Tuesdays with Tressa

Here's the post where I let you into my mind for a few moments and you get to see, if even for a moment, what goes on in there. It promises to be boring for some of you, but it is a good outlet for me, so read on...or not.

We live in a scary world. And today has been a little more frightening than most. Over the entire course of this past year, the one recurring thought that I've had is: 'What happened in the scriptures when there was a ruler who ruled unrighteously?' The answer that I've come up with is this: 'Either the righteous become wicked or they are persecuted for their righteousness.' So, as one who strives hard to be counted among the righteous, I'm a little concerned about our newly elected leader.

I had a little conversation with my 15-year old brother today and I was impressed with him. He expressed his own concern about the election results and had some very mature insights about it all. We talked about how we will not be forsaken, no matter how difficult times may be, as long as we remain faithful.

A person could really fall into the 'depths of despair' about the world today. There is uncertainty and wickedness all around us. But...as we have always been admonished by the prophets and other Church leaders, we need to be optimistic and have faith in a Heavenly Father who loves us and will not leave us comfortless.

"To despair is to turn your back on God."
- Marilla Cuthbert, Anne of Green Gables

Our Little Man

You were worried that I wouldn't even be able to do two days in a row, huh? Well, here it is. Day 2 of posting, and you might even get lucky and get another post today...we'll have to see how lucky you really are.

So here's Lane this afternoon. He has really started to be alert and loves to watch everything that's going on around him, and let me tell you, that is a lot. The poor guy must be wondering what kind of place he came to :)

My little stud muffin...don't you just want to kiss those cheeks?

I was holding him today while he was sleeping and Maddie and I were just laughing at all of his funny faces he was making. He would do this huge grin, then he would crinkle his nose, then he would scowl, etc. etc. etc. It really was about the cutest thing ever.

I feel so blessed to have this precious little boy in our home. I am really trying to treasure these moments with him as a baby because I know that one of these days I will blink and he will be a 20 pound toddler...and the next time I blink he will be starting school...and on and on it will go.

We are so grateful that Lane seems to be healthy and thriving, although the little worries keep coming up. Lane is just the sweetest little angel boy and we all adore him! It is so fun to watch all 3 of the older kids try to take care of him; even Cadeson is learning how to be a good big brother. We just love him so much & are so thankful to have him in our family!!

Monday down Memory Lane

Since my posting has been a little sporadic lately and I haven't been good at getting pictures up, I have a new goal to see how many days in a row I can post something. This post won't have any pictures but I promise to post new pictures as soon as I get my camera batteries charged.

Today's chattering is dedicated to my wonderful husband Jeff. It was 8 years ago today that we officially started dating. On that night, Jeff picked me up from work and we went back to his house and watched Pure Country together. We realized on our first date that we had a mutual fondness for George Strait but I had never seen the movie so Jeff made it his duty to introduce it to me for the first time :) I thought it was very thoughtful and loved it.

It was that night that Jeff held my hand for the first time (he maintains his position that I had been playing hard-to-get on our other dates - I wasn't). After the movie, we sat in his parents' basement and talked for a few more hours, until 3 in the morning. It was all downhill from there. From that point on, we basically saw each other every day until we were married, and it has only gotten better since then.

I will say that I did not expect to fall so hard for Jeff. In fact, I didn't even want to go on the first date with him (it was a blind date so that had nothing to do with him personally) but I knew he was special the moment I saw him. And I am so glad that he felt the same way, even though I pretty much made a fool of myself at the end of our date when I said something stupid. (If you really want to know what I said, you'll have to ask me in person...it's a little too dumb to let the whole world see).

So, to the best friend and husband a girl could ask for: thanks for the best 8 years of my life and I'm looking forward to an eternity full of memories with you!!

Introducing...

LANE DAVIS LECHEMINANT
10/17/2008
10 LBS. 4 OZ.

Lane is such a relaxed little guy and it is so weird for me to have one that actually sleeps like a baby :)

The boy seriously slept ALL day long, I'm a little worried about tonight!

Sorry that I'm not a good photographer...I'm lucky to have the pictures I do take, I can't complain about the lack of quality!

We are home now and very happy to be here and excited to see how life will play out with #4!

Announcing...

Our little boy made his entrance into the world on Friday, October 17, 2008 at 2:20 pm!! He is such a sweet baby and we are so excited to have him in our family! Everything went well and I was so excited not to have a C-section.

OK, check out the weight on the scale!

Just in case you can't tell what it says, yes, he weighed 10 lbs. 4 oz. !! He is 22 3/4 inches long, head circumference of 14.3 inches, and chest of 15 inches. We were a little shocked at his size, especially with his acrobatic stints he's been doing this past week.

As of this moment, this little guy is still Baby Boy LeCheminant, but I will post later today with his name and some closer shots of his face. We are so excited and thanks everyone for all the calls, thoughts, and prayers! We appreciate all you do for us and love you all!

**in other news, my little brother Stanton got his mission call yesterday (it was an exciting day in our family) and he is going to the Bogota, Colombia South Mission, reporting in January. Congratulations Stanton! We are so proud of you!

Sunday Night at Our House

We had a very nice and relaxing evening last night. It went a little bit like this:

a whole lot of silliness from the kids (oh, and Dad & Grandpa L.)

some cute poses from all the kids

caramel apples made by Dad (I didn't get a picture but they were yummy!!!)


and one picture of a (still) pregnant lady

I actually was pleasantly surprised at how unfat my face looked - not bad for being 40 weeks pregnant, right?? It's a good thing there were no ankle shots (can anyone say cankle?)!!

Anyways, it was a good night and a great way to get my mind off of you know what :) Thanks to G & G Le.. for the yummy dinner and good company!

A Quick Vent

Many of you know the roller coaster this pregnancy has been for us; and apparently it's a long ride 'cause we're not done yet. Just a quick update on where we are at this point:

• the little guy is TRANSVERSE again (and I saw on ultrasound yesterday that he was head-down so he is just doing flips in there)
• I have to go to the hospital or doctor almost every day for the next week, including tomorrow
• my due date is tomorrow and I am finally feeling impatient for him to be born
  

I was doing so well this pregnancy and not feeling antsy about having the baby but it hit me today...I want him out!! I do not want to go to the hospital one more time without coming home with my baby; I want to hold him and snuggle him and make sure he is healthy. Oh please, please, let him be born this weekend!

*on a funny sidenote: tonight Jeff was helping Cole say his prayers and he said, "I'm thankful for the Gospel". Cole promptly repeated, "I'm thankful for the hospital." Yea, do you think I've been there often enough??