Country Girl at Heart: Crazy Dotson Shenanigans!!

Hello All! I would like to update you on our lives since finishing college and leaving Stillwater, OK. Let’s see. We moved, had a baby, moved again, and moved again. The end!

Oh wait, you wanted more of the details, the wild and crazy shenanigans that those crazy Dotson’s have been up to. Ok, ok, ok. Here it goes…

We bought a house and moved to Oskaloosa, KS right after Christmas of 2007. It is a small town about 20 miles from Lawrence, KS. We were in an uncomfortable place – way too many Jayhawkers for these Cowboy fans. We made the best of it and made friends with our neighbors that were big Wildcat fans. Clint started working in Lawrence and I worked at a bank in Perry. Our daughter, then 5, went to Kindergarten in Oskaloosa. In July, our son was born. I took 6 weeks of maternity leave after he was born. Those 6 weeks went by WAY too fast. After those 6 weeks, he started going to a daycare in town. I found myself using all of my vacation for the kid’s sick days. After Christmas, Clint and I had a sit down talk. We both realized there had to be a change. We both HATED that the kids were in daycare all the time. He was frustrated with his job and wasn’t seeing the opportunity for growth at that time. He had a friend that was working in the same type of job that Clint was looking for. The only problem was that it was in Monmouth, IL . Yes, Monmouth IL!!!!! Were we seriously considering moving all the way up there? Are we crazy? Apparently, yes! Clint accepted the job, I quit mine to become a stay-at-home mom, and we put our house on the market.

We found a house outside of Monmouth, IL to rent. It was an old (when I say old, I mean OLD) farmhouse that needed quite a bit of updating. Clint and our good friend Cody spent a couple of weeks painting and trying to get it ready for the kids and I to move in. They did a good job with what they had to work with, and in April of 2009, we moved in. It was definitely a change from our new home that we left. Our friends invited us to come to their church in town. We started going and loved it. We met some amazing people that definitely filled in for our families that we missed so very much. Summer was quite an experience. It rained, and rained, and rained. We probably ran our air conditioner a total of 2 whole weeks that entire summer. Winter approached and we worried. Would we freeze? How many times would we have to fill the stupid propane tank? Would we get snowed in? Guess what…We survived!!!!! It was cold and there was some snow. When I say cold, I mean COLD!!!!!! We were doubling up on clothes and we didn’t even leave the house. In April of 2010, our house in Kansas finally sold. Yes after whole year, it sold!!! We were so relieved and so glad to get rid of it (and the mortgage payment). That summer was a lot warmer than the previous one! In late fall, we received word that there may be a position available in the Garden City, KS area. It was the position Clint wanted and we would only be a few hours from our family. Definitely quite a bit closer!!!! At Thanksgiving, we had a lot to be thankful for. Clint got the job and we were moving to SW Kansas!!!!!

So, here we are…living in SW Kansas. We bought a really nice home in a small town. We had hoped to find something in the country, but it just didn’t happen. My darling daughter is 8 now and is in the 3^rd grade. She is usually a quiet sweetheart unless her brother is picking on her. My wild and crazy son is 2 ½. He definitely keeps me on my toes. You never know what he is going to say or do. Clint loves his new job, especially because he gets to work from our home. Then there is me. I am still figuring out this whole stay-at-home mom thing. Most days I love it…I will leave it at that.