Hidden Treasures

The end is so close we can taste it!

Allen's been removing the forms from the finished mow strip and leveling the dirt in the evenings. Today, we rented a trencher to get the sprinkler lines in. Most of the work can be done with the equipment, but on some spots, Allen will have to hand dig. We also have to dig under a cement walkway. The trencher is a beast and has zero finesse so man handling has been a pretty tiresome job, too. We're staying positive, though, and grateful Allen isn't out there with a pick axe and shovel.

The soil is almost too soft to trench so we had quite a few cave-ins that Allen will have to hand dig.

As we've discovered with this place, there's always a surprise on any project. Today, we unearthed the old septic and leach lines. They are supposed to be buried 3-4 feet deep. However, these are at 12 inches! Had they been done correctly, we could have passed right over them. We can put down sprinkler lines around them, thankfully. The big bummer is the hundreds of rocks that were strewn in with the dirt when the original lines were put in. We have to clear all of those rocks out. About 1/2 of the dirt is going to have those rocks. This will definitely make getting the soil ready for next Friday a challenge.

Papa!

Robert had a trip to LANL yesterday and had extra time so he came for a visit. We told Lexi Papa was coming to see her on Wednesday. She kept asking about him and saying, "Papa is coming to Lexi's house?"

After missing the doctor's appointment, we all came home. We'd been here about an hour when the door bell rang. Lexi yelled, "Papa, papa!" and charged the door. When I opened the door, she then ran to Allen for cover, but as soon as Robert came in, she ran over and gave him a big hug. She was thrilled to have Papa here. She led him all around the house and outside. She did his hair and sat with him while we talked. I think she said "Papa" about 200 times trying to demand his attention. Of course, Papa was more than happy to hear about all things Lexi and show extreme excitement when she told him about her babies, cooked him cereal, named the letters, etc.

Baby Brain

It's official. The baby has eaten my brain. I wish she would eat my back fat instead, but oh well. We should have known. The Raid incident should have tipped us off.

Today was my 28 (but really almost 30) week appointment. I figured they would do the glucose test so I asked Allen to take off from work to meet me at the doctor's at 11:30 to watch Lexi for an hour. This was also to be my first appointment with the midwife and I wanted to be able to take the time needed to have a good appointment. He decided to take the remainder of the day off, too, as Robert's in town and can visit and we have tons to do this weekend anyways. So, we did a bit of planning to make sure today went well.

Allen met us at the office and he and Lexi left to "eat at the Bear" (Panda Express). The receptionist called me back which is not usual procedure. She asked me to sit down and said we needed to reschedule. "Why?" Well, your provider is already at lunch. "Um, you're rescheduling me because she wanted to eat?". Turns out my appointment was at 11:15, not 11:45. To my provider, I was 1/2 an hour late. I was so proud that we had arrived 10 minutes early to check in! Ugh. No one had any openings for over 3 weeks. I am scheduled next Tuesday with the doctor who had an opening just to get the test done and make sure all is ok. I felt so dumb. And, frustrated since Allen had to take time off, too.

When I showed up at the Bear, Allen reminded me that at this point in my pregnancy with Lexi I had wrapped the truck around a cement pole so missing an appointment was an improvement. We'll take what we can get, right?

Missionary Month

Last year I initiated a month long activity for our youth. Kenner Park ward had done it right before we moved and it was an awesome opportunity for the youth. Our current ward sends very few men and zero young women on missions. With that in mind, I suggested we have missionary month. The entire month is dedicated to learning about mission life, learning a discussion, and then teaching that discussion during a dinner appointment with members from the ward. There was such positive feedback from last year's initial attempt, we're doing it again this year.

The first week the kids get their "mission calls", name tags, and get into their companionships. Last year, I chose the missions randomly. This year, to add a different element, we sent the kids to missions where some of our ward members had actually served. This first week, they also learn their lesson for the month. This year it is The Plan of Salvation. The ward elders are teaching the youth about the plan, how to teach effectively, different challenges they may face, scriptures to have prepared, etc.

