Easter in St. George - April 15, 2004

Thursday - April 15th

We arrived home from St.George yesterday around 6:30pm.  We had a nice vacation.  It was really warm in St. George.  The temperature was in the 80s.  That was really hot for me.  I think going some place warm is not a good idea for a pregnant lady.

It was really nice to spend some time with my parents.  I miss them.  I wish we lived closer to them.  Kristy and Shan, and Shelley and her kids came on Sunday for Easter.  It was fun to see them.  Alissa had a lot of fun playing with her cousins.  Alissa played hard while we were there.  We went swimming two times.  Alissa loved it.  She kept wanting to get away from me and go on her own.  She didn't understand that she wouldn't stay above the water without me.  I'm glad that we don't live near a pool, because we would have a hard time keeping her away from it.

On Easter Morning, April 11th, we had an Easter egg hunt.  It was fun to watch Alissa.

 Here I am, big with child.

 Our cute little 'lissa.

 Here is little Alex, showing us what he got.

 Shelley, showing us her yummy treat.  I don't remember what candy was in there, but she says it is the best.

 Here's Hannah showing us her bag of candy filled eggs.

 And, here is Kaylie.

 Alissa got a baby stroller (for her doll) for Easter.  She loves taking her baby for walks.

This is her playing with her stroller on Tuesday, April 13th.

 Alissa was having a hard time backing her stroller up.  Part of it kept running into the shed.  It was making her so mad.  she finally gave up and left the stroller there.

 The many faces of Alissa.

 Roger's impression of what Alissa's fussy face looks like.

We finally got Alissa in some clothes, so we could go for a walk.  We walked over to the little cemetery first, then we took a short walk around the neighborhood.

 Alissa insisted on bringing her stroller with us.

The bed that we slept in was very uncomfortable.  I had a lot of aches and pains from that bed.  I was having a lot of contractions.  I thought I was going in to labor.  I'm 34 weeks along, so it's good that I didn't.

The baby has dropped and I feel like it won't be long.  I think the baby will be born around 37 weeks.  Of course, I don't know, but that is just what I'm feeling.  I think Parker will come early.

I babysat today.  Shayden came at 7:38am.  I wasn't awake when she came.  I wasn't expecting her until 8:00am.  Roger jumped out of bed and got the door, because he can get dressed faster.  Tomorrow I'll be ready.  I know now that when he says he'll drop her off at 8:00am, he means 7:40 ish.  Jerian and her mom are out of town, visiting a sister, so Shayden's dad is the one dropping her off.

The house is not looking so nice lately.  I am way too tired all the time to get much done.  I was able to straighten it up a little, but not too much.

I went to the doctor today.  He said that if I keep having a lot of contractions and they become more regular, he will check me.  they will stop the labor if it starts now.  He says if I go into labor in two weeks then that will be fine.

I heard two stories today about people losing a child that was Alissa's age.  I can't imagine life without Alissa.  I love her too much.  I feel so sad for those families.  I appreciate every moment that i get to spend with her.  I love my family.  I am so blessed.

A Rainy Day - April 7, 2004

Wednesday - April 7th

Kristy called.  She was upset because Kaylie jumped on her tummy and she was having pains.  She called a nurse and they told her to go to the hospital.  She didn't have a way to get there until 2:30 or 4:00pm.  Her belly got jumped on at 9:00am.  She was really worried.  I haven't heard from her yet to find out what happened.  There is so much to worry about when you are pregnant.

I know someone who lost their little baby today.  I am so sad for them.  I can't imagine how painful that must be.  Her little boy was born last week.  He had heart problems and they knew that he probably wouldn't survive.  They took the baby off of life support today.  She made some bad choices that lead to this.  She got pregnant by a married man.  He wanted her to get an abortion, because he didn't want his wife to find out.  He knew about a heart problem that runs in his family, but he refused to tell her anything about it.  If the doctors knew about his background they might have been able to save the baby.  But he didn't want her to have the baby, so he wouldn't give them any information.  It is a very sad situation.

I babysat Triston and Shayden today.  It was a rainy day, so we didn't get to play outside.

I was so tired all day.  I am not having an easy time sleeping.  I have had many sleepless nights lately.

