Life being Pregnant

The view from our dining room.


Our place. The bunkhouse on the left side is torn down.


Our house from the sky- I was flying with my boss, Alan.



Hey!


This weekend Andrew's mentor/professor Gator and his family are coming to visit and see the ranch. We are excited and I'm cooking up a storm today. I'm not supposed to be on my feet much anymore. I went to the Dr. on Tuesday and I have the early signs of preeclampsia or toxemia. That means my blood pressure is elevated and I'm retaining more fluid than I should be. I guess it can be really serious and if it gets worse they would induce labor early. It starts to mess with your kidneys, liver and placenta. Anyway the Dr. put me on rest but not nec. bed rest. He told me to spend most of my day resting and not on my feet and drink more water and eat less salt. It has been extremely difficult to lay low. I have so many projects I'm working on--doesn't he know I'm nesting. It has been an adjustment for Andrew and I not to work on projects together.


Last night I gave Abby a detailed bath since she thinks she lives in the barn with the kitties. She has taken on the role of being their mom and lets them nurse her and everything. Afterwards I trimmed up her hair so she looks a lot better. When Abby takes a break from being mom she comes to the house to sleep. Those kitties wear her out.


Anyway I thought I would post some pictures of our place since some people have asked to see them. Most of these are from the fall. It has been so bright/hot during the day to take pictures. They all looked washed out and I forget to take them at night. Right now the grass is pretty green and lush because we've had some rain.

Please pray for a safe and healthy delivery of Daraby and a spirit of calm for us.

Weekend News

Hello!
We had a wonderful weekend! We carried the camera everywhere but we forget to take pictures. Sorry! Life has been great. Last week I used my Mom's shampooer to clean the floors. That is one of the most rewarding things a person can do. I can't believe how dirty our floors were. I love getting rid of those black pails of water. It seriously made my day and tuckered me right out. I had to recover and take a 2 hour nap. Besides that I have duck feet- they are so swollen, even though I am drinking enough water to sink the Titanic. I have concluded that being pregnant isn't very glamorous! I am in the uncomfortable stage and can't wait for the baby to be born so I can finally sleep on my stomach again. Agh!
I've also been nesting like the robins in my yard. I never thought I would be a nester. Who knew? On Saturday we got up early to go garage saling 70 miles away in Ogallala. We found a couple cute baby outfits, bottles, rug and one unique green chair- which Andrew thinks is super ugly. That is ok because he won't have to see it since it is going in the basement bedroom. The basement is starting to come together- at least all the stuff isn't in my living room anymore.
After we were garage saled out we drove on to Hershey to check out a western store that is going out of business. Andrew found 2 pairs of pants that were his size and on sale. :) That is quite an accomplishment because he is so tall and picky. From there we drove on to North Platte for the Nebraskaland Parade. What an amazing parade- it went on forever. We brought our seats and found an awesome spot just for two but we forgot to bring an umbrella or sunscreen. We are burnt. Andrew's little legs are bright red. We got soooo hot and a little sick.
Maynard's is located in North Platte and we were excited to walk a big box store and dream of all the tools we want. We bought some shelves for the basement so I can store my canning supplies down there. Now I need to assemble them.
For supper we went out to a little steakhouse on beautiful Lake Maloney. It was very nice with good food, quiet atmosphere and lake front view. It was the perfect place to cool down our burnt bodies. Andrew and I ate so fast because we were so hungry.
Next we went to the huge rodeo! We were so pumped and the weather was perfect- it cooled down. The stands were packed and the riders and participants were excellent. There were so many newborn babies in the stands. One newborn sat directly in front of us and slept pretty much the entire time. It was great to talk to new parents (which will be us in a month or so.) They had a lot tips and advice. OH- Every time the music would get loud baby Daraby would kick and move like a crazy thing. It was a lot of fun for us to touch and watch my belly.
On Sunday we got up early for church and Andrew taught the lesson for the sports camp Sunday school and I took care of two 2year olds. After church we attended a community potluck at the Stuhaans barn. We met so many more people in the community and ate great food. The Stuhaans went to a lot of work and the barn was decorated so cute. The people here have really opened their arms to us. We feel like we fit in here so well.
Last night, when we got home, I took a nap and Andrew went riding. Abby runs ahead and scares up birds and Andrew rides Dutch. They took a long ride N of our home. The entire time they were gone there was thundering and lightning but no rain. They came home just fine a couple hours later.
Today I'm getting up the gumption to work on the basement and paint. Who knows how much I'll get done. Off I go!

