German Family

{Aleck}

2010-10-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

This boy just melts my heart-

-First thing in the morning, he always comes to find me

with a smile on his face and says,"Mom I awake".

-Then he needs help to go potty,

as he sits on the potty he looks up and says,

"I love you, much", with a big yawn.

-He loves hugs and kisses.

-He can throw a tantrum like pro.

-He loves.

-He is not good at sharing.

-He is stubborn.

-He looks up to his big brother.

-He never gives up.

-I feel his preciuos spirit, it fits his body perfectly.

-He is strong.

-I am so thankful he is mine, for a time, and then on

through eternity.

Major Update

2010-10-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

So much has been going on-
We had a super fun filled summer with:
-Lots of camping

-Huge Zollinger Family Reunion, bummed that I didn't get a lot of pictures :(

-Lots of extra little ones running around my house

-Preparing for our first official year of homeschool

-Taking care of my lovely veggie garden

-Treking with the youth in my stake

-and so much more......................

Needless to say we have been busy, and I have not really had the desire to blog during all of the craziness of summer- but now that fall is setting in and things seem like they are slowing down (I am sure that is really just wishful thinking on my part :) maybe I will be able to get in a few more updates here and there!

Some pics of our summer adventures-

My FOOLS!!!!!

2010-04-01T22:22:00.001-07:00

The family was quite impressed by

my new skills in the kitchen.

I totally won for the best prank this year!

Does Chads hand look freaky to anyone else?

Aleck was not interested in eating,

especially after he found a bug in his food-

it kinda freaked him out.

So all he ended up having for dinner was some H2O,

he decided licking was funner any way,

he is part puppy you know.

Until next year!

I want these-

2010-03-05T19:25:00.001-08:00

Why is it that the boys always get the lashes?

Now don't get me wrong my boys lashes are beautiful,

I wouldn't want them to not be.

So are my Dads, and my brother Jeffs;

my Grandpa and my uncle also have some lovely lashes.

Do you see the trend.

It is just not fair!

I guess I will just be happy to admire my boys- they sure are lovely.

Mr. Sun

2010-03-04T21:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Mr. Sun

The other evening you were out,

I couldn't believe my eyes.

I decided to take your picture.

I have forgotten how beautiful you are,

with your golden rays and all.

So I made plans to come out

and see you after nap time today-

couldn't find you anywhere.

Please come back sometime soon.

Love- Heather

{PS. I miss you a lot, I need you to

bleach the hair on my arms and upper lip.}

Preschool

2010-03-03T07:56:00.000-08:00

Aleck started preschool the last Monday in February,

I don't think I was ready,

but he seems to be just fine:)

Today he was going crazy waiting for the bus

to come and get him,

he was so excited!

These are pictures from his first day of school-

He has started saying cheese when I take his picture

{if you couldn't already tell}.

He had to show off his backpack.

I felt so bad on that first day,

he had been so excited to go on a bus,

but I didn't tell him that I wasn't coming.

When I handed him off he looked so scared,

it broke my heart.

I am so glad that he didn't start crying,

I don't think I would have let him go if he had.

He would hardly look at me as they were buckling him in.

At this point I was holding in my tears-

so I wouldn't make a fool of

myself in front of my neighbors.

{Oh boy, I sure love this kid}

Forgotten FACES

2010-02-26T23:05:00.000-08:00

So my faces pictures have been forgotten for some time now-

but I was still clicking away....

{most days}

I thought I better get caught up.

In no particular order:)

2010-02-12T11:15:00.001-08:00

I LOVE HIM.

I miss you already.

2010-01-28T20:22:00.000-08:00

Hazel Lavern Flint German

23 March 1929

28 January 2010

Friday Faces

2010-01-22T21:55:00.000-08:00

Faces #16

I love this picture of Chad

-he is just plain HOT in it-

He is why we have such cute babies.

Faces #17

This is my Grandma German, I took this picture 1 year ago- on Sunday I was able to go up to the hospital to spend some time with her- I didn't think she would appreciate me taking her picture so I decide to use this old one. She has taught me so much.She has only been my Grandma for 11 and a half years, but it feels like forever- Grandma I Love you-

Faces #18

Damion

Demonstrating how to eat an orange.

