Family. Gotta love it!

Well it has been another 3 months since I wrote a new post and we have done quite a bit of exciting things now that we are closer to family!

November:

November consisted of unpacking (still) and getting settled in to our new home and surroundings. We have begun to love Upstate New York. It is nothing like I thought it would be. I always thought New York=City. Where we are, it is about 15 minutes from downtown Albany, but you would NEVER know it. We are on a dead-end road which ends with a huge cow farm :) We have taken many long rides through the hill country and it is just so beautiful. I do find myself looking back on Oklahoma and yes, I do miss it, but this is home now and I think we will get along just fine. We decided to do Thanksgiving at our house this year, just the two of us. We thought it may be lonely, but it wasn't and we had some great food and made some wonderful memories. Here are some pictures to give you an idea of how it went:

He liked it, don't let him kid you!

All of the wonderful food the Lord blessed us with!

That pretty much sums it up ;)

Also, during November, we went to my sister-in-law's clarinet recital :) Here are some pictures from that:

Waiting for the recital to start...

Waiting to get seated

Momma Michaud, Ann, Pop, Dan & Uncle Joe

Katrina :)

Katrina, Chelsea and Dan

Dad Michaud, Katrina, Me, Dan & Chelsea

Aaron, Katrina, Chelsea, Me & Dan

December:

December was a very exciting month for spending time with family. Dan and I decided to do Christmas at our house as well this year, just the two of us, and to see everyone before hand. Well we did see everyone before hand, but my mother, her fiance' and my brother, Luke all came to NY to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with us! It was so much fun, but we let time slip away and got NO PICTURES! Well it was amazing having them here and we had a great Christmas. Here are some pictures of the get together we had before Christmas with the Maskell's :) 

Savanah, Me & Wendy

Savanah, Me & Haley

Me, Haley & Jonah

Dad Maskell & Dan

Haley, Grammy Smith, Savanah, Me & Wendy

Grampa Ralph, Dad Maskell & Dan

January:

January has just begun, but we did have a particularly exciting thing happen this month so far. Dan and I found out the day before New Year's Eve that we are expecting the first Baby Michaud! I am now about 6 weeks pregnant and we could not be more excited! We went around to ALL of our family New Year's weekend and told the good news. We are so thankful for God's timing! We are SO ready to be parents and just can't wait to hold our little baby in 8 months! I will be making a new blog all about the baby soon :) Stay tuned!! 

The Little Michaud Family is about to get bigger!

6 Months Later...

Holy Moly, it's been 6 months since I updated this blog! Our life has been a whirlwind and it has finally calmed down, so here I go...Our life

May: Oh my was it a HOT summer in Oklahoma. We did not realize we would be spending a whole nother summer in the oven, but it happened and we are SO glad it's over. Dan could tell you the stats of how many days we had to endure 100+ degree weather with a dewpoint that made you feel like you were drinking the air, but all I know is it was MANY DAYS! May did have it's ups :) We saw 2 tornadoes and almost died doing so, but it's Oklahoma...That's all we could do for excitement! Well, we also had some fun in the sun! Pets N Pads has some great perks and one of them is great clients who let us use their pools when we watch their house/pets!

Here are pics of the first 'nader, second 'nader and some huge hail we saw after being chased by like 5 'naders!

Here are some pics of us helping some 'nader victims:

Here are some pics of our fun in the sun:

June: June was a good month. Dan had his first ever interview with a company in Norman, OK! We thought for sure that is where God wanted us, so of course my mind starts thinking about houses, babies, land, horses...Well, the interview went very well, but they decided to choose someone else for the position. And to much of our shock we both could care less! We were SO thankful for the peace that God gave us in knowing that He was in control of our future! Now, we had our times where we were frustrated, anxious and impatient but we couldn't help but always go back to the FACT that our father would care for us and direct us in the right path :) Dan, along with his interview was still working very hard on his thesis and had little to no time for fun or relaxing but the end was in sight! On a lighter note, I had been hard at work pet sitting, house cleaning and keeping up with my flower gardens!

