Merry Christmas!

I know it has been awhile, I have been having major technical issues and I have been waiting for my technical support to come into town. Unfortunately they are located in Toledo, Ohio and don't seem to make it here often. But today, as promised they showed up and have somehow...without any work...has fixed it!!
This is a photo of Hazel just after her surgery in October. She had just come from recovery and was SO out of it. I cannot explain the emotions that came over me when we saw her safe and sound again. It was a long day of waiting for us. After this picture, she began her recovery like a real trooper. She was eating and drinking very quickly without becoming sick, and that was very important for her to do so that she could come home. She ended up staying only 1 night in the hospital, when the dr. had told us to plan on 3-4 nights!!

this is a test, and only a test

i wondering the other day, how do other people make their blogs so nice and pretty with all those pretty pictures? So i have employed my family to help me make my blog pretty. here goes nothing!

I am just coming in the house with painted fingertips...

The boys at the Alder household are majorly into football right now. Like, tunnel vision into it. You here one of the boys say "are you thinking what I'm thinking?" and immediately they yell "FOOTBALL!!!"

I think initially it was just cool to be able to have an excuse to punch, hit, trip or push each other without any repercussions(i am sorry if this is spelled wrong). From that it has evolved immensely. It started getting more complex with a kick off, then their bicycle helmets were on, knee pads on their shoulders, pretty expected things.

Today, it all changed. They found their bubble gum, chewed it up and put in front of their teeth as their "mouth guard." Next, they asked me for one hundred pieces of paper so that they could mark the yards outside. Then, the black marks on their face. All of this was them, not me. I used to be proud of how independent my boys were, now, not so sure.

So, we went to home depot and got some paint, we now have two goals and yard lines out back. We are very grateful to have football weather, I don't know when I will see my little football players again...actually... occasionally they do come in for halftime and get a snack.

I wish I could post a picture, but my computer is acting up...

Check Yourself...

It is interesting to me how this world works. My sweet Hazel is having surgery tomorrow and I have taken my usual road of tough mother. I am calm, collected and organized. Filling my days and nights with covering my commitments. I am dotting my i's and crossing my t's. Young women's? Covered, Tennis team and court times? Check. Boys carpools to practices, school and playdates? Check, check.

Then, suddenly it begins to happen...reality. The hospital calls and goes over the final details. Times to check in, time of the surgery, etc. Then, I am me again.

Do you know what the most amazing thing about all of this is? That is when the phone calls pour in. Today I had so many phone calls of well wishers. Many were expected, but many more were very random in nature. The crazy licorice lady from across the fence called...what kind of memory does she have? (she throws packages of licorice to the boys when they are playing basketball. Without fail, you are out there and whooooosh, comes the licorice.) Family call and make sure there is nothing to do. To tell the truth, sometimes I just had to let it go to voicemail.

I just went out to the garbage can and there was a care package on the front porch. It had goodies and a stuffed toy for Hazel. The package was from a new friend in the neighborhood, the friendship beginning with the Young women calling. I really do not know her well. She has a daughter Hazel's age and an older daughter who had heart surgery when she was young. The card was very sweet and at the end she told me to read 3 Ne 17:21-24, as her husband had instructed her to do before their daughters surgery. I immediately read it and have been filled with emotion since. I know that my Hazel will be fine and I have always known that, no matter how much I know that, it still doesn't make it much easier for me. Tonight I really have seen that the opposite of fear is love and the love I have felt from all the calls and well wishes is pushing my fears aside. Thanks to all of you...

Pumpkin Patch

This year we had a little pumpkin patch in the backyard. It was the perfect thing to take over the flower beds. At least that way we didn't have to see any of the weeds anymore!! It turned out the pumpkins liked the spot as well. We ended up with 15 or so. We also had gourds and cantaloupe back there. Today we harvested the pumpkins. Here are the farmers themselves!!

A side note about the cantaloupe...one day we are out playing and we notice some moment in the vines of the cantaloupe. There were mice eating our cantaloupe!! Needless to say, we pulled them out.

Oh, the quiet of my house!

This is what i love about being mom. School is back in and for three mornings a week I have a little time to myself while Miss Hazel takes a nice morning nap. This morning, for instance, I got a little visting teaching in early, look at that, I am totally overacheiving for my standards. Since my house is still clean from an enrichment activity I hosted last night, I have a few minutes.

let me go off on a tangent for a minute. After reading eriks blog I know that going off on a tangent is perfectly acceptable. I am on the enrichment commitee in the ward and let me tell you that i consider this a non-calling. It is where they put someone when they want to know if they are going to be an active member or something like that. Anyway, I am not the best about going to the meetings. may be I just am sinking to my own expectations. So, I don't go to meetings. One morning the leader and the counselor show up on my doorstep at 7:50 am. I forgot to say it was a saturday morning. of course I was not going to answer. But, Zachary thought he would be the helper he always is and help me out. I go downstairs in my bed head just to let them know they had aroused me from my slumber. that did not seem to phase them at all. they had there calendars. we would like to have a cookbook tasting party and we heard you have a great gazebo and would just love it if we could have it here. what date works for you? The event was last night and it was a great success. many people came 30 or so, which is HUGE for our ward...