Faces #19

Dominic

I just can't resist his smile.

Faces #20

Rino

Eating his dinner.

Faces #21

Simon

Hiding from the camera.

Faces #22

Coco

Getting old.

A new adventure!

2010-01-20T22:19:00.000-08:00

Aleck and I will be spending our free time doing this-

This is a brailler- we can put braille into our own books at home- it is so exciting, and much cheaper than purchasing books in braille!

I am excited to embark on this NEW ADVENTURE, especially because it is with my Little Al!

It's raining babies.......

2010-01-18T20:02:00.000-08:00

You know when you want something so bad, and everywhere you turn everyone has that something that you are wanting.

This is when infertility is the hardest.

I was shocked when I found out that I was pregnant last June- and all too suddenly it was over- by the end of July the baby was gone, never to feel, or know if it was a he or a she.

I really feel like I handled the "loss well", all things considered. Now as my would have been, due date approaches I don't know how to feel.

Some days I am just sad and other days so frustrated- and then on others I just try my best to not think about it.

And then I see him-

and him-

And I remember-

I am blessed with two beautiful children who are incredible
and bring me so much love and joy.

"At times the clouds of sorrow will hover over me. Then I call on my Father for help and he is sure to comfort me."
-Martha Payne Jones Thomas June 17 1878

All is Well.

Prayer

2010-01-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

Prayer

Friday Faces

2010-01-15T21:46:00.000-08:00

Some happy, some sad, some silly, some stuffed-

Faces #9

This is monkey, Aleck's new favorite sleeping buddy. The other day this is how I found him......

he was just hangin' out, waitin' for nap time.

Faces #10

I couldn't get away with taking pictures of Monkey and none of Cheeta the dog. Quintin has had Cheeta for about three years, he has had plenty of stiches and plenty of baths- especially when Quintin went through this phase of taking him on a walk- what you can't see in the picture is his colar which has a cheeta pattern- Quintin would leash him up and drag him everywhere, I honestly can't believe that he is still around, and he isn't too worse for wear. He sure is loved though.

Faces #11

So as you can see I just couldn't decide which one to post.

This little cutie is Haven, she wasn't really sure if she wanted me to take her picture or not- it is so nice to have a baby around every now and then, they keep me grounded and remind me what this life is really all about.

Faces #12

Berkeley is such a sweet little girl- she is always wanting to snuggle, and if someone needs a kiss or a hug she is right there to always give it. But don't let her fool you with those big brown beautiful eyes- she can stand up to who ever gets in her way!

Faces #13

I have been friends with Addison's mom for 20+ years, and I still can't get over how much Addison looks like Brooke. Every morning when Addison gets dropped off for me to babysit, I can't help but smile when I see the two of them standing there together, she is like a little minnie me of her mother. She is such a cute little girl, she helps to balance out all the boys that I have in this house!

Faces #14

Thatcher is Alecks little buddy, they get to play cars and build trains together. When ever I take his picture he is always talking to me saying something like, "are you done", "I go play now". He is so photogenic though it's hard not to take keep taking his picture.

Faces #15

Zachary is my little brother, and he didn't relly want me to take his picture, he gave in when I told him who could do whatever he wanted in the picture- he chose the cross- eyed look- I think it suits him!

Call me CRAZY!

2010-01-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

Santa decided to give the kids window crayons,

He thought it was a brilliant idea!!!!! It left us a nice big mess! The boys had a blast with them! Quintin was a little nervous that our Bishop (who is our landlord) would drive by and see their lovely art work and be up set, but once he realized that it was going to wash off he went all out, as you can tell.

(Quintin, Aleck, Uncle Zach)

Chad made some of his own window art!

Friday Faces

2010-01-08T21:37:00.000-08:00

So I have decided to post all of my Faces on Fridays, that will be much easier-

Faces #5

This is Ellie she is kind of my dog- isn't she so adorable, she was my baby while we were waiting {patiently} for another human baby.

Faces #6

I couldn't resist posting this picture of Quintin- he is now officially a Scout- and is obviously very excited about it- he was jumping off the walls all day waiting to go!

Faces #7

My beautiful sista Kenzie- she is the one I waited for, for 14 years- and I am so glad she finally made it other wise I would have no one around to critique my Single Ladies moves-

Faces #8

Eli with his Bling, Bling!!!!!!!

We went to a dance at Quintin's elementary school, yes a dance, it was a bit strange but the kids all had a blast! They were selling those "grills" that sparkle, just thinking about sticking one of those in my mouth makes me gag. I had a blast taking all there pictures though.

Sim-pli-fy

2010-01-04T13:04:00.000-08:00

Function: transitive verb Inflected Form(s): sim·pli·fied; sim·pli·fy·ing
Etymology: French simplifier, from Medieval Latin simplificare, from simplus simple
Date: 1759:

to make simple or simpler: as a : to reduce to basic essentials b : to diminish in scope or complexity : streamline c : to make more intelligible : clarify

This is my theme for the year- SIM-PLI-FY

Faces #4

Titled Self Portriat

Faces #3

2010-01-04T11:13:00.001-08:00

When I saw this picture yesterday after taking it I couldn't stop smiling- this is Aleck through and through, the last couple of weeks have been hard, he had his tonsils out the monday before Christmas and he just hasn't been himself. Thankfully we are off all pain meds now and he is becoming more himself.

He is such a joy to have in our family and he keeps me on my toes!

Things I love about Aleck-

His fake cry

When he calls me Heather, I think it is quite cute.

When he says "Mommy hold you".

How much he loves his big brother.

When he covers his face when he is in trouble, scared or hiding, it is so cute.

I can't imagine my life without HIM.

Faces #2

2010-01-02T22:00:00.000-08:00

This Handsome young man had a very special day today,

he became a member of-

Yes I know, all my friends and family are thinking-

{no way Heather doesn't look old enough to have an eight year old}

and I was thinking the same thing!

But thankfully I do, I have my Quinny, he is such a light in my life-

my heart is so full of love for him, he has been a wonderful example to me

throughout his life.

When we were filling out his baptism spotlight he said to me-

"Mom I just wish everyone in the world would get

baptized they would be so much happier."

Chad and I are blessed to have him as our son and

Aleck is so lucky to have such a great big brother to look up to.

This is a picture of Quintin after his baptism- he was smiling all day!

Quintin I love you 1,2,3,4,5.................................

For more information on

and baptism click here

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e419fb40e21cef00VgnVCM1000001f5e340aRCRD

Faces #1

2010-01-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

So one of my goals this year is to take at least one picture a day,

I have decided on a theme also

-FACES-

I love a good face shot, they are my favorite!

This is a picture of my wonderful husband who at the end of today could barely keep his eyes open- he works so hard to provide for our family which I am so thankful for.

What a MAN!

Love you- Chaddy

Count your many blessings; name them one by one.......

2009-11-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

These are some-

I have a testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ
The Restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
I am a wife
I am a mother to two incredible boys
My family is Eternal
Agency
The Priesthood
Latter day Prophets
All of the wonderful kids I get to take care of, I love them like my own-
A Roof
Food to feed my family
Health
LIFE
LOVE
JOY

I am so thankul for all of these things and so much more.......

Thankful

2009-11-23T21:31:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for a husband who loves me, even on my crazy days-

and this handsome boy who tells me I am HOT and I sing like an angel-

and this cute little guy who comes and snuggles

me every night between 12-4 am.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH IT HURTS!!!!!!!

Goodnight Lulu.

2009-08-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

This has been one of our favorite books to read for the past five years, we read it every night. Quintin has it memorized. The other day I realized it has been a few weeks since we have let Goodnight Lulu put us to bed, Quintin hasn't been picking it out. This was not normal. Then it hit me- he's a second grader- I wanted to cry, my little chickadee is growing up. Now HE wants to read- The Magic Tree House and Indian Jones, these are all good books, even I am entertained.

