Bear's Baptism

Our Quinton Bear turned eight on January 12th and was baptized on January 25th with his cousin Clark and Clark's cousin Evan.  It was a baptism-cousin-trifecta!  I am so proud of Bear. He is truly a great kid.  

The baptism was bittersweet for me.  Brady is struggling with the church and this is something that I don't talk about that much but Brady is fine with people knowing (so that is why I feel comfortable blogging about it).  Brady still goes to church, holds a calling, and lives a clean honest life so it is hard for me to remember that he does not feel comfortable getting a temple recommend or baptizing his son.  Brady's Dad baptized Quinton and my Dad confirmed him.  It was not my ideal of how my son's baptism would go but I am coming to the realization that life is not picture perfect.  I was also a little sad because no one from our ward attended.  We did his baptism in another stake so the boys could all do it on the same day.  To be fair we didn't really invite anyone.  Quinton is very shy and didn't have any specific people he wanted to come.  But...the bishopric, primary presidency and our home teacher knew we were doing it and no one came.  I don't think any of this phased Quinton, and if it did he did not let on.  

It was a happy day overall.  My Mom gave a great talk on baptism and Diana's Dad gave a great talk on the Holy Ghost.  Lysa and Jared came with John and Kitty.  It was fun to watch Kitty and Sophia singing primary songs with other primary children while the boys got changed.  I think Quinton was relieved when it was over.  He had been pretty nervous and had never witnessed a baptism before so it must have seemed a little scary.  Afterward he had a great time hanging out with cousins and eating yummy refreshments.  I am very proud of him and know he will continue to make right decisions.  He probably doesn't realize the weight of the decision he made to be baptized.  

I think it is great when people list special things about their children.   I will try my best but I'm sure I will forget some.  

• Quinton does a great robot dance.
• Quinton is very good a math.  I think he honed this skill by playing sports video games from the age of 2.  He could always figure out the difference in scores!
• Speaking of sports, Quinton is a natural athlete like his Dad.  He may not be perfect but I can tell that he has natural ability.  I had an inkling when he was obsessed with hockey sticks at the age of 18 months.
  
• Quinton is an amazing speller.
• Quinton is a rule-following perfectionist.  I have no idea where that came from! (insert sarcasm here)
  
• Quinton looks like Smiegol (spelling?) with his clothes off.  Seriously.
  
• Quinton is a great big brother to Sophia and Penn.  He told me that Penn was the best Christmas present ever.  He makes sure to sit by his sister on the bus.  He is very sweet.
  
• Quinton's best friend is his Dad.  This is not an exaggeration.  His BSAF (best same-age friend) is Cameron but his Dad will always be #1.
  
• Quinton loves meat.
• Last but not least, Quinton is a great snuggler.  He taught Brady how to love snuggling. Brady jokes that when Quinton goes to college Brady will have to go with him so they can snuggle before bed.

About 9 months old (no this is not Penn!)

About 18 months old

3 Years old with Clark and Luke at Uncle Nattie's wedding

5 Years old 

7 Years old with Penn

Fall 2008

Hope and Soul

So I think my hang-up with blogging is "who is reading this and what will they think".  I am too worried about what to say that I haven't said anything.  That is pretty typical for me.  I'm much better at sitting back and listening than piping up-especially around acquaintances (not close friends but people I know, you know?).  So maybe my resolution for this year and for this blog is to just be myself.  I hardly ever even write in a journal because it is too embarrassing.  Here goes....

I voted for Obama and teared up while watching the Inauguration this morning.  I am happy that the nation (for the most part) feels hopeful.  It is cool that some of the things that I value are becoming cool-like doing service, trying to work things out rather than fighting, word games (just checking if you are paying attention), motown music, playing basketball and tall women.  I think Michelle Obama must be nearly 6 feet tall.  Anyway, earlier this fall I felt like I couldn't tell people which way I was voting because I was afraid of the "discussion" it might lead to.  Now I wish I had.  I may not agree with all of his policies but I like the way Americans are reacting to his message.  

