ABQ

We visited my sister and her family in ABQ, New Mexico last weekend. It's funny how a 9 hour drive really didn't feel that bad. We loved hanging out with my sister's family. My dear Watson got all sorts of cuddles from the twins and several of the other younger kids. He's always everyone's favorite :). 

We went on a hike (Tent Rocks), did some shopping, and ate delicious food. Scott treated us to a green chile breakfast burrito from Blake's Lotaburger. We liked it better than Betos. 

Sarah gave us a bag full of baby boy clothes and a few toys and other random things. My dear Watson just keeps shaking his head wondering where we're ever going to fit all this stuff.  I did a pretty good job of hiding most of it in nooks and cranny's.  It's only going to get worse though and I'm going to run out of nooks and cranny's real quick.

Tent Rocks

Us and the kids (minus one of the twins who was already down for a nap).

Harold

A little over 9 years ago my SIL and her husband needed a place to live. Jan and Harold Paulsen offered their 'farm' - some property they had down by the freeway connected to Harold's fencing business. A little 2 bedroom office-turned-into-house with a big front yard and an awful crab apple tree. 

The house was so great that after my SIL moved out, her brother and his wife moved in.  Then after several more years, it was our turn.  I guess the Paulsen's just couldn't get enough of the Watson blood.

The Paulsen's are just like that though.  Harold Paulsen, 77, was down here almost every day just 'puttering around' as he used to say.  He would move things around in his garage, prepare the garden, mow our lawn, or just help his son with some of the fencing business work....anything he could do to keep busy.

We kept our eye on Harold during his days down at our place. He was an old man who could outwork a 23 year old any day.  He was kind and gentle and believed fiercely in hard work. He loved his kids, his property, his grand kids, 4 wheeling, his wife and Disneyland. He was one of the best men we've ever met. He was like a grandpa to us.

He passed away 2 weeks ago due to an aortic dissection. He dealt with 3 types of cancer and a stroke in the last 16 years, but was still working hard right up until a few days before he died.

Harold was a man who loved to serve. Whatever he had, he was willing to share it with others.  If he could help, he would; he never held back.  We benefited immensely from his generosity. This home has been an incredible blessing to us - not just financially (he gave us a big discount on rent), but on all other levels that matter as well. We love it here, nasty crab apple tree and all, and we feel sad about leaving it.


Things at the farm aren't the same without him. We miss him. I don't think Harold ever knew just how much he meant to us, so I'm excited to be able to tell him when I see him again. We leave our little house, Harold's farm, in April and it feels good knowing we're leaving it to one of Harold's grand kids. It was a privilege for us to be hear for 3.5 years, but it will finally be in the right hands. Finally one of the Paulsens can benefit from this home instead of one of the Watsons.

Thank you Harold and Jan and all the Paulsen kids for letting us stay at the farm!

This is Jan and Harold on 'old red' right outside the house before it looked like the picture below.  When I saw this picture it made a lot more sense to me why they call this place 'the farm'.

This is the house now.

Harold!

Pregnancy #1

I’m buckling down. I really want to start blogging again. We have a lot going on this year and we’ll be moving soon so I need a way to document our adventures. I know, no one even reads blogs anymore. Unless you’re a famous blogger, blogs are a thing of the past. 

So I guess I’ll call it a journal. But not the kind of journal that I would be mortified if others read (like that time when I was in high school and you read MY journal that was in MY bathroom, Russ. Remember?).  Maybe it won’t  be called a journal. Maybe it will be called a means of documenting our real lives. Whatever. It’s a blog.

A few thoughts about life these days.

1.  I’m pregnant. 26 weeks pregnant and I feel huge. Sometimes I worry my belly is going to rip in half. My poor back can’t quite support this growing belly.  It’s fun to feel my little boy moving around and kicking, although sometimes it feels like someone is punching me in the gut. I get SO excited thinking about what he'll look like (I'm hoping for brown hair, not red. I know, I'm bad).
2. I’m very much opposed to posting belly pictures on Facebook.  
3. It took everyone a long time before they decided I was actually pregnant. No one was convinced I'm pregnant until around 20 weeks. I may not be big compared to anyone else, but compared to me, I’m gigantic.  Yesterday I was really feeling the sadness of my changing body.  It’s a natural feeling so I won’t beat myself up over it. I used to be skinny and fit and now I am not skinny and I run 12 minute miles. Things may never go back to the way they were before, but maybe they will. I guess my child bearing years are only a small portion of my life. I'll have control again someday. 
4. Baby is due May 11th and we have to be in Portland, Maine for grad school by May 26th.  So we're kind of on a time crunch and I'm hoping baby boy decides to come early...but not too early because I need to work until May 5th to get insurance for the entire month of May.  So pretty much what I'm saying is nothing unexpected can happen and everything just has to go according to plan. That's not too much to ask, right?

Next time I'll tell you all about our sweet and amazing landlord who passed away last week.