Catching Up

Andrew getting Dutch ready for the trail competition.

This is how we check our mail! Ha!















Jackson at play.















Bella the ever cautious one.















Timberwolf Lake Work project.














Hello!
Today is the first day in a while we've had around our house so we decided to take some pictures and catch up on our blog. Over the past month we've been to Pennsylvania, Michigan, and South Dakota. Michael Gundy, a great friend from Grand Rapids, got married in Pittsburgh on May 17. The wedding was a lot of fun and we enjoyed spending the weekend with a bunch of couples our age. Then we spent the next week in Michigan catching up with friends and family. It's a little strange vacationing in your hometown, but when we live in the hills (literally) it's nice to be back in civilization for a short time. Mom and Dad Boersma are wonderful hosts and we have a lot of fun with the family. Joel's newest claim to fame is his fishing boat so we had to go try that out.
When we got back from our trip, Darcy's mother got really sick in South Dakota. They diagnosed her with Lepto, which also probably killed our dog Amber and Darcy's parent's dog Meiko. Darcy went up there for a week to take care of her and get Abby back before they took her as there own:) We thank God that her mom is now feeling better.
We had a little scare this week when Darcy didn't feel Daraby move for a couple of days. Because she's been a very active baby so far, we went to the hospital yesterday (Sat) and had her checked out. Everything turned out to be fine and in fact Daraby started kicking and moving around once we got to the hospital:) Again, we thank God that it wasn't anything serious and the pregnancy continues to go well.
You've seen the new pictures and heard the news of the past month, so I think my job is about complete. More importantly, I think supper is ready, so with that I appreciate you checking out our site and know that many of you are in our thoughts and prayers! Let us know what's going on with you especially if we haven't heard from you in a while. Don't be a stranger!

Yes We are Blogging!

Andrew and our boss Alan
















Roundup















Andrew working as the head wrestler much better than the tail wrestler
















Good Morning! We are so excited to be connected online again. A couple months ago we had satelite internet put in our place but we haven't had much chance to use it. Life has been crazy busy around here and we are hoping it slows down just a little bit. From traveling to SD and MI, attending local cattle brandings and going to work we haven't had much time for chatting or sleeping.

Today I am going to try to get my garden planted. I know I'm really late getting it in but better late than never. We also have construction workers around the house working on the basement and putting forms for concrete around the outside of the house. Hopefully all the hard work will stop the flooding in our basement and I can organize the basement. Right now all the boxes are stacked up in our livingroom, laundry is hanging out on our bed and dishes in the sink. Maybe I can tackle some of it today.

Yesterday we went to a neighbors cattle branding. Andrew wrestled calves with our boss Alan. I either help with vaccinations or help with the food. (It kills me not to be able to wrestle calves with Andrew but I'm pretty pregnant to do much of anything.) Early in the morning everyone goes out with their horses and gathers the cattle. Then they seperate the cows from the calves. From there they brand and vaccinate the calves and let them back to pasture with the cows. It's incredible to get together with neighbors and work together. I love it. You really get to know your neighbors and bond. Afterwards we all enjoyed some delicious food.

Andrew is planning to go on a cattle drive this Saturday for another neighbor. He will be in the saddle all day. We have been very blessed with our new horse Dutch. He is very dependable and cowy. I enjoy seeing Andrew happy and growing in his skills and friendships.
Well I better get some house work done because I'm going to work at the ranch later this week.