join us.....

My presidency decided we wanted to do a summer reading of the Book of Mormon. We challenged each YW to read 8 pages a day until July 29th. The YM have joined us and yesterday the whole ward hopped on board.

So now as a ward we are reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover. It is going to be an amazing experience.

It had been quite a few years since I had read the introduction and testimonies of the witnesses. WOW! It is so powerful.

I am excited for this testimony building journey. Each of the YW/YM went home with a blue Book of Mormon. We tried to make it as easy on them as possible.

As we head out for Girl's Camp in the morning I am anxious to see how many will bring their Book of Mormons. No matter where we are this summer, we will know that each of us will be reading, pondering and building testimonies.

I can not wait to hear the stories at the end of the summer.

So...join us and read cover to cover the Book of Mormon. Blessings await you.

Summertime...

It has finally arrived...SUMMER! School is out and I couldn't be happier!! There are mixed emotions at our house this year.

Normally everyone is very excited to be out of school. This year is a little different. Mackenzie has now realized that she is a Senior in High School. This is it. She came home a little melancholy on Thursday. She had a Great year and will miss some of her buddies that won't be in her classes next year.

Jensen is embarking on High School and a group of her friends will be going to a different High School. Hard to keep in touch when you don't see each other daily and you are town rivals.

Alec was glad to be done with 3rd grade, but already worried about his teacher for 4th grade. He will be in for BIG changes next year. He will have his 4th grade teacher, but he tested into ALP and will have a teacher for language and another teacher for math. I think he is a little nervous about all of it.

Summer...sleep in a little bit, relaxed schedules, movie nights, staying up late, trips, hanging out in the pool and LOTS of family time. YEAH!!

A busy summer lays ahead of us this year. The goal is to enjoy and make the most of each moment.

Nine years ago....

From this......

To this!

Where to start? In honor of Alec's nineth birthday, I will tell the story of his arrival into this world.

How excited we were to find out we were having another baby. We had pretty much given up hope (there are 5 years between Jensen and Alec). So, we were starting over.

When I was 4 months pregnant we moved to Arizona. Not an easy transition, especially when I have pregnancy complications. So far so good with this kiddo, until 23 weeks along.

Valentine's weekend and I awoke hurting and feeling different that normal. The on call Dr. was not concerned and blew me off. A week later and still not feeling great I saw my Dr. He was less than pleased. I was in pre-labor. Are you kidding? I never went into labor with my girls. Why now?

We had been in Arizona for 5 weeks. No real support system. I was put into the hospital for 3 days. Sent home with a pump in my leg and a contraction monitoring machine. I was officially on bed rest. That meant on the coach for the entire day. Not fun! Especially when your girls are 6 and 4. Oh, man!

The ward thought we were inactive, we pleaded with family to come for a week at a time to help out. I had weekly trips to the Dr. Numerous tests, ultrasounds and a couple more stays in the hospital. The goal was to make it to 36 weeks. In late March they threatened to put me in the hospital for 5 weeks. That was more than I could take. I had 2 little girls and there was no way I was going to be gone for that length of time.

When we found out that the baby was a boy, we were shocked. Mackenzie and Jensen cried. They did not want a brother. Scott and I were pretty excited. Although, I was not too sure about the boy thing.

Alec's due date was June 12th. They wanted to get us to the middle of May. It took a lot of prayer, help and fasting. I was on bed rest for 3 months and it was a long 3 months. The girls learned a lot in that amount of time. Sorting laundry, making PB and J for lunch and pretty much taking care of mom.

On May 16th we arrived at the hospital. Eager for this little guy. The c-section was delayed 2 hours and that was not a good sign.

Finally we were taken into surgery. The girls were with Grammy in the waiting room anxiously awaiting the arrival of their brother.

When Alec was born he was not breathing. He was quickly rushed to the side and put immediately on oxygen. Upon further examination they decided he needed to be in the NICU. I was not able to see or touch him and sent Scott to follow him.

It was not until later that night that I was finally able to get a peek at this little boy. He was under an oxygen tent. His lungs were not fully developed. Oh, man! We had been through so much already.

Alec spent a week in the NICU. He had to be put on a ventilator and medicated to sleep. Twice he pulled out the tube. Determined at the very beginning. Eventually they were able to ween him off of oxygen and he was able to breathe on his own.

