Time

So, I think it's time to have a baby.

I'm ready.

Visiting Teaching

"We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness...We are the Lord's hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.
- Thomas S. Monson

We had our visiting teaching conference in church today and it was awesome. It just strengthen my testimony of the importance of caring for each other through the visiting teaching program.

Being a member of the LDS church brings so many benefits - not just the spiritual ones, but feeling like you are part of a community that cares about each other.

I've been going to the glass studio quite a bit and they often talk to me about being Mormon. It surprises me the misconceptions that people have about my faith. One of the ladies who does flamework with me said, "We had a Mormon nanny for our children. She came from a big family of five kids and just knew how to take care of kids. She lived with us but we always let the church people come visit her every month." She said it like it was so strange for someone to come from church to visit every month.

It just highlights to me how out of the ordinary the gospel culture really is. It's welcoming, it's inclusive. We moved to a new area, we didn't know hardly anyone and there are people to help move in boxes when the truck pulls up. That there are women that are assigned to make sure you are ok and to visit you every month. This is the beauty of the gospel, no matter where we go in the world, there will be an instant community of people who will welcome you in.

Dancing

Yesterday I got a phone call from one of my Irish dancing friends, Co. We chatted about our lives and, of course, what's happening with dance. It brought back all the good memories and made me miss the dancing and the dancers.

I've been doing a lot of thinking recently, especially about the really difficult situations that I've experienced. You know the ones I'm talking about. Not just the "oh, I'm having a rough day" but the ones that pretty much throw your life into shambles. I guess it's given way to thinking about how I deal with tough things.

I've been talking to Heber about those times, especially the one last year. I asked him, "how did I ever get through that?"

Heber's response, "You danced."

I guess it's true. I filled my life with dancing friends, music, rhythms. When times were the toughest in the last few years, I was out dancing. And it somehow made it better. Made me feel like a person again. Since leaving Logan, it's one of the big things I miss most, not going to Wednesday and Thursday night practices.

I guess we all need that thing in our lives that makes us feel alive, that helps us to cope when things seem bleak. I was so lucky to start Irish dancing in my mid 20s. And I loved it all - the performing in Celtic Night and various exotic locations like Star Valley Wyoming, the music, the friendships. It was an incredible experience being associated with all of it.

I'm sure you're getting sick of all the posts about what I miss or all the changes happening but I think I'm trying to come to terms with all of it and to prepare for the biggest change of all. For now, I'll just dream about the time I can be dancing again.

My class. Many of the girls I've danced with since the beginning.

The Annual Review with my dear friend Janette. Miss you!

Celtic Night 2011

Laura, Janette and I

Escape

I dropped Hebs at the airport this morning. I wish I were flying out with him. I'm bummed that I don't get to be there with him, to see the family and celebrate the life of Grandpa Green. I'm thankful Heb gets to go though.

We've been thinking and talking about Grandpa Green a lot lately. On Saturday, we just felt like we needed to get away for a few minutes, step away from some of the hustle and bustle. We got ourselves a bucket of fried chicken (it was "fried chicken saturday." Ask Heb about that one sometime) and went down to Middleburg. It's a pretty rural area with picturesque farms and trees. I never knew that farms could look like that.

I think I grew up in a somewhat rural place. Even now, the smell of alfalfa reminds me of home. We rode horses (remember the Dun Mair?) and went with dad and Grandpa down to the Bingo (their cattle land). We played in the high stacks of hay and fed grass to the cows. We chased after the wild cats and chickens. We enjoyed mountain views and views of lots of weeds.

Let's just say, these farms did not look like that. They were show farms, the immaculate kind for breeding show horses and growing grapes for wine. They oozed of money and it didn't quite feel like home. One thing we did see was hills. That's right, rolling hills. You have no idea how rare it is to see that here.


Me and Baby.

There was a charming town with some shops. Honestly though, it was kind of a let down. One of the main reason we headed down was to see some of the famous fall leaves. There weren't that many out - it's late October, come on. It's time for fall leaves. After the lack of colors, the town (oozing money itself) just wasn't that exciting. We didn't even stop for ice cream, which is saying something. I guess for that day, all I needed was the company. Love that Heber. Hope he's enjoying himself out west.

