House Update and Christmas Story

Well, now that the house is coming back together I think I can stomach putting some of the pictures up for ya'll to see. This is not the worst. A lot of work had to be done to the house to get it to this point. I had taken a lot of pics for FEMA and had them put on a disk. I have to locate that one to be able to show you where we came from. However here are a few to let you see some of the devestation but mostly the blessings of the Lord. He is so loving and kind!The above picture is what happened to our dining room floor. Yes that is a huge hole in the middle of a lot of hard wood. We have pulled out all the hard wood and now the hole is fixed and the floor is covered with ceramic tile. Below is a picture of our Living room. It is not at it's worst. This is after we had someone come in and put up sheet rock. It had started out with all the walls torn off to the studs! It also has a pile of sheet rock that stayed in my living room forever and is now in my hall. We had also used it as a place to sleep for almost two months as we toted our beds in and out of the house while they were working on our walls. that is our bed in the bottom left hand corner.This is a picture of the ceiling. We had it fixed and then stomped and painted. I just had to put it up but the picture doesn't show how good of a job they did!Here is my kitchen. All of the bottom cabinets came out and now have new ones in. We are still waiting to put in our top cabinets and David bought me a brand new stove. YAY!!! Our Dining Room table was David's office as he had to move out of his office. The computer is also new. Our old computer had been sitting on the floor and was on when it flooded. I had to unplug it while standing in water above my ankle YIKES! But as I said above the Lord blesses and we managed to get a brand new computer of which I had been wanting for a while. I did loose a lot of pictures because I didn't have back ups so if any of you have all your pictures on the computer I would suggest that y0u get them on disk soon.Ahh! Now it is starting to look like home. Here is a picture of the new computer desk. Not sure what David is thinking about but I wanted to show off the desk. The walls are a really pretty pumpkin butter color. I love it! That is the new tile on the floor. My wonderful brother Russell and several of his friends came over to help us put it down. Now here is a Christmas story for you. I didn't want to put the tree up until the floor was down and the walls were painted. I'm not sure why I was being so stubborn. Just that I wanted the house to look more normal for Christmas. So what does my darling sister do!!! She brings my brother Russell, my nephew Riley, and three of their friends from church and tells them that they can't goof off because she wanted me to have a nice house for Christmas. They worked hard until 10pm Saturday, December 20th and managed to get all the living room tiled and the walls in the living room, dining room, and most of the hall painted. We also put up curtains in the living room. The Lord knows the desires of our hearts and he hears and answers our prayers. Here is a picture of the walls and our wonderful Christmas tree. I hope you all had a very wonderful Christmas and know that Lord hears our innermost thoughts.
God Bless you all and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas

Well with everything going on I have neglected my blog. I am finally starting to see my house come together after the damage the flood made. We are putting tile in the Living Room, Dining Room, and Kitchen. Which I didn't realize would take us as long as it has. My sweet brother, Russ, has been helping us and he is coming today with one of his friends to get as much done as he can. David has tried to get some done at night but that is kinda hard with the kids here and him being tired. We haven't painted all the walls yet but I am hoping to be able to do that soon. I think that we will be getting some more of it done this Saturday. The boys room is the only one that I have put two coats on.
Anyway with all of this going on I haven't decorated for Christmas yet. It seems weird because I usually do it the first week of December. We will be putting the tree up Sunday and then decorating it on Monday. We are also going to do our anual Christmas caroling Sunday afternoon and then maybe again on Tuesday and Wednesday.
I want to say Merry Christmas to everyone. I love you all.

Another Late Birthday Blog

Big Family Birthday Party

For Bethany, Jared, and Jessica

Jared just loves to make silly faces!

Auntie Sandy made the cakes!

Thank you. We think their beautiful!

Jessica plugged her ears for the B-day song

Bethany held her hair and was soo cute and shy.

They all got cool gifts from their Aunts and Uncles!

Thank you everyone. We love our gifts.

Jared loves his Aunt Theresa!

Thank you for the Cool Tools!!!

Jessica giving Aunt Theresa a hug!

I love my mimzy dog and purse.

Jared and Jessica's 5th and Bethany's 7 Birtday Party at Keys Park

Iwas only going to post one picture of each but these of Jessica are just toooo cute!


Here is Jared! He is hanging from a moving handle! Just as happy as can be!


Bethany Playing on the bars! Wow I can't believe she turned 7 already. If you look close you might see her earrings that she got for her present.

We had cupcakes and juice with the few friends that we invited!

Alecia even joined into the fun!

Brandon acting weird. It is hard to get a good picture of him. He always wants to act funny!

Katie walking! I can't believe that I didn't get a better one of her.

Here is Alecia, Bethany, and two of the friends that came with them. They had a wonderful time!

Jared and Jessica's first day of school. Late!!!

Jared and Jessica's First Day of School, August 20, 2008! Oh my was that a hard day for me!!! Jared looks tired.
Here they are proudly showing off their new lunch boxes! They had to wait sooo long to get them!
Okay this picture says it all. Isn't he just precious.

Well this one justs adds to it! She is gorgeous!! I am totally a proud momma

Happy Thanksgiving

So I thought that it was time for me to post again. I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. This is one of my most favorite times of the year. The holiday parties start up and everyone is in a service oriented mood. What a great way to celebrate the end of the year. Hopefully our house will be put back together before it is time to decorate for Christmas. David and I have given up on trying to do it ourselves and have hired some help. Hopefully with time and effort we may have a nice place to have Christmas however even if we don't it will still be a great time as I looooove Christmas and the whole point of it is to celebrate Christ's birth. How can I complain about a messed up house when He was born in a stable!!
Anyway, I still haven't up loaded the pics that I wanted to share so it may take me a while longer to get some pics up. Enjoy the holiday seasons and know that I am thinking about you all and you are all in my prayers

Update

So life at the Alford home has been pretty hectic for the last couple of weeks. We are all doing well and the kids are enduring our crazy house pretty well. Many people have been asking me how the house is coming along so I will give a little update. My brothers Ron and Russell and my brother in law Jake came over last Saturday and patched my roof. So now we can get started on the inside. We only have to figure out when we will be able to start on it. I am hoping to have it all put back together by Christmas so we had better get a move on. Anyway that is the update on the house.

The kids are all doing well. They were all on the honor roll for their first 6 weeks of school. Alecia is doing great. She seems to love being in Highschool and has been enjoying a little more freedom while I on the other hand would much rather her stay my little girl. She went to the fair last night with and friend (the friends mom went with her). She also went to a football game with friends and NO PARENTS. Okay all of you moms out there with little ones wait until your little ones start flying the coop and then you will see the big deal of this step. I have never sent my kids any where that there wasn't some kind of adult supervision and I just about didn't let her go until I thought about the fact that she is getting older and in highschool and oh my goodness It was time to let her have a little space. Brandon is doing great in Jr. High. I was a little worried but he got all A's and 1 B on his report card and the B may be turned to an A if the 1st and 2nd 6 week grades average to be an A. He was moved around a lot during the first 6 wk period so he was 2 grades short and the teacher thinks that he would have had an A with the other 2 grades so we shall see. He is riding his bike to and from school and enjoying the freedom that gives him. He also is in band. He is playing the clarinet like his dad did and seems to be picking it up quickly. I am soo excited that he is learning to play a musical instrument. Katie is doing well too. She is a junior officer in 4-H and is a great help to her teacher. She loves to spend time with her friends and loves to talk. Her spelling grade has picked up and I am happy to say that she is doing a whole lot better this year than last. Krystal is still doing great and loves to spend time at activity days at church. Bethany, Jared, and Jessica are all enjoying school and are great fun to be around.

I am now subbing for the elementary school. I have been in Katie's and Jared's classes and will be in Krystal's by the end of the month. I am enjoying the work and love to be around other people. The house is soooooooo empty without the kids in it.

I have some pics I want to post but I have to get them on this new computer. So I'll try to do that later.

Hurricane Hit

Well were do I begin. Life has a way of making you realize what is important and what is just excess baggage. We are having some struggles right now but with the Lords help we will overcome them quickly. Last week Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana and did a lot of damage. David and I were busy helping with the evacuees at the church from Saturday until Wednesday morning. Wednesday morning David called to check on us because he was at the church and saw flooding. I woke up and put my foot in water and at first I thought the kids had been playing in water and left the floor wet. It took my brain a few minutes to wake up but when it finally did I realized that the house was flooding and that I needed to get the kids out. Needless to say it was quite an experience and will be something that affects us for a while. Jared was soo cute. I had put him on the couch to sit for a minute while we got the other kids together and he said, "Momma! I want my swimming suit so I can go swimming in the house!" Boy they can be cute. Our house is drying out but in order to get it dry we had to take out all the carpet, our new laminate flooring, the bottom 12 inches of sheet rock, the paneling in the living room and the laundry room. We still have to take out the sheet rock in the 2 bathrooms and the cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms. I have a mess it looks like someone just decided to destroy the whole house. We brought the kids to mom and she watched them from Wednesday until Sunday. She also did all the laundry. Thank you Mom. WE have a place to stay thanks to some very dear friends and all will be well. It just is a matter of remodeling and hopefully it will be better off when it is done than it was before. However because of this major problem I don't have a computer at home and it will probably be a while before I get back to blogging better. I love you all and hope that you are all doing well.

Lots of Love
Teresa

Wow!! I'm Back!

Okay so we all know those times in life when it gets so hectic that you can't think. Well that has been my life for the past month. We had a wonderful time on our vacation and I am planning on posting some pictures soon. We were enjoying ourselves so much that we extended it by one week and didn't come home until the week before school started. Needless to say with seven little ones starting school this year I had to hurry to get School clothes and supplies bought. Then I had to help them with their first week of school. Let me tell you sending Alecia to highschool for the first time and Brandon to Jr. High was really overwheming. I can hardly believe that Alecia is old enough to be in the 9th grade (gosh forget about her I don't feel old enough to be the mother of a high school student LOL). Anyway she started seminary (it is an early morning scripture study group that our church has that helps the teens learn more about our Savior and the gospel while helping them to gain a stronger testimony and by doing this it also helps them to make better choices throughout their time in H.S.) I was really worried about how I was going to get her to seminary and then to school while still helping the others get ready for school and to school. Well I really shouldn't have worried our Heavenly Father knows what we need and David was called (asked) to teach this class. Well now he takes the responsibility of taking her there and then to school so Woohoo I don't have to do it and I can sleep in as seminary starts at 6am. Brandon is now in Jr high and wants to be in band. We signed him up for it last year and He still doesn't have it on his schedule so I am having to do all the work to get the guidance counselor to change his schedule. Not very fun but definitly necessary. He is going to play the clarinet like his Dad.. WEll you would think that this would be enough firsts and all but nooooo I have the twins who start kindergarten this year. They do some kind of staggered entry so they haven't gone to their first day yet but I know that I am going to feel completely lonely when they go on Wednesday. I will no longer have any little ones at home. So before you ask what I am going to do with all my time I am going to remind you that I still have 7 children and they still need to eat, have clothes and have help with homework. I will not be bored and I will still be very busy only this time it will be without the littleones to keep me company. I am also going to volunteer at the school and do some subbing to fill in any time that I feel is left over. I am truly one of the most blessed women in the world (I know we all think that but well its my perogative to voice it Hee hee hee) I have 7 of the most well behaved kind kids and yes they do misbehave but overall they are sweet kids and I am always told how good they are. I have a husband who loves me very much and treasures me and our kids. and I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and wants what is best for me. So yes I am truly blessed just like you all are. I love you all so much and hope that you are all doing well. Ya'll take care and I will post pics of the vacation sometime this week.

Lots of Love
Teresa

We're going on Vacation!

Hey Everyone,

We are going to be gone for the next three weeks so I may not be able to add anything new to the blog. I hope that everyone had an awesome 4th and are having a great summer. We will be back home around the end of July. I love you all. Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers Thursday as I will be driving through some big cities and I have Never done that before.'

