Lets start with youngest to oldest, shall we?
Corbett Rhyder- This little boy....he sure is something. He loves adventure and if that means falling from stairs then that is what he will do. (He has done this SO many times and landed on his head- good thing I have insurance for this kid because he needs it) He recently had his second birthday, and he seemed to really get into the spirit this year- mostly due to Marley- but it was still great! Christmas was all about trucks and cars and trains. He loves them all! He was super content with all the cars he got and the extra's such as Star Wars and Batman. Did I mention my kids are both obsessed with Star Wars and LOVE Batman? Yeah we know we are raising them right. ;) He loves the movie- you guessed it- Cars and goes crazy when he sees cars and trucks on the roads. Our new home we see TONS of trucks and semi's so this kid is in pure heaven! His best friend is Marley and they have the best of times playing and torturing each other. You know, just regular brother things. His speech is getting better but he also has a bigger sister to interpret everything he says so he doesn't like to say too much at times ;)
Marley Marie- She sure has blossomed into such a spunky, sassy, loving little girl! At the age of 3 I never knew someone could have so much....person in them. She sure has her moments of being the sassy girl whom we struggle with disciplining but then she has the sweet moments with being kind and funny- oh ever so funny she is! This also makes it hard to discipline because she gets her humor from her dad, and I have a hard time keeping a straight face majority of the day. She is also so independent and loves to do things by herself, so we are trying to keep up with her and her willing to do things all by herself- this includes cutting food with knives and cooking over the stove....she is sure a girl of daring abilities. She loves to dress up as Elsa and Rapunzel ALL the time but also loves to play outside and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty :)
Sadee- Well, I feel kind of silly and awkward talking about myself but....I feel like I am doing pretty good? This year has been a learning curve for me and I have tried really hard to improve myself. New year of 2016 I felt really down with myself and I wanted to be more confident so I decided to be dedicated to working out. And I felt so good I started loosing weight! Then I got real brave and cut all my hair off and I gained something so much more than the lost weight- I had confidence in myself. For the first time in my entire life I didn't care what people thought about me, and what a freeing feeling that has been! So this was the year of change for me and I am so glad I had TJ standing next to me to support me during the entire process. During this year I found a love for Body Pump and enjoyed doing that- unfortunately we no longer have access to that with where we live. But someday I think it would be cool to be a Body Pump Fitness Coach- someday!
TJ- This has been a good learning year for him. With some changes in his employment he has learned more about himself and what he wants out of life. He tried out doing Insurance and did really well with it (a lot of people do not know how hard that test is, and many people do not pass but he passed with flying colors- but this also was difficult for him because he actually had to study really hard instead of just winging it like he normally does ;) ) He then decided to go back to school so he can get his business degree. He applied to Stevens-Henegar College and really loved it! His Dean had only great things to say about him and his teachers loved him as well. This was a great learning time for TJ as he was thriving but it was also a big thing for me to see him going to school and working a full time, underpaying job to provide for our family. I could tell it was taking a toll on him. We just celebrated his 28th birthday (don't worry- I had to grab a calculator to remember how old he is ;) )!
We were able to spend the day with him since he was off his hitch, so that was super nice! (All those confused with the hitch term, hold on- I am getting to that!)
Alright, now that I have gone through each person I guess I can explain our fast paced move! It was during the time TJ was going to school and working full time that I was talking with my cousin who had mentioned that her best friends husband worked up in North Dakota and needed guys to go up and work. There was something about this that I couldn't shake away- something persistent kept telling me I should mention this to TJ. Now, knowing TJ and the basic job description it sounded NOTHING TJ would be interested in. But I figured I would find out more info about this job.
I asked this friend about what her husband does and what the whole deal was. She gave me all the information she could and I said I would relay the information to TJ. I was SO hesitant about it because it was so....different from what we were looking for! But I was determined to give the information to TJ and let him decide- in my heart I knew he would not like it but I kept an open mind. (It's almost like cringing if you say something to someone you know wont like it- that is how I felt, I was so nervous!)
After his shift TJ got home around 2am and we discussed the job together, and he was actually really excited and thought it was a great opportunity! So we decided to talk about it and get a hold of the husband to discuss the further details and what it would take to do. Still on the fence but we knew we needed a change for our family. We decided to go to the Temple to get some peace and pray (the reg LDS stuff...) and we had such an overwhelming feeling that we went home that night and applied for the job. Everything felt right, like this is what we were meant to be doing. Now, never being to North Dakota we were blind on our move. We found a house that we liked the pictures of and decided to call. Someone was going to be renting it out but they would leave us on the list for next. Great. back to the drawing board. I actually prayed that we could get this house and be able to be together as a family- and surprise, surprise the very next day we got a call saying the house was ours if we wanted it! We still had to apply but they would hold it for us! The application normally takes about a week to get an answer, but from the miracles above we heard back in TWO days! WE GOT THE HOUSE!!! And this was such a huge relief because TJ applied to the job on Sunday, We got approved for the house by Wednesday, got TJ ready to go on Thursday and Friday and he left on Saturday. So like I said, this was a VERY fast and sudden move! We were so blessed to have this opportunity ahead of us!
I was left with the kids to do the rest of the packing and we decided I would move out right after Christmas so we could be together. As fun as it was packing and taking care of the kids solo I was so grateful for my mom and all her help- we spent every weekend at her house so I could catch a breather and not do church by myself (those who know Corbi, he doesn't like to sit still and church is an....adventure every week). We had some bumps along the way but it was just more confirmation that we were on the right path. (We had some flooding happen with all the rain and I was storing all our moving boxes in the kitchen. A few of the boxes got wet....long story short I was grateful my dad lived upstairs to be my rescue so so many times!)
I can skip all the details now, but we made it out safe and sound! We pulled into our new home and the driveway was filled with knee deep snow, and our u-haul got stuck at the bottom of the driveway (they had a HUGE storm and they were not prepared for all the snow and the roads weren't even plowed so thank goodness for an SUV!) This was just so funny to me really that all I could do was laugh. The kids were tired and cranky and trying to unload all our belongings was not easy but I was just SO HAPPY!!!!! MY spirits were so high because I knew I was going to see TJ that night and our family was going to be together again. Nothing was stopping my smile or happy attitude! We were even blessed by a member from the ward coming to plow our driveway so we could park my car before they came to plow the roads! I felt so much of God's love and was ever so grateful for following the path we needed to be on! :)
So here we are, a month has already gone since we have left our home and family in Utah. Sure it has been hard and challenging but it has also been SO worth every second to see TJ when he comes home and have this wonderful home we live in! The kids have been enjoying the room to roam and the snow to play in. Marley does complain it being cold outside even on the warmer days (silly girl, she says its cold when its 20+ outside ;) And I think it feels amazing in comparison to the -30+ weather). So far, (knock on wood) Corbi has been accident free but we have been battling some colds so it is good he is a bit more mellow until our insurance kicks in on the 1st ;)
We are so happy TJ is also off hitch! (Told you I would get to it) So up here, when they work it is considered a hitch- so he works for 6 weeks straight and gets 2 off. Those 6 weeks are considered one hitch. So no matter how short or long you are working straight through that is considered one hitch) We have done so much since he has been off and we have been so grateful he is here to spend time with! He actually just got another new job that is more of what he wants to do; yes, another new job! He will be having shorter hitches and working more with math skills so he is very excited for this opportunity- I tell you, we are just feeling SO blessed!(This new job will have a 2 week hitch and one week off so this will work better for our family and our needs.)
The kids have been so good with this move, Marley has been the hardest because she has been old enough to understand- but I feel we are in an adjustment stage now, so we are very excited to be getting into a new groove. Corbi is just a care-free little boy who goes with the flow!
I know this is getting SO long and there aren't even pictures involved with it! But we have felt so blessed by all this and know we are doing what is best for our family- we are excited to see where this path takes us and excited to continue moving forward as a family :)
Well, that is all folks! Thanks for reading all the way through our new year blog and hopefully I can be more diligent on blogging (who am I kidding- probably not, but its a nice goal) so that its not so overwhelming and lots to read all at once. Thanks for being apart of our lives and for your support!
Love,
TJ, Sadee, Marley and Corbett :)
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