We're Back!

Well I decided it was about time we updated our blog but when I got on here I saw that Eric had beat me to it. What a guy! I'm so lucky to have him--he's so good to me!

Here's a little update on what we've been up to...

As you can tell from Eric's post there has been a little bit of excitement at our house. First with the new addition of Tucker (who came when we had resigned ourselves to the fact that we just might not be able to have any kids so...let's just get another dog right?) and then with this pregnancy. We're so excited for this baby and are praying that everything goes well.

I would love to be one of those women who say that being pregnant is the best time of their life but unfortunately I have not been one of the chosen few who get to say that. Instead, I've been working on a really close relationship with my bed and the bathroom. I feel like I've been sick forever. Eric and I actually ended up pregnant the beginning of August, and lucky me, I started throwing up right away. Then unfortunately, we lost that pregnancy and I caught the dreaded Swine Flu. Kind of felt like a kick in the teeth. However, we were really blessed because I ended up pregnant again right away. We really feel like it was a miracle! Counting our disappointments the third time was really a charm for us! Needless to say, I have a new found respect for mothers of multiple children. When you're so sick and feeling generally miserable it's hard to believe that women are willing to do it more than once and I've only started! Kind of a scary thought.

Fortunately, I think we're on the upside of it all. I've been able to keep food down for the last 4 days and am feeling much better. I'm so grateful for priesthood blessings and a wonderful husband. I've always known that he loves me very much but you really find out the extent of their commitment and love when you're not able to do anything for yourself. Eric has been pulling double duty big time since October with working all day and taking care of me as well. I'm so grateful for him!

Anyway, on to other things. We are really starting to enjoy Thermopolis. I think when we are finally in a home of our own it will really feel like we actually belong here. We have met some really great friends which helps a lot, and I think Eric knows just about everyone in town now from being at the store all day. That small town feeling is alive and well here in Thermopolis.

We had a fun summer--didn't do much but it was fun. I think our biggest highlights were family reunions, fishing, and horseback riding. It always feels great being in the mountains and having fun with family. I also had my old roomates from college come and spend a couple of days with me. It was so nice to see them again. I think it had been 7 years since we had all been together. We had a great time visiting and catching up.

Eric and my dad were able to have a successful elk hunt this year as well. It always cracks me up when they spend their "vacation" riding horses and walking for miles and miles up a steep mountain while freezing their tails off, worrying about grizzly bears and wolves carrying off their kill and then packing out camp and coming home all the time hoping that that mule train they are leading out won't plummet off the steep cliffs they are on. They call it "having a great time". Personally I don't think it sounds like that much fun...I think I would need a vacation from my "vacation" if it were me. Oh well, they seem to really enjoy themselves and it's really nice for me to have my husband and dad get along so well and have fun together.

Here are a few pictures from our summer and fall.

June
At the Yorgason family reunion my uncle Carl told us we were welcome to take his boat out for a spin...we should have asked if it needed gas because we had to paddle back to shore with one paddle and my uncle Phil's crutches! Boy did we feel like a trio of blondes. Moral of the story...check if the boat has gas before you take it out in the middle of a lake.

Fishing on the lower Sunshine above Meeteetse. We both caught our limit and had a great time.


July
On July 23rd I was able to see my nephew Zachary David Mackay come into the world. It was the neatest experience. My bro-in-law Jeff is one proud papa.

August

As always, going horseback riding is a blast. Cody was having it's annual balloon festival the morning that we left so we had balloons landing all around Eric's parents house. It was pretty neat.

We decided to ride Eagle Creek Trail up the North Fork. It was really pretty up there.

Me and Bella

All the dogs know that Grandpa is a softy. They always beg his lunch off him.

Lyle, Alex, and Eric--the Wild Bunch!
September
I took Eric to Ten Sleep lake for his birthday. We had a great day fishing and relaxing. Can you guess why we didn't catch any fish?



October
Eric was privileged to be asked to bless our newest nephew on October 8th. What a couple of handsome boys!

I found out that I was pregnant the day before our 4th year anniversary. I decided to wait a day to tell Eric so he could open this as his gift.

Hard to Believe

Some of you may already know... but to all those who read this... now you will all know that we are expecting a baby to be born around the 17th of June in 2010! (I know it's a boy! HA HA)...



I had a wonderful experience today that I really wanted to share. It was a moment in the day that simply put... put life into perspective. You all know... a moment that makes you say "I get it now". Somehow I managed to savor the moment despite the whirlwind of activity that could have ruined it for me.



I got to hear this little miracle heartbeat! It was amazing to me because of the flood of thoughts that come roaring through your mind after you hear what a 150 beats per minute sounds like through a little ultrasonic jukebox of pregnancy. I saw the heartbeat a while back during an ultrasound... and that was a wonderful thing... yet when I heard it, it took on a whole new meaning for me. My very first thought was that heartbeat sounds healthy. Now I am no medical doctor... that was just my first thought. Then my second thought... I got scared to death. There were moments of bliss, knowing that I was going to be a father, and moments of pure terror also knowing that I was going to be a father!



I left the office of that doctor with a miriad of thoughts that I will be pondering for quite some time. I wondered with great respect for God, why the path for me only had a few bumps along the way, and why the path for my life long friends Cole and Natalie was much more difficult. No good answer came in revelation of this part of God's plan. And that made me wonder... am I worthy of the responsibility to raise one of God's little ones? Have I prepared enough? Have I repented enough? Have I learned enough lessons "the hard way" to teach someone else what not to do? Again no good answer came to this simple mind. What I did have was a confirmation of sorts. I looked at Mindy, my beautiful wife in the eyes... and she smiled back at me, and she told me that she loved me. I knew that if God were to bless me with a child based strictly on my merits, choices and such... I would be waiting a very long time and the day might never come. Yet when I looked in Mindy's eyes I knew that she was one of God's chosen mothers. That she was someone so special to God that despite the failures of her husband she had enough of the good stuff to carry us through to the blessings. Then I thought how blessed I was to have such a woman in my life. Someone that did enough good in this world for two people. I also thanked God for a mother that tought me to look for virtue and charity among many other things in a companion, and then I thanked God some more for giving me the strength to hold out until I found Mindy. With her talents in the mix I feel confident that I can be a father and a dad. Life is so enjoyable and knowing that I get to spend eternity with this special woman brings tears of joy to my eyes. I am truly blessed.

So the "I get it now" moment was the realization that God wants to tell me that I am not alone in this world. That I have others to help me in this life and eternity. Others to help build me up and strengthen me. And so I have to tell my greatest source of strength on this earth... To Mindy, "Look at you girl". Let the rest of eternity start with me telling you how much I love you.

About Time!

For all those who are wondering where we disappeared to, this post is for you!

We have a new puppy sometimes called "el Diablo". He is actually a chocolate Lab named Tucker. He is a pure bred Lab and he completes the standard colors of the Lab family.We nicknamed him el Diablo because he tends to take after me... a little devil! If you are questioning me as being a little devil... I refer you to my childhood pictures, my mom made me a devil costume for Halloween... If your mom says it... it's true! Right?! Anyway, Tucker likes to tease (sounds familiar!) the other dogs and for the most part Sassy is very good with him and Brio tolerates him, most days.

Here they are after fresh made pancakes! They are all pancake hounds! It's a lot of fun to have them all around.

History

When someone asks me what I have been up to, and my response is just "work"... it kind of bothers me to some extent. My dad is an accountant and he keeps some pretty huge hours during tax season. I think that this year I might have actually logged more hours than him. Would he be proud of me for that? I don't know. What I do know is I have been putting the foundation and cornerstones in on a business, that will provide many years of productivity.

