January has been a month full of decisions! (Neither of us would say it has been our favorite thing to do.)
Our original plan was to spend the holidays with our family in Minnesota and have Laurel get a tonsillectomy before returning to the island farm as full-time staff in January. We planned to work year-round and live in a home on the island. With the surprise addition to our family, our decision-making was challenged. In the end, we chose to spend this whole growing-a-human time in Minnesota. That has led to us looking for full-time employment and a space to call home.
In total, it will have been 553 days away from our full-time employment!
We are grateful to family members who have let us stay in their homes during this time. Even we can't handle nights in the vehicle with these #boldnorth temperatures!
Here is a recap of what our January looked like:
Doctor visits
Baby's health is doing well and we heard the heartbeat for the first time on January 2nd. Sweet Little is an exciting part of our days!
Travel to Maine, January 4-23
Seeing our friends on the island farm was a highlight! We spent about 10 days with them and helped with what we could for chores and office work. The 7+ months spent on the island are second to none.
Winter! & Laurel's favorite animals.
If anyone was looking for Nate, he was usually found near a wood pile.
Transportation on and off the island is a lot more intense during the winter!
We loaded our things up and said, "See you later!" Goodbye does not feel like an option.
Job hunting & property
Can you remember that feeling after high school and/or college when you had to pick the next direction in your life? The options may have seemed endless and the pressure to choose fairly high. We feel like we're in one of those places again. Starting all over in some aspects yet full of random experiences that would add value to many different organizations.
Because of the excellent prenatal care we are getting at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, it helped us pick our destination. We'll live near this community.
As far as jobs and property, we'll update you next month. Maybe. Hopefully.
Until next time,
Contented Trails