Windy South Dakota! and a cute baby :)

It is another cold day in South Dakota - it's going to be tough to get out this winter with Wyatt if the wind continues like this! 20 degrees and dropping ... colder than Fairbanks, which is unusual for this time of the year!

Grandpa Z holding Wyatt at the Firehouse

In recent news, life has been going pretty well! My parents flew out from Washington the week before Thanksgiving to spend quality time with their new grandson; they treated us to dinner at the Firehouse Brewery, where Wyatt tried out a Fireman's hat.

We had a good first Thanksgiving with Wyatt; we potlucked with the other graduate students in Rapid Valley and lounged around, watching football and playing games. Wyatt just kind of took it all in. He likes to observe, eat, and sleep. He does have a cute smile that he has started showing more regularly! Here is a picture I snapped this morning of his smile :)

Gold flakes in the bottom of a gold pan :)

In other news, Josh continues to work on his thesis. We have had some fun going out and gold panning in areas near Rapid Creek - I take Wyatt up with me and he sleeps in the car seat near us as I help Josh fill buckets with gold bearing dirt! We have had success although it may not look like much at the moment. Wyatt seems to enjoy the outdoors as he stares up at the trees we walk past.

Josh also recently acquired a part time job working a security position at a building on Ellsworth AFB. A man we met at church offered him the position and he works weekends day or night shifts, from 4 - 4. It is a blessing as we currently have no other income! And the other great part about it is that he has Christmas & New Year's weekends off, so we will be driving back to Washington once again for Christmas! It will be interesting attempting that trip with a baby!

It's amazing how much of my life has changed in a few short months since Wyatt was born. At first I struggled with the transition from a busy / hectic work / study life to the new routine of feed baby, diapers, sleep when you can ... but as time has gone on I am beginning to really enjoy this time with Wyatt at home. I don't know that it will be like this always, so I am very glad for the opportunity now. I am trying to take the extra time I have to focus on what God has for us next in life, as we will likely be moving to wherever Josh is able to find work. My hope and earnest desire is that I honor God with whatever I am doing and find satisfaction in Him alone, as I have always struggled in being valued for what I do, not who I am in Christ. Today our pastor spoke about life and death, and living out the passions and dreams that God has given us. Strangely I never had the desire to be a stay at home mom, but that is where I am currently at. So I am praying that God shows me how I can encourage and love other people from my home while supporting my husband and raising my beautiful boy. I am not even close to being there yet, but I trust He will open the doors and show me the way! And if He has something else in mind, I trust He will show me what the next steps are to take. I can't imagine what the next few months will bring ... we are truly at a crossroads in our life.