And we are back in Utah!!!
Shortly before Norah was born, Spencer lost all stability in the contract jobs he had while in Texas... So he was actively applying to every job there was, but there just wasn't a market for entry-level programmers in San Antonio or Austin.
So the story is long, but the short of it is Heavenly Father is looking out for our family because, just when we had begun to panic about the fact that we couldn't get anything stable, this job arose in Utah! So after alot of prayerful and thoughtful consideration we know this is where we need to be. In fact, we feel so good about settling in Utah that we are buying a house!!!!
Yes, you read me, a house! I can't wait! Let's pray everything continues to run smoothly so that we can close in time to move in before we go home for Christmas!! My advice to first time homebuyers would be to read EVERYTHING and make sure you understand it, and don't let your agent try to talk you into a house. You have to LOVE that house! Who cares if your agent gets tired of showing you houses, it's their job! Just like a spouse, the perfect house for you is out there waiting for you to find it! In our case, we were driving around one Saturday and peeked in the windows, and now I can't believe this is happening, when I looked in I so hoped it would be in our price range because it was so great! Exactly what I pictured our first home looking like :)
In other, more interesting news, Alice is talking soooo much these days!! I love it! She is such a sweet little girl and such a helper! She shows her compassionate side all the time. She always runs to Norah when she cries, and the other day Norah was beside herself in hysterics and Alice gave Norah her favorite blanket. Now Alice's blanket used to be Spencer's but once she felt how soft and comforting and warm it was it became her "kanket" as she calls it. I can't tell you how amazing it was to witness such a kind act from Alice, that she would offer the most comforting thing she had to her little sister when she was distraught and in need of comfort.
Norah is such a talker!! She loves talking and babbling. I love hearing it!! When she gets up in the morning she is so happy! She will just look up at me and babble away and it just warms me up in the morning :) She loves Alice, she recognizes her and will watch her and talk to her, it is so cute! I can never get Norah to laugh, but she will coo and babble like there's no tomorrow. She is getting so big too! She is already in 6 month clothes and she is only 4 months old, and at the rate she is growing she will catch up to Alice by the time she's one! She is so tall! And her hair is a lighter brown and her eyes are blue :) Total contrast. She looks NOTHING like me.... not yet anyway.
Spencer and I are having a blast watching our girls grow :) I am just trying to maintain my sanity at the same time... that's a challenge these days! I am having a blast teaching Alice and Norah new things everyday. It is so fun :) All in all, we are doing great!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Spencer's First iPhone/iPad App
Well, I (Spencer) have never written a blog post before but here goes. I released my first app on the app store! It's called 'Research Logger' and it's an indispensable utility for keeping your genealogy research notes.
When doing genealogy research it is helpful to keep track of the research that you have done. That way you don't end up repeating research. Research Logger is an app built for the very purpose of keeping track of the research that you have done. With this app you will no longer have to carry around a bulky notebook containing your research notes/log. Instead, with this app, all your research notes can be in one place that is easy to carry around. Maybe you are doing family research in the library and you need to go to the microfilm reader to look for your ancestor(s). With this app you can leave all your materials at the desk you are set up at and take your convenient iPhone/iPad with you. Or, what if you are researching in a book and you come across a family name or something you don't want to forget; if you have this app you would just have to pull your iPhone/iPad out of your pocket and log it down in the app; you could log it with a picture! No more having to walk back to your desk to get your cumbersome research notes.
Features:
-separate log entries for each ancestor
-search by phrase, all, or any key words over your log entries to quickly find what you are looking for
-a todo list
-record audio in your notes
-insert pictures
When doing genealogy research it is helpful to keep track of the research that you have done. That way you don't end up repeating research. Research Logger is an app built for the very purpose of keeping track of the research that you have done. With this app you will no longer have to carry around a bulky notebook containing your research notes/log. Instead, with this app, all your research notes can be in one place that is easy to carry around. Maybe you are doing family research in the library and you need to go to the microfilm reader to look for your ancestor(s). With this app you can leave all your materials at the desk you are set up at and take your convenient iPhone/iPad with you. Or, what if you are researching in a book and you come across a family name or something you don't want to forget; if you have this app you would just have to pull your iPhone/iPad out of your pocket and log it down in the app; you could log it with a picture! No more having to walk back to your desk to get your cumbersome research notes.
Features:
-separate log entries for each ancestor
-search by phrase, all, or any key words over your log entries to quickly find what you are looking for
-a todo list
-record audio in your notes
-insert pictures
So anyway, you should download it and give me some good feedback on the app store. I am only charging $.99.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Spencer Graduated, we moved to Texas, and had a baby!!
Alice's birthday was Apr. 29th, she LOVES chocolate cake... see below.
See what I mean??
We took her to the San Antonio Zoo for her birthday, my mom and Kayla joined us, and Alice seemed to like the birds most...
She really wanted the African Wild Dog to come closer. She kept woofing... haha it was too cute!!
She was pooped before we got to the petting zoo. Where some kid scared a goat which ran into the goat she was about to touch which then ran into Alice... Needless to say, Alice didn't like the goats so much after that. :(
For Mother's Day Spencer printed this picture and framed it with a set of Alice's handprints. It was wonderful :) I felt like a real mom :)
We went to the valley to visit Abuelita and Tia Pepper where Alice learned to say "'lita" for Abuelita, and Spencer depopcorned and patched their entire 20x20 living room ceiling. Talk about hard work. Alice and I wanted to go to the beach, but it didn't work out, so I brought the beach to us in a three ringed pool. The great thing about kids, they don't care where they get wet as much as we picky adults do!
Alice learned how to drink out of a straw on this trip too... oh boy.
One of Tia Pepper's knick knacks, Alice loved it!
Group Picture! Tia Pepper is holding Alice.
Pepper, Alice, and Abuelita
Gangsta! Haha, she loves wearing hats and stealing/eating cell phones.
First family photo in a loooong time!
Spencer and Alice, me, Kerri, Dad, Kayla, Mom, Jared, Jessi, Mark and Esper
Our cute little Family!! Soon to be bigger little family...
Celebrating Corrine's birthday at Texas Land and Cattle. Yum!
Lauren, Steph, Corrine, Alice, me, George and Spencer
Eating a PB&J sandwich all by herself.... that was fun to clean up :)
Here are a few updates:
- Spencer is doing contract work and has a couple of applications on the iphone/ipad app store! I will talk about the one he made himself in the next blog entry.
- He is doing this contract work while he looks for a permanent job and/or gets into graduate school. We hope for both! Jobs are hard to come by these days.
- Alice is talking more and more, and we are finally starting to understand her!!
- She LOVES spending time with her grandparents! Especially "Papa," my dad, mainly because he spoils her and gives her chips... haha, and he lets her stay up late! You would think he is like that because he is a grandpa, but his daughters could coerce him just as easily! I love my dad! She loves Corrine, Spencer's mom, and George, and she especially loves their walks! The take her out every evening just about! And her other "Papa," Spencer's dad, she just loves! She loves it when he plays his guitar and sings to her, she just dances and dances!! It is so cute! She loves cuddling with my mom and stealing water out of her nifty water bottle. And then there are the uncles and aunts! Haha, she loves them all! Steven is still her favorite I think because he has spent alot of time with her, but Kerri is starting to take the cake on the that one! Haha... overall she doesn't have a favorite yet, although aunt Stephy is in the running for that one... She just loves spending time with her family! It is great to be close to everyone!
- I completed a completely insane 6 week Kinesiology class at UT and almost made it out with an A, but I guess I will settly for the B+... It was a fun class, and everyone thought I was going to pop if I did anything to strenuous... At least I got out of jump roping!
- I am not going to school this fall so I can spend time with my beautiful girls, and we decided to just focus on getting Spencer through graduate school before I finish... that way if a job takes us elsewhere I can still transfer without losing credits.
- Overall, our lives are adjusting, and we are loving every minute of it!
- And for the most recent news...... We are pleased to anounce:
NORAH REBEKAH HALL
July 30th, 2010 12:17 pm
7 lbs 1 oz 19.75 in
Well, in most recent news we just had a new blessing added to our lives, Norah Rebekah was born on July 30th, 2010 at 12:17 pm. And boy is it a funny story. I went in to be induced since I had been 4 cm dilated and 70% effaced for over a week and the pain in my pelvis was just too much to handle and the doctor didn't want me taking too much tylenol... and at this point I was almost 40 wks and I wanted my baby out, but the doctor had a surgery scheduled for my due date and the hospital was available on the 30th (the day after my dr's appt in which we decided to induce), so I took it! We get to the hospital before the sun came up and they got me all set up. The doctor came in to give to OK to induce and they started the inducing stuff at about 8 am ish... By 9:30 I was 6 cm dilated, but the baby was off to the side so we think this inhibited water breakage and downward movement of baby. At 11:15 ish the Dr came in and broke my water to speed things along, since my delivery with Alice went rather promptly upon my water being broken. She gave me one last chance to get the epidural before my water was broken, but I declined. I could still get it after that, but I wanted to stick it out. Oh boy.... were those contractions sharp! I started to handle them really well, I learned that quiet and sitting up right helped alot! Spencer was a great help! He helped me cope through the whole thing. We learned that I don't like being coached WHILE the contraction is going. Well, after about 45 minutes the pain has intensified ten fold, and I decide that if it is going to get worse I want the epidural. So the nurse gets stuff ready - I really liked her, she was encouraging me to go pain med free, and not pushing anything on me - and we are waiting for the anesthesiologist. So he gets to my paperwork at a little after 12 and the nurse comes in and lets me know he is on his way. At this point I can barely breathe or think or do anything but scream and say "Tell him to hurry." So mid contraction the nurse sees how much pain I am in and asks "Do you want me to check you?" I say yes, and barely do I spread my legs that she says, "Woa, the baby's right there, about an inch from coming out." So I am crowning... hence the dramatic increase of pain. She she says, "We can wait for the epidural or you can push" I say "push" and she calls for the doctor. Spencer remembers the rest of the story better... I remember trying really hard not to push, but Spencer says I was pushing because the baby was coming out. The nurse is getting her gloves on and picks up the intercom phone to yell for the doctor to get in there NOW... Meanwhile my doctor was on her way to check on me when she passed the Labor and Delivery desk and heard my nurse yelling for her to come... So my doctor sprints for it. Spencer is getting ready to jump in and catch the baby, and then the doctor comes running in slips her gloves on faster than the speed of light, turns, and catches the baby. haha... well, maybe it took a minute, but the baby's head was coming out when she got there. Anyway, it only took one push, but boy was I tired!
See what I mean?! I look exhausted!! But I felt great! I felt empowered that I made it, and I got back on my feet right away! I will probably do this again, to tell you the truth. I loved the epidural, but I also loved having this baby without anything but Spencer to help me through it.
Funny side note. My mom didn't get there til right before they broke my water, and she left the room because she wasn't sure if she should be there or not (it all happened so fast we didn't have time to discuss it), but she was only gone five minutes total it seemed like... She said that when the doctor ran to the room she lost her badge, but my mom picked it up for her... haha.
The day she was born :)
First Family Picture :)
Alice's Scrunchy Face :)
Alice kissing her new sister
Going in for another kiss
Alice trying to show Norah one of her favorite toys :)
Our lives have been pretty eventful! Alice seems to be taking this pretty well, although, I can tell she misses our undivided attention. She is concerned whenever she hears her sister cry, and HAS to be right there! haha. But we are adjusting! I love my little family!!!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tucano's
We finally did it! Spencer took me to Tucano's for lunch today. Boy, let me tell you! That was some of the best meat I've ever done tasted! I am so sleepy. Even Alice enjoyed it! She ate alot of grilled pineapple, which I never realized was so much better than just regular pineapple... I could have eaten the whole skewer. Oh and the top sirloin and brisket were delectable! Alice tried a little bbq chicken, brisket, and sirloin, and we gave her fruit and veggies from the salad bar and took a jar of baby food. Spencer and I are fans of the mango cod, it was just breaded cod with a mango sauce on the breading. We are STUFFED! I am going to take a nap... Alice is already down for the count!
Green means to bring on the meat and pineapple!
Alice is enjoying her meal
Spencer is stuffed
I am stuffed (even though I ate more grilled pineapple after this)
Alice is beyond stuffed
Red means STOP!