The second week, they continue to practice the lesson. This year, they will also meet with the ward members who served their mission to learn about the culture, dominant religious practices, challenges and particular blessings the members felt they received for serving their missions.

The third week is P-day. We play sports and the kids can wear casual dress this week. We added a challenge to this week's p-day. It's being referred to as "missionaries in action day" and each youth is to bring a friend to play ball. Last week, when I introduced the idea I got some varied responses that included remarks about not having friends to invite, jeers about the reality of asking someone to come out and lots of pale, open mouthed gawks. I told the kids they had 3 weeks to pray about it and ask HF to help them find someone to ask. If they didn't have any friends, they should pray for some. I told them it's as easy as saying, "Hey, we're playing volleyball on Wednesday. Want to come?"

The fourth week we have a youth temple trip. The fifth week the kids will have dinner appointments with members who have signed up to feed the youth. They will have food native to their mission and teach the Plan of Salvation. After, they'll come back to the church to tell us how it went. I always ask for feedback about what went well and what could be improved upon. This year, I've ordered a copy of the special New Era that was dedicated entirely to mission preparation for each youth.

The most challenging part of this for me, is getting the kids into the companionships. I ask my active youth to commit to coming the entire month. I also have some hit and miss types who make it some weeks and not others. I know the minute I plan on them not coming, they'll be there. Since I don't want any youth to be left out or any youth to be alone for the actual dinner/lesson activity, I have to be a little creative in my assignments. I have to say, the HG has been with me every time I sit down at the computer to hash it out.

Tonight was the first night of Missionary Month 2008. I had arranged for the elders to come and teach. They had transfers yesterday so the new guys didn't have any idea they were signed up. I had the impression over and over to call, but kept telling myself to leave the poor guys alone. So, for about 20 minutes, I tried to wing it by having the kids look up some scriptures from our standard works that would help them in their teaching. Thankfully, the elders were in tune and felt they should check in with us. They took over and did a great job teaching the fist part of the Plan. So, the month always has a few glitches, but I try so hard to make is seamless. I really want these kids to look forward to serving and have confidence in their leaders.

I have to say, the YW have been around me for 3 years now and know the drill. If they tow the line, I leave them alone. But, I don't mince my words and I expect them to behave appropriately. No whining, no cell phones in church, appropriate dress and a positive attitude at the very least. The YM have had some weak leadership in the past and their group is working on getting stronger. They were pretty good tonight, even though I heard a lot of whining about coming out for a month straight when I first asked for numbers. I told them to make a commitment and stick with it. One youth complained about not getting to eat dinner sometimes. I mocked crying and told him to get tough. I pointed out that the leaders often went without and we're all alive. Another leader remarked that sacrifice is sometimes necessary as we live the gospel and assured this youth he would live to eat another day. I was surprised to see that only one YM leader wore a white shirt and tie when we had made it very clear mission appropriate attire would be required by all. I had to ask the men to dress in mission clothes next week. I even got flack from them. I told them not to argue and plan ahead. Ugh.

I've gotten lots of positive feedback from both youth and adults about this activity. I think the kids actually look forward to it each year now. They love to see where they are going. I've made sure to point out that mission calls are prayed about and no mission is more important than another. I simply said, "If you think you've gotten a lame mission or don't like your comp, take it up with God. He's the one that called you there. This goes for this activity and your actual mission." I hope that the example of ward members and elders who they meet will help encourage all of our YM and those YW who should go to serve. Sometimes, people remark that we can't pressure our kids into going on missions. I agree. However, we still need to teach correct principals. I see it like this: we teach our youth to read their scriptures, say prayers, remain chaste and get married in the Temple. Do all of these kids read and pray everyday? Probably not. Are they all perfectly chaste? Unlikely. Will every one of them get married in the Temple? No. But, I teach them the right thing anyways. I set the expectation and give them some tools to get there. Same with a mission. The men have been commanded to go on missions. The girls have been encouraged to consider missions if appropriate. Why should I shrink away from teaching that principle? It's simply another aspect of living the gospel. Every youth will not serve. But, it's my job as their leader to get them the information and let them know they can do it. It's the right thing to do so I teach it whether they want to hear it or not. I also think the ward really likes having the youth in their homes for the dinner, too. It helps unite some groups that wouldn't usually interface.

It takes a lot of planning and thought to get the missions set, pray about companionships, get the elders on board, get people signed up for dinner, etc. but the dividends always pay off. Seeing how much of my life revolves around my calling and this activity is my baby, so to speak, I'll be blogging about it all month long. Hopefully, it will go well!

Mystery Solved?

A few posts ago, Lexi was having a hard time staying at the new sitter's. I had taken her back after the "2 hours of crying day" to try again. My client's horse was lame and I had a feeling all was not going well at the sitter's so I ended up picking Lexi up about 1/2 hour after I left her (if a client's lesson runs short/horse is lame/etc, I'll sometimes run errands or do my own horsey chores at home before getting Lexi). She was still crying. Not hysterical, but blubbering. I could hear her saying, "Ok" through her tears as she tried to play with the other kids. Another friend of mine happened to be there and Lexi was hanging onto to her for dear life.

I told sitter mom that Lexi was obviously going through some growth and I did not blame her at all for Lexi's outbursts. Lexi has always loved Allen and has never, ever cried for me. Lately, she has been asking for me more and wanting to spend more time with me. We think it's because she knows things are changing. She may also just be getting a little more clingy. I figured this may have been a manifestation of those new desires. I did have the little mommy feeling, though, that something else might have been going on to make Lexi feel so uncomfortable.

Lexi has never been afraid of new places, timid or shy around anyone. She never had a problem with nursery or any of the other people she's stayed with. She's been with big groups, small groups, one on one and so forth. Anyhow, I was trying hard not to be over protective mommy here and give Lexi a chance to get through the tough times and eventually settle in. Things just kept getting worse and worse though. I had decided that I would wrap up with the new sitter to save her the anguish of watching a high maintenance kid and to save Lexi the trauma. As it turns out, last Thursday was the last day new-sitter mom could watch Lexi and with my client's horse being lame, I wasn't in need of a sitter anyway. So, as usual, things kind of just worked out the way they should.

Well, my client's horse is ok and I need a sitter 3 more times before my contract is over. I asked the same friend who had been at the sitter's on the fateful day last week if she'd be willing to watch Lexi. She's had her a couple of other times and all goes well. We were both a little curious to see if Lexi would be her normal self or scared. When S got here today, Lexi ran to the door and said, "You carry me?" S, being the nice mommy she is (I say, NO! you can walk) picked her up. Lexi looked back at me and said, "Bye Momma". Totally comfortable, willing, and agreeable. When I picked her up, she had been great and was happy. S told me she had worried that Lexi would be upset after seeing her at the other sitters, but was glad to see she was fine.

We talked a bit and S mentioned that the other sitter mom had seemed really overwhelmed when she was there. My thought: well, she had a blubbering 2 year old to watch, her 4 year old's preschool co-op to deal with, and two other kids under the age of 3 to manage. How could I fault her for seeming a little stressed that day? On that last day, we had visited a little while before I took Lexi home. I observed some things that kind of solved the puzzle for me. One of the girls pushed Lexi aside to get by and then slammed a door in her face. It wasn't directed at Lexi to be mean, really, but I could see how with 4 older girls around, if that happened a lot, Lexi might get intimidated. The energy is different at the house, but not in a bad way. Just different. I think she just felt out of sorts.

I still think this mom is great. I would trust her with any of my kids, anytime. After having observed, discussed, and pondered, I really just think the setting didn't jive with Lexi. I don't think that has any reflection on the quality of the family one bit. I'm glad I listened to my "mommy sense" and decided to let that one day be the last day. Even if it wasn't anything terrible or harmful, there's no reason for Lexi to be that upset or for this mom to have to try to deal with it. After seeing her reach out to my friend today, I felt relieved about my choice. I know Lexi won't always have the choice to leave a situation when she's not comfortable, but I do think I'll always listen to that voice and try to figure out the best solution.