Woodworking

It seems like the weeks fly by. All of the sudden it's the middle of October. Our life has been pretty simple as of late. We work, prep for baby, serve in the church and spend time together. Dramatic change from last year, huh.

Heber has been hard at work down in the garage on a new changing table for our baby.

Before Heber and I were married, Heb did wood working full time some of the summers. He would build the most beautiful things out of wood - tables, shelves, drawers, frames, you name it. It's one of the things I love most about Heb - that he likes to create. There is something about the smell of sawdust that makes me all nostalgic for those times.

In the last few years, there just has not been the time or the space to build things - man, school really took it out of us. One of our big criterias for this move was that there would be a place to do woodworking. Heb has been gradually putting together a shop and has been hard at work in the garage.

Here is the table in progress. There will be drawers for the top two levels and we are painting it white. Isn't it beautiful! I can't wait for it to be done.

Grandpa Green

"T.J." Theo James Green
11/30/1925 ~ 10/14/2011

T.J was born to William Charles Green and Mary Olga Layton Green on November 30, 1925 in Salt Lake City. He married Jean Stringham on November 9, 1944 in Merced, California. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on June 18, 1945.

T. J. was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints and left a legacy of service for his family to follow. T.J. and Jean served a mission to Baguio, Philippines for eighteen months and also served a church auditing mission for six years. He is survived by his wife Jean Stringham Green, son Larry S. (Shelley) Green, son Randy J. (Penny) Green, daughter Bonnie (Paul) Oscarson, and daughter Jan (Mark) Stubbs, and 19 grandchildren and 46 great-grandchildren with more on the way. He is also survived by his sisters Maxine McCallum and Patricia Blackley. He was preceded in death by daughter-in-law, Ruth Ann Green and brother Milton Charles Green.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday October 22, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at the Bountiful Utah East Stake Center 650 East 2150 South, Bountiful, Utah. Family may be greeted one hour before the service at the chapel. Interment will be at the Bountiful City Cemetery.

The family suggests donations to the LDS Church Perpetual Education fund in lieu of flowers. Online guestbook at www.russonmortuary.com.



Heber's homage to Grandpa Green:

After Grandpa and Grandpa moved into a new apartment a few years ago they asked me if I could change the height of the shelves and hanging bars in one of the closets so Grandma could hang up her dresses. Happy for a chance to help out, I loaded my tools in the back of my little silver pickup truck and drove from Logan to Bountiful to remodel Grandma's closet. It was a relatively easy job that involved prying boards and shelves off of the wall, pulling the nails out of them, and then nailing them back up again. After I got all the shelves pulled down and was ready to nail them back up again I realized I had forgotten the air hose for my nail gun and sheepishly told Grandpa I'd have to go to the hardware store to pick up a new one.
Without hesitation he said "Let's go get you one." and before I knew it we were at the hardware store where he refused to let me buy a new air hose and insisted on paying for it. A short while later after all the shelves were leveled and nailed to the wall at their new height Grandpa walked over and handed me a check. I had a full time job and didn't need the money, especially after just being gifted a new air hose. I was just happy to have a chance to help out my Grandparents who so often spoiled me growing up, so I politely turned down the check. Grandpa taught me one of the many good business lessons he has taught, in the way that only Grandpa can teach. "You don't want to be good for nothing you know." He handed me the check and took me out for a hamburger at Arctic Circle with Grandma.

