OUR MARKIE, OUR HERO

I wanted to post a small tribute to my brother, Mark, who will be leaving for Iraq in just a few short days. I think sometimes it's easier to try and forget that our country is fighting a war because it makes living day to day so much easier. Most of the time I just go throughout life trying to forget about the troublesome times we live in. I'm guilty of giving little thought to the soldiers as individuals who put their lives on the line to defend THIS GREAT COUNTRY. I cannot express how grateful I am that there are souls out there brave enough, who are so dedicated that they would leave the ones they hold dear for such a cause. It is incredible to me that someone would sacrifice so much so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we cherish.
My brother is MY hero. I am so very thankful for him and his sweet little family in my life. I want to list just a few things that I love about Markie...
He is brave, He is dedicated, He is a hard worker, He is kind, He is generous, He is patriotic, He is loving, He is hilarious, He is forgiving, He is fun to be with, He is a good husband and a good father, He sacrifices, He gives much and asks little in return, He is a fabulous cook, He is a fun uncle, He is extremely intelligent, He is angelic, He loves his family and everyone who is a part of it, He honors his priesthood, He is a great example, He is committed, He is charitable, He is honest, He is always there for any one who needs him, He would give you the shirt off of his back, He LOVES his country, He is humble, He is helpful, He is MY little BROTHER and I'm very blessed to be a part of his life!!!
Markie, while you are away I promise to watch over "your girls" and look out for them and I pray that Heavenly Father will watch over you and bring you back to us safely and without harm. I love you so much and I just want you to know that I look up to you and I'm so proud of you. Stay safe, stay happy, and know that you'll be in our thoughts and prayers...ALWAYS! Love you!
Posted by Leah and Dustin at 10:08 AM 0 comments

I miss Dominique and he missses his cousins!!!

I spoke with my beautiful ex-wife last night. She was saying how much D misses his friends, and I know It would be nice if Alex and Asher had a boy there age to play with @ family parties. Callista would like a personal invite in advance. I'll send her address & numbers to your E-mails. I say it in jest , but we have a better divorce, than marriage. So don't worry about any madness. This is a what I miss about Dominique... He and I would wake up on a sat. morning while the girls were still sleeping and go track animals at the south end of sunset park or at the Henderson side of Vo-tech mesa. He could identify Quail & roadrunners. We would keep count of the rabbits we saw, sometimes as many as 13. Some mornings we would fish. one early morning we caught a small rainbow trout. We kept it and pan fried it. As much as he would frustrate me, I miss the kid, and the honor that is step-parenting.

I'm not fading away

It seems as if the bloggers have slowly faded away...but not me I'm here to stay. So I have a question for you...
Going along the same lines as Joey's previous question....What is the one thing you just can't live without because you were denied it as a kid?

Billy and I decided it was cookies (or sweets in the house for Lizzie) and for the both of us having the cable continuously turned ON

Happy 11 week birthday...Little Buddy

I wasn't too happy...but then I puked!!








wardrobe change

aren't we brave!?!!!!

What we do for the sake of our children!!!!

Check out my Slide Show!

The Fair

"Little Liz, the world's tinniest woman" as we heard this over the loud speaker I turned to Billy and said...they can't possibly have a tiny woman in there, it's only 50 cents lets go take a peak, I always wondered what the trick is. Imagine our surprise when we peared over the wall at a real person. She kindly greeted us and we sat and talked to her for a minute (I felt I owed it to her). I walked away from that feeling horrible partly like I had been violated and the other like I was a violator.
Imagine our dismay when we came around the corner to a display that advertised a headless woman and had a caution sign that said no smoking...medical oxygen in use. Although from our previous experience we were intrigued we decided not to see that display for fear it would scar us for life. So if your ever tempted to see the "freaks" on display realize that there will be a real person that will look into your eyes and those eyes will haunt you. After all this couldnt be the way heavenly Father intended those he gave special needs to end up.

Elara-isms

I'm gonna do another post about Elara. surprise surprise! Today We went shopping for shoes. she picked up the Tag and said "Dad, I'm reading the kirjections" When she wants a slurpee she says " can you buy me a shaprize"...Her favorite movies are good heaven dogs,(all dogs).Nokie Dokie (pinnochio) Snow wipe, Spun Bodge, Gum Gum(Annie){dumb dog},and one of her favorites Milo & Gotis. SHE IS SO MUCH FUN

Knott's Really Farm

Ok guys I'm getting really excited for our trip! I just wanted to send out a little note to see about vehicle situations, when you're leaving, and if you have any extra seats??? We are either leaving out on Thursday afternoon or early, early Fri. morning we'll know better tomorrow. We have two extra seats and I had already told Mom that she could ride w/ us but I believe Matt and Elara and Dad will also need rides. So, we might need to do some arranging. Please let us know what your needs are...thanks!

Ain't life grand?

Here are some pictures from our recent trip to the Grand Canyon. We had a great time hiking along the rim and enjoying some spectacular views.














Sunrise? Sunset?
















Reach for the sky!






















Dramatic smoke settles in.













Is there something in this tree?