Lots of Love to all
Teresa

Young Women's Camp!!!

The theme for camp this year was "Sisters in Zion". The goal was to help them come closer to our Savior and closer to one another. It's funny how the Lord knows what needs to happen in order for us to reach our goals. But I'll leave that for a little later. We had a wonderful time and the girls were very well behaved and did not complain. I was there as the camp cook (I have cooked for the past three years and imagine that I will be for the next 14 since I have so many girls). Anyway I loved it. This was the first year that I actually utilized the help that was offered me and it made it so much easier to handle cooking for 50 people. I also learned that you don't have to make the most exotic meals for these girls they just want to eat.Alecia took this picture of the sign while the sun was setting. I think it is very pretty.Alecia was making a lattern from a tin can. She really had a great time!There was no running water so if the girls wanted to bathe they had to do it in the lake. As you can see that didn't stop them! We did have porta potties brought in. It was a wonderful growing experience for them all. Alecia, Tori, Lauren and two other girls from camp strike a pose. Tori, Alecia's cousin, is in the green stripes. Lauren, an honorary cousin is in the pink stripes. They all had a wonderful time at camp.

Lauren took this beautiful sunset picture!

Alecia took this one. The Lord gave them such wonderful things to look at while there.

This is a picture of all the girls at camp.

Okay so back to the story. It rained, well actually stormed all three days that we were there. Thankfully the storms came during the afternoon and we were able to get the girls to safety inside the trailer until they passed. The first day, the leaders were outside in the storm saving an army sized pavillion that was borrowed for the girls. It kept trying to fly away and we had not tied it down. So as about 6 of us held it down (believe me this was not easy) the men there to make sure we were safe tied it to trees. We finally got it tied and then went in with the girls. It lasted about 30 minutes and through it all the girls kept asking when they could go swimming! After we got out we looked around and there was some damage control that needed to be done so off the girls went happily to take care of what needed to be done.

The second day the storm came again, only this time it was worse. It came with hail. Sis Funderburk was starting to get really worried. She knew that hail sometimes means circular wind movement not something you want when you have a trailer full of girls. The girls started to sing "As sisters in Zion". As soon as they started to sing the storm started to dissipate. It was such a wonderful experience to know that our Heavenly Father was watching out for these precious young women! Once again the girls went out and this time there was a lot of damage to the camp. We lost seven tents. The big pavilion was blown away even with the tie downs. One of the big metal posts was snapped in half! Our ten man tent was destroyed. One pole was snapped in two and another was bent backwards. This type of problems was seen all over the camp Except for on the patio. Everything that was left of the patio was still there. It was like our Father in Heaven reached down with His Loving Hands and covered us with a protective "bubble" as the girls were calling it. What a wonderful thing to witness! What did the girls do? You would expect complaints and a desire to go home but not our girls. They went out and said things like "Look at that" and "Cool". Then they went out took care of there stuff, which was soaked by the way. When they did all they could for their tents they went looking for things they could do to help others. They were bonding and learning to have joy in adversity. It was so wonderful. After a little while Sis. Funderburk asked the girls who was going to stay with her and they all raised their hands. Then we all knelt in the mud and thanked our Father in Heaven for protecting us through the storm. All the bedding was wet so Mom took it to town and dried it all in the laundry mat. Thank heavens for modern innovations! The girls continued on in strength for the rest of the camping experience.

The third and last day. We woke up and put everything away into cars and tore down camp. Once again a storm came the wind blew and the girls were safe inside. I know that a loving Heavenly Father knew what needed to be done to bring the girls closer to Him and to each other and that the storms were a blessing. They even cooled down the temps so that at night we were not sleeping in excessive heat. I loved the opportunity to cook for these sweet young sisters and I am looking forward to the years to come as I watch more of my girls learn and come closer to Christ. I love my Savior and know that He did all He could for us to return to Him and our Father in Heaven.

Mom's house for a week!