Busy Weekend

Friday was Allen's day off from work. He asked me Thursday night if I'd like to sleep in a little on Friday. Um, yea! One of my pregnancy symptoms is a stuffy nose the entire time (see previous blog entry for proof). On the really bad nights, I take Benadryl. Thursday I was really stuffed up so I didn't wake up until 8:45 Friday morning. Was Lexi even up yet? Of course not!! Stinker. The one morning Allen puts work on hold to let me get some good sleep, he didn't even need to be around. It always works that way, doesn't it?

At the beginning of the year, we made a list of family goals. One of those is to feed the missionaries once a quarter. The mission rule here is that the elders need to eat from 5-6. Allen doesn't get home until 6 on weeknights so we feed the guys on his Friday's off. I cleaned the house (twice, see previous entry, yet again, for explanation of that one) and decided to put out my Halloween and Fall decorations. Halloween is my favorite holiday. Each year, I check the clearance items and try to add a few new things. Fall isn't my favorite season, but I do love it quite a bit. Lexi already loves the witches, skeletons and pumpkins.

It's a wind chime. Lexi makes sure to jingle it around every time we walk in or out of the front door.

Allen took a long lunch to help me a bit with some of the decor. In the kitchen, we had already put up the The Family: Proclamation to the World and The Living Christ. I found these cute iron words and made a little grouping out of them. The words had arrived and we hung those, too. After helping me for a bit, he went to get more lumber for the rest of the cement forms. He had to have them done Friday because we needed to start pouring cement first thing Saturday. He took a break for dinner with the elders and went back out to work until after dark.

Saturday, he went out at 6:30 a.m. and got all of the forms done around 9. We had a young man from the ward come over to help and he got here around 9, too. I picked up the cement and they had it all poured by 10:30 or so. Lexi and I returned the mixer and went inside while Allen and Kevin finished the mow strip. The weather was great and having an extra set of hands was really helpful. We're finally done with cement for the lawn! So far, we've poured close to 6 yards of cement to accommodate the 2,000 square feet of lawn that's coming.

Allen got done finishing the mow strip at 1 p.m. and showered quick so we could leave at 1:15 to go to a friend's volleyball game in Albuquerque. Lexi had a really good time and kept telling us, "I'm watchin' da girls!" The teams were #1 and #2 in the state so it was a good match. The daughter of our friend is a senior in high school and has a full ride scholarship to a college in the South to play volleyball. We first met her when she was going into her Freshman year of High School. It's sad to say it took us 4 years to finally make a game, but at least we got to see her play before she leaves this summer. We went to an early dinner and picked up Lexi's furniture on the way home.

We're SO glad to have all of the cement work done. We felt like we were literally running from one commitment to the next all weekend, but we had a great time with our friends and felt really good about meeting our family's goal to feed the elders.

Do Not Try This at Home

Yesterday, I dusted my whole house with Raid. And no, it didn't work.

Can you tell the difference?

Stupid lemony fresh Raid!

Cream Cheese and Hair

No, not together!

I made the famous cream cheese ball for mutual on Wednesday night. This treat is soooo good. The first time I made it, some of it came home. I kept it on the plate I served it from and Allen and I would graze throughout the day. One day, I pulled the platter out and was helping myself in front of the TV. Allen walked through the door and said, "Back at the trough, I see." Isn't he sweet!?!

Lexi has taken an interest in everything I do lately. When I'm cooking, I hear her yell, "Mom, where are youuuu?" After learning my precise location, she comes running in, "What are you doing?" I tell her what I'm doing and she says, "I wanna see". I figure a person is never too young to learn so I prop her up on the bar stool and tell her exactly what is going on. While I was making the treat, she came running in. When I finished mixing some of the ingredients, I pulled the beaters out of the mixer, and offered one to Lexi.

She loves doing hair right now, too. Most of the time, she does her baby's hair or my hair. Today, she gave Mia a new do.

I didn't think it was that bad.

Tender Mercies

Just as I wrapped up the previous blog entry, I turned around to check on Lexi. She had been watching Tarzan and munching on cereal. She was sound asleep on the couch! I snuck under the blanket down the couch from her and we both took a little nap together. She won't relax much for the rest of the day now, but she seems to be much happier. I'm still sick, but that little bit of rest has helped tons. I'm so grateful!