And when you tip this thing on its side, that means you want your check (and might need to be rolled out to your car...).
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Random Thoughts
If you haven't read my blog in a while, don't forget to read the post below this one!
Today I was thinking about how everything will work when we get home. I was telling myself that it will all work out in the end, even though I have no idea what or how everything is going to happen. I know I will be going to school, but when, where, and how will Spencer work?? When the new baby comes, how will I get everything done? I am trying to prepare myself for the early mornings by trying to stay awake the first time I wake up in the mornings. Two days down!
At stake conference one of the speakers said "If you live like no one wants to for 10 years, then you will be able to live like no one else can afford for the rest of your life." Something like that. Basically, he was saying that sacrifice is important to keep you out of debt, and to keep you from financial ruin. He also said, "Those who understand interest, earn it; those who don't, pay it." Good words to remember. Spencer and I dream of getting the latest 27" IMac, but in reality we cannot afford it. Those are the most important words for us right now, "we can't afford it." I am glad that we are able to move home. I am very resistant to the idea of living with family because I feel like we should be independent and make our own way. I love where we are going to be living, but, before, we were just visiting when we went home, now it will be where we live. At least, it'll only be 'til we figure out what is going to happen with Grad School and the Air Force. I can handle it for that long... right?? The idea of invading someone else's personal space, no matter how close we are, is somewhat challenging to me. It brings fears of over-staying our welcome, ruining our relationship, and losing sight of what is important. The same fears I feel about being financially indebted to a family member.
I am very grateful that we will not have too many financial obligations when we move to Austin, and I love Spencer's family. I still have my fears and doubts, but it is important to remember, "Sacrifice means giving up something good now, for something greater later." And even though I do like being in the home Spencer spent part of his life in, I just don't want to over-stay our welcome and ruin a perfectly good relationship we have with his family.
It is hard not to be in your own home, but these times bring so much uncertainty that we can't risk moving into our own place and then not being able to afford it. What happened to the good old days where people had jobs and graduate school wasn't so saturated or even necessary?? Why is formal higher education so limited, yet so sought out? And now it is only going to be more difficult.
I have vented out my fears, and now I must have Faith. For fear and faith cannot share the same room. I have faith that everything will be fine, and that stressing about it will only open the door to my fears. I know the Lord will provide. He never promised it would be easy either. I don't expect a bag of money and a job to fall into our laps... I just expect that we will not drown in the uncertainty of not knowing what is to come. I know we cannot rely solely on the Lord to provide for us, but He will help us provide for ourselves if we put our trust and faith in Him.
Today I was thinking about how everything will work when we get home. I was telling myself that it will all work out in the end, even though I have no idea what or how everything is going to happen. I know I will be going to school, but when, where, and how will Spencer work?? When the new baby comes, how will I get everything done? I am trying to prepare myself for the early mornings by trying to stay awake the first time I wake up in the mornings. Two days down!
At stake conference one of the speakers said "If you live like no one wants to for 10 years, then you will be able to live like no one else can afford for the rest of your life." Something like that. Basically, he was saying that sacrifice is important to keep you out of debt, and to keep you from financial ruin. He also said, "Those who understand interest, earn it; those who don't, pay it." Good words to remember. Spencer and I dream of getting the latest 27" IMac, but in reality we cannot afford it. Those are the most important words for us right now, "we can't afford it." I am glad that we are able to move home. I am very resistant to the idea of living with family because I feel like we should be independent and make our own way. I love where we are going to be living, but, before, we were just visiting when we went home, now it will be where we live. At least, it'll only be 'til we figure out what is going to happen with Grad School and the Air Force. I can handle it for that long... right?? The idea of invading someone else's personal space, no matter how close we are, is somewhat challenging to me. It brings fears of over-staying our welcome, ruining our relationship, and losing sight of what is important. The same fears I feel about being financially indebted to a family member.
I am very grateful that we will not have too many financial obligations when we move to Austin, and I love Spencer's family. I still have my fears and doubts, but it is important to remember, "Sacrifice means giving up something good now, for something greater later." And even though I do like being in the home Spencer spent part of his life in, I just don't want to over-stay our welcome and ruin a perfectly good relationship we have with his family.