That pretty well sums up what I loved most about Grandpa Green. He was someone who, no matter what you were doing and how well you did it, could make you feel like it was the most important thing you could be doing and that you were doing it very well, despite what tool you may have forgotten. He listened to your own stories intently and shared his own with humor and love. His stories only got richer with each telling. The details always changed a little, even when Grandma was there to help him tell the story "right", but the ending was always as interesting and funny as if I had never heard it before. I can hear his voice in my mind so clearly telling the story of Grenelda Thudpucker, or the day a girl named Theo showed up at school who, "if she'd been an inch taller, would've been round", so he changed his name to T.J., and the the one that shamelessly makes me laugh the most about his beloved mother-in-law "Sweet old Bea, or S.O.B. for short." If ever I told a bad story that was too long, or not that funny, or repeated too many times, it was just me trying to be like my Grandpa, who's stories were never too long, always funny, never repeated enough.

When I got my new little pickup he was one of the first ones to get a ride in it, just because I knew he would make me feel proud of my new truck. He kept me stocked with fine golf clubs and golf balls when he bought himself the latest and greatest, and he never let me pay for a round. He shared his life experience to help with school papers, let me fix his computer, and made me feel loved. The best part is that he managed to do it with each of his grandchildren, and so many others. I'm sure they are all just as grateful as I am for that love.

Expectations

Well, today was not exactly what I expected.

We went to my routine OB visit this morning and ended up spending most of the afternoon at the hospital. The baby's heart rate was reading fast at the OB and they sent us right over to the hospital to have it monitored.

Hours later of hospital gowns and cords and monitors, the baby's heart rate looks just fine and healthy. I'm not sure what was wrong. They think everything looks ok.

I'm just so thankful that Heber had the day off and had wanted to go with me to my appointment this morning. Can you imagine me doing all of that alone? I don't even want to think about it.

So thank goodness for Columbus Day because it meant Heb was with me, even if I think it's incredibly silly that we celebrate it.

Adventures and Anniversaries

I loved today. And I love Heber, let me just throw that in there.

We went into the city and it was jammed with people. I think it was the 75 degree and sunny weather or perhaps the three day weekend - which, by the way, everyone celebrates here (even Heb has the day off from work). Most of the time, I'm not a big crowd person but there was an energy in the air today that somehow made it ok.

There were people everywhere, on the metro, in the museums, at the open markets and I just basked in the sunshine and in being with Heber. I'm really enjoying these last few weeks that we have together, just he and I.

Last month, Heb and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. For all these years, it's been us two and very shortly that will all change. Six years ago, we lived in our little red brick house in our snowy little town. Now, we are east coasters who ride the metro and will soon have a baby. It's crazy to think about. It means so much to have some small adventures before it all changes and we have a third buddy for our adventures.

In preparation for that, we've been shopping like mad. But we still squeezed time in to have crepes in a new place in Old Town last night. Heb and I have been on the hunt for a good hot cocoa cafe, to no avail yet. We ran down to Alexandria last night and found the cafe I had so diligently sought out was closed. We improvised and found a place on a whim. We were happy with a nutella strawberry and a cherry, dark chocolate crepes at the Fontaine Cafe. (You really can't go wrong with nutella though). No pictures but I'm sure you can imagine that goodness.

Today we rode the loaded metro into the city and had lunch at the Eastern Market. I always feel so Capitol Hill in that area, very chic. We checked out all of the upscale baby stores and may or may not have made a purchase :).

We've been meaning to make it down to the Archives to see the Constitution. Yes, Heber and I are nerds like that.
We got off at the archives stop and found it jammed with people. I mean a line out and around the building. This is no way to see the documents, folks. This is one of those things you wait until February when you can walk right in and spend some time really looking. We, of course, scrapped that idea and went over to the Natural History Museum.

We kept talking about how all our nephews would love to see these big dinosaurs. Please come so that we can take you there.



I never would have guessed that I would be where I am, doing what I am now. It's all because of Heber. In all of these years, I have felt so lucky to be with him. He is my perfect sidekick and best friend.
Happy anniversary Heb. Here's to 60 more years of adventures together.

Little One

As I sit here writing this, I can feel the baby kicking a lot. He tends to do that when it's about time for lunch. There is something so special about that feeling.

I just can't believe that there are so few weeks left. Five weeks. Crazy. In a short time, our little one will born. All the clothes, the blankets, the diapers will have a person in them.

We have waited so long for this. Just so excited.