But Goodnight Lulu will always be my favorite Quintin book.

My handsome second grader.

Toof-less

2009-08-12T14:39:00.001-07:00

I remember loosing my teeth when I was a kid and I hated it,

well now as a mother I still hate it.

There is just

something wrong with parts of your body coming

loose and falling out,

it is gross.

But as you can see Quintin loves it,

he even got a little extra from the Tooth Fairy
for having a double whammy!

I am just thankful it is over- for now anyway.

I thought I better throw a picture of Al in so he doesn't feel left out!

Yes that is how he looks pretty much all day.

I figure why wash it or wipe it when it just gets messy again anyway.

Besides he is just soooooo cute-

even when he is messy!

This boy is also very cute, even if he is missing almost half of his visible teeth.

And when he speaks it just melts your heart!

Painting..........

2009-07-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

I usually wonder what in the world I am thinking when I pull out the paint.....But it all turned out great!Aleck LOVED it!Zach was half asleep but he enjoyed himself!Quintin was very into it, making everything perfect, he ended up with a very cute turtle!

Something SwEet.

2009-06-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

I babysit my friends

-SwEet little GiRl-

whom I just adore, she makes up for all of the boys I have around!

I just wish I could spoil her like I would if she were my

own, but Chad wont let me.

So I take pictures of her like she is my own!

In this picture she is annoyed by me because I am trying to get her to say, "Hea-ther".

Hope.

2009-06-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

LDS.org - Ensign Article - With All the Feeling of a Tender Parent: A Message of Hope to Families

Robert D. Hales

“With All the Feeling of a Tender Parent: A Message of Hope to Families”

Ensign, May 2004, 88
"No matter how evil the world becomes, our families can be at peace.

If we do what’s right, we will be guided and protected."

Soccer mom I am.

2009-06-04T21:59:00.001-07:00

After some refreshment he was fine.Thank heavens no one was gored, by the raging bull!

[I should have known]

2009-05-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

Me: "Quintin why are your fingernails so dirty?"

Quintin: "Cause I'm a boy."

I think it's time for a bath.

Long time..... no post

2009-04-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

Things just get crazy! But we are always having fun! Things we have been up to since I last posted. We celebrated Aleck's second birthday- time flies..... I cannot believe he is two! He has been talking more and more each day- we were so worried for awhile but he has speech therapy now and is doing great. He is such a fun little guy to have around he keeps me on my toes!

Valentines...........

My two little leprecons.....

What a wonderful life I have!

So Sleepy.......zzzzzzzzz

2009-01-28T22:04:00.000-08:00

Aleck eating his yogurt and sleeping at the same time, it made me tired just watching him. I love my days!!!

"SnOW" mUch FuN!!!

2009-01-27T07:01:00.000-08:00

On Sunday the snow began falling just as sacrament meeting got out (at church), they were some of the biggest flakes I have ever seen, all the kids were so excited! Quinitin and Aleck were no exception, as soon as church was over they wanted to go out and play in the snow. Luckily it hadn't stopped snowing and the flakes were still huge, which made it all the more magical.

I let Quin and Al go out for a little while at church while we waited for Chaddy to get out of his meeting, and then we headed home and got all bundled up.

The kids had a blast. Quin's favorite thing to do was to throw snowballs at his Dad, he got Chad a few good ones right in the face, Chad never saw it coming! Al was enjoying laying around in the snow and taking in the cold.

I love watching my little ones have so much fun! The best is when they come in all cold and want something to make them warm. They are so snuggly.

Grandma's Hands

2009-01-23T22:39:00.000-08:00

These beautiful hands have.............

played with many dollies,

pieced many puzzles,

embraced one man's heart,

made many blankies,

held many babies,

wipped many tears,

soothed many sick,

scrubbed many floors,

washed many dishes,

and carried many through life.

For all the work done,

these hands continue to pass on their love.

Grandma we love you!

