Maine Prep

I'm very grateful to say that everything seems to be falling into place for us as we prepare for our move to another planet (Maine).  About a month ago my dear Watson posted on the Facebook page for his graduating class of PA students that he was looking for places to live for his family, did any one have an suggestions?  A few days later a girl messaged him that her apartment would be great for our family.  She described it: 2 bedrooms, 1 mile from campus, rent under $1000/month (cheapest we had seen), oh, and the next door neighbors are from Utah. In fact, she said, they're LDS if that means anything to you.  

WHAT? How the heck did we find a place cheap, close to campus AND that had another LDS couple in it? It turns out, there are actually 3 LDS couples in the complex and one of them, our soon to be next door neighbors, is my dear Watson's 3rd cousin (their grandparents are cousins). 

The girl who messaged us is leaving at the end of April and we plan to take over her place when we get there end of May.  Boom! I couldn't believe it.  It means we don't have to send my dear Watson out there to find us a place to live!  We've been in touch with our 3rd cousin/soon to be neighbor over there and they love the place, so we're just doing it. 

We are renting a big ole' truck for my dear Watson and his dad to drive and tow our car behind.  We decided to sell most of our big furniture and check the thrift stores in Maine when we get there to find cheap stuff.  Couch, kitchen table and desk were our biggest concerns.

This same girl who messaged us about the apartment sent a message the other day that she was willing to leave her couch, kitchen table and desk in the apartment for us if we were interested. She'd sell them to us real cheap and they'd just be waiting for us when we got there.

Um. HECK YES! Can you believe it? We didn't even mention any of our furniture concerns or needs to her; it just happened!  This girl has been an answer to so many of our prayers.  She was originally going to be in the same program as my dear Watson, but has since accepted a spot at a different university so we may never get to meet her in person. Our 3rd cousin/soon to be neighbor really likes her and has been a great friend to her it seems.

Now all we have to figure out is how to get baby to come healthy, but soon enough that we could all be together as a family when my dear Watson starts classes. That doesn't leave us much wiggle room for him to come past his due date so....yeah....hoping that all works out too :).

This is what the apartment looks like from the outside. Somehow they snapped a picture on the one sunny day in Maine. There are 4 apartments in each little unit. Big front yard!

This is a map of the area. The Red dot is the apartment, green dot is my dear Watson's school (1.1 miles). The yellow circle is going to be my favorite walking/running route. 3.63 miles around the entire cove. The Pink star at the bottom is church (about 20 minutes away). And yes, all that blue stuff on the right is THE OCEAN.

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. 

Oh Canada and Other Good News

Wow. My dear Watson went to University of New England (Maine) last weekend to interview for their PA program.  Yesterday they sent him an acceptance letter!  We're very excited and grateful to definitely have at least one option already.

Maine is super far away, but it would be a fun adventure. Their program starts in June 2014 and goes every semester for 2 years. Most other programs start in August and are about 2 1/2 years, which allows for a few breaks here and there.  So this particular program would be fast and rigorous.  I can see how that could be good and bad.  I was hoping to be able to stick around during the summer to join our families in family reunions etc. before we head out.

So we'll see.  If we do get other options we'll be grateful to have a choice, if we don't, we'll gladly move to Maine next June.  It will all work out. I'm just glad we have a future. It feels awesome.

I got to spend a week in Canada recently.  I was in Montreal for a business conference for a few days, and then flew to Toronto to hang out with my sister Betsy. She has 4 kids and is such a good mom. She is really good at playing with her kids (like toilet tag, and skylanders) and finding cool projects for them to do. They watch very little TV and still manage to fill their day.  At family prayer Betsy took a moment to mention each of her 4 kids and something she was grateful for....like how Afton skips when she walks. I thought that was such a good idea - it helps the kids know mom loves them and I think it helps mom realize how much she loves her kids.  It's not like the mom life is easy peasy, but from my observation, it's a great life.

PA School News

So we're in the processing of applying to PA (Physicians Assistant) schools.  My dear Watson submitted the applications at the end of August and is working on the last few supplemental applications.

He applied to:

University of Toledo (Ohio)
University of New England (Portland, Maine)
Baylor University (Houston, TX)
Midwestern (AZ)
Northern Arizona University (AZ)
Franklin Pierce University (New Hampshire)
Campbell University (North Carolina)
De Sales University (Pennsylvania)
Wichita State University (Kansas)
Marquette University (Wisconsin)
Harding University (Arkansas)

Our first piece of bad news came a couple weeks ago.  Midwestern said they won't be interviewing (which also means they won't be accepting) him.

Our first piece of good news came on Wednesday.  University of New England wants to interview him!  We booked a flight yesterday so he's headed to Maine next month for an interview!  Interviewing doesn't guarantee admissions, but it's at least a step in the right direction and very encouraging.

Hopefully more good news to come in the future.  

Wind Wuss

It has been so rainy lately.  For the last 2 weeks almost every other day has been threatened by rain.  It often comes in the evening when I’m home alone and is usually accompanied by lightning and wind.  I can still remember a few terrifying tornado warning nights as a little girl when we had to go to the basement and listen to the radio to see if it was coming towards us. I’ve been afraid of wind ever since.

I remember once in 7^th or 8^th grade ( in Utah ) I was playing at a friend’s house down the street when it started to get windy. I looked at the sky and could see the dark storm clouds racing in like there was no tomorrow.  You know what I did?  I turned around and booked it home like a wuss. My friends still tease me about it to this day.

One time when I was in New Zealand we hiked to the top of a mountain and encountered 50-60  mph wind. I’m not exaggerating. It was like sticking your arm out of the car window when you’re driving on the freeway.  You can imagine my worries were at top notch, especially considering we were walking along the top of a mountain with cliffs on either side. 

We moved along the ridge in little spurts. Our professor gave the cue when he noticed a lull in the wind, and we stood up and advanced as far as we could on the trail until the wind was too strong. We crouched down behind a rock and held on to each other until we could move again.

Eventually, as we continued down the mountain the wind lessened.  I remember sitting on a rock and watching the remnants of the wind gently blow the leaves on the tree. I felt so proud of myself for getting through that. I faced my fears, came out safe, and had a great time. 

I thought I conquered my wind fear, until these rain/wind storms of late.  I usually close the blinds and turn up the TV so I can’t hear what’s going on, or think about driving to my dear Watson's work just so I’m not alone.

Tonight though, I’ve opened the blinds and I’m embracing the storm. It’s quite beautiful actually. 

It’s amazing how something awful, and scary, and stupid, becomes beautiful when you have a little bit of courage and trust that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.  I trust that tomorrow I’ll have a bountiful cherry tomato harvest. 

Just a few things I love from this summer.