Come On!

So nothing really horrible has happened. Just some minor inconveniences. Our previous sitter moved to Phoenix so Lexi has been going to another ward member's home two days a week for about 2 or 3 hours. This sister is great with kids, has 3 girls herself (all under 4), is patient, kind, has a curriculum for the preschoolers, a great yard and animals. Lexi hates it! I can't understand exactly why since I have seen the kids while supervised and unsupervised and they are good, kind kids. The mom is caring and attentive. Lexi screams every time I leave and is weepy the whole time I'm gone.

Yesterday, I had a lesson first thing so I took Lexi over. As we turned the corner, she started crying. I happily got her out of the car, asking how her day would go, what toys she'd play with, books she'd read, etc. They always save Lexi a seat for breakfast, but she won't eat so we found some of her favorite toys and tried to engage while they wrapped up. I stood up, and she went hysterical. The mom stopped feeding her own baby and came over to see if she could help direct the energy. Lexi maintained some composure for about a minute or two and I snuck out.

At 10:30, I got a phone call. Lexi had been crying the entire time. The mom was more than happy to try to employ any of my tricks, but I told her I'd be right over. She totally understood and says she'd want to know if her kid had been miserable for over 2 hours, too. I appreciated the call and ran over. As I turned the corner, Lexi jumped up crying and ran to the fence to meet me. Everyone was sitting under the big tree, eating fresh popcorn and reading a book. We stayed for a few minutes. I was hoping Lexi might see that all is well and we can have fun there. She was, of course, fine while I was there.

The rest of the day she was a little fragile. She sat on my lap for almost an hour straight and watched a movie. She almost never sits down anywhere for more than a few minutes. I indulged her, we played, and had lunch. She had a really tough night (so, I'm sure this made everything seem all the worse to her thus explaining some of the outbursts) going to bed at 11:30 and waking up at 7, plus she was all puffy from crying for so long so I put her down a little early just in case she wanted to nap. She took about 2 hours but was super cranky all day. Allen got home and went outside to do forms so Lexi and I were together even longer than usual. We did go out and play and she was pretty happy, but she was not her usual self. Finally, Allen grabbed her up around 7 and we all went inside.

I had actually prepared this dinner I thought would go over well. I planned on cooking so that we could work outside until almost dark, eat around 7, give Lexi her bath at 7:30 and bed at 8. Well, Lexi was black with dirt so she got the bath at 7 and dinner wasn't done until 8:15. I asked her if she wanted to eat or wait for Mommy and Daddy. She said she wanted to wait. Since Lexi doesn't eat much, she'll tell me when she's hungry (which is almost never). She didn't seem too bad so we waited. Dinner was fine, but she was NOT going to eat. I asked her to have one bite and then we could having something else. She said "ok" in her most whiney voice and proceeded to cry for 1/2 an hour!!! By then, she was totally starving, exhausted and beyond reason. I said about 20 prayers hoping to get some mommy inspiration but nothing was coming. Never having had a 2 year old before, Allen and I weren't quite sure how far to push the whole thing. He suggested putting her to bed without dinner. My comment was this, "If you think that is right, and you want to do that, then you will be the one to follow through when she wakes up in the middle of the night starving." She did not go to bed without dinner.

The last couple of nights I've been feeling a little "off". I can't really pinpoint it, but I'm restless, achy (more than usual for pregnant people) and I can't seem to get my stomach settled. We'll I found out why. Before sun up, I was up with a bad tummy. Even though she should have been sufficiently tired and slept until normal time, Lexi was up 1 1/2 hours early too. We've been up since before dawn. I've been making regular trips to the potty while Lexi entertains herself. She wanted to lay down so I crashed with her and dozed off. She woke me up about 5 minutes later and I've had the chills ever since.

I had a lesson scheduled for today but have requested a reschedule. I have mutual tonight and since it's individual classes, I can't call in sick. Allen carpooled to work and had some big test go wonky so Lexi and I are on our own. I'm hoping if we take it sort of easy, I'll feel better by tonight and be a good leader at mutual.