Dan-Ready for his first interview:

Flowers from my gardens:

July: July was an exciting month! First of all, we had Dan's mother (Cathy) come to visit us for 3 weeks! We had SO much fun while she was here :) We took her allover Oklahoma and we even surprised her with bringing her to see her best friend (whom she hadn't seen for 6 years!) in Kansas! We also got very cute little package from a neighbor in July. It is was furry, sleepy and very hungry! Yup you guessed it, a kitten! The kitten, who's name is now Bandit, was found in an abandoned garage crying its little lungs out. His mom left him and he was hungry! So, of course, Ashley to the rescue! Days, and looooong nights of feedings, burpings and yes, helping him go to the bathroom soon paid off and now he is a ball of energy! He made it!

Dan and Cathy @ Meers Restaraunt in Oklahoma

Bandit growing up:

August: August was very eventful! First of all, we moved out of our house in Norman, OK to live with our amazing friend, Catherine, until Dan found a job. So, picture this...she has 2 dogs, we had 3...She had 2 cats, we had 2, she had 2 rabbits, we had 1...Put em all together and it makes for great times! Fortunately we were only in her way for a month! Dan applied for a job in Albany, NY and in August he received an e-mail asking for a phone screening. Dan prepared and the phone screening went well! Then, he got another e-mail asking for a phone interview...once again, Dan prepared and it went great! Then, to our great surprise, they e-mailed Dan and asked when he was available to have in in-person interview!! So, they flew him over to NY and he had his interview, once again, it was amazing! We prayed and pondered and hoped that he would land the job. New York!? How awesome would that be!? Close to family, 4 seasons, and a great job! 2 weeks later and they offered Dan the job :D and of course he accepted!

Daisy & Buster (Catherine's dog) became best buds!

September: September was GREAT! This is the month we moved to New York and Dan started his job on the 20th. Moving was...interesting. We had 3 dogs (Emma is now my mom's dog), our cats, and Peter rabbit. We took a Budget truck, trailered our Hyundai behind it and I drove the VW. It actually went very smooth. We slept in the VW each night....not ideal, but saved us money! We made salads and thats all we ate the whole way for lunch and dinner. It was fun, but we were happy to get to New England! We stayed with my mother for a couple of weeks, then when Dan went to start work on Monday the 20th in NY, he had to stay in a hotel and I stayed with my Dad and family due to not being able to move into our new place until Oct 1st. So, Dan absolutely loved his first week of his new job which was VERY encouraging :) Dan is officially a Meteorology Analyst at AWS Trupower in Albany, NY!

Click the image to learn about the company Dan works for:

Present Time: Well, Now it is October and we are all moved in to our new home! It is more than we could have asked for. My mother and her fiance' found it for us and we are so thankful for that! We have the most amazing landlord and we are just all around blessed! We are slowly unpacking and getting the house furnished. Here are some pictures of the house so far!

Getting Closer :0)

Howdy Ya'll!

Dan and I have been enjoying the wonderful Oklahoma Spring weather. It has been in the 70's & 80's for the past couple of weeks and only getting as low as in the 40's at night. We have done some gardening, taken several trips to the lake and have started BBQing again! I also did some Spring cleaning (pictures to come) this past week and feel so much better. I love the feeling of an EXTRA clean house without all of the clutter that Winter months acquire.

Dan has finally decided when he will defend his Thesis! It will be the last week in July :-) SO, this means that at the end of May or June 1st (at the latest) he will be applying for a real job! We are still very excited about all of the potential our future holds. We are, whether we are ready or not, being thrown into the REAL real world. We have been living on our own for a long time, but Dan will have a big-boy job, we will have insurance, a pay raise, and we will be starting a family! We are ready to go ANYWHERE God may lead us. We are content knowing that we are in His hands and what better place!?

Well here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure: