Temple Trip!

We took Alecia to the temple! It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! Words can not express how amazing it felt to sit next to my oldest daughter as she made covenants with our Father in Heaven! It was made even more amazing by all the family and friends that were there. Alecia had three of her grandparents, parents, two aunts and uncle, and our dear friends the Baldwins with her on this special day! Gma and Gpa Alford came all the way down from Oklahoma to surprise Alecia. Well they almost surprised her I gave it away on accident but she was surprised when she found out! LOL  I am so thankful to Heavenly Father for this great day! I pray that I will watch everyone of my children make the same decision to go to the temple! What a special day!

Alecia with everyone!

Alecia with me and her Dad

Another picture with everyone!

Three generations! Shirley Jean, Alecia Jean, and Teresa Jean

Another three generations, David, Alecia, Gma and Gpa

Alecia with her Uncle Ryan, Aunt Lauren and Rayden!

Alecia with Aunt Sandy and Genny Claire

Maggie Baldwin and Alecia! Thank you for coming Maggie! It was so very sweet to have you there!

Krystal and Bethany were there to watch Genny and Rayden!

Fun in the fountain!

Overall Emotions: Alecia

Hey everybody, this is Alecia. :)
 I have to say, I have been a little overwhelmed with all of this. I guess you could call it a fog. And slowly, ever so slowly, I have been making my way through that fog. My mind has been slowly awakening to the fact that this is really happening, and that its not just a dream. And I am so thrilled!
At times I find myself a little nervous, or anxious... But for the most part this is just so exciting! I am going to learn a new language, meet a new people (who I know I will love with all my heart), eat new foods, see real mountains, get on a plain for the first time, and best of all teach the gospel to God's children. I have always wanted to be a missionary, and here it comes. Time is flying by! Sometimes I kind of wish it would slow down... I will miss everyone here so very much... 
"What e'er thou art, act well thy part." I have been trying to prepare myself as much as possible now, so that I won't be at such a loss when I get there. I've been reading my scriptures in Spanish, listening to Disney music in Spanish, and sleeping with my blankets over my head (to get used to the difficulty breathing). Oh, and I just started going for walks every day. I'm hoping to get to where I can run an hour a day. This was actually suggested in a letter I got from my Mission president to prepare me for the high altitude. I am also beginning to teach myself how to braid my own hair. :) Considering the fact that I may or may not be able to have all the products I use down there... My hair is going to be a definite nightmare if I don't braid it all the time! lol!
Anyway, I just wanted to let y'all know what was going on with me right now.

 Love,
Alecia
(Hermana Alford)

Temple Bound!

Well we now have a date for Alecia to go to the temple. She will be going to the Houston, Texas Temple on April 13th. She will be going to the 11:00 session!!! I am so excited for her! It is really hard to believe that I will be escorting my daughter through the temple in such a short time. It seems like only yesterday that she came into the world and then each wonderful stage that followed has been amazing! I have truly been blessed to be Alