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.

Alissa's Toddler Bed - March 23, 2004

Tuesday - March 23rd

Yesterday, Alissa and I walked over to the Parker's (Shayden's grandparents).  Alissa and Shayden spent some time jumping on the trampoline.  They had a lot of fun playing together.  I want a trampoline of our own so bad.

Also, yesterday, we turned Alissa's crib into a toddler bed.  Alissa loved it and she was so excited to sleep in it.  I was worried about how well she would sleep and if I'd have a hard time getting her to take naps since she could get out of bed so easy now.  Anyway, last night she slept in her new bed.  It didn't go well.  She kept falling off the bed.  Roger and I finally (around 3:00am) set up her happy camper playpen in our bedroom.  She came in and slept in that.  Today, we switched Alissa's toddler bed back into a crib.  Tonight should be a lot better.

Alissa and I played outside a lot today.  We have been doing that a lot.  Before Alissa's nap this afternoon, she had me read almost all of her books to her.  She's funny.

I made sloppy Joes for the first time today.  I also made Potato Salad.  This is the first time that my potato salad actually turned out!  I can make potato salad now!!

Regan's Farewell Party - March 21, 2004

Sunday - March 21st

I went to Salt Lake yesterday.  Regan's Farewell was today.  We had a good-bye party for her last night.  Roger and Alissa stayed home.  Roger has been working so much lately, he really wanted to spend some time at home.

Last night was mine and Alissa's first night away from each other.  I really did not want to leave roger and Alissa.  I cried when it was time for me to go.  I also cried all the way to Salt Lake.  I just love my family too much.  It's not easy to leave them.  And my pregnancy makes it really hard to keep my emotions in check.

Alissa was looking forward to her Daddy time.  She wasn't upset at all when I left.  she gave me lots of hugs and kisses to cheer me up when I was crying.  She is a cute girl.  I'm glad that roger and her got to have some Daddy Daughter time.

I went crib shopping in Salt Lake.  I bought the crib that Roger and I had been looking at in Brigham City.  I got the last one.  It was the display, so they sold it as is for $75.00.  That's a great buy!  We had to push the crib (all put together) through Walmart.  It was a little crazy.  A worker helped us take it apart in the parking lot so we could get it in the car.

I hung out with Missy and Linda for a while.  We have a lot of fun together.  I didn't want to leave them.  So, I ended up going to Regan's get together late.  I had a hard time finding where it was.  My brain was just not working right.  I had a fun time at Regan's party.  At first, it was uncomfortable, but then all of Regan's friends that I didn't know, left and Natalie and Lane came.  We talked a lot about our Dixie College memories.  It's so fun to talk and laugh about that stuff.  I stayed up until 1:45am.  That's late.

Missy let me sleep in her bed at Linda's house.  I really missed Roger and Alissa.  I don't like being without them.  I woke up and got ready to go to Regan's Farewell.  Her farewell was in the Wesley Rd Chapel.  I love going there and seeing the old neighborhood.  After the meeting, we found out that Jenny Springman was in town.  Missy, Natalie, and I walked to her house to see if she was there.  she was.  It was so fun to see her.  I haven't seen her for a long time.  she got dressed and came with us to Regan's house for treats and visiting.  It was fun to see everybody.  Jenny lives in California now.  She only lived in Las Vegas for a week.  Then she decided that she didn't like it, so her and Tammy moved to California.  Jenny's parents redecorated their whole house.  It looks really nice.

I'm so happy to home now.  I love Roger and Alissa too much.  I don't want to leave them again.

Playing Outside - March 18, 2004

Thursday - March 18th

Today was a nice day.  The weather was so nice.  Alissa and I were outside all morning.  We did yard work, cleaned the car, went for a walk, and started putting carpet down in the playhouse.  Alissa loves the playhouse.  I really wish that the stairs on it were safer.  Alissa likes to go up and down them by herself.  It make me so nervous when she does.

Alissa was really funny at lunch today.  She was shoving her sandwich in her mouth.  I've never seen her eat so fast.  She finished her sandwich then ate half of my sandwich.  she took a long nap today.  I had a nice time relaxing while she slept.  I started working on a Easter basket that I am making for her.  I did that for about an hour.  Then I got up and fixed some dinner for Roger.

After Roger woke up, we relaxed with him for a little while before he had to go to work.  When he left, Alissa and I walked over to the school playground to play for a little bit.  when we tired of that, we came home, ate dinner,  Alissa had a bath, then we relaxed in front of the TV.  

Alissa was really tired and could not wait to go to bed.  Usually, she doesn't want to go to bed, but not tonight.  She grabbed her bottle and went upstairs, straight to her crib.  She threw her bottle in the crib and then reached up at her crib until I put her in.  She didn't want a story or anything.  She climbed into bed, covered herself up, blew me a kiss, and waved bye-bye.  I was surprised.  she is such a cutie.  I spent the rest of the night working on Alissa;s Easter basket.

Babysitting and Yard work - March 17, 2004

Wednesday - March 17th

The people who broke into some houses on our street got caught.  It turns out that it was some teenagers (the boy that lives across the street, on the corner, and his friends).  He just dropped out of high school.  It turns out that the house on the other side of us (the Archibald's) was also robbed.  They broke into 14 houses in our area.  I'm home all of the time, that's why they didn't come to our house.  I'm so relieved that they have been caught.  I was feeling so paranoid.  I was very nervous that somebody was going to try and break into our house also.

I babysat Shayden and Triston today.  We played outside for most of the time they were here.  Alissa, Shayden, and I ate breakfast, then went outside to play.  We stayed out there until Triston came home from school, then we came in for some lunch.  After lunch, Alissa, Shayden, and Triston all took naps.  I went outside and worked on the yard while they slept.  I raked up all of the pine needles.

I came in around 1:00pm and Alissa woke up.  Then we went in and woke Roger up.  Alissa started to get fussy and her whining woke Triston up from his nap.  So, Roger got up and took Alissa and Triston outside to play, so Shayden could finish her nap in peace.  Shayden woke up from her nap a little before her mom came to pick her up.  As soon as they left, we had to hurry and get ready to go to my Dr. appointment.

The Dr.'s office was crowded.  I've never seen them so busy.  Usually we are the only ones there.  so, we had to wait for a little while.  Everything looks good and Parker and I are doing fine.  I only have 10 weeks left of this pregnancy!  I'm so excited to have a new little baby!  I can't wait!  Every night I dream about having the baby.  Last night I dreamed that he was 2 - 3 weeks early.  He was very healthy and he was a really good eater.  I was excited about that, because it took Alissa a long time to be able to nurse.  She was premature and it was harder for her.  They wouldn't let her leave the hospital until she could do it.  that was frustrating.

My Pregnant Belly is Getting so Big - March 16, 2004

Tuesday - March 16th

My belly is getting so big.  It's getting harder and herder to do a lot of things.  I have a real problem with my sciatic nerve.  It hurts me a lot.  It makes it hard for me to walk and sit up after I've been lying down.

I'm so excited for Parker to be born!  I've been watching home videos of Alissa when she was first born.  She was so tiny.  I'm really excited to have another baby.  I'm excited for Alissa to have a brother.  She is going to love him so much.

Alissa and I worked in the yard for a little while today.  It was so nice to be outside.  the weather has been wonderful.  We didn't need to wear our jackets.  Alissa is a good helper.  She helped me rake the leaves and throw them away.  She loves to be able to do what I'm doing.  She is too cute.

When Roger woke up today, Alissa was so excited to see him.  She climbed up on the bed and gave him lots of loves.  She laid down next to him for a while.  She did not want to leave him.  It was very cute.  Roger's been working a lot of overtime.  We really miss him when he is gone so much.

My Dr. Appointment - March 15, 2004

Monday - March 15th

I had a doctors appointment today at McKay Dee Hospital.  Roger had to work tonight, so I had to get his lunch ready before we left.  I remembered at 11:30am.  I made some soup in the crockpot and dough for rolls, in the bread machine.  That way things could cook and get ready while we were gone.  I also made 2 grilled cheese sandwiches for Roger to eat on the way to the hospital.  Alissa and I woke Roger up at 12:30pm.  After that, we all quickly got ready and left for my appointment.

There is still fluid around Parker's heart.  It hasn't really changed since our last appointment.  But Parker looks healthy.  He's growing well.  He weighs 3 lbs 4 oz.  I love finding out how much he weighs.  It is so exciting to me.  He is getting so big.  There is not that much time left until his due date.  I'm very excited!  The doctor thinks that everything will be fine.  He doesn't think that the fluid around his heart is a problem.  Parker is not in any danger.  the doctor wants us to come back in a month for another ultra sound.  Last time we went, they told us that this would e our last appointment, but things didn't work out that way.

Roger really liked the soup that I made today.  He kept telling me how yummy it was.  I love it when I make a successful dinner and Roger raves about it.  It makes me feel good.

Before Roger had to leave for work, we sat down on the couch to read the Ensign.  Alissa wanted to sit where Roger was sitting, so she started crying and throwing a temper tantrum.  Her crying started me crying.  I tried so hard not to cry, but I just couldn't help it.  I'm just very emotional.  That's one of the many fun joys of pregnancy.

I got back in the habit of going in and cuddling Alissa every time she cries in the night.  If I don't do that, she will sleep through the night just fine.  She was up a lot last night.  I decided that I need to quit doing that.  So, I discussed it with her tonight.  I'm not going to come pick her up when she cries.  I hope that it won't be too long before she starts sleeping through the night again.  Hopefully it won't be too hard.

Marque called me tonight.  We are planning Regan's good-bye party.  Kristy Noble called me tonight also.  She doesn't want me to babysit anymore.  I'm so happy!  Her boys were so difficult to deal with.

I worked on Alissa's scrapbook tonight.  I had a lot of fun doing that.

Our Neighbor's House Got Robbed - March 14, 2004

Sunday - March 14th

Parker has been moving around and kicking so much.  I love being able to feel him move.  Tomorrow we have an appointment at McKay Dee Hospital.  It's supposed to be our final appointment.  They are going to do an ultra sound and make sure that the fluid around Parker's heart is back to where it should be.  I really hope that it is.  I'm pretty sure that it will be.  I'm getting really nervous about delivering this baby.  I'm so excited and so scared at the same time.

El Dula Rawlinson's house got broken into yesterday.  Two other houses on our street were also robbed.  That really freaks me out.  The people in the nursery at church yesterday, told me about it.  They were so shocked, because stuff like doesn't happen in Tremonton.  Nobody ever locks their doors.  I've always been so paranoid.  I always keep our doors locked.  Now that I know stuff like really does happen in Tremonton, I am really scared.  I asked Roger to call me a lot tonight, to make sure that I'm okay.  I don't think that I'm going to be able to sleep tonight.  I need my roger home to protect me.

Alissa and I watched some of our home videos tonight.  I also scanned a bunch of Alissa's pictures onto the computer, so I can make Alissa's baby book.  I love working on that stuff.

Roger is at work tonight.  I really wish that he was home.  A guy on tonight's shift, got into a car accident, so Roger will be working a lot of overtime.  He is working Sunday and Monday this week.

Alissa has a Cold - March 10, 2004

Wednesday - March 10th

I babysat Shayden and Triston today.  Shayden and Alissa were so happy to see each other.  They had a lot of gun today.  Triston was really bored.  He's tired of the playstation 2 and all of the crayons are broken.

Alissa has a really yucky cold.  Her nose is so stuffy.  Roger's allergies are acting up, so he thinks that Alissa could have allergies also.  So, we're not sure if it's a cold or allergies.  I think it is a cold though.

The snow is almost all the way melted in our yard!  I'm looking forward to summer.  It is supposed to snow this weekend, but I know that the snow won't stick, so I'm okay with it.

Babysitting Frustrations - March 9, 2004

Tuesday - March 9th

I babysat Brantzen and Bryson today.  I really don't enjoy babysitting them.  I feel bad for feeling this way.  They back talk, don't listen, and break everything.  Today, one of our cupboards broke.  We're not sure how it happened.  Brantzen and Bryson were standing by it when it fell.  Brantzen lied and said that he didn't touch it.  He later told us that he opened it and it just broke.  It doesn't make a lot of sense.  Something might have been loose on it.  Their dad came and looked at it.  He is going to fix it for us.

Linda got engaged.  Her and Dave plan on remarrying on April 29th.  Kelly is very upset about this.  She called me today to find out how I felt about it.  I told her that I was okay with it.  She is going to send an e-mail to everyone in the family and tell her story (about what Dave did to her) and how it has affected her life, then she will share her thoughts on welcoming him back into the family.  She feels like the reason so many of us are okay with this is because we don't know the whole story.  Kelly is very afraid of him.  She doesn't want anybody else to get hurt.

Linda has been praying about it.  They are getting married in the temple this time.  I'm not sure what to think.  I was okay with it, but after talking to Kelly, I feel scared for him to be back in the family.

Roger's Mom is Home! - March 8, 2004

Monday - March 8th

Roger's mom came home from her mission!  We had a homecoming party for her today.  I'm excited for Alissa to be able to get to know her grandma.  It was also really fun for Alissa to meet some of her cousins that live far away.  Grant and Teresa, and Shane and Jill came.  I also got to meet some of Roger's family for the first time.  I met his brother's Shane and Grant once at a family get together when Roger and I were dating.  Neither of them were able to come to our wedding and they live so far away, so I hadn't been able to meet their families until today.  I feel a little more like part of the family now that I've had a chance to meet everybody.

I made a really large wedding looking type of cake for the homecoming party.  Everybody loved it and that made me feel really good.  I love it when my cakes are a hit.

Alissa's cousins Tyler and Chris were loving meeting her and being on the camera.  I'm really glad I got to finally meet them.  Chris is 12 years old and Tyler is 8 years old.  They are really nice kids.  Missy sat by me most of the time and played with Alissa.  Alissa loves her cousins.

We all went to church together on Sunday to listen to Roger's mom give her homecoming talk.  Afterwards, we all went to Cindi's to eat and visit some more.  Joyce had a lot of pictures and stories to share with us.  It was fun.  I think Joyce is going to be living with Cindi for a little while as she works to figure out where she will live and what she's going to do.  She sold her condo in Draper to help pay for her mission.

Roger and his brother's got together and went snowmobiling for their brother's fling last week, before all the homecoming fun.

Alissa started talking a lot this last week.  She is so smart!  She amazes me.

We got home from Salt Lake last night.  We spent most of the day getting unpacked and getting things back to normal.

The snow has melted a lot.  Alissa and I played outside a lot today.  Alissa really enjoyed playing in the play house.  She is such a cute girl.

It's hot! - May 29, 2003

Thursday - May 29th

Yesterday, Alissa and I went to Salt Lake to go to Mandi Larsen's wedding.  I love going to weddings.  They are so special.  A lot of people from the ward I grew up in were there.  It was really nice to see everybody.  I miss the house and the neighborhood I grew up in.  It's hard to move on.....but I'm doing it.  I'm so happy with roger.  It is so exciting starting our lives together.  I'm looking forward to getting comfortable in our new house and neighborhood.

Jenny Springman was at the wedding last night.  Jenny, Alissa, and I went out to eat at I.hop after the reception.  It was really fun to talk to Jenny again.  Janae was at the reception also.  She had to leave early so she could meet Travis.  Her and Travis have been talking about marriage.  She is in love with him and she doesn't want to lose him, but the thought of marriage is hard for her.  It's a big decision.  I think it's a hard one for anybody to make.  I had a hard time making that decision.  Anyway, so Janae wanted to talk a lot about that.  She went on a trip to California last week with her mom and Travis.  They had a lot of fun.  Janae said she realized how much she really likes him while they were on that trip.  I'm excited for her.  I hope that everything will turn out wonderful for her.

