Here's another one without pictures, as there's really not much I can post that could truly display the unsafe building we've been living in, in all it's uninhabitable glory.
To start with some good news, Ryan had his second exam on Tuesday August 17th and passed with the second highest score of the class. Out of their class of 22, four failed the test and took a remedial on Friday. We'll know pass or fail on these four on Monday. Ryan's score was 86%! He's doing so well!
Then, Friday evening, Fiona brought me a piece of paper that had obviously been slipped under our hotel room door. The managerial board of the hotel had decided Thursday that the building we're living in is a liability and unsafe for living. Therefore, they have informed us that we must vacate by August 31st. We have just under 10 days.
We still haven't had a home confirmed and when we spoke to the elder today at the church we've been visiting, he informed us that the house he said he could rent to us, he's giving to some friends who are moving down here. I can't say I'll ever understand why people promise things to one person and give them to another. This would be the second time since we started this career of Ryan's that someone or something has done that to us.
But we've put some feelers out now, and we've let more people in the church know of our dilemma and we just might find something, at least temporarily. We've also figured out the insurance thing so I can look for a doctor now.
So prayers are very much welcome as we find a place to call home, and as we try to keep the stress from getting to our daughter and to the unborn baby. Blessings to all of you!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Friends... and Idiots...
I don't have any pictures this time around, since I'm still searching for a charger for the camera. The packing company packed up the charger... and there's no way to get to it until we have our own place and I can find the box they packed it in. So this is going to be one for your imaginations...
This evening Fiona and I headed into Mescalero for an evening with our friends, Jody and Charlene Cojo, Christlyn Lester, and Joey Kazhe. We were there to do laundry, and Charlene made dinner. Meat and potatoes with french bread. YUM. I miss having home cooked meals, and we can't wait to have our own place. So with the heavenly smells of dinner, as well as freshly dried laundry scented with Snuggle Blue Sparkle, we settled in for a night with our friends. Tonight, while Fi watched movies, I folded laundry and helped Charlene set up her facebook profile. It was a blast!
As 10:30 rolled around, I made the drive home, and Fi fell asleep. I quickly changed the music from VeggieTales with Fiona's name in it to the radio. I made the pleasant drive home, singing to the country radio station... in 50 degree weather. I almost needed the heater in the dead center of Summer! So we get back to the hotel, and I unload Fiona and load up the stroller with the box and bags of laundry (yes, I live five stories up and can't make several trips to the car and back.) and headed for the hotel door. We got in the first set of doors, and I slide my key into the reader. RED LIGHT. "Hmm, okay," I think, and try again. RED LIGHT. "Alrighty, then." I call Charlene, get the number for the hotel, and call the front desk, at 10:50pm.
I explain the situation, and the guy on the line is very kind and very helpful. He says he'll call the key room and send someone to help me. A few minutes later, I get a return call (How did they get my phone number exactly?) informing that no one answered in the key room and he's the only person at the front desk so he can't come help me himself. "So, I need to reload my car with my items, and my 2 year old daughter and come over there myself?" I ask politely, when in actuality I wanted to be very rude. "Well, let me see if I can get a bellhop to bring you the keys." I thanked him and hung up. 5 minutes later, I called back and asked if someone was on the way. He confirmed and I went back to waiting. 20 minutes later, I called and asked where the bellhop was. Fi was crying, and I really needed the restroom... the woman that answered me this time said someone should have been there by then. "I haven't seen them, yet. It's been 20 minutes since I was told someone was on the way. I have a cranky two year old, I have a very full bladder and I am 6 weeks pregnant." She quickly talked to the manager who I'd spoken with earlier, and when she came back on the line, she informed me that the manager was on his way himself with a set of keys.
5 minutes later, he was coming down the stairs, inside the building... an unattached building in which my daughter and I are the only occupants... and lets me in, hands me the keys and I head up the elevator with Fiona. Arriving in our room,I place the keys on top of the entertainment center, and I go about getting Fi settled into bed. Then, I spy a little key folder on Fiona's high chair. I pick it up, thinking I must be crazy and dreamed putting the keys (in the folder) on the entertainment center. I open it, and well, it's not the one the manager gave me. So I summarize that the idiot bellhop had entered my room and left the keys there...
So tonight was very odd. I have come to realize, I'm going to have to reactivate my card each month, or continue to deal with this idiocy at the most inconvenient times (like last month, when Fi was in the room and I went down the hall for ice). And I can only summarize that idiots run this hotel... at least it's a roof over our heads!
This evening Fiona and I headed into Mescalero for an evening with our friends, Jody and Charlene Cojo, Christlyn Lester, and Joey Kazhe. We were there to do laundry, and Charlene made dinner. Meat and potatoes with french bread. YUM. I miss having home cooked meals, and we can't wait to have our own place. So with the heavenly smells of dinner, as well as freshly dried laundry scented with Snuggle Blue Sparkle, we settled in for a night with our friends. Tonight, while Fi watched movies, I folded laundry and helped Charlene set up her facebook profile. It was a blast!
As 10:30 rolled around, I made the drive home, and Fi fell asleep. I quickly changed the music from VeggieTales with Fiona's name in it to the radio. I made the pleasant drive home, singing to the country radio station... in 50 degree weather. I almost needed the heater in the dead center of Summer! So we get back to the hotel, and I unload Fiona and load up the stroller with the box and bags of laundry (yes, I live five stories up and can't make several trips to the car and back.) and headed for the hotel door. We got in the first set of doors, and I slide my key into the reader. RED LIGHT. "Hmm, okay," I think, and try again. RED LIGHT. "Alrighty, then." I call Charlene, get the number for the hotel, and call the front desk, at 10:50pm.
I explain the situation, and the guy on the line is very kind and very helpful. He says he'll call the key room and send someone to help me. A few minutes later, I get a return call (How did they get my phone number exactly?) informing that no one answered in the key room and he's the only person at the front desk so he can't come help me himself. "So, I need to reload my car with my items, and my 2 year old daughter and come over there myself?" I ask politely, when in actuality I wanted to be very rude. "Well, let me see if I can get a bellhop to bring you the keys." I thanked him and hung up. 5 minutes later, I called back and asked if someone was on the way. He confirmed and I went back to waiting. 20 minutes later, I called and asked where the bellhop was. Fi was crying, and I really needed the restroom... the woman that answered me this time said someone should have been there by then. "I haven't seen them, yet. It's been 20 minutes since I was told someone was on the way. I have a cranky two year old, I have a very full bladder and I am 6 weeks pregnant." She quickly talked to the manager who I'd spoken with earlier, and when she came back on the line, she informed me that the manager was on his way himself with a set of keys.
5 minutes later, he was coming down the stairs, inside the building... an unattached building in which my daughter and I are the only occupants... and lets me in, hands me the keys and I head up the elevator with Fiona. Arriving in our room,I place the keys on top of the entertainment center, and I go about getting Fi settled into bed. Then, I spy a little key folder on Fiona's high chair. I pick it up, thinking I must be crazy and dreamed putting the keys (in the folder) on the entertainment center. I open it, and well, it's not the one the manager gave me. So I summarize that the idiot bellhop had entered my room and left the keys there...
So tonight was very odd. I have come to realize, I'm going to have to reactivate my card each month, or continue to deal with this idiocy at the most inconvenient times (like last month, when Fi was in the room and I went down the hall for ice). And I can only summarize that idiots run this hotel... at least it's a roof over our heads!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Passing The Test
Ryan had his first exam on Wednesday August 4th. Then Friday August 6th, he had his pistol qualification.
On Wednesday, he passed his first exam with an 88.9%. They had 5 fail out of their class of 24. These 5 were given a chance to take a 'remedial' test. They only get one remedial, the entire course of the academy. There are 5 exams total. Two failed the remedial and were removed from the academy.
Friday, he passed his qualification with a 270/300; the minimum one could get was 210. Ryan has an astigmatism in his right eye, so considering he shot without the aid of glasses, he did an amazing job. They had 5 out of their class of 22 fail. Now these qualifications: shooting, physical training, and anything that isn't 'book learned' have an allowance of 3 retries, per test each academy. I am not sure how many of these tests there are. All 5 passed their second attempts. Ryan is doing great!
These pictures were taken a couple days before he left for the academy. Note the goofy grin... this man is crazy about his family, and nearly every picture shows that in his face.
Ryan is an amazing husband, and a wonderful father! Fiona gets so excited when he comes home on the weekends. And now we await our new arrival. Ryan made the comment to me last night when he asked me how far along I guessed we were, that he'd been in the academy for almost the same length. The guys out there tease him all week long about him going home to his family on the weekends. Apparently, he tells them all about his beautiful wife just waiting for him at home. :) Also, it's apparently a guy thing to tease each other about your love life. So when he told them Wednesday that we're expecting, they thoroughly teased and congratulated him.
Ryan's half brother, James Beck, helped Ryan get into this position with the BIA. We spent time since last August applying and confirming and working toward getting him into this position. It was on my encouragement that he took the steps toward gaining this new career and potentially providing his family with a future we had only imagined. Christmas 2009, we still hadn't heard anything. Then in January 2010, we received an extensive packet of some 200 pages of a background check, medical record request, and family background check application. With my help, we filled this packet out and sent it on it's way in February. This packet consisted of extensive background checks into me, our daughter, our parents, and our siblings as well as Ryan and his credit. My credit was checked as well, along with Ryan getting a full physical examination including his eyes and blood work. So in February we sent this completed 200 page packet that had grown to 300 pages, and we waited. March, April and May went by with no word. Then, in late May, we received notice of the private investigator that was going to be coming and completing interviews of friends, family, and neighbors from the last 9 years of our lives. I, too, was interviewed by this investigator.
June came and we received notice that the investigator had completed his interviews and would be turning in his report. Within a week, we received the letter informing us that Ryan had indeed been selected for the position and would need to report to work in Mescalero, New Mexico by June 21st. We soon heard from his Police Chief and the paperwork started filing in for applying for the academy. FLETC- Federal Law Enforcement Training Center- would be where he would attend, as a senator had decided to do away with the IPA- Indian Police Academy- because of too many failing officers. So Ryan would begin his training at FLETC July 12th, the day before his birthday, through November 8th. Graduation is November 1st, and then those in Indian Law Enforcement positions will spend another 7 days learning laws and things that pertain only to them.
Nicknames are a big thing in this academy. Every person obtains at least ONE nickname. Ryan's current ones are: Little Beck, Mescalero, Cherokee, and Chum Lee. I can only imagine what they're calling him now, and he's not telling me, now that we're expecting a baby.
Prayers are welcome for our little family as we find a home, and Ryan continues his studying in this academy. He has his second exam this coming Wednesday.
Fiona and I are so proud of him!
Friday, he passed his qualification with a 270/300; the minimum one could get was 210. Ryan has an astigmatism in his right eye, so considering he shot without the aid of glasses, he did an amazing job. They had 5 out of their class of 22 fail. Now these qualifications: shooting, physical training, and anything that isn't 'book learned' have an allowance of 3 retries, per test each academy. I am not sure how many of these tests there are. All 5 passed their second attempts. Ryan is doing great!
Ryan is an amazing husband, and a wonderful father! Fiona gets so excited when he comes home on the weekends. And now we await our new arrival. Ryan made the comment to me last night when he asked me how far along I guessed we were, that he'd been in the academy for almost the same length. The guys out there tease him all week long about him going home to his family on the weekends. Apparently, he tells them all about his beautiful wife just waiting for him at home. :) Also, it's apparently a guy thing to tease each other about your love life. So when he told them Wednesday that we're expecting, they thoroughly teased and congratulated him.