Did anyone see Sting singing at one of the Inaugural Balls tonight?  Whoa, what happened my friend?  

Tonight while we were snuggling Sophia said "I almost snapped at school today".  So I'm thinking, oh no, what happened to cause her to "almost snap".  I have seen this girl have a breakdown and it isn't pretty.   So I said, "what does that mean?" and she showed me by putting her fingers together and trying to snap.  This I can handle!

Three Funerals and a ?-2008 Passings

Unfortunately it was not a cute movie with Hugh Grant.  2008 was a year that brought the passing of many dear friends and family.  Grandpa Ashcroft passed away last spring.  We knew it was coming and that he would be happier when reunited with Grandma but it was very hard nonetheless.  I felt guilty because I had not seen him for many years and was not able to see him before his death. I am sure he understands.  Penn and I made the trip for his funeral in Eagar, Arizona.  It was great to hear stories about him that I had never heard before.  He was a very hard-worker and kind but somewhat stern man.  I think he got softer the older he got.  One of my favorite memories of Grandpa is when he let Lysa have it when she said that the dinner that Grandma made looked like dog food.  It definitely was not funny at the time but showed the respect he showed and demanded for Grandma.  We loved riding in the back of his pick up truck when we were pretty young.  I miss him and missed sending him Oreos for Christmas.  

Jan Solis passed away in late May.  She is the mother of my best friends Melanie.  She died unexpectedly of a stroke.  She was a great friend to our Mom and even taught her how to swear (actually I think she was well aware of how to swear before working with Jan but that was the story).  I have so many fond memories of the Solis family.  Lysa, Penn and I were able to go to Phoenix for the funeral.  It was so good to see the Solis family.  We miss Jan and think of Ron and the kids often.

My friend Cecile Garcia was killed in a car accident at the end of September.  She was someone that I have worked with since I started at GDA over 9 years ago.  Cecile and I are the same age.  She has two young children aged 6 and 4.  This death was very devastating to me.  Cecile worked for our sister company ACF and I saw her about once a year and spoke with her a few times a year but every time we spoke it was like we were really good pals.  That is how she made people feel.  We always talked about kids and work.  She was very funny.  I was fortunate to be able to go out to L.A. for her funeral with Gary and other friends from GDA.  I miss her.

Our cousin Rochelle Ashcroft passed away at the end of the summer.  I had not seen Rochelle in many years but was very sad to hear that she has lost the battle with Cystic Fibrosis.  She is my third cousin to pass away from complications of CF.  Her brothers Adam and Gavin went before her.  We miss her and think of the Ashcrofts often and how they have had to bear more loss than most families.  

Well, I think that is it.  Some of my facts may not be totally accurate since I wrote from memory.  Even though we believe in eternal life and eternal families it is hard to be separated from those we love.  I am grateful for my living grandparents Grammie and Bompa and know that I will be devastated when it is their time to go.  

Idle Chit Chat

I am not very good at blogging.  I would much rather read other people's blogs than write my own.  Anyway, we had a great winter break and school and normal work schedules start tomorrow.  Bummer!  Anyway....I guess everyone and their dog got Guitar Hero or Rock Band for Christmas except us.  I kind of want it but the biggest obstacle is where to store all of the equipment.  Seriously, where does everyone put it away?  I also want my own camera-a small one.  Brady has a really nice camera with two lenses which all fit in a back-pack.  However, it is not very convenient or user friendly for those cute spontaneous moments with the kids or when going to the zoo with 3 kids when you don't have time to get the camera out of the backpack.  Lucky for me my birthday is in about 2 weeks.  Now I just have to decide what to ask for-Guitar Hero or a camera? 

I don't think this is very interesting.  Let me see if I have any juicy tidbits...Ok, so our house backs/sides to a busy street.  Last night the road was rather icy and Brady and I sat at our dining room window watching cars taking the curve too fast and spinning out.  It was really fun (don't worry no collisions or injuries).  We left the window for awhile and the plow or salt truck must have come by because much to our dismay no more spin-out action.  This is how exciting it is here at the Freestones.

Quinton is starting Cub Scouts.  I am scared.