A Trip to Salt Lake - April 4, 2004

Sunday - April 4th

We went to Salt Lake yesterday.  We left around 2:00pm.  We listened to conference on the way.  We went to the VanBibber's house for a BBQ.  Roger didn't stay very long.  He went to have pizza with his friends and go to the Priesthood session.  They hung out and watched a movie after that.  Alissa and I stayed at the VanBibber's until 8:00pm ish.
We brought hotdogs to the barbecue.  I was really craving hotdogs, so I was glad they cooked all of them.  I really pigged out on hotdogs.
We left the VanBibber's and went to Linda's house.  Linda had to work, but my sister Missy was there.  Missy had a headache so she went to bed early.  Elizabeth and Kristin had a lot of fun new toys and fun stuff to show Alissa.  They also had a new movie, 'Brother Bear'.  We watched their movie and ate some ice cream.  I enjoyed that.  We went to bed around 10:00pm.  The girls went in their room and Alissa and I went in Linda's room.  We just sat on Linda's bed watching tv.  Actually, I sat on Linda's bed and Alissa jumped on Linda's bed.  Eventually, Alissa got tired and fell asleep.  Roger came around midnight.  But it is Daylight Savings, so he actually got to Linda's around 1:00am.  We left after that and got home around 2:30am.
Alissa woke up around 9:30 this morning.  She is really fussy today.  She definitely needed more sleep.  I don't think we'll stay out so late with her again.
The morning session of conference was really good.  They talked a lot about family.  I just loved the spirit that I felt as I was watching it.  Alissa was being super lovey and cuddly during conference.  I loved that.  I really enjoyed the talks about family.  They talked about the Mother's role and the Father's role.  They talked about being a team.  My favorite part was when they talked about being a mother.  I love being a mother.  I'm so happy that I get to experience such a wonderful thing.  I want to be the best mother, wife, and homemaker that I can possibly be.
Alissa and I walked around with Jerian and Shayden tonight.  Alissa leaned to far forward in her stroller and fell out.  She has a big goose egg and scratch on her head.  I feel so bad for her.  she also fell and scratched up her knees.  She was fussy and didn't want to be inside at all after Roger left to work.  I was glad that Jerian and Shayden came to walk.  We walked until 8:00pm.  I put Alissa straight to bed after we came in.  She was so tired.  She was happy to be in her bed.

I Fell Down the Stairs - April 2, 2004

Friday - April 2nd

I had a bad fall tonight.  It scared me really bad.  I was shaking for a long time after it happened.  I'm really worried about Parker.  I haven't felt a lot of movement from him since it happened.  I really hope he is okay.  I was holding Alissa and walking down the stairs.  I slipped, fell backwards, and slid the rest of the way down the stairs.  My back is still hurting me.  Alissa didn't get hurt because she was in my arms and she landed on top of me.  It just scared her.  We were hurrying down the stairs to answer the phone.  That fall really scared me.  I had a hard time not crying.  I wanted to cry so bad, but I knew it would scare Alissa even more, so I held it in.  I want to call Roger at work and tell him all about it, but I know if I talk to him, I'll just end up crying and then he'll be worried.

I babysat Shayden and Triston today.  Shayden was very busy getting into everything today.  Besides that, her and Alissa played really well together.  They are so cute.  I love watching them play.  They are funny.

Roger's been working a lot of overtime.  That's been rough.  He only has one day off this weekend (tomorrow night), then he has to work the next 6 nights.  We are going to take a vacation after that.  We are going to spend Easter in St. George.  We haven't been to St. George in a long time.  Every time we plan a trip, something happens and we have to cancel it.  I really hope that nothing comes up this time.  I vacation will be really nice.

Alissa and I went for a walk this evening.  We ended up over by the Merritt's house.  There were two teenagers working on a car.  They were pushing it into the driveway.  Alissa wanted to watch for a while.  When we turned and started to head for home, Jerian came out and asked us to come in.  She said that Shayden saw us outside and started saying, "Lissa, Lissa".  Then when we turned around to leave she started to cry.  she really wanted Alissa to come and play.  We stayed at the Merritt's house for about an hour.  Then we came home, ate dinner, cleaned the house, gave Alissa a bath, fell down the stairs, and went to bed.