Ryan's half brother, James Beck, helped Ryan get into this position with the BIA. We spent time since last August applying and confirming and working toward getting him into this position. It was on my encouragement that he took the steps toward gaining this new career and potentially providing his family with a future we had only imagined. Christmas 2009, we still hadn't heard anything. Then in January 2010, we received an extensive packet of some 200 pages of a background check, medical record request, and family background check application. With my help, we filled this packet out and sent it on it's way in February. This packet consisted of extensive background checks into me, our daughter, our parents, and our siblings as well as Ryan and his credit. My credit was checked as well, along with Ryan getting a full physical examination including his eyes and blood work. So in February we sent this completed 200 page packet that had grown to 300 pages, and we waited. March, April and May went by with no word. Then, in late May, we received notice of the private investigator that was going to be coming and completing interviews of friends, family, and neighbors from the last 9 years of our lives. I, too, was interviewed by this investigator.
June came and we received notice that the investigator had completed his interviews and would be turning in his report. Within a week, we received the letter informing us that Ryan had indeed been selected for the position and would need to report to work in Mescalero, New Mexico by June 21st. We soon heard from his Police Chief and the paperwork started filing in for applying for the academy. FLETC- Federal Law Enforcement Training Center- would be where he would attend, as a senator had decided to do away with the IPA- Indian Police Academy- because of too many failing officers. So Ryan would begin his training at FLETC July 12th, the day before his birthday, through November 8th. Graduation is November 1st, and then those in Indian Law Enforcement positions will spend another 7 days learning laws and things that pertain only to them.
Nicknames are a big thing in this academy. Every person obtains at least ONE nickname. Ryan's current ones are: Little Beck, Mescalero, Cherokee, and Chum Lee. I can only imagine what they're calling him now, and he's not telling me, now that we're expecting a baby.
Prayers are welcome for our little family as we find a home, and Ryan continues his studying in this academy. He has his second exam this coming Wednesday.
Fiona and I are so proud of him!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
New Beginnings
Yesterday morning, I took the test that changed our lives from this point on. We are expecting a new addition to our family. Both a surprise and an excitement to our lives! So I am on the hunt for a doctor...
Which brings me to the next reason for starting this blog. June 21st, 2010 began our grandest of adventures yet. My husband, Ryan, started his career as a police officer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Mescalero, New Mexico. So June 18th, we packed our belongings, spent some time with our friends Roger and Rachel, and slept our last night in the apartment. The next day we watched everything get packed up into the truck to be shipped to Albuquerque. We did our final sweep of the apartment, I took our pets to their respective temporary homes, and we went to spend one last night with family. The next morning, we began our trek to New Mexico.
As we entered New Mexico, my car informed us we had reached a scorching 110 degrees, but with my windows open, it felt dry. Nothing like the muggy heat in Oklahoma! So it was 110? Didn't feel like it to me! We had our adventures through the trip... Fiona had a carseat change and 3 outfit changes.
That was an interesting 12 hour drive. As we reached our destination, and got into the hotel, we were exhausted. It was so dark, and we didn't really see our surroundings. The next morning we woke to this:
Beautiful! A sweet 108 degrees too.... then we went for a drive from Alamogordo where our hotel was, to Mescalero and Ruidoso.
And a wonderful, beautiful breezy 75 degrees! Soon, Ryan's job moved us to Mescalero, so we're living this beautiful temperature every day! The nights are a bit on the cold side, though.
So then July 12th, Ryan began his training in the academy in Artesia, New Mexico while Fiona and I stayed behind in Mescalero. We are currently looking for a home, and a good thing too... for we have a new addition to expect now! I'll post more as I can. For now, prayers are very much welcome!
Which brings me to the next reason for starting this blog. June 21st, 2010 began our grandest of adventures yet. My husband, Ryan, started his career as a police officer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Mescalero, New Mexico. So June 18th, we packed our belongings, spent some time with our friends Roger and Rachel, and slept our last night in the apartment. The next day we watched everything get packed up into the truck to be shipped to Albuquerque. We did our final sweep of the apartment, I took our pets to their respective temporary homes, and we went to spend one last night with family. The next morning, we began our trek to New Mexico.
So then July 12th, Ryan began his training in the academy in Artesia, New Mexico while Fiona and I stayed behind in Mescalero. We are currently looking for a home, and a good thing too... for we have a new addition to expect now! I'll post more as I can. For now, prayers are very much welcome!
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