It is hard not to be in your own home, but these times bring so much uncertainty that we can't risk moving into our own place and then not being able to afford it. What happened to the good old days where people had jobs and graduate school wasn't so saturated or even necessary?? Why is formal higher education so limited, yet so sought out? And now it is only going to be more difficult.
I have vented out my fears, and now I must have Faith. For fear and faith cannot share the same room. I have faith that everything will be fine, and that stressing about it will only open the door to my fears. I know the Lord will provide. He never promised it would be easy either. I don't expect a bag of money and a job to fall into our laps... I just expect that we will not drown in the uncertainty of not knowing what is to come. I know we cannot rely solely on the Lord to provide for us, but He will help us provide for ourselves if we put our trust and faith in Him.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Texas Here We Come!!
It has been really fun to think about being back in Texas... But seeing as I moved a total of 6 times the year before I moved to Utah, I am NOT excited to pack! I am putting it off actually... Enough about that.
Here are the happenings of late.
-Alice is walking everywhere now, and she loves to be outside! She doesn't like the feel of grass on her bare feet though. The other day we went to BYU to pick up Spencer and we decided to eat there and sit on the grass outside of the library. Spencer took off Alice's socks so she could feel the grass on her feet, but she would not have it. As soon as I got there with our food she was climbing all over me so she wouldn't have to touch the grass. Even when she was sitting on my lap she didn't want the grass touching her. It was entertaining. Spencer said that when he first put her down on the grass she tried to climb back into her stroller to get off the grass. Haha! "Mommy, I've got grass on my feet" (Sound familiar, Grandma)
-Alice is finally breaking a top tooth or two, so we have been handling a very fussy baby for the past few days :( Although, since she is refusing almost all pureed foods, it will be nice when she gets her chompers in so she can relish in all the foods she is yearning to have!
- Spencer is on his last leg of school! I think I am more excited than he. We have been really spoiled this semester in that we have had alot of time to spend together as he doesn't have such a heavy load. Perfect last semester. He received second place on his group Capstone Project (Senior Project) in which they made an ipod app that the BYU IT people want to take! It is an app that will tell you the locations of all sorts of things on a college campus, i.e. water fountains, restrooms, events, it'll show RSS feeds, and they are making it so that the user can upload info on other things that aren't already included. It is pretty sweet.
-I can't tell you how much I will miss Utah weather (minus the snow in mid-April), the sweet friends we have made here, and the 5 minute drive to BYU. However, I will NOT miss this apartment... not anymore anyway.
Last Thursday (April Fool's Day) changed how I would remember this place... and not for the better. Alice and I were enjoying a particularly gloomy day when Steve came over before he had to go to work. He spent some good quality time playing with Alice and left just before 5. Less than twenty minutes later our upstairs neighbor left leaving the parking spots in front of our side of the quadruplex empty. There was a man crossing the sidewalk in front of our building who stopped to watch the car back out of the driveway. He then proceeded to make a profile of our building, staring in our window (our curtain was drawn back) and around the side of the building through the open gate to the back yard. He looked like a student to me, and it was cold out, so I watched him suspiciously as he decided to take his 6', scruffy, unshaven, beanie-wearing, sweater and jean-bound self and black backpack with attached water bottle, into our back yard. I was in the kitchen facing the front window this whole time, and was very nervous that he was, what I thought, cutting through our back yard. I then heard a loud noise around the back of our building and quickly looked out our kitchen window, which faces the back yard. I saw nothing so I quickly opened the back door and looked right, the direction of our shed, which contained our rather new window A/C unit. There are two bikes chained up out there too, but they were still there. I looked left, towards the sound, and saw nothing, although I wasn't fully outside.
I came back in and proceeded to help Alice finish her dinner, and 30 seconds later I see the man walking back out to the front of our building and then he headed West. Creepy. I put together that he must have quickly hid on the side of the building when I looked out the back door, so I immediately called Spencer and told him what happened and agreed to call the police while Spencer made his way home. I was going to finish feeding Alice and then call the non-emergency line, give a description, and let them know he trespassed, but didn't take anything.