I am sure that I have talked about it before... how much work it is to resurrect a business that was a heartbeat away from flat lining. Once I got in there and put on my size 40 work shirt and size 1 hard hat, I started to realize that I had much more on my plate than I thought. It kind of reminds me of the sketty and jewt (spaghetti and mt. dew) days in college. It wasn't enough for us to eat sketty from a normal size plate... we had to use the pizza pan stacked high and at least a 12 pack of jewt for 2 people. Funny thing to me is I don't remember it taking a really long time to polish off that huge plate of sketty. I also remember having some pretty big friends, like Brandon Smith and Dave Gore... each of those guys were 6 foot 20 and weighed about 225... all muscle. And here I am a 5 nuthin' 135 lb freak and we were pounding so much sketty and jewt.

Back to the point... My plate with the store is like that pizza pan full of sketty. At the store I literally get to put away the noodles and deal with some noodle heads. I knew there would be both physical and mental challenges. I knew there would be people challenges and things that would take quite a bit of patience to overcome. Luckily for me that Mackay temper has stayed tucked away and rather gentle, almost like I forgot how to be mad... ha! Well for the most part.

So the challenges are still there and some are making me polish my mettle. I didn't count on all of the peculiar people coming out of the woodwork to try and force me down. There is a guy who applied for a job, and to his credit he was really diligent in his Inquisitions about a job, yet another candidate was selected for the open position. Then the guy who was not selected for the job says that I discriminated against him based on age. It made me stop and think about many situations, my responses and my reactions, even my pro-actions. I have always been very selective in my responses to those applying for a job, and specific enough to follow a dialogue based on principles so there may be no misunderstanding to what I said. Still someone is challenging me, and that is an opportunity to polish my mettle. We'll see how it all plays out. I have a really good woman to back me up. She helps to keep things in perspective and calm the temper.

No pictures this time. Just ramblings.

Spring!

Spring is finally here! I've always been the type of girl that really enjoys all the seasons wyoming has to offer (aside from the wind) but this year for some reason it seemed like winter was never going to end. When we moved to Thermopolis in November it was actually still warm which I didn't mind at all when I was making hundreds of trips in and out of the house with boxes, but then winter came and set up shop. For some reason I really got cabin fever and am really thankful now for the warm weather we have been enjoying and also the newness that comes with spring. As I've been walking each day the same scripture keeps coming to my mind. D&C 59:18 "Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart." Call me a sap but seeing the new baby animals, and the beautiful green hills have been very pleasing to the eye and have gladdened my heart tremendously. Here's some of my favorite spots in Thermop.

Got to love the canyon!

This is the area where I walk called Buffalo Creek Rd.

I just love these dutch belted cows. They look like OreosSome other favorite spots I love this driveway--It reminds me of Ann of Green Gables for some reason Several Canadian Geese stay here year round. It has been so much fun watching them with their new babies. Hopefully you can see them. My faithful walking buddies Brio and Sassy--they LOVE the river. The last six months have really gone by fast. Eric and I have been super busy. It was really weird going from teaching to working at the store, but it's been good for us to work together--oh the things you learn about your spouse when you have to work with each other! We see each other more this way and I feel more a part of the business, but sometimes I still feel like telling people that I would love to do story time with their kids while they shop. A couple weeks ago we made some larger changes to the store by adding new check stands. This poor little store needs some serious remodeling but for now this change has made a big difference. The cashiers had to empty the baskets with the set up on the old stands but the new ones have the belt that brings the groceries to you--big difference if you're standing up there all day.

Here's the before shot
The owners --Twin brothers Kent and Brent Foulger
This is one of the the owners--Brent Foulger. I told him I had some great black mail to send to his wife. There's no getting out of cleaning the floors at home now--I have proof that he knows how.
The finished product

It's my turn.

It's my turn now. I have been so neglectful of my opportunity to update this blog. Fortunately for you I have a few tidbits to share.

Of course this could turn into a huge story about how much work has consumed me and devoured my ability to think about or do anything other than work related stuff... However I am just going to relay a short story...