I just remembered a funny thing that happened last Friday, while we were in Mill Creek Canyon.  There were some restrooms there, but they were really yucky and scary.  I had to use it once.  I was so grossed out by it.  I didn't want to go in it again.  Anyway, Elizabeth had to go potty.  Her dad took her to the restroom, she went in, saw how scary it was, and refused to go back in unless her dad came in with her.  He didn't want to, because it was the women's restroom.  She finally just said that she could hold it, so they came back over by us.  Later that night, Kristin and Lizzy took a walk.  They didn't come right back, so Linda and Shelley went looking for them.  They found them by the bathrooms.  They were both too afraid to go in, so they stood outside and peed their pants.  They said that they ran around to try and dry themselves off, but it didn't work.  They were too embarrassed to come back by the fire with everyone.  It was funny, but I felt bad for them since they were so embarrassed.  That is totally something that my sister Kristy and I would have done.

Last night I got home around 11:30pm.  I didn't get to sleep until 12:30am.  I woke up at 4:30am and I was sweating like crazy.  Roger and I were both wide awake.  Alissa woke up about 5:00am.  It was too hot to sleep.  Our air conditioner is not working.  So, we all got up pretty early this morning.  First thing we did when we were all up, is went to Walmart to buy some fans.  One for Alissa's room and one for Roger and I.  We felt better after that.

Adele, who lives up and over from us, is having problems with her swamp cooler also.  I feel bad for her.  Roger went to look at it for her.  It needs to be cleaned and it needs a new pump.  Roger felt that it was really poorly taken care of.  He is going to talk to the guy when he comes to fix it.  Hopefully they will start taking better care of it.  It is miserable with out air conditioning.  We have been having record heat this month.  While roger was checking Adele's swamp cooler, Adele and I were talking.  she was telling me what a great guy she thinks Roger is.  She really appreciated all of the help he has given her.  She told me how lucky I am to have him.  I agree with her.  I love my Roger so much!  He is the best!  We always talk about how in the pre-existence we traded an eyebrow with each other to help us find one another.  We both have one eyebrow that tweaks out.  It's funny.

We went to Sam's Club today and bought groceries and a computer chair.  We also spent a lot of time boxing things up.  We took Alissa to play in a little pool in the backyard.  She didn't want to get in at first, but Roger held her feet in until she liked it.  Roger and I got into a water fight.  Alissa got sunscreen in her eyes.  They were red and watery.  We felt bad for her.  Poor girl.

A Rough Night - May 27, 2003

Tuesday - May 27th

Yesterday was memorial day, so we went to Salt Lake to hang out with Roger's family.  It was a lot of fun.  We decided to spend the night at VanBibber's house then come home in the morning.  At about 2:30am, Alissa woke up.  She was very fussy and I couldn't get her to fall back asleep.  She cried for almost an hour.  We felt so bad.  I couldn't figure out what was making her unhappy and I couldn't get her to calm down.  We were afraid that she was keeping everybody awake.  Roger and I were both wide awake.  We didn't know what to do.  We ended up just packing up our stuff and leaving in the middle of the night.  I felt bad for doing that, but we just didn't know what else to do.  We got home at about 4:30am.  We all went to bed and woke up at 9:00am.  I got up and took care of Alissa and Roger went back to bed until 11:00am.

Alissa was very cute this morning.  She played with her toys in her crib, while I read the scriptures to her.  Then I played with her on the floor.  She was holding my hands to help her stand up.  Then she got the courage to let go of my hands.  she was doing a really good job at standing by herself.  I was so excited about it,  When Roger woke up, we let her walk back and forth between us.  She was doing a really good job.  She would let go of our hands and take a step before falling.  We are so excited for her to start walking.

We went to the store today and bought some things that we will need for our house.  It's so fun to buy stuff for our house.
We've started packing things tonight.  We found out today that they finished painting the side of the house.  All that needs to be done now is the appraiser needs to go and look at it.  After the appraiser approves it, everything will be done and we will be able to close.  I'm really excited about moving.  I hope that we will close on the 2nd or 3rd of June.
Roger and I played 'Hot Shots Golf 3' tonight.  I'm not a big fan of playing video games, but I don't mind this one and Roger loves it when I play it with him.

Happy Birthday Roger! - May 25, 2003

Sunday - May 25th

It's Roger's Birthday today!  He had to work, so he didn't have much of a birthday.  I feel really bad about that.  Nobody even called to wish him a happy birthday before he left to work.  My parents called to tell him happy birthday, but they called after he left for work.  They felt bad that they missed him.  We celebrated Roger's birthday during the week, but It feels weird to not be celebrating on his actual birthday.  I wish I had more time with him today and that it could have felt more like his birthday for him.

We didn't go to church today.  Alissa and I are sick.  Alissa had a fever and I have a sore throat and a tummy ache.

Millcreek Canyon - May 23, 2003

Friday - May 23rd

We met my family in Millcreek Canyon to have a campfire, enjoy each others company, and celebrate Roger's Birthday.  It was a lot of fun.  We played games and ate a lot of food.  My tummy really hurt after all of that.  I'm starting to realize that my body just can't handle the things it used to.  

Before we headed up the Canyon, we stopped at  Deseret Book so, Roger could return the book that he didn't like.  Roger used the money from the book to get a Pocket Library.