The girls decorated his bassinet and brought him stuffed animals. The nurses were awesome! It was a great day when we were able to finally hold and feed Alec. He was so tiny.

The hardest day was when I had to leave the hospital and Alec was still in there. It was not easy emotionally nor physically.

It was all better when we were able to bring this little guy home. He had TONS of black hair and was weighing in at 5 lbs. 12 ozs. He was a great baby.

We are so blessed to have Alec in our family. He is our little miracle and we are thankful for him. We love you birthday boy!!

~NINE~

Happy Birthday Alec!!

Alec is 9 today. Boy, I love this kid!

Last weekend he had a party with friends and we had this slide in our backyard.

Boy, was this fun!!



What a great group of boys. They are awesome!!

What I LOVE about Alec:

He is a tender person. Always tells me he loves me and gives great hugs and kisses.

Always willing to pitch in and help.

Loves to play the piano and sing a long as he plays. He will figure out a new song all on his own. I LOVE to hear him play and sing.

Boy, does he love his BIG sisters. He always wants to hang with them and his friends. He thinks it is so cool to be included.

SMART....not only does he love school, but he is really smart. He loves a good challenge.

What a planner! He has had his birthday planned for over a week. Not only the menu, but activities as well.

He still finds it cool to stay home with mom. What a treat to have a day with him.

GAMES...you name it, he likes to play it!

Alec always tries to be his best and do his best. I admire that.

Friends...doesn't need a TON of friends, but likes a small group of close friends. They are such cute friends. One has been a friend since Alec was 18 months. Now that is a friend!

He is quite the riddler/joke teller. You can count on him to have something funny.

Simple...he doesn't have extravagent tastes. Chocolate cake, burgers, basketball shorts and T's. You name it he is simple at heart.

Alec, you are such a great boy! I can't believe you are 9! Where has the time gone? I love you and am so proud of you. What a blessing you are in my life. Love, Mom

These are a few of my Favorite Things....

While reading blogs I ran across one that they were listing "a few of my favorite things." Just like the song - can you hear Julie Andrews singing it? So, here we go....

My family! They complete me (boy, I am all about the movies today).

Being a mother, what an incredible blessing.

FLOWERS! I absolutely love fresh flowers.

Baking...anything and everything!

The smell of fresh citrus. Clean, fresh and invigorating.

Mexican food...need I say anything more.

Reading a good book. Nothing like settling in with a great book and being taken to another place.

Traveling. Haven't done a lot, but look forward to doing more.

Hanging with the family. Love to have unscheduled down time. Its the best!

Shopping...I know this comes as a shock to all of you.

Friends...you know who you are and you are the best! You have blessed my life, you are fabulous examples to me and you are always there. Thanks!

Working out. There I said it, can you believe it? Nothing like feeling the burn in your muscles, sweat dripping and how great you feel after.

Boating..although I don't get to do it a lot. I love being on the water with friends and family. So relaxing, fun and great bonding.

Music...I love all types from my kids playing the piano to the latest song on the radio to classical. There is always music to fit any situation and it can tell a story like nothing else.

Hugs from my husband

Organization..everything must have a place

Notes from my kids

The gospel

Making jewelry...only wish I had more time to dabble in this.

Chocolate Cake with chocolate frosting. YUMM!!!

I guess I got a little carried away with my list. These are just "a few of my Favorite Things." What are "a few of your Favorite Things?"

get off the train

Right now life is a train ride...not a normal one, but a speeding bullet train like the Eurostar in Europe. How does one get off?

So much is going on. Time is going so fast. There is always something that needs to be done, somewhere to be and time won't stand still.

I can't figure out how to get off the train. It speeds along and everything becomes a blurrr.

How to simplify?

If the train won't let me get off...then I must learn to adapt.

Enjoy the little moments - "I love you" from Alec each morning as he goes to school, the afternoon chats with Mackenzie, a little small smile from Jensen and the lovely text I receive each day from my husband.

Each is a little ray of sunshine and I should hold onto them throughout the day. It's all about family. Right?

So even though I am caught on this crazy train ride, there are little bright moments in each day. I must build upon them, remember them and keep them close.