For 2 Weeks

For two weeks before we moved, I watched these two cute kids (James and Evelyn).  I'm betting Evelyn is huge now since she was only 3 months then.  James and Vidalia loved to play with each other, mostly.  I think they both got excited about spending lots of time together.  Evelyn was pretty indifferent, but I liked spending time with her and so did Vidalia.

Rag Curlers

In August I tried to do rag curlers in Vidalia's hair.

It quickly turned to this…

 

Maybe next time.

A brief and lacking (word only) summary

 At the very end of August we applied for a job in Utah.  In the middle of September we moved from Lincoln to Utah.  We spent three months living with family (which were more than kind to let us stay for so long) while we looked for a house to buy.  We didn't intend to buy a house upon accepting a job in Utah and suddenly moving, but when we realized we COULD buy a house, we also realized we should.  We found a house we really liked.  It appraised for much lower than we expected and the seller's could no longer sell it to us.  We found a new house we liked.  We ran into some minor property issues that almost didn't exist they were so brief.  We bought a new to us and old to the world (1908) house.  We moved our stuff into our new house the weekend before Christmas.  We moved our bodies into our house on Christmas.  That Friday Vidalia turned 2!  On Saturday we had a little party with a bunch of family.  I feel like I've been sleeping since then.  I don't think that's actually true though.  We have much more to say, so if you like that kind of thing, you can look forward to it.  And thanks to the person who loves reading our blog so much that you bought us a new camera and asked us to start putting pictures up again.  That will happen soon.  ;)

Milestone/Anniversary

        Well, something to be proud of. As of yesterday (January 3, 2013), I acheived 2 years of professional experience as a Recreation Therapist! This happy occurrence could not have been acheived without the constant support and encouragement of my darling wife Melissa :).

Compliments are worth remembering

I do believe I've written on this blog that I believe that compliments are worth remembering to foster gratitude, charity, and goodwill. Any feedback, positive, negative, or neutral can be valuable and beneficial but I still want to focus more on compliments.
             Anyway, recently my father-in-law told that I have a very special relationship with my daughter, that he delights in watching us interact with each other. He told me that she adores me and that I adore her. Thanks, Baba.
          

History

Ours to be specific.
     Today, Friday October 12, 2012 Vidalia got the chance to touch the very bench where her parents' very first conversation took place. It was a very nice experience. For me, I don't think she got it. but she will. she will.

Traumatic Event #2

            This is another event that took me several months before I could talk about it. This happened many months ago, perhaps last November? Anyway we were living in our first place in Lincoln, a town home with two stories (from the main floor you walk up 6 steps to a landing where there was a back door, then turn around and climb 6 more to be on the top floor).

             So, one night at about 3:00 AM I woke up to go to the bathroom when I felt a draft of cold air. I walked to the top of the stairs to investigate and found the back door slightly open. I started asking "Hello? Hello?" with as firm a voice as possible. After taking two steps down the stairs I noticed a silhouette of a large person wearing a baseball cap swaying slightly back and forth. I instructed Melissa to call 911 and started telling this person "Sir, you're trespassing, we're calling 911 and you will be prosecuted! Leave immediately!"

         At the same time I grabbed for the nearest protection I could find, which happened to be a camping blanket. At this same time, Melissa was whispering to me "the phones are downstairs, we don't have them up here." I continued to repeat my instructions while my anxiety was rising by the second. "Sir, you're trespassing and you need to leave immediately!"

           I mustered up enough courage to take a few more steps downstairs, bracing myself for a confrontation. Whatever happened, I was determined above all else to protect my wife and daughter even if it meant bodily harm to myself.

            As my foot set on about the third step from the landing, the profile became clear and I could see exactly who I was talking to. A helium balloon. It was a helium balloon, suspended about 6 feet off the ground right at the base of the stairs; it was swaying slightly in response to the heater vent blowing hot air in its direction. 

State License Plates

We've seen many license plates in the recent past. I will list all the ones I can remember for no apparent reason:
Maryland
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Kentucky
Texas
Illinois
Nebraska
Iowa
Missouri
Kansas
Florida
Indiana
New Mexico
Idaho
Utah
Wyoming
Oregon
Washington
Nevada
California

That's 20 states! I wonder if over half the United States population lives all of these states combined. I think there is a good chance of that.

sincerly,
-Ryan Armstrong CTRS

Vidalia's Doings

     1) Vidalia helped me take apart our futon couch. I was using the screwdriver behind one of the bars, a little bit out of her reach. Well, it wasn't easy for her to reach so she came around the back put her hand out and said "da? da?" I told her no, that I was using it. So little Miss V walks around to the other side, picks up a set of Allen Wrenches and comes back. Then she extends her hand with the Allen Wrenches and starts reaching for my screwdriver. Then it hit me! She was trading me toys!
          We realized that she learned that because that's what we tell her friend James to do when he wants something she is playing with. Little miss clever :)

      2) We have been packing up a lot of boxes (because of course we will move to Utah in 4 days). So Vidalia saw us stacking them and caught on. We placed a box on the floor and she grabs it on both sides and starts grunting! Cute!
   So I picked up the box, and she and I carried it over the pile. Adorable. She is a good helper. Well she tries really hard to be and its very charming. 

Tramautic Event #1

   There is an event that until recently I have not been willing to discuss publicly; it started on June 9 and resolved (mostly) on July 19, give or take a few days, I can't remember the exact day the restriction was removed. So, without compromising the agreement I signed or compromising any agreement to confidentiality I will lay out some basic details. I do this primarily for the sake of keeping a personal family record.
    On June 9, one patient turned around, cursed and punched another patient. There was no warning, no odd behavior preceding this event, no exchange of any kind between the two patients. It was senseless, unprovoked violence.
    I insured the patients' safety and reported to the best of my understanding. I later came to understand that wasn't sufficient. I was suspended for 5 days without pay. When I came back I found out that the allegation were more severe than I imagined. I was placed on a restriction.
    The restriction wasn't lifted for several weeks. I am glad the incident happened that I might learn patience, humility and charity. Also so that others were given the opportunity to help me.
The End