Roger Found His Birthday Gifts - May 21, 2003

Wednesday - May 21, 2003

I went to the Relief Society Enrichment Meeting tonight.  I had a really good time at the meeting.  We learned about emergency preparedness.  We also learned about making a 72 hour kit.  I really needed to learn this stuff.  That was the last enrichment meeting that I will be able to attend in this ward.  I feel bad that I didn't go to more of them, because they are so fun and you learn so much.  I'm going to make a goal to attend all of my enrichment meetings in our new ward.  In the announcements, at the meeting, the Relief Society president (Diane Johnson) announced that I was moving.  She said some really nice things about me.  She said that she has learned a lot from me and has shared a lot of the things we've talked about with others.  When I walk around the block, I usually end up seeing her and we visit a lot.  I told her about when I was pregnant with Alissa.  I realized that I haven't written any of my pregnancy stories down, so I'm going to share some of those stories with you at the end of this post.
After I got home from Enrichment, Roger took a nap.  While he was sleeping, Alissa and I snuck to the store to buy his birthday gifts.  We got him a book, a Bill Engvil CD, and 2 DVDs.  We were so sneaky.  He had no idea that we had gone to the store.  We came home and we hid the gifts in Alissa's closet, because Roger never looks in there.
Later, I gave Alissa a bath.  We were in her room getting her dressed when Roger decided to look in her closet to see what things were in there that we needed to move.  A white bag (the bag with his gifts) caught his eye.  He started to reach for it.  I yelled, "No!" and shut the door before he could grab it.  He asked, "What are you doing?  Why did you do that?"  So, I had to tell him that I had bought him some gifts for his birthday and that's where they were hiding.  He was so excited and surprised.  He didn't know that I had even had a chance to go and get him anything yet.  He kept trying to guess what it was.  Then he started begging me to let him open it.  We debated about it for about an hour.  I finally gave in.  He always gets his way.  I'm very disappointed in myself for not being stronger.  The deal we made was that he had to go and buy ice cream, then I would let him open his gifts early.  He loved his gifts, except for the book.  We will go and exchange that one for one that he does like.  I really surprised him.  He did not expect
the gifts we gave him.

 Roger woke me up with the video camera going.  He was nice and let me sleep in, but him and Alissa got bored, so he pulled out the camera and woke me up.

Here are a few stories from when I was pregnant with Alissa:

I was really depressed during almost all of my pregnancy.  We moved, in February 2002, away from all my friends and family.  We lived in a basement apartment (without a lot of sunlight) in a city where the only people we knew were Roger's sister Caroline and her little family.  We rarely saw them.  I was so depressed and sad and lonely.  I never wanted to leave the house.  Being big with child, I felt too ugly to go outside.  We didn't have a lot of money, so I didn't have nice maternity clothes.  I just felt horrible.  I really wanted to move to a place above ground.  I really needed to see the sunlight.  We were only supposed to be living in the basement apartment for 2-3 months, while Caroline and Scott moved out of their apartment in the four-plex, then we were going to move in.  We ended up living in the basement apartment for 10 months.  I kept wanting to look for a different apartment since it was taking so long to get into the four-plex, but the spirit kept telling us to wait.  I'm glad we waited now and I understand why it was necessary.  If we hadn't waited, we wouldn't have been able to get into a house when we did because we would have had to sign a lease.
Anyway, so I heard that if you are depressed when you are pregnant, you will have a sad, fussy baby.  I really didn't want my depression to affect Alissa.  I talked to her all the time about it.I would tell her that I am happy and I love life, I'm just going through a hard time right now.  I talked to Alissa all the time about everything.  I told her a lot about how happy I am to have her and how I can't wait to hold her in my arms.  Thankfully, the depression didn't affect Alissa at all.  she is a very happy and content baby.  I read stories to her while she was in the room.  I talked to her about everything.  When I was 6 or 7 months along, I explained to Alissa what it was going to be like when she was delivered.  I explained how I've never done this before, so I'm not certain this is how it will go, but this is what the books say will happen.  I wanted her to be prepared, so it wouldn't be a scary thing for her.
I explained how she needed to have her head down, because that is the easiest way out.  I told her that if she couldn't get in that position, it would be alright, they will deliver her by c-section.  I explained to her what a c-section would be like.  But I told her the best and easiest way is if she has her head down.  The next two days, after I told her all of that, I was having really weird pains.  Pains that I hadn't experienced before.  We went to the doctor and he said, "Oh... She turned around so that her head is down."  I was so happy that Alissa had listened.  I thought that it was really neat to have some kind of prove that they do hear you when they are in the womb.
In the days before I delivered and I was having all of that pain, they checked to see if I was dilated.  They said that when they reached their fingers in, they could feel her head.  She was ready to go.  They gave her a little push.  They said normally the baby doesn't put her head back into that position, but Alissa did.  She is such a good girl and a good listener.  Because of my appendix rupturing, Alissa had to be delivered by c-section and it all happened very quickly.  I was glad that I had explained about c-sections to her before.  I barely had anytime alone after they announced that they were going to do a c-section and an exploratory surgery to find out what was wrong with me.  In that short time, I quickly told Alissa what was happening, so hopefully that helped things to be a little less scary for her.  Her whole delivery was a pretty scary thing and I was away from her a lot right after she was born.  I'm sure that was really hard on her.  She was in the NICU trying to survive and I was in another area of the hospital doing the same thing.  It was rough, but, we both made it through.
Another experience is, I didn't feel her move for a day or two.  I started to get really worried.   So, I talked to her about my feelings.  I told her how I worry when I don't feel her move and how much I love it when she moves around.  After that, she was really active.  Another fun thing is that she was always more active when her dad would come home from work.  That was so cute.

