A New Job and a Baby Shower!

January has been a WONDERFUL month! Billy's last day of work was the 31st of December, so after a week long class in Riverside he came up to norther California to wait for his transfer call. He had a relaxing yet productive 2 1/2 weeks off before it came and he got THE BEST NEWS. He was going to work in Napa! So off he went! He's living in Vacaville and commuting and I am so thrilled to join him down there after the baby comes :)
My mom also hosted the most beautiful baby shower in January. It was filled with lots of family and friends, yummy food and drinks and very generous gifts!

Now that February is here, the reality of a baby joining us is hitting hard! Billy is ready to jump in his truck and drive to the hospital at a moments notice, baby clothes are washed, crib is set up... we are ready and waiting!

Happy New Year!

It's no coincidence this post is coinciding with the first day of January. I've been terrible about blogging ever since Billy started his apprenticeship and while I don't really make any official resolutions, I do want to get in the habit of blogging more, even if I feel like I don't have a whole lot to share. Hopefully as the months pass I will get a new vision for this blog, but in the meantime, I'll continue to update it with what's new in our lives.

After Billy finished his climbing class in Riverside, CA, we headed up to Los Molinos and Red Bluff to spend thanksgiving with our families. Billy then drove down to Blythe, CA (in the desert between Phoenix and L.A.) to start his new job, which was supposed to last until April of this year. As it turns out however, he wasn't able to get the distribution hours he was supposed to be getting for his apprenticeship, so they're moving him again. Which will hopefully be a good thing! The worst case scenario would be him working in Nevada which has a lower pay scale, or working far fewer hours than he wants somewhere in California. But best case scenario is he'll still be getting lots of hours and it'll be much closer to home! In the meantime he's had to go to another week long class in Riverside (which is where he is now) and he will hopefully find out where he'll be placed by the end of the class.

I'm staying at with my mom until the baby's born to avoid all the craziness. Everything's going perfectly as far as little boy Jacobs is concerned and we are getting so excited to meet him!

Back to the West Coast

A little over a week ago Billy noticed a voicemail on his phone from the director of the California/Nevada JATC (he was working for the South West JATC) asking him if he had gotten his letter inviting him to the climbing class and asking for a call back by the end of the day. Well that was on a Saturday and the message had been left on Friday. So needless to say all weekend we were worried that our chance to move back to California had been missed. Come Monday he was able to get ahold of him and found out the class began in a week. Thankfully Billy only had to work a few hours that day and had Tuesday off because of the rain so we were able to talk and give some serious thought to what we wanted to do. If Billy did decide to come out for the climbing class, he would have to quit the apprenticeship program he had been in for a year and a half and possible need to start all over again. There was also no guarantee that he would pass the climbing class, although we weren't too worried about that being a problem. By Monday evening we decided that if we could get everything together that we needed to on Tuesday we would go for it. There was a lot that had to go right, but everything came together! So Wednesday morning we packed up the trailer, said our last good byes and started driving west! We split the drive up into two days and arrived in Riverside, CA on Thursday night. Billy had a few things to do here in California on Friday before the class started and thankfully all went smoothly again. We spent the weekend relaxing and hanging out at the beach and he went to his first day of class on Monday. By the end of class we should get a call telling Billy where his first job is. We're praying like crazy it's close to family. In the meantime we're enjoying the beautiful weather (while Oklahoma is experiencing a deep freeze) and practicing some serious thankfulness at this wonderful turn of events!

Lineman Rodeo

Last weekend Billy competed in the International Lineman's Rodeo in Kansas City, MO. It was so much fun! There was a big expo on Friday where we got lots of free stuff :) and Saturday was the actual competition. Billy competed in three events, and did really well in all three! Here are some pictures from the weekend (including a giant piece of meat Billy ate one night...).

And in other news... I'm 24 weeks pregnant! 

We set up our crib last week and I made a flannel swaddle :) So much excitement!!!

How is it October Already?

The end of last month flew by! And the if the last week is any indication, this month will do the same!

Well we found out some very exciting news a couple weeks ago...

We're having a boy! Needless to say Billy was more than thrilled, and so was I :)

Everything here is going smoothly. Billy's birthday is this weekend so we're celebrating by going to an Octoberfest party here in Lawton, eating pie and watching movies. I can't help but think of all that will happen by the time Billy turns 28! We will be parents, he'll have topped out, and we'll hopefully be living back in California! 

Big News!!!

I really, really meant to make this blog a priority again and am so disappointed with myself for letting it fall by the wayside.
However, I did have a pretty good excuse for a few months... I'm pregnant!

The sonogram was at my 10 week appointment and the picture is obviously at 17 weeks, I'm now almost 19 weeks!

The first trimester was exhausting to say the least but the symptoms pretty much stopped with that, other than the occasional bloating or craving for sour patch kids. 

Since about week 15 I've been feeling great! So I am making it a priority to get back to blogging, now that I can no longer use the overpowering desire for naps as an excuse. 

I've also started writing the occasional article for the blog: Literally Darling

these are my first two:

http://www.literallydarling.com/blog/2014/06/25/5-tips-look-like-tourist-vacation/

http://www.literallydarling.com/blog/2014/08/15/enjoy-every-single-workout/

I absolutely love the stage of life we're in right now! We're relatively settled down in one spot and looking forward to meeting our first child in February. So far I love being pregnant! I am more than anxious to start feeling the baby move and we have our big ultrasound next week, so hopefully this baby will cooperate and we'll find out whether it's a boy or girl! 

Poconos Adventure!

Last week Billy and I along with two close friends, spent 7 days in the Poconos traveling around to New York, Philadelphia and Boston! We had such an amazing time and saw so many incredible things! All three cities were so different and each had so many special things to offer I don't think I could choose a favorite.

Philadelphia was the first stop for Billy and I and after Kenny and Beverly joined us, we spent another day there at the end of the week. We had cheesesteaks, saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and had a blast walking around. And I had to eat a pretzel from a food cart :)

NYC was next and was so incredible! I was in awe just walking around. We stopped at Central Park, The MET, Time Square and Greenwich village to name a few places. 

And I think Boston was the crowd favorite. We walked along the Freedom Trail most of the day and saw a lot of great historical monuments, ate lobster rolls and toured the Sam Adams brewery.

We also spent a couple days hanging around the Poconos recharging. We relaxed, watched the world cup and did some wine tasting at a local vineyard. 

I had no idea I wold enjoy the east coast so much! I can't wait to go back!