Three Little Ants

2009-01-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

We have our Family Home Evenings on thursdays

because Cave Man has school on mondays. So tonight Quintin was in charge and he wanted to talk about being healthy, I really have no idea why he picked this topic. He told us a story, that he made up, about three little ants that didn't have any food. Then they prayed and Jesus gave them healthy food and three drops of water, they ate it, and then Jesus told them that they needed to eat healthy and exercise. In the end we were told if we eat healthy we will be healthy.

He had three activities for us to do,

first we had to write down our favorite healthy foods,

then we played a game of guess what healthy food you are holding, and then we did one of my exercise videos. We all had a blast, and Quintin was so pleased to be in charge. In his testimony he said he knew the church was true, and that Jesus was real, and then he thanked his audience. I had to hold back my burst of laughter- He is such an awesome BOY!

Chad and Quintin exercising.

Quintin and I doing some push ups.

We were exhausted!!!

Wed-nes-day

2009-01-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

When I was younger that is how I remembered how to spell

Wednesday, and it was always my favorite day of the week.

When I was in Elementary school it meant that half of the week was over,

that was always super exciting!

Then in Jr. High it meant that I had Young Womens Activities, which

I just loved. In Highschool, it was just that much closer

to the weekend.......

I still just love Wednesdays, it now means that Cave Man (Chad), only has one day left to work, and then he is all mine, for three days!!!

Flower? and Poop.

2009-01-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

Quintin came up and asked me to write my name, then he wanted me to write it in another language, which meant cursive. Then he wanted me to write it in Chinese, which I tried to fake. The last and final request was to write my name in flower? I then asked what that was, then he showed me Chad's name written in all the different requests, including flower. So I did my best and then he graded us on our writing, Chad ended up getting the better grade, and he earned the most stickers. Chad also did Quintin's name for him. I had to hold in my smile, he was so serious while asking me to do this, once he left the room I couldn't help but giggle, he is so funny sometimes. Love you Quinny!

>>>>>>>>>

Now for Aleck's poop. After dinner Aleck was upset because he wanted his "Dada" and he had to go do some side work. So I said to Aleck, "Do you want to take a bath!" Which he then said, "Eh, eh" and shook his head yes. Now if you know Aleck you know he loves being naked and he loves playing in the bath. At this point though I hadn't finished cleaning up dinner so I put him down and told him to wait for a minute. As I was cleaning up I noticed him taking off his shirt which is typical, then he was going for his pants, he usually has a hard time getting them off, so I encouraged him by saying, "if you sit down now you can get them off easier, and your socks". So he then sat and began working on it. I walked off continuing to clean. He then came running into the kitchen naked- NO DIAPER ON- he was carrying it though and tossed it in the garbage and said, "kinky", and plugged his nose with his fingers. Needless to say there was no poop in the diaper it had become a part of the carpet. He also got his socks of and in the hamper, but not before he steped in the poop! No I did not get pictures- sorry, I was too busy running through the hall and bedroom making sure I cleaned up all the poop off the floor. He ended up getting his bath before I cleaned up dinner! Gotta LOVE HIM.

It's never too late, is it?

2009-01-18T22:54:00.000-08:00

We got the tree's all decorated, this is the kids tree, with there new ornaments for this year.

We started out the months celebrations with QUINTIN'S 7th BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

He was very excited to turn seven, the only time he wishes he were six again is when he has to go to a quiet time for seven minutes instead of six. We are so thankful for Quintin though and the wonderful person he is, what a special spirit he has and we are so blessed to have him in our family. He is our BIG BOY!

Our annual Flint (Aunt Fae) Christmas Party, with a pinata!

Christmas with the Knight's

Christmas morning at our house. Alecks favorite was his bristle blocks and he still just loves them, it is the only toy he wants to play with. Quintin got the BIG Indiana Jones Lego, he was super excited! If you can see Chad on the bottom, he was also very excited to get NHL 2009 for the Wii (thank you Cori!). I got the book Emma which I just loved! We tried something new this year to try to help us focus more on our Savior and his birth. We only got the kids three presents each, one from Mom, one from Dad and one from Santa, then their stockings. We still got our traditional new Christmas book, pj's and new Christmas outfit. The feeling this year was so wonderful, we were so much more relaxed and I could feel the spirit in our home so much stronger. In past years it has just seemed so overwhelming. Thank you soooooo much Tash for your idea, support and example we LOVE YOU! Thanks to all who have supported us this Christmas season!

Christmas with the German's. I just love this picture of my Grandma with he sister Beth.

Christmas with the Watson's, we had lots of fun playing BINGO and exchanging gifts!

Through it all Aleck kept us entertained!

2009!!!!!!!!

2008-12-31T15:05:00.000-08:00

We want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!
Love The Germans

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-23T09:16:00.000-08:00

ZOO Lights

2008-12-09T07:08:00.000-08:00

We went to the zoo on friday to see the lights, it was so beautiful and freezing, but we had a good time.

LOVE

2008-12-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

I wonder, what does Christmas mean,
With its stars and shiny balls?
Is Christmas more than Christmas trees
And toys and games and dolls?
Of this I’m sure: There’s something more,
For I’ve heard many say
That in a strange and far-off land,
A child was born this day.
And Christmas is to celebrate
His coming from above.
He showed us how we all should live
And told us we should love.

It's the LITTLE things...

2008-12-03T22:22:00.000-08:00

The little things I LOVE...

My Father in Heaven.
My husband.
My two little boys of course!
Cold cereal in the morning, so much easier than cooking anything.
I love my two new callings, the nursery and enrichment!
A good book.
A smile.
Flip-flops.
Chocolate.
Christmas lights.
Aleck falling asleep while playing, eating or watching Elmo.
Quintin's snuggles.
Chads way of always getting me to laugh.
My homemade sweet rolls.
Cherry blossoms.
A cold glass of milk.

Monday "MOO-SINGS"

2008-12-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

I have always loved cows,

I for some reason think that they are quite cute, as are all farm animals in my opinion, well except for turkeys. Although I do not like to touch cows, because I am afraid that they are going to kick me, it scares me to death. I also like COWBOYS so maybe that is why I like cows who knows! Or maybe it is because I have been called Heifer by many little ones in my life!

I love to go to the rodeo and watch the BULL rides,

but I am thankful that I did not marry a cowboy,

I don't think I could handle the stress of watching CHAD kill himself ridding a bull, he is very accident prone, he does not need any help from a bull in hurting himself.

As I say that I realize it has been a few months since Chad has been injured so I assume something will be happening just before Christmas, because that is just our luck! I wonder what it will be maybe stitches, shingles, electrocution (without death) or a broken bone, that one hasn't happened for a while so that is my guess!

I will pray for his saftey though.

Anyway back to the cows, I just love them, best out of all the farm animals, so my Mondays are for my

"MOO-SINGS".

Heather

Life

2008-11-30T21:48:00.000-08:00

"As sons and daughters of God, we cherish life as a gift from Him. His eternal plan provides opportunities for His children to obtain physical bodies, to gain earthly experiences, and to realize their divine destinies as heirs of eternal life."

Russell M. Nelson, “Abortion: An Assault on the Defenseless,” Liahona, Oct 2008, 14–19

The last few days I have not been able to stop thinking about a news story that I saw, about Carlos Boozer's family and another family here in Utah. (Here is the link to the story, http://ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4904000) With Aleck's condition this really hit home, both of these families chose to go and have their embryos tested for disease/disorders/disability, however you want to put it. After testing they choose which embryos get to live, and which do not, their whole purpose is to have a "healthy" child, unaffected by what ever could be passed on to them from the parent(s). I just wanted to cry as I watched the story. I cannot imagine someone choosing to kill, in my opinion, a child or multiple children in these cases because they inherited a bad gene. I am truly thankful for medical technology and the treatments we have for disease/disorders/disabilities, but when it comes down to life I believe that all have the right to live no matter what is wrong with our physical bodies, and in the end we all have at least a little something wrong.