Our team at Blair's Market was full of new hires and team members who lacked training and discipline. You see, disipline is a key ingredient to sucess, whatever your view of sucess is. If you are disciplined (even if you are doing something wrong) you will be successful. Successful at finding a solution to your opportunity or finding an ani-solution; a way (or multitude of ways) that didn't produce the desired results.

A training session was in order. Perhaps you could have called this a mini seminar. An hour spent very wisely with a great message and a captive audience. We used a few lessons and examples to deliver the message of unity, discipline and example. And the results were fantastic! I delivered a challenge and a score card with opportunity to win and we have seen a change of attitude and an elevation of the status quo.

So enough about work...

We have a very special dog (two of them actually!) at our house. I am starting to see the age in him, and I get very worried about him. I am sure that you dog lovers know what I mean. Well, he loves to go for rides in the truck and since we had to get a new truck he doesn't know how to ride in it. In the old truck he could put his rump on the back seat and lean forward resting his front legs and chest on the center console. Since we bought a crew cab he has a ton more room... and his rump doesn't quite make it to the back seat. Since he went for a ton of rides in the old truck he was trained, how to sit and ride in the truck. In the new truck he forgets, that the back seat area is bigger and on every ride he goes on he tries to sit on the back seat and rest on the center console as before... and when he does he almost falls to the floor... because he doesn't quite reach! Even though he is a big dog! We have had many laughs about it, yet what makes it even funnier is the look he gives you when it happens! It almost breaks my heart as well when I have to help him in. Sometimes he feels really spry and can get in himself, other times he looks at me like "hey dad... a little help please."

Anyway, he is my Big Dog and he'll always be riding shotgun for me.

Just a note

So I had to speak in church last week with Mindy. We got selected not just because we are the new people in the ward, but also because our next door neighbor is in the bishopric and helped us move in (part of the payback) and also because John Winter is in the bishopric as well. I was very impressed with Mindy's talk. She always says that she is not a public speaker, yet her message was clear and her points were backed by thought, principle, and scriptures. Mine, however, was not quite as interesting, I could see many people nodding their heads and even a few of the old guys were drooling! ha ha

The topic was quite interesting for a sacrament meeting. We were to speak on family relationships. I was a little intimidated by the topic so I started to prepare my talk 20 minutes before we left for church. I kept asking Mindy to prepare a talk for me, but she just wouldn't. Darn the luck. Luckily Mindy saved the day and prepared such a wonderful talk that all I had to do was mumble a few words and fake a few people out for a minute and it was over!

Thermopolis is such a beautiful town. The other day Mindy was gone to SLC with her parents and there was a dash of sunlight left before darkness encroached on the high rise skyline. So I took Brio and Sassy out for a ride in the truck. We first headed out to the Buffalo pasture. We didn't see the Buffalo out on the pasture, they were all corralled up and feasting on some really green hay. But the pasture provides some really great views of the city. You see the town much differently from up there. From the Buffalo pasture we went out the county road (headed towards Worland) that is on the opposite side of the river. It's a dirt road and that's why you take them... just to see where they go. Lots of hay fields and micro ranches. As I passed by all these house I noticed they all had one thing in common. A big truck or trailer out front with huge water tanks on them. What a pain that would be to haul water every day.

We took a day to go back to Powell and Cody for pleasure and house business. I decided that since we had the whole day we might as well take the scenic route. We went to Anchor Reservoir and then out another dirt road 37 miles to the high way. That's why I love trucks! We had terrible traffic at one point... a herd of cows jamming up the road... no point in getting your road rage hemmoroid all fired up... they hear those cuss words all the time and they never catch on! It was a beautiful trip and I really found some nice places to explore on the wheeler.

It is quite different now for us... we just found out that on holidays we will have to speak, fight, or swindle our way for a room at my mom and dad's for holidays when everyone comes over. I guess now all my brothers and sisters can't call me a momma's boy anymore cause I moved so far away... wait a tick... I still live the closest!

Enough rambling. I have chores to do.