New Babysitting Job - May 19, 2003

Monday - May 19th

I went to Walmart today and bought some running pants, a sports bra, and some milk.  I love clothes shopping.  I tried on almost all the clothes in the store.  Alissa was so patient while I did that.  I found some shortalls and a shirt that I really want.

Alissa slept in until 8:30 this morning.  I really love getting an extra hour of sleep.  I was supposed to start my running program today, but I didn't have enough time.  I woke up, fed and dressed Alissa, went to the store, put Alissa down for a nap, cleaned, fed Alissa, cleaned, then Mark and Nikyle came to be babysat.  They are really cute boys.  I really enjoyed tending them.  Mark played the Playstation 2 for most of the time, then he went out and played with some neighbor kids.  Nikyle ran a muk in the house.  He crawled all over the place.  It really helped me to realize what child proofing I need to do.  He is a very cute boy.  I babysat from 2:30pm - 8:45pm.  Roger played for a little while, then he went to the store and bought some dinner because I didn't have time to make anything tonight.  

Mark and nikyle's parents, Lisa and Rob came to meet us at 2:00pm, before they left their kids.  They seem really nice.  They said that they think we are a really cute couple and they feel very comfortable about having me watch their children.

My First Successful Roast - May 18, 2003

Sunday - May 18th

I use Alissa as my alarm clock and for some crazy reason, she sleeps in every Sunday.  That means I have to rush to get us ready in time.  Alissa is not sleeping well lately.  She was up from 9:00pm to 1:00am last night.  It was frustrating trying to get her to sleep.  I don't know why she is having such a hard time.  Tonight I put her to bed at 8:00pm and she woke up at 8:40pm.  She just barely fell back asleep and it is about 10:40pm right now.  I held her for a little bit, but she just fussed, so i ended up putting her in her crib and letting her cry herself to sleep.  That is hard for me to do.  I don't like to let her fuss,  I'd rather hold her and give her loves.  But if I didn't let her cry herself to sleep, she would still be awake.  The lady upstairs is vacuuming. I really hope that it doesn't wake Alissa up.  I'm so excited to move so I won't have to worry about that anymore.  I really hope that Alissa starts sleeping longer when we move because there won't be so many sounds to wake her up.

I made my first successful roast today!  I cooked it in the crockpot.  I sprinkled some Canadian Steak Seasoning on it.  Then I put onions and water.  I'm so glad that it was successful.  It was ready for us when we got home from church, but we didn't eat it right away.  We were all so tired, so I put it in the refrigerator and we all took a nap.  It felt so nice.  We were all so tired.

After Roger went to work, Alissa played with some toys on the floor while I played the piano.  I really love playing the piano.

It was a nice sunshiny day today, but there was a very cold wind blowing.  It really shocked me when I went outside, because we've been having really warm weather lately.

Angelee called to ask if Alissa and I would go walking with her, but I missed her call.  Alissa was in the bath.  I didn't realize that she had called until it was too late.  I was really bummed about that.  I really enjoy going walking with her.  I'm so glad that we live so close to each other.

Lisa called tonight.  She wants me to babysit tomorrow.  I will be babysitting for her in Tremonton after we move, but something came up and she needs me to watch them tomorrow.  I'm excited to meet her and her children.  she seems really nice.  She is 26 years old, so, only 2 years older than me.  We get along really well on the phone.  I'm hoping to make a friend.  Her children are 1 and 5 years old.  I'm looking forward to watching them.  I'm going to watch them from 3:00 - 9:00 pm.  I can use the money to buy Roger a birthday gift.

The play that Missy VanBibber was in was very successful.  They get to perform it in the Conference Center in August.  Missy is so excited about it.  she called to tell us all about it yesterday.

I spent a big portion of my evening making a calendar with my new jogging/walking schedule.  I'm starting out really slowly.  I'm doing it different than I have before.  I think that I will not get burned out on this one, because I'll be building up really slowly and starting out very easy.

We only have 2 more Sundays until we move.  I'm so excited about that.  I'm really excited about going to our new ward and getting to know everybody.  A guy who Roger works with has a friend and family member who lives on the same street as us.  He said that it is a really great neighborhood.  They have block parties every year and are very friendly.  I'm really excited to meet our neighbors.  I really hope there will be lots of babies in our ward so Alissa will have some friends.

Alissa won't Sleep Tonight - May 13, 2003

Alissa is having a hard time sleeping tonight.  It is 10:30 pm and she is still awake.  I fed her and put her in her bed at 8:00 pm.  At 8:10 pm, my neighbor, Diana and her son, Andy came down to visit.  They were a little noisy when they came in.  Since I had just laid Alissa down, she wasn't asleep yet and the sounds made her upset and she started to cry a lot.  So, I went and got her and held her while I visited with Diana.  After they left I tried to put Alissa to bed again, but she just wouldn't sleep.  At 9:30, I decided to feed her some more and try to cuddle her back to sleep.  I held her for about 20 minutes, then I laid her down in her crib again.  For some reason she is just wide awake.  I have no idea why she won't sleep, but I finally just went and got her out of her crib.  she is sitting here with me.  I hope she falls asleep soon.

Alissa and I had a nice walk this morning.  We walked to the park and played by the pond for a while.  It was a beautiful day today.

Roger had a yucky night at work last night.  He has been having a lot of trouble with this one boss on his shift (I think his name is Matt).  This boss was only on his shift for 3 weeks.  Last night was his last night on the shift.  Roger was trying to get the prep job on his shift.  He was really sure that the job was going to be his.  The boss before and after this one would have given it to Roger, but this boss got on his shift and gave it to someone else who hadn't even been on the shift very long.  Roger was really upset about that.  Roger has been working so hard to get that position.  He has worked so hard to prove himself (he always comes in for overtime when asked and he works really hard).  Roger made a mistake on some paper work during the time that he had the yucky boss.  Usually somebody will catch a mistake like that before things go to far in the process, but other people missed it also, so it got a lot farther in the process than it should have and it caused a lot of problems.  roger got written up for it and the boss made a really big deal about it.  When he didn't give Roger that position, he told him that the one mess up was the reason why.  Roger's been working there for a little over a year and this was his first paperwork mistake.  He is just so frustrated about the big deal that this boss made of it.  Last night there was a problem that someone on day shift caused.  Roger noticed it and let the boss know about the problem.  The boss blamed Roger and another guy on his shift for the problem and gave them both write ups.  Then, another guy on his shift messed up and blamed it on Roger also.  He didn't get written up for it, but he got yelled at.  Roger talked to the guy later and the guy admitted that it was his fault, but he refused to tell anybody about it.  I feel bad that Roger is having such a hard time at work right now.  I don't like that his job is making him so miserable.  I miss my happy-go-lucky Roger that isn't stressed out from his job.

Dinner was Successful Today! - May 12, 2003

Today was a nice day.  I had a nice relaxing morning.  Alissa and I ate breakfast then she fell asleep.  I took a nap also.  I love taking naps.  I never thought I would feel that way about naps.  As a child, I despised them.

For Dinner I made Ham and Swiss Casserole and Garlic Bread.  It was really yummy.  Roger and I both loved it. I have been trying a lot of new meals and it is so exciting when one of them actually turns out.  I am really working hard to be a better cook.  It is a little frustrating when so many of my dinners don't turn out very well.  But nights like tonight make it all worth it.

It din't take me very long to make dinner, so I had time to take a second nap when Alissa took her second nap today.  I spent my second nap snuggled up next to Roger.  I was happy to get to relax with him for a little while today before he had to leave to work.

After Roger left to work, my friend, Angelee called.  She came over and we went walking.  Angelee and I grew up together in the same neighborhood in Salt Lake.  Now we are living close to each other in Brigham City.  It is so fun how that worked out.  I love having a friend close by.  I'm going to miss seeing her when we move.  anyways, we try to go walking together on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday each week.  I love it.

We got information about the appraisal of our house today.  The house appraised for $99,00.00.  We bought the house for $98,00.00.  So that's nice!  The appraiser thought everything looked really good.

Mother's Day - May 11, 2003

It's my first Mother's Day as a mom!  I love being a mom!  Alissa and I slept in today and ended up missing church, so I woke up feeling kind of grumpy about that.  I managed to calm down eventually.  Roger was super nice to me and did his best to pamper me and make me feel special and loved.  It was so nice.  I also called my mom to wish her a happy Mother's Day.  She sounded happy and like she was having a really good day.  Kelly was visiting, so she had Shelley, Kelly, Kristy, and Missy over celebrating Mother's Day with her.

I made a roast today.  My mom says that a roast is the easiest meal to make.  She said that it is really hard to mess up a roast.  I've made roast 2 times now and I have managed to mess it up both times.  I don't know why I can't get it right.  It is really frustrating.  I really want to be a good cook and I want us to be able to eat roast on Sundays.  We always had roast on Sundays at my house when I was growing up.  I'd like to keep that going with my own family, but so far it is not looking good for us.  I'm determined though.  I'm going to keep trying until I get it right.

Yesterday we went to Salt Lake to go to my friend, Marque's Wedding.  It was really fun to see her.  She looked so pretty and so happy.  It was also a ton of fun to get to see and visit with a lot of friends from Dixie college.  Roger was super nice and took time off of work so he could come with me.  He couldn't take the whole night off though.  So, he worked the night before, came home and slept until 1:15 pm, then we loaded the car and headed out.  It took us a lot longer to get there because about a mile after we entered the freeway, traffic slowed pretty much to a stop because there was a really bad roll over accident.  It looked really scary.  I hope everybody was okay.  We had to leave the reception to head home by 8:45 pm so Roger could make it home and to work on time.

New Appliances For Our House - May 9, 2003

We got to go shopping today for some appliances for our new house!  We bought a washer, dryer, and a refrigerator.  It was fun looking at all of the different models.  We looked at a lot of different places and decided that the best place to go is Murphy's Appliances in Brigham City.

I'm so tired!  I've been working hard tonight trying to get everything done so that we will be able to go to Salt Lake in the morning.  I also went jogging tonight.  Even after working so hard tonight, I still need to do the dishes, do my hair, finish the laundry, pack our things, and I'm sure I'll think of more.

Alissa was so good today, which was super nice and helpful since I had so much to do.  She is such a patient little girl.  I feel really blessed to have such a wonderful little baby.  Tonight I thought that I would try something new.  I thought that if I stop feeding Alissa in the night when she wakes up that she will stop waking up in the night and maybe start sleeping through the night.  She already woke up once and I tried to just hold her and rock her back to sleep.  It was a bad idea.  She was hungry and since I didn't feed her like she was expecting she got really upset.  She ended up waking up even more because she was so upset over the lack of food.  I took a lot longer to get her back to sleep after that.  It's much easier to just feed her at night when she waked up.  I just need to be patient.  Eventually she will start sleeping through the night.

Also, we ate pizza today because I was craving it.  Weird!  I don't usually like pizza.  It was really weird that I was craving it.

My friend, Marque, is getting married tomorrow.  That's why we're heading to Salt Lake,

Laughing Alissa - May 8, 2003

Thursday - May 8th

Alissa was laughing a lot.  I love her little laugh, so I pulled out the camcorder to try and get her laughing on video.  She laughed for the camera a little and that was fun, but she wasn't laughing as much as she was before the camera was on.

Alissa is almost 9 months old!  She is too cute and growing too fast.

 Roger was a stinker and pulled out the camera while I was trying to get Alissa asleep.

I have been looking through books from the library trying to find a good place for us to go hiking and camping together in the Box Elder area.  We've been hiking together quite a few times, just never camping.  I think I'm ready for us to do that.  Hopefully I can find a good place and we can go soon.

Salt Lake - May 7, 2003

Wednesday - May 7, 2003

We went to Salt Lake today.  We picked Kelly up from the airport at 2:30, then we all went to Linda's.  After Kristin and Lizzy got home from school, we all went to eat at Chilies.  I loved it.  I ate too much.  I have been craving Chilies for a long time.  After dinner, we went back to Linda's and played games.  Alissa was so cute all night.  She was especially cute at dinner.  She looked so big sitting at the table in between Elizabeth and Kristin.  She had a lot of fun.  She loves all of the attention that everyone gives her.  While we played games, Roger went over and played videos games at Jamie and Kirk's.  We were going to stay the night at Linda's but I got the worst headache ever.  It made me sick to my stomach (that's how bad it was).  So, Roger brought us home.  I was able to sleep a little bit on the way home, so my headache is not as bad as it was when we left.  The only thing that works for getting rid of my headaches is sleep.  I've tried different medicines, but nothing works.

Alissa Called me Dada - May 6, 2003

Tuesday - May 6, 2003

My parents came and did the home inspection.  They were impressed.  They thought everything was very nice.  The people who live there now asked us if they could move the closing date up one week.  It's not official yet, but we will probably get to move in on June 3rd!! I'm so excited!

Roger had a yucky night at work last night.  I was really sad for him when he came home.  The bosses keep telling him that they are really impressed with him and that they are really considering him for all of these positions.  (Roger works so hard) And then they give them to other people.  It just was so frustrating to Roger because he has worked so hard to prove himself to the bosses and they tell him that he will get moved up to another position but they don't do it.  Roger feels like they will keep him in the same position forever.  He is ready for something new.

Alissa is so cute!  I know I say that on every post,  but she really is.  She says "Mama" and "Dada".  Today I was talking to her and I asked her to say mama and she looked at me and said, "Dada."  I thought it was funny.  She is turning in to such a daddy's girl.  I love it.  And of course, Roger loves it also.  She just started doing the cutest thing last week.  When I get her out of her bed I always give her a hug and pat her back.  Well, now she pats my back also.  I love it!  It is so cute!  Another cute thing she does is when you change her diaper after she wakes up or when she is tired, she stretches her hands out and yawns, then she reaches down and scratches her little belly.  She is so much fun.  I look forward to every day with her.  It is so much fun to watch her learn and grow.

Alissa Won't Take Her Nap Again - May 5, 2003

Monday - May 5th

This is my cute little Alissa refusing to take her nap.  She really doesn't like to take naps.  She was just being too cute so I pulled out the video camera to record her.  She is sitting in the rocking chair that I am in the process of recovering.  I like how it is turning out.

 We are so excited about our new house.  It is 1650 sq ft.,  4 bedrooms 2 baths.  We just can't wait!  I'm the most excited about the kitchen.  I had Roger tell the camera a little about our new house.

 Alissa loves to stand up.  It is her favorite thing.  She loves it when we hold her hands and let her try to walk.  She seems like she just can't wait to start walking.  I had Roger lay her on her stomach so we could chow the camera what a big fit she throws when she's on her belly, but she didn't throw a fit this time.  Eventually she did, but she actually tried for a little bit.  I think it is because she saw another little girl crawling at church yesterday.  I think that made her want to try it.

We Got a House! - May 1, 2003

Thursday - May 1, 2003

We got the house!  As of June 13, 2003 we are home owners.  I'm really excited about it!  My parents are coming on Saturday and we are going to have my dad inspect it.  I'm so excited to go and see it again.  Life is wonderful!

I've been really emotional for the past 3 days.  Dumb things make me cry.  I think it is a little funny.  Roger thinks it is funny also.  I think I am pregnant again, but I don't want to get my hopes up.  I won't take a pregnancy test for another 2 weeks.

Someone called me yesterday and asked if I still babysit.  I told them that we are moving, but I would love to watch their children until we move and possibly after, if they are interested.  She is interested.  so, it's not official, but I probably have a babysitting job.  That will help us out so much.