used to be fairly common for people to "float the river" in tubes or horse tanks, but it has been years since anyone's been able to do it.

A few weeks ago, Taylor and I and some of our friends took a Sunday afternoon to try out the river for ourselves. 

 

Admittedly, near Lakin the river was only about  three feet deep in most places and not running super fast so it took us all afternoon and evening to float several miles. 

Note to self - bring duct tape on a trip like this! Several of our tubes got holes poked in them. At this point they became less of a means for movement and more of a hinderance to making it to our destination. By the time we got done they were ready for the dumpster. Even so, I'm glad I can now say I've floated the river!

Our little trip took longer than expected and had a few of its own difficulties, but we soon found out our problems were minor compared to what they could have been. When we got done, part of our group took the vehicle we'd left at the stopping point back to our truck where we had gotten into the river. By this time it was almost 9 p.m. When they got to our truck, they found a group of people there who had gotten in the river several miles further back from where we did. They had only made it about half the distance they had anticipated, and to top it off they forgot their keys for the vehicle they had left at their stopping point, so they were stranded. 

Taylor took them back to their vehicle, but if we hadn't come along they would have either had to float for about another 6 hrs in the dark to get to their vehicle (and even then they wouldn't have had the keys for it), or they would have had to stay there on the riverbank in the middle of nowhere. Not to mention a nasty storm blew in that night, and would have made their predicament much worse.

I'm grateful God put us in a position to help them because I know if I'd been in their situation I sure would have wanted someone to do the same for us. 

Now I just hope the wet weather pattern will continue and hopefully we'll be able to float the river again soon. :) 

Thanks Landi for taking and sharing your pictures!

Scripture:

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Ephesians 4:1 

I really liked the reminder this Scripture lesson gave. Some people may never read the Bible, but they may see how I live my life. I need to make sure I am living in a way that allows them to see and experience Christ even if they never read His Word.

I hope your Monday has set this week of to a great start!

Lyndee

The Tricky Little Difference Between Talking and Communicating

I have been talking for over 25 years. I would like to think I am reasonably good at it… somewhat articulate, don't mind talking in front of groups… but I'm learning there is a vast difference between talking and communicating. If I'm talking, words are coming out of my mouth.  But if I'm communicating my words/meanings/intents are being heard and received in the manner I intended by the person I'm talking to, and vice versa.

Taylor and I have a wonderful relationship. We like to talk to each other, and we frequently find ourselves thinking or saying exactly the same thing. But that doesn't mean we communicate perfectly.

A couple weeks ago we were trying to get ready for harvest. It can be a stressful time. There's always a list of things we feel we need to get done before we get into the fields because once harvest starts, you really don't have time for anything else until it's over. But, somehow, the wheat always seems to be ready before we've completed our list. :)
After a couple days of harvesting, it rained and kept us out of the field for a day. Taylor and I were trying our best to use that day to finish some of those remaining to-dos. Earlier in the week Taylor had to cancel the haircut he had scheduled, and he was getting pretty shaggy. While eating lunch I mentioned that maybe he would even have a chance to get his hair cut that afternoon. Taylor said it would be nice but that he still had some work to finish at the feedyard as well as mowing the yard, weed eating, along with a few other tasks he felt were more important, and he doubted he would have time for a haircut even if he wanted.
I sat there thinking for a few moments and then said something along the lines of "I'll be able to help you with the yard work. You've got time to get your hair cut." What I meant was to be a considerate, helpful wife offering to share the work load so he wouldn't have to neglect himself to get everything done.
(Que breakdown of communication here)
But to Taylor, me telling him that he "had time" after he'd just finished telling me he didn't, was the equivalent of me telling him that things he felt needed to be done really weren't that important and that a haircut should actually be at the top of his list. To him, my comment seemed disrespectful and like I did not value the work he had to do.

With a little extra time we were able to fix this misunderstanding, but it reminded me how easily I assume others will precisely understand my words and meanings when I talk.  It also reminded me how easy it is for a lack of communication to create hard feelings.

I'm sure Taylor and I will spend the rest of our lives developing our communication skills, but I know it's something we're both committed to working on to keep our relationship strong.

My nephew, Kolden, got in on the harvest action. He came out to visit me and we started harvesting the day after he arrived. I was so glad to get to spend some special time with him.

Western Kansas Fact: If it rains, they will come.
The past 3+ years I've lived in Western Kansas, one of the bonuses of the dry weather was the lack of mosquitoes. However, we were blessed to get quite a bit of rain this spring and with the rain came the mosquitoes. I was amazed at how fast they showed up.

This is a Scripture I have fallen in love with:

"Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear." Isaiah 65:24
This verse reminds me that, no matter where we are at in our lives, God knows exactly what we need. He knows the desires of our hearts, and if we seek Him and His will, He will answer our prayers, and a lot of times He may be working on answering them before we even pray.

I hope you all have a fabulous remainder of the week and weekend!

Lyndee

Learning to be the Wife and the Employee…The Struggle is Real

When Taylor and I first got married, I read a book called The Five Love Languages. It's a good book that focuses on helping you understand how to love your spouse in the way he/she needs. The book lists 5 basic ways to express love emotionally (love languages), and each person usually has a primary love language that they need in order to feel truly loved. These languages are:  1.Words of Affirmation 2.Acts of Service 3.Receiving Gifts 4.Quality Time 5.Physical Touch

I thought the book had a lot of wonderful points, but it took me 3 years to figure out what my love language was - physical touch. I had discounted that this could be my "language" - I assumed it probably only applied to people who were nymphomaniacs. ;) But now that I look back, I realize this should have been obvious - I'm constantly reaching to hold Taylor's hand; I rest my hand on his leg if we're sitting next to each other; when we're driving in the car, I'm frequently rub his shoulders/play with his hair; and when we're working through a disagreement, I don't feel like the issue is resolved unless he's held me close.

Understanding my need for physical touch has been helpful even in unexpected ways.

Recently, one of the office clerks at the feedyard had a baby, and she is now on maternity leave. During her time off, my mother-in-law, Roshel, and I are filling in. This means I'm working in the feedyard office with Taylor a few days of the week.

Generally, Taylor and I make a pretty good team, so, initially, I was surprised how challenging this arrangement could be for us at times.

Then it hit me what part of the problem was - in the office my role is the worker, not the wife. So even though I'm around Taylor, I don't get as much opportunity to be loved by him in my "language"… holding hands, hugging, touching, etc., because at work he has other things that need his attention. But understanding this allowed me to share with Taylor how I was feeling and made it easier for us to deal with.

It's been good for me to learn more about what goes on in the feedyard, but I have to say I much prefer my role of "wife" in relationship to Taylor than that of "employee". At times it's been challenging, but I also know that these new situations are helping our relationship grow stronger, and for that I am grateful.

Western Kansas Fact: The schools have really nice activity buses.
Growing up in Eastern Kansas all the schools in our district would take all the athletes to games in one of the regular school buses. But in out here all the schools seem to have nice tour buses for their athletes because they have to travel so far to go to different athletic events.

For the past three years I've been working to read the entire Bible.  Nearly every morning I spend a few minutes reading a passage - even if it's only a paragraph or two at a time. Maybe not the fastest method, but it works for me.
Then this morning I saw this Scripture and accompanying lesson, and it made me really consider and appreciate the time I get to spend in His Word
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16
Too often I've thought of the Bible as a bunch of stories/words that God approved, of written by men from long ago, but this Scripture lesson really made me think about how the Bible is truly the Word of God Almighty. He blessed certain men and women by allowing them to be part of recording His Word, but it is His. And I have been given the privilege to freely read His Word and know Him more through it!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Lyndee

Going Hungry and a New Niece!

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, but… I LOVE food.
When we travel, my favorite part of the trip almost always revolves around the new restaurants we eat at and the food we try. I especially love the trips we take to go skiing or when I've run half marathons- because that means I've spent the day burning energy so I can really enjoy eating later. :)

And it's not just eating out that I love. I also really enjoy making my own good food. I think that started when I learned how to bake as a young girl. Between learning to make pies, cakes, and breads, etc. I developed a joy for food (and I also helped my dad develop an extra 10 lbs or so - sorry Dad!)

Yet, as much pleasure and care as I take with my food, I've been allowing myself to go hungry. Not "hungry" as in stomach-grumbling hunger. It's my soul that has been going hungry, but a couple of weekends ago I was filled up.

Toward the end of my college career I met some wonderful women who helped me grow in my relationship with God, frequently meeting for Bible studies and the like.
Since moving to western Kansas I've met some wonderful, Godly women, but I've really missed the fellowship I had with my college friends.

Bethany was one of the great women I met in college. She and her husband, Morgan, are now doing missionary work in India.

The second weekend of April, my sister Katie and I went to Rexford, Kansas for a retreat called Women's Encounter. It was an amazing weekend filled with the fellowship and focus I was needing.

I would encourage any woman, no matter where she's at in her life, or whether or not she knows her heavenly Father, to attend. Trust me, everyone can gain something from a weekend like this. All it takes it is a little time. (And for any men reading this, there is also a men's version called Men's Encounter that I would equally encourage you to attend).

Now the trick will be not to have simply "gorged" myself one weekend, only to go "hungry" in the days to come. The nice part is, now I have a greater network of women I know I can turn to for help in my walk of faith.

April has been a really good month. The weekend after Women's Encounter my brother and sister-in-law had a new baby girl, Lakin Lee Patterson.
Taylor and I went home last weekend to see her and celebrate my mom's birthday as well (Lakin was born the night before Mom's birthday).

We grew up with Massey Ferguson tractors, and Dad wanted to make sure Lakin was a Massey girl early on, too! :)

Western Kansas Fact: When the river would run, people would take stock tanks, throw them in the river, hop in, and go on a float trip. I think this used to be a lot more common than it is now - The past several years there has hardly been any water in the river bed.

This was a Scripture that really meant a lot to me at Women's Encounter:
'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.'  Revelations 3:15-16
This spoke to me because too often I would fall into the "lukewarm" category - going through the motions of being a Christian (going to church, reading my Bible, making my donation) without truly seeking God and His will in my life - that's just what I felt like I was supposed to do. But I want to serve Him with my whole heart, not simply go through the motions.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Lyndee