Another tangent. in comparison, i was "asked" to host a cookie exchange (dont ask) in December and i went through the same preparations except i was 8 months pregnant. They had warned me to just expect 5 or so. Zachary was excited. We waited about 45 minutes and then I decided to declare it an official zilcho turnout. Zachary said, "mom, where are all your friends?"

So, today is my recovery day I am enjoying a Coke and thinking about catching up on my DVR. If I am folding laudry then I cant feel guilty, right?

We lost the tooth today! I had almost forgotten about our wobbly tooth until this morning Zachary yelled, "my tooth came out!" This is the first experience with the tooth fairy and we are all, myself included, interested in how much one tooth is worth...

"My tooth is wiggly!"

Whether you call it wobbly or wiggly, it is a fact, there is a loose tooth at the Alder home. At first Zachary was nervous thinking that he needed to brush it right away...for sure it was going to fall out because he hadn't brushed well enough.

I am really trying to figure all of the picture posting out, so you will be overwhelmed with new pictures today...Erik, since you and Lyndsay are the faithful. I am really embarrassed when I read your eloquent blog. Actually, hopefully it will motivate me, right?

Summer is coming to end and it has been a little bit hectic this summer with all of the swim meets
and practices going on. The practices began back in May, Monday-Friday. We just finished with
the conference meets this week. Zachary was very excited to actually get a medal, he is apparently
sick of the ribbons. Now he is starting to wonder about the trophy!! I do not know who this boys
competitive parents are.

James also loved the meets and always kept us aware of which event was going on and who was
winning. He hopes to enter next year!

Hazel, as usual is along for the ride and is usually just content to be there. We are so grateful for
her temperment. I took her to the doctor and he asked if she could roll over. I told him I had no
idea. She likes to sit, but she is never really laying anywhere so she cannot ever practice. Wow, life of
a third child.

We did get another chick on Sunday night!! This one is black and white with the fluffiest feathers!! Our new chick has been named Venus. Lebron and Venus are doing well and being loved and cuddled a lot!!

More exciting news regarding egg #2!! Getting ready to go up to bed tonight, went to say goodnight to our little chick, Lebron, and noticed another egg twisting and chirping!! I do not want to go to bed, it is a little bit like Christmas. Hopefully the little one will do well tonight and I will have more news to report in the morning.

An exciting day, one of our nine chicken eggs in incubation hatched!! I about missed it. When I checked on the eggs this morning I had began to feel as though none of them would hatch...EVER. Then, at about 2:00, I noticed a small hole in one of the eggs. I started to panic, even though I had been waiting for this for 21 days, then, something popped out of the hole!! I was completely unprepared for this. Soon, the egg was wiggling and the hole began to get bigger and bigger. We could hearing chirping from inside the egg. You could imagine the excitement, Zachary, James, Hazel, 6 neighbor kids and myself screaming, oohing and ahhing. I was calling everyone I knew, trying to film and take photos. My egg hatching coach Craig had warned me that this process could take a long time, but it was coming fast! Soon, the little guy busted open his shell. Then he layed there and made us all nervous. Soon he was up kind of crazy like trying to get a piece of the egg shell that was stuck on his head off. (just like the cartoons) Now he is resting, chirping and learning to control his limbs. We are hoping that more eggs will hatch, but it sure was exciting to just get one!!

PECKING AWAY!!

Today is so exciting. We have been waiting 21 days for our little chicken eggs to hatch. Today we got the first signs off a little chick pecking its way out!! We'll keep you posted at the little guys progress!

I really don't know what I am doing...but here it goes.



This is the official beginning of the Alder Adventures blog.



The Alder Family was established in June of 1999 and it has been an incredible adventure ever since then. As we come to our 8 year anniversary, we often look back and think how fast it has gone. Now, 3 beautiful children and a minivan later, we wonder what we did with all of our time and money back then!! Our children now define us as a family and we are so proud to call them our own. Zachary is almost six years old and is the social butterfly of the family and has paved the way for our timid 4 year old, James. Those two are hooked at the hip. I have found them before 8 am cruising to the neighbors house on their skateboards, or recruiting the entire street of kids to play with their shirts off to "be cool." Yes...even the girls. Hazel is the baby at the end and good thing she is adorable or you might think she'd be left out. But, it is quite the opposite you see. This girl loves her brothers and will smile for them all day, but you can almost sense the relief when they go off to school or a friends house.