Like I said, nothing too dramatic, but I'll be glad when Lexi is her normal self and I'm not sick!

Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho - Off To Work We Go

Lexi had a blast helping Allen with the tractor.

Everytime Allen would step down to do something, Lexi made her move...

She was sooo proud of herself.

Now you see it...

Now you don't.

Allen took off about 4 inches of dirt over the whole lawn area. We ordered good compost to put down and it's now ready to be tilled in. We still have to trench and put in the sprinkler lines, but lawn is just 3 weekends away!

Oh, the Romance

So, how does a couple who's been married for 6 years celebrate?

We tried to find a babysitter to watch Lexi Saturday night hoping to celebrate our anniversary. But, there were no babysitters to be had so we decided to work really hard in the backyard and go out after mid-October (that is the earliest day we have off for an evening out). Allen worked past dark last night trying to get everything done so he wouldn't have to work on Sunday. In his attempt to be super productive, he overshot the pipe with the claw and busted the water line. We, however, had no way of knowing because the part that broke was 30 feet downstream from where he was working. This morning we were trying to get ready for church only to find that we had no water pressure in the house. Allen unearthed all of the pipe in the back and found he had pushed a T-joint out of place and it needed to be completely replaced. We headed out to church and Allen has been outside working since we got home. Thankfully, we still had the tractor and Allen wasn't stuck trenching by hand. The pipe has since been repaired and all seems well.

Now, a bucket full of tools may not seem romantic to many, but for Mr. Allen Riddle, this screams I love you.

Happy Anniversary Allen!

Has it really been 6 years?

I couldn't resist throwing this one in. I love Allen's expression!

Today is our 6 year anniversary. Sometimes, it seems like so much has happened, it has to have been longer than 6 years. Other times, it seems like everything has happened so quickly that we're in some sort of time warp and there is no way it's been a whole 6 years. Either way, we've been married 6 years.

Allen and I were talking this morning about the last year of our marriage and how this year should be different. This is a summary of the last year: September 2007 - Miscarriage. October 2007 - Buy a new house. November 2007 - Buy a horse (this is not such a big deal to me; a huge deal to Allen). December 2007 - Move into new house; the following week have surgery for miscarriage. January 2008 - Traci ends up in hospital because of horse accident. February 2008 - fairly quiet, recovering from accident. March 2008 - Pregnant again. WOAH! That's a pretty busy year. For me, it felt like coming up for air while drowning only to be smacked in the face by the next obstacle and pushed right back down. I kept hoping for just a little recovery time before the next trial.

This year, if all goes sort of according to what we think may happen, should be pretty great. (Everything's great in 2008, right guys.) We're closing in on our goals for the house which will finally afford us some family time. We have a new baby on the way. Lexi is thriving. Allen and I, somehow, managed to grow closer through all of those trials and feel more united than ever. The refiners' fire is never a comfy place, but sometimes, is the only way to get where we need to be in our lives. Even though the last year was tough in lots of ways, we learned a lot about each other and when faced with our next challenge will be able to draw on those lessons to help us get through them with a little more grace (hopefully).

Now, Allen doesn't contribute to this blog so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he still thinks he married the right person all these years later. I can say for myself that I know I married the person I was supposed to in this life. I knew that before we had even started dating. A friend asked me about my dating right before I had been re-introduced to Allen. She asked if I was going to start dating, who, when, what was I hoping for etc. My response, "You know, I'm banking on Allen Riddle." I just had a feeling. That feeling, which has become a sure knowledge, has helped me to keep on track when things start to feel like too much to bear. I know that I could probably be happy or successful or whatever with someone else. But, I would not have the same level of happiness, joy, successes, opportunities for growth, or eternal potential that I have with Allen. And with no one else on this earth, could I have the family I'm intended to have - and that is eternal. For that knowledge, I am grateful. To know that is a priceless blessing and a brings me much joy, even when life throws me a curve ball.

Here's to the last 6 years, the good and the bad, and the hope of many more years to come.