We had a great time with mom this week. The kids pretty much stayed outside the whole time. They were either in the pool or in their club house. I really love going to visit Momma, the kids always have so much fun. I don't worry about them outside there and they pretty much get the run of the place. They know the rules, where they can play and what is off limits (the barn and other important places). They always get to spend time with their cousins and just have a wonderful time. I have already posted pictures of the park. Mom thought that it would be a good place to take them to let them play and get some good pictures. I was a great idea. The week seemed to fly by and we were getting ready to leave Thursday (Jared had to get stitches out of his finger Friday) when Jared fell on the steps and Off to the ER again. I think that he needs some kind of a bubble. I mean 2 ER visits in 2 weeks is completely nutts! I was thinking about this. I have had kids for 14 years. The first 13 were spent blissfully unaware of the pains fo stitches. In the past year Jared has been to get them 3 times. I'm getting to be a professional at this. The first time I thought I was going to have a heart attack, the second was horrible because of how bad it was, however this time I looked at it and said yep we have to go to the ER. With it being so close to the last ones Jared knew exactly what was going to happen and let me know that it was only a little blood and he didn't think that he needed stitches. However I knew other wise. So anyway he got 4 stitches in his chin. When I took him to the Dr office yesterday they just laughed and said boys will be boys. Gosh I'm tired of the er and hopefully we'll stay out of it for a long time now. Needless to say our trip to Grandma's went out with a BANG! WE still had a wonderful time and loved visiting our FAmily.

At the park with Grandma

Wednesday June 18th we went to the park in Leesville with my mom. The kids had a great time. We were able to bring our cousins, Reighn, Becky and Tori. My Friend Dawn brought her three girls Kimberly, Natalie and Rachal so we had a lot of kids having fun at the park.All the kids at the park! My mom was the one who thought of this idea. It was sooo much fun. Jessica had a great time climbing on the climbing toys!Jared enjoyed just about everything but he really had fund standing on top of things.Bethany was so sweet when she had me take her picture. She too enjoyed the climbing toys.Krystal wanted to take a picture too so she had to pose on the slide. She wasn't quite as daring as the others but she had a great time too.Krystal and Bethany stayed together a lot and they really loved the swings!Katie enjoyed playing with Becky and Rachal. Of Course Brandon stuck with the only other boy his age. His cousin Reighn. Alecia had fun swinging and she also took a lot of pictures for me so I had a hard time finding any with her in it!Tori thought that she would fit on the toddler toys! Isn't she cute

Rachal and Natalie striking a pose for the camera. Sorry Kimberly is a little camera shy.

Bethany had a great time playing with her friends!

Awesome Saturday!!

We have had a wonderful day today. David took the day off and we spent the whole day together playing. First we went to a car show. It was way cool. The kids got to pick which 5 cars they liked the best and then were able to vote. Jared liked a cool yellow motorcycle. He said that he wanted it. The owner of the bike heard him and let him sit of it. Jared was very excited as you can see by his smile!

After we were through looking at all the cars the kids decided that they wanted to go and climb the rock wall, so off we went.

Brandon got to the top twice on one of the easier sides and half way up on the hardest side.

Alecia was able to make it half way up and then the height started to scare her so she had to come down.

Katie and Alecia were climbing at the same time and there for a minute it looked like they were both going to make it to the top but then they decided it was time to come down. After we were done with the rock wall we took the kids to the theater and watched Kung Fu Panda! They have been walking around singing the theme song ever since. They had a great time and enjoyed eating candy and popcorn while they watched. It is not something we do hardly ever so this was a very special treat for them.

After the movie everyone decided they wanted to do the rock wall one more time so we went over again (it was in the theater parking lot). This time David decided he had to try!

This is David trying and the difficult side he managed to make it half way and then he tried the next side down and made it to the top. All in all it was a wonderful day. We went to get David's fathers day present afterwards. He go a grill and is very excited he is still putting it together. Tomorrow David and I will celebrate our 15th anniversary along with Fathers day. It sure doesn't seem like we have been married that long time flies by so fast. I hear it is only going to get faster but that is so hard to believe.

We were very thankful to be able to have a full day with David!!! We love you all.