Aleck's condition came about because of a gene mutation, because Chad nor I have the condition, but he has a 50/50 chance of passing aniridia on to his children. If I had known that he was going to be born with this ailment I would have never chose to not have him because of it, and I pray that he will do the same for his children. He is a child of God, (as we all are), who deserved a chance to gain a physical body and to live on this earth to learn and to grow, I know I am blessed to have the gospel (being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and to know the truths of this life. It just breaks my heart that the world is becoming so careless that they would be willing to sacrifice a life for their idea of "perfection", which is unattainable anyway. In my opinion it is all selfish, no one wants to see there children suffer physically, or in any other way, and no one wants to spend endless hours in the hospital, or at the doctors, or therapy or potentially have to watch there child die, but that is what being a parent is all about, becoming selfless.

I would not trade anything for the opportunity that I have to raise a child with special needs, it is not easy and many tears have been shed over the difficulties. But in the end he is Aleck, a child, and aniridia does not define his life, in the eternities it will just be a small spec of who he is and what he went through in this life.

Aleck the day he was born, wouldn't trade it for anything-

This is what LIFE is about!

I just needed to vent, sorry it is so long!

Family Fun!

2008-11-26T21:39:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Halloween!

2008-11-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

I kinda forgot about Halloween! We had a fun time at Quintin's school party, and then we carved pumpkins, but after that he got sick and spent the rest of the night throwing up. Better luck next year! If your wondering who the little kitten is, she belongs to one of my friends, that babysit for, isn't she soooo cute! We love our Adda (Addison), thats what Aleck calls her.

GRATITUDE!

2008-11-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

Today for our family home evening we are talking about gratitude and blessings. So last night I was going over in my head all of the wonderful things that I have been blessed with in my life, some times I get so caught up in life that I forget how truly blessed I am. I first thought about Chad and what a wonderful husband he is, I don't think that there is another person in this world that could deal with my craziness at times!

Then I thought about my two beautiful boys, and what wonderful blessings they are in my life. I remembered when I was trying to get pregnant with Quintin and we prayed for two years to have a baby, I was beginning to think that it wasn't going to happen and then out of the blue I ended up pregnant, we were so excited. It then took us four years to get pregnant with Aleck, needless to say I didn't always have the best attitude about waiting that long, it was very frustrating at times, but I really tried to remember who was in charge. When Aleck came along everything fell right in to place, or at least it made sense to me. With Alecks disability and constant doctors appointments I would have never survived with two little ones, and I needed Quintin's maturity at times to lift me up when I fell. Although he was only five when Aleck was born, he at times had the wisdom and faith that I lacked. I remember one night I was putting him to bed and I thought he was asleep, it had been a long day, with lots of doctors appointments for Aleck and I was confused and overwhelmed. I started to cry, and I felt Quintin hug me, he looked up to me with his big beautiful blue eyes and asked why I was crying, and I told him I was sad and scared for Aleck, then Quintin said, "Mom you don't need to be scared you know that Jesus will fix him someday, he will give him blue eyes." (For those who don't know, Aleck was born with a rare visual deformity/impairment called Aniridia and he has no iris, which is the color part of the eye.) I just sat there for a moment and thought to myself is it that simple, and I realized it is. Life isn't easy and we will have challenges, but if we have faith we will receive the blessings we need to endure. Quintin was there for me that night so that I could endure.

I am just so thankful that Quintin was chosen to be here with me and to bless my life. I am also so thankful for a Heavenly Father who knows best, I try not to ever question his timing or intentions. Going through this challenge with Aleck has taught me that, "There are no accidents in Gods plans." I am just so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father, who sent me such special children who continue to bless my life every minute of every day, and continue to remind me of what is important.Who could ask for more!

Boy Are They CUTE!

2008-10-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went and took the boys pictures. It is are annual Christmas gift to our parents and grand parents. They all turned out so cute, it will be hard to decide which ones to give. Here is a sampling. Quintin thinks he is a super model, he wants his picture taken only his way, he is always posing for the camera! Aleck just wants to be left alone, but we managed to get a few good ones. I am so blessed to have both of them!

9 years and still counting!!!

2008-08-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been nine years already, I guess that is a good thing! Chad and I were married on August 17th, 1999. We have made it a tradition to try and go camping for our anniversary, we didn't go last year because things were to crazy, but we did make it this year and we had a lot of fun. Anyway, I just want Chad to know how amazing these years have been, I can't even imagine what my life would be without him, and the two beautiful children that we have brought into this world.

