13 Days Until Daddy

So the pictures are posted above because the blog is being very strange and will not let me move the pictures! So you will have to figure out what commentary they relate to. I am glad it is Friday. It has been a long week and I just put Abby in bed. I love to read the scriptues with her. Tonight we learned about Alma the Younger. Last night we talked about Alma the Elder and how he baptized a lot of people. When she got in the bath tonight I asked her what we learned in the Book of Mormon last night and she pointed to the water and then said her version of "baptized." I was very proud of her.

My "owie" as Abby calls it is getting better. I went in to the doctor to have them repack it again and the nurse said she thought it was healing well. This weekend I have to pack it myself and I'm hoping our friend that is a nurse wll help. It hurts less today!

Today Abby did puzzles, colored, helped me clean, took a nap, etc. When my visiting teachers came over Abby ran around and entertained them the whole time. They brought her a book to put pictures in and some gummy worms (which I had to hide). They also brought the most wonderful fruit: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cantalope, and grapes. They also brought fresh green beans (see above). I made us a really yummy fruit drink for dinner which Abby loved and we had some of the green beans. Abby tried them twice and both times took the bean right back out and said, "yucky." I was happy she tried it and will have her try it again tomorrow! I thought they were wonderful.

Today I played for one of the ASU vocal studios. I ended up playing for 11 people--yikes! Some of the music I had at least looked at, but some I was sightreading. Things went pretty well and it was fun to make music with very talented people.

14 Days Until Daddy

2 weeks from tonight Matt will be home! That is hard to believe and very exciting. Abby and I better get back to our list of things to do before we move!

Today we got all ready to go to playgroup at Tempe Marketplace where the kids were going to play in the fountain. So Abby was happily saying, "swimming, swimming!" Then we realized it was pouring down rain and playgroup got changed to the Church. She was a little disappointed. The kids ran around and played with balls and Abby tried a scooter for the first time.

The women at playgroup brought fruit, oreos, and brownies in honor of Abby and I leaving soon. They also were writing in a book that I could take with me. It was so nice of them to think of us. I appreciated it so much. I think they are all the most wonderful women and kids and hope they know how much we will miss all of them. Look Daddy, I'm eating your favorite--strawberries!

I had to go and get my infected area from yesterday "repacked" which didn't feel great, but a lot better than yesterday! It is healing and I will go back tomorrow and then have to take care of it myself. The doctor thinks it is healing well. I am grateful for an excellent doctor.

Today I had some time to play the piano to prepare for accompanying for one of the ASU vocal studio classes tomorrow. It felt so good to just play--sometimes I forget just how much I love to play the piano. Abby wants to play all of the time and I hope that she will want to learn. Music is so amazing--I wish I could share it with everyone--but first, with Abby! I am excited to fill my new bigger home with the sounds of music.

15 Days Until Daddy

Well, we will chalk today up as another crazy adventure. We started out pretty normal--with a work out and breakfast. But this time Abby ate waffles like Matt likes! I took a picture for Matt.

Then we picked up my visiting teaching companion and took her to an office where she could sign up for employment. Abby was a pretty good girl--running around and entertaining everyone there (she did try to get into the Men's bathroom a couple time though). I promised her that if she listened she could have her very first fudgesicle when we got home. Here are some pictures--as you can see she really enjoyed it!

Abby and I also wanted to take a picture of the two of us for Daddy.Next I dropped off Abby at Tina's (our friend from Indonesia) so that I could quickly go to the doctor. Here is where the crazy adventure begins. Warning: this may be too graphic for people with weaker stomachs! It ends up that I had an infection and it turned into an abscess which needed to be removed. The area was already so sore that I could not even touch the skin. The doctor took one look at it and took my hand and said, "This is really going to hurt." Then the nurse came back in and knelt down in front of me and wanted to make sure I understood just how much it would hurt. I started to get a little nervous. So when she left I said some very fervent prayers for strength, courage and the ability to still smile! The procedure began with lidocaine--a lot of lidocaine to numb a large area. I could not believe how much it hurt. I handle pain pretty well, but this was pretty unreal. I just held onto the table for all I was worth. Then he took a scalpel and cut an X into my skin. Then he proceeded to use his fists to squeeze stuff out. I think he then cut more and continued to squeeze stuff out for quite a while. I just held onto the table, grunted, prayed, and sang the upcoming ward choir numbers I will direct on Sunday. The pain was--there aren't words. Let's just say I do not ever want to do that again. He said other people scream, swear, and cry--but I was not going to do any of those things. When he finished he wanted me to watch this part because I would have to do it myself in a few days. I looked and there was a big X in my skin and a very large hole underneath. He proceeded to stuff gauze into it (he called it "packing") and I was amazed at how much fit. I have to go in the next few days to have it repacked. When he finished I stood up and he said--"You are tough, really tough." He even let me drive myself home. I was shaking a bit from the experience, but okay. Sorry, no pictures--I will try to get one soon if I can.

The doc wanted someone to stay with Abbs and I tonight since I would be on pain meds I've never taken, so Natalie is having a slumber party with us. Natalie is in early childhood education and brought over a great craft called marbling. The white stuff in the pictures is shaving cream! You can see the process below.What a fun project--Abby loved it!

Daddy: we love you! Thank you for setting everything up in our new house. We are excited to try everything out in a couple weeks.

Here is the craft on video:

16 Days Until Daddy

Tonight I am tired after quite a long day so I just want to express my gratitude for a couple things and go to bed! First, I am so thankful for Matt. He is such a hardworking, truly amazing husband and father. I do not think that anyone could know just how hard he works for everything. The time he spent writing his dissertation for instance, and the time he spent this summer working on his lectures for BC (Bakersfield College)--he is just so dedicated. He makes it look easy, but his organization and talents are largely due to his hard work. As far as a father--well I don't think words do him justice. Let's just say that Abby adores her Daddy with all her heart!

Next, I am grateful for so many incredible friends. I am certainly not going to list names because I would miss people. But we have been so blessed by friends everywhere we've lived. Just today Abby was invited to her friends the Jones' and she had the best time playing with them. I know many people say that they only have just a few "true friends" but I do not feel that way. So many true friends have touched my life and helped me become who I am. Thank you! Here is Abby at our friends house today.Tonight I am also thinking about the Temple. While Abby was playing tonight I was able to attend the Mesa Temple with my friend Janine Jones. The Temple is a place where I feel so close to my Heavenly Father and I have been so fortunate to have the Mesa Temple so close. It is such a beautiful place.
I could not say a few things I am grateful for and leave out the person I spend the most time with--my ABBY! She is unlike any person I've ever met. She is the sweetest, craziest, most lovable girl in all the world. We worked and waited so very long to have her come into our lives and I could not even begin to thank my Heavenly Father for helping a young women trust us with the most precious gift--a daughter to raise and love. Now if we could just find her a sibling. . . anyone have any ideas?

I will stop my gratitude journal since you probably do not want to read anymore. But I could go on forever: family, music, houses. . . . wait. . . .
houses--our new house closed today or recorded as they said. Matt is staying in our home for the first time. Now that is exciting and something to be very grateful for!

17 Days Until Daddy

I am happy to say that today was a much better day than yesterday! I do not feel up to speed yet, but Abby and I had a really good day. We started off at the library where Abby we returned books and played with some other kids. We ran other errands and then came home to do puzzles, flash cards and finger painting. We made some cards for friends and family. I took off her shirt because we would have had more paint on her shirt then the paper! You should have seen her when we finished!We also played out in the pool in the backyard. Abby had a lot of fun with the hose! We had to fill up the pool for the second time today because our water evaporated!After the pool we made some dinner. Normally I give Abby a bowl full of rice while I put mine in a tortilla. Today she watched me put the rice in my tortilla and role it up. Next thing I know she dumps her bowl onto her tortilla and tries to roll it up. This is a picture of her eating her creation!For FHE we read about King Benjamin, made brownies, and took around some treats and cards to our friends that were so helpful yesterday. We love our friends.

Here is a fun video of various parts of today. This morning I found Abby on top of the sink brushing her teeth. Then she counted a bit for me. Abby counted to ten in the car all by herself, but of course I was driving and could not film it.

18 Days Until Daddy

What a day. I don't even know where to begin. You need to read the last paragraph of yesterday's blog before you read this because I won't bore you with the same story! Needless to say I got bit by a cat last night! When I woke up this morning I could not use my left arm. I couldn't go up and down, side to side, etc. It did not look bad--not even that bruised, but it was swollen and very painful. There were some other issues that complicated my problem and so I really needed help. I called Natalie and it was Natalie to the rescue! I could not lift my arm so I could not do my hair. So she did Abby's and my hair this morning and then she barely made it to her ward to play the organ! She is the best. I also got a blessing from members of our bishopric on their way to meetings. My visiting teacher also went and retrieved my antibiotics from a pharmacy and I took them before choir. They cost a fortune--yikes. Not a good month for a large extra bill. But all of this helped me get to choir rehearsal and we had an excellent rehearsal. My ward choir is unbelievable and we sing for the last time together next week. We are expecting 50 people! I also sang in a musical number with amazing women.

I won't go into details but it was a rough day and I am so thankful for my friends. I came back after church and laid down for a little while and Abby played with friends. I truly am blessed. Maybe that is why it is hard to leave Tempe. Heavenly Father has blessed me abundantly and I do know that He will continually bless me in Bakersfield also.

One funny story--this morning I soaked my arm in some epson salt and hot water in a large bowl. I thought Abby would play in it so I had Natalie move it. She put it on top of the freezer and told me not to open the freezer. I forgot when I got home and opened the freezer to get some ice and barely missed the waterfall that ensued. The floor was covered and I ended up mopping my floor unexpectedly.

This morning Abby looked so cute and we took some pictures of her. Sorry they are the only pictures from today--but they are pretty cute! We love you so much Daddy and wish you were here.

19 Days Until Daddy

If I thought yesterday had some adventures it was nothing compared to today! This morning we left early with our friends Jenny and Carric to go to the Desert Botanical Gardens. I got tickets at the Tempe Library so we could all get in free. Before we could even get going something was leaking from Abby's car seat--yuck! There were some grapes (I think) that had fallen down into the car seat and it was gross. I got it all cleaned up and we were ready to go. (We usually have a very clean car seat by the way!). The Botanical Garden was fun and very hot. We especially enjoyed the butterflies.

The inside of a cactus--not what I expected!

Abby saw lots of geckos today and then she found one in the gift store. Carric ended up buying it for her and she named it Carric. Thanks Carric!
Next we ran errands and came back for an early nap because 5 women were coming over to run through our musical number for tomorrow's Sacrament meeting. Below you see Amelia, Jen, Ariana, Chelsi, Abby and Jenny. There will be one more but she was camping. I love singing with these incredible women.
After we ran through the song Abby and I went over to see Dr. David Schildkret (one of my professors from ASU) and his wife Sue. Dr. Schildkret has been gone for a while and we wanted to make sure we saw him before we move. We had an absolutely wonderful visit.
Then the adventures began. . . and as you can see below Abby found the pool outside and Sue helped her swim! I did not bring her suit, so she had fun in her diaper! Abby then took off her diaper and ran around naked and Dr. Schildkret let Abby come inside for a minute. She of course decided to relieve her bladder a little bit on their carpet! When we finally got her out of the water and I put her diaper on, she really started to freak out. I noticed a rash starting and she was really unhappy. So we put her in their bath tub to help her. As I was leaning over the bath tub and trying to get my crying Abby to sit and soak I felt a sharp pain in my left arm. I looked over and saw a cat biting into my arm and then it let go and hissed and showed me its teeth. It proceeded to scratch my arm and then bit down again, this time into the muscle below my elbow. I think he was trying to protect Abby and thought I was doing something to hurt her. Fortunately Sue then got him out of the room but I was just shocked. I ended up bleeding from about 6 or 7 places, but I was really concerned about Abby. So I held toilet paper on the wounds and tried to help Abby feel better. She finally calmed down and then I realized I was out of diapers. We had used up the ones I brought and I wasn't going to put back on the one that bothered her. So they gave us an old towel and I took her out to the car naked! She ended up running (naked) across their driveway and into the neighbors yard with me chasing behind--she is very fast! We all had a great laugh. So since my peroxide and everything to take care of the cat marks is packed I ran over to the Taysom family to clean things up. I think I might have some cool bruises. What a crazy day!

Bakersfield Motel

The motel I'm staying in at Bakersfield is dirt cheap. It only costs $31/night and that includes cable TV, internet, microwave, refrigerator, and free breakfast. Too good to be true? Well, there are some downsides. The room has a serious fly infestation and these buggers are fast. I can hardly kill them, and certainly not faster than they replenish themselves. I am not sure where they are coming from, since I keep the door closed, but may from the bathroom vent or AC unit. The AC works--that is nice, but the room stinks to high heaven so I stuck a air freshener on it to mask the odor. The fridge and microwave work fine, but the free breakfast consists of day old donuts that are a bit stiff and a nasty tang orange juice that I can't stomach. There is a waffle iron, so that works out fine, but waffles get old after a few days. I really can't wait until we close on the house and I can move out of this motel and into the new home.

I've had meetings at the college all this past week. The folks there seem nice. I'm sure things will work out well. The focus on student learning is a little more intense than I am accustomed. When teaching at the university level I heard, more than once, "get your research done and try to help the students if you have time" or "cut into the teaching prep to finish your research." That is not how things work here. The college reminds me much more of when I taught eight grade. It is all about student learning, which is just fine with me. Still, I do plan to do some research. It looks like Fridays are mostly free, so I'll do my scholarly writing then. In the meantime, I must convince those who think (and one person already asserted this opinion directly to me) that folks with a PhD cannot relate or teach junior college kids. The fact is, I think, that folks with a PhD know their stuff so much better that we can better reach the students. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

20 Days Until Daddy

Today was full of fun adventures and funny stories. This morning I took a woman in our ward to apply for some jobs and Abby played with Natalie. I think they spent a majority of the time dancing! Before I left Abby looked so cute so I just took a picture. Isn't she beautiful?

For lunch I made fruit juice drinks and as you can see Abby had to eat all of her pasta and broccoli before getting it. She ate--it worked!

Around 5:30 p.m. Abby and I decided we needed an adventure so we walked up to ASU to get some music that someone left for me outside of my office. While there she seemed particularly quiet in her stroller while I spoke with a friend. When I went around to the front she had managed to get my lip gloss out of the top part of the stroller and had fun putting it on!

As we left my old office I tried to take a picture of where my office was. It was a bit sunny as you can see. My office is just behind us.

On our way to and from ASU we pass over the train tracks and Abby gets very excited. I thought I would take a picture for her to see later.

As I said, Abby was dancing with Natalie and she showed me a bit when I got home. Sorry it's not longer. She doesn't do it like she can when I turn on the camera!

21 Days Until Daddy

A couple weeks ago Matt taught some Cub Scouts about how the Native Americans lived. Tonight they dropped off a few cookies and a nice thank you note. Here it is so that Matt can see it.

We enjoyed playing with Abby's playgroup at the pool today. Natalie wanted to go swimming too (it is quite hot here) so we asked her to come with us. Here is a picture of part of our playgroup.

On the way to the pool I passed a license plate that I simply had to get out and take a picture of. This is one of Abby's many nicknames!

22 Days Until Daddy

Our morning began with a long walk for exercise. I exercise every morning, but Abby sometimes gets bored, so I thought a good walk would make her happy. I put her in the stroller and we ended up walking quite a ways. We stopped and bought Abby 3 white powdered donuts from Dunkin' Donuts. She thought that was amazing.

On our return walk we spent some time at her favorite spot--the dog park not far from our house.
My friend Janine took a day off today and called to see if Abby could come and play with her kids Tray and Ivy. Abby loves to play with them and had so much fun as you can clearly see.
While Abby played I worked on an article I am trying to get published and the time went so quickly. I thought I would get more done, but I did make some really necessary edits on what I had already written. Tonight we had an excellent dinner of salmon with Janine, Tray and Ivy and I brought some brownies and ice cream. Sorry Daddy!
We will make some for you in 22 days if you want!
One funny story for the day. . . . Before I picked up Abby I went with one of my favorite piano students, to the teacher she is going to take lessons from when I leave. When I came in and Hannah told him my name he thought I was one of her teen-age friends. Hannah is 16! He thought I was sixteen! Crazy! He could not believe I have a 2 year old daughter and a doctorate degree! It made me feel really good and just made us all laugh!