Upon hanging up the phone I had the distinct impression that I needed to look out the back again. When I did, I poked myself out further and noticed that the noise I heard was him popping the screen off of Alice's window! It was off and just sitting to the side. My heart started pounding and I immediately called 911. This man MUST be caught! What if he had gotten inside?! It was just me and Alice! This was NOT happening! If I hadn't opened the back door, he wouldn't have known anyone was home, but STILL! I have never felt so invaded. 911 proved to be affective because as I gave the description and the direction he was headed a police officer happened to see him. He was caught! Since I didn't actually witness him popping the screen off, the officer had to investigate, he found his footprints and tracked them to the back yard... he followed them to a bike, figured he tried to take it, and told me that he would at least be able to get him for trespassing.
They said they had him, but why am I still nervous?? Why didn't I ask for the cop's partner to bring the car around so I could see him?? Why didn't I ask what would happen to him?? Spencer went and cut boards that fit in our windows to prevent anyone from being able to slide open any of our windows. The only way for someone to get in now is by breaking a window, or pick locking the doors. If I didn't have a plane ticket for Texas before this happened, I would have come home the next day.
When Spencer got home the officer was leaving, and I was sure that the noise I heard was the screen because when Spencer put it back on it sounded EXACTLY the same. He even popped it off to make sure, and this guy must have been really good because he managed not to bend it when he took it off, but Spencer didn't have such luck. At least you cant see where it is bent on the outside... because the bend faces the window, and we were able to straighten it back out. I didn't spend a lot of time alone here the next few days.
We are as safe as can be now, but I can't wait to leave! This experience left me paranoid. But I know the Lord was on my side, because he made it possible for me to remain safe and get such a good description of this guy. I know I had the Spirit whispering to me that day and that is why I opened the door, the first time and the second. I know the Lord was with Spencer because he was able to make it to the bus just in time to get home only 15 minutes after I called him. I truly believe that the Lord is with me even now, protecting me and Alice as we are alone a lot during the day. As mad as it made me, it also strengthened my testimony to know that we were protected. I am glad to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, and if we put our trust in the Lord, he WILL protect us from the evil workings of Satan. I have a strengthened testimony in the power of the Priesthood, and I know that because Spencer dedicated our apartment it kept that evil out. I was also able to find such comfort from the priesthood blessing Spencer administered to help me get past the hurt and helpless feelings I was having. I love that I am married to such a strong member of our Lord's true church, and that he is always giving thanks to our Lord for the part he plays in our lives and our marriage. I know not all who read this believe the way I do, but this is my testimony that the Lord is with us always, as long as we keep the door open for Him, He will guide and direct our paths.
Take the tray off and she puts her feet on the table.
Here are the happenings of late.
-Alice is walking everywhere now, and she loves to be outside! She doesn't like the feel of grass on her bare feet though. The other day we went to BYU to pick up Spencer and we decided to eat there and sit on the grass outside of the library. Spencer took off Alice's socks so she could feel the grass on her feet, but she would not have it. As soon as I got there with our food she was climbing all over me so she wouldn't have to touch the grass. Even when she was sitting on my lap she didn't want the grass touching her. It was entertaining. Spencer said that when he first put her down on the grass she tried to climb back into her stroller to get off the grass. Haha! "Mommy, I've got grass on my feet" (Sound familiar, Grandma)
-Alice is finally breaking a top tooth or two, so we have been handling a very fussy baby for the past few days :( Although, since she is refusing almost all pureed foods, it will be nice when she gets her chompers in so she can relish in all the foods she is yearning to have!
- Spencer is on his last leg of school! I think I am more excited than he. We have been really spoiled this semester in that we have had alot of time to spend together as he doesn't have such a heavy load. Perfect last semester. He received second place on his group Capstone Project (Senior Project) in which they made an ipod app that the BYU IT people want to take! It is an app that will tell you the locations of all sorts of things on a college campus, i.e. water fountains, restrooms, events, it'll show RSS feeds, and they are making it so that the user can upload info on other things that aren't already included. It is pretty sweet.
-I can't tell you how much I will miss Utah weather (minus the snow in mid-April), the sweet friends we have made here, and the 5 minute drive to BYU. However, I will NOT miss this apartment... not anymore anyway.
Last Thursday (April Fool's Day) changed how I would remember this place... and not for the better. Alice and I were enjoying a particularly gloomy day when Steve came over before he had to go to work. He spent some good quality time playing with Alice and left just before 5. Less than twenty minutes later our upstairs neighbor left leaving the parking spots in front of our side of the quadruplex empty. There was a man crossing the sidewalk in front of our building who stopped to watch the car back out of the driveway. He then proceeded to make a profile of our building, staring in our window (our curtain was drawn back) and around the side of the building through the open gate to the back yard. He looked like a student to me, and it was cold out, so I watched him suspiciously as he decided to take his 6', scruffy, unshaven, beanie-wearing, sweater and jean-bound self and black backpack with attached water bottle, into our back yard. I was in the kitchen facing the front window this whole time, and was very nervous that he was, what I thought, cutting through our back yard. I then heard a loud noise around the back of our building and quickly looked out our kitchen window, which faces the back yard. I saw nothing so I quickly opened the back door and looked right, the direction of our shed, which contained our rather new window A/C unit. There are two bikes chained up out there too, but they were still there. I looked left, towards the sound, and saw nothing, although I wasn't fully outside.
I came back in and proceeded to help Alice finish her dinner, and 30 seconds later I see the man walking back out to the front of our building and then he headed West. Creepy. I put together that he must have quickly hid on the side of the building when I looked out the back door, so I immediately called Spencer and told him what happened and agreed to call the police while Spencer made his way home. I was going to finish feeding Alice and then call the non-emergency line, give a description, and let them know he trespassed, but didn't take anything.
Upon hanging up the phone I had the distinct impression that I needed to look out the back again. When I did, I poked myself out further and noticed that the noise I heard was him popping the screen off of Alice's window! It was off and just sitting to the side. My heart started pounding and I immediately called 911. This man MUST be caught! What if he had gotten inside?! It was just me and Alice! This was NOT happening! If I hadn't opened the back door, he wouldn't have known anyone was home, but STILL! I have never felt so invaded. 911 proved to be affective because as I gave the description and the direction he was headed a police officer happened to see him. He was caught! Since I didn't actually witness him popping the screen off, the officer had to investigate, he found his footprints and tracked them to the back yard... he followed them to a bike, figured he tried to take it, and told me that he would at least be able to get him for trespassing.
They said they had him, but why am I still nervous?? Why didn't I ask for the cop's partner to bring the car around so I could see him?? Why didn't I ask what would happen to him?? Spencer went and cut boards that fit in our windows to prevent anyone from being able to slide open any of our windows. The only way for someone to get in now is by breaking a window, or pick locking the doors. If I didn't have a plane ticket for Texas before this happened, I would have come home the next day.
When Spencer got home the officer was leaving, and I was sure that the noise I heard was the screen because when Spencer put it back on it sounded EXACTLY the same. He even popped it off to make sure, and this guy must have been really good because he managed not to bend it when he took it off, but Spencer didn't have such luck. At least you cant see where it is bent on the outside... because the bend faces the window, and we were able to straighten it back out. I didn't spend a lot of time alone here the next few days.
We are as safe as can be now, but I can't wait to leave! This experience left me paranoid. But I know the Lord was on my side, because he made it possible for me to remain safe and get such a good description of this guy. I know I had the Spirit whispering to me that day and that is why I opened the door, the first time and the second. I know the Lord was with Spencer because he was able to make it to the bus just in time to get home only 15 minutes after I called him. I truly believe that the Lord is with me even now, protecting me and Alice as we are alone a lot during the day. As mad as it made me, it also strengthened my testimony to know that we were protected. I am glad to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, and if we put our trust in the Lord, he WILL protect us from the evil workings of Satan. I have a strengthened testimony in the power of the Priesthood, and I know that because Spencer dedicated our apartment it kept that evil out. I was also able to find such comfort from the priesthood blessing Spencer administered to help me get past the hurt and helpless feelings I was having. I love that I am married to such a strong member of our Lord's true church, and that he is always giving thanks to our Lord for the part he plays in our lives and our marriage. I know not all who read this believe the way I do, but this is my testimony that the Lord is with us always, as long as we keep the door open for Him, He will guide and direct our paths.
-To end this blog on a happy note, here are some pictures of my cute little Alice!
Take the tray off and she puts her feet on the table.
Kids sized rocking chair, she LOVED it!
Eating right out of the pan, this inspired Spencer to design man bowls... I will let him tell you about that.
Happy Easter!
22 weeks!
Trying to put on daddy's shoes!
She needed a place to put her Easter bunny.
HAHA! I told her to smile and this is what I got!
She got an owie, and the bandaids we have are too big...
Camel pak's newest model!
She loves it!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Alice!!
Alice is dancing! It looks like she is mostly walking, but she tries to shake her hips in there too!
One month to go! Then we're home!!!
Alice is walking more and more everyday! She can pick up toys from the ground and stand back up, but she is still a little unsure of standing up from the ground, she still goes to a wall or piece of furniture to help her back up after a tumble. She tries to dance without holding on to anything, which usually results in falling.... And she loves playing chase! When Spencer chases her she can't get enough fun out of it! It is the cutest thing!
Spencer is on his last leg of school! Two more weeks and then finals. He only has two finals and a project or two to finish. Graduation is at the crack of dawn on the 23rd, and he decided to walk. He will maintain his current contracting job until we find something permanent and/or this company does well this summer. We are also awaiting the Air Force's decision of whether Spencer will be serving or not. Since he is color blind, I believe, he will need a waiver to undertake any flight related career, but it could just be the pilot position. We aren't clear on that part... He is excited to be moving back to Texas, and he can't get enough of his cute little Alice.
As for me, I can't wait to get back into the groove of school. Classes get posted on the 30th, and I sign up at the end of May. I will probably only take one 6 week course since those are the only ones we can really trust me to stay pregnant for! I hate not knowing if we are for sure having a girl, but I guess there are worse things that can happen! At least we know she is healthy. I love watching Alice grow from day to day. She has such a cute personality! Spencer and I talked about me going to school full time in the Fall and Spring since it will take me forever to finish otherwise. I did the math, and if I take two classes every semester (including summer) it will take me 4 years to finish! Since we want to have more babies, and the more we have, the harder it will be, we decided to make a sacrifice and get me done sooner. Although, life can still happen, and our plans may change, but for now this is what our goal is.
We love our little family! Spencer, Alice, and I are just happy! We are excited to move home, and excited to embark on the next leg of our journey through this life together. Spencer and I have a new appreciation for each other, and we are working more to make sure the other is happy. We are in love and loving the married life, trials and all!
Here are some pictures of late!
Spencer is on his last leg of school! Two more weeks and then finals. He only has two finals and a project or two to finish. Graduation is at the crack of dawn on the 23rd, and he decided to walk. He will maintain his current contracting job until we find something permanent and/or this company does well this summer. We are also awaiting the Air Force's decision of whether Spencer will be serving or not. Since he is color blind, I believe, he will need a waiver to undertake any flight related career, but it could just be the pilot position. We aren't clear on that part... He is excited to be moving back to Texas, and he can't get enough of his cute little Alice.
As for me, I can't wait to get back into the groove of school. Classes get posted on the 30th, and I sign up at the end of May. I will probably only take one 6 week course since those are the only ones we can really trust me to stay pregnant for! I hate not knowing if we are for sure having a girl, but I guess there are worse things that can happen! At least we know she is healthy. I love watching Alice grow from day to day. She has such a cute personality! Spencer and I talked about me going to school full time in the Fall and Spring since it will take me forever to finish otherwise. I did the math, and if I take two classes every semester (including summer) it will take me 4 years to finish! Since we want to have more babies, and the more we have, the harder it will be, we decided to make a sacrifice and get me done sooner. Although, life can still happen, and our plans may change, but for now this is what our goal is.
We love our little family! Spencer, Alice, and I are just happy! We are excited to move home, and excited to embark on the next leg of our journey through this life together. Spencer and I have a new appreciation for each other, and we are working more to make sure the other is happy. We are in love and loving the married life, trials and all!
Here are some pictures of late!
Alice Loves Forts!
She figured out how to get the wipes out... great.
Swing time at the park!
Cuddling with Daddy on a lazy Sunday afternoon :)
21 weeks!!!
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