Things I love about Chad.....

I love that I was the first girl he ever loved.

I love how he always makes me and my mom laugh!

I love how he loves our boys!

I love how he loves me even when I can be kinda mean!

I love how he misses me.

I love how he looks in camo.

I love how he knows that I am always right, and he admits it!

I love the way he helps me to be a better person.

I love how excited he gets when he catches a fish.

I love his testimony.

I love his muscles!

I love how he plays Star Wars with Quinitn.

I love the way he makes Aleck giggle!

I love how he stays up late with me and lets me talk his ear off!

I love the way he works so hard to provide for his family.

I love how forgiving he is.

I love how he helps me through the hard times.

I love how he lets me tease him all the time.

I love how often he goes to the emergency room!

I love his dedication to the Young Men in our ward.

I love all of his funny voices, my favorites are Elmo and Barney the kids just love it!

I love watching him play hockey!

I love how happy he is to be home with his family.

I love the way he makes me feel like I am the most and the best of everything in his life.

I LOVE YOU CHAD!

What a STUD!

2008-08-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

Aleck just got his first pair of real glasses. He has always had to wear sunglasses outside so I figured it wouldn't be all that bad keeping them on him, boy was I wrong. The first few days I just think he thought is was cool because he could see, but after that he realized that throwing them was much more fun! He also likes to hide them in with all of the toys, I spend more time trying to find his glasses than he does wearing them. But he sure looks cute!

Lagoon!

2008-08-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

We went to Lagoon with Chads work on Monday, the 4th, and the kids had a blast. Quintin was a bit of a chicken, but I think Aleck would have went on all of the rides if he could have. They both enjoyed themselves though. Mackenzie came with and she had a good time also. I am not really a huge fan of Lagoon and all the rides and stuff (weak stomach, and fear of dying), but Chad got me to go on the Cliff Hanger, and honestly I loved it, I was still scared out of my mind but it was a lot of fun. I got some real cute pictures of the kids enjoying themselves.

The Great Outdoors!

2008-08-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

We had our ward camp out at Camp Ensign on the 1st and 2nd of August, and the kids both loved it. In all of our other wards they never had camp outs so we were all very excited! Quintin had so much fun playing with all of his friends, and Aleck just loved being outside. At night we played a fun game with the ward and then we watched the Princess Bride outside, along with roasting marshmallows. The next day we went to the lake and canoed, Quintin got a little "lake sick" on the canoe, the wind was really blowing so it was pretty rocky out there. He had fun playing in the lake though.

So sad!

2008-07-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

So Chad and Quintin are so sad because they don't have as many pictures on here as Aleck. So this is to make them happy. I sure hope Chad isn't upset about the pics of him, but I am well entertained! I don't think I will ever get over Chad dancing around in a speedo or as he says, "posing trunks".

Memories.....

2008-07-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

What's Happening...

2008-07-16T13:42:00.001-07:00

Last week was a long one Aleck had his first EUA (exam under anethisia) and I was just stressed, they thought that he had developed glaucoma and they also wanted to take a look at the development of his eyes. If he had glaucoma then they had also talked about operating, which freaked me out. But all went well he has no glaucoma and they said that nothing they saw was unexpected for a child with aniridia. We need to go and have another ultrasound of his kidneys to be sure that there are no tumors. Then we can rest for a few weeks before his next doctors apointment. I begining to feel like I should just live there! I took some cute pics of him at the hospital in his gown, I think everyone thought I was crazy sitting there taking pictures, but he was so adorable!

Still trying

2008-07-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

Since we moved my internet connection has been horrible, but the other day I upgraded and now it is great. So I think I will be able to really get this thing up and running! We shall see!

Almost there!

2008-06-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

Well it has been almost two months since I started trying to make this blog and it is still a work in progress, but it is coming along. All is well here, we are keeping busy and trying to enjoy our summer.

2008-05-20T19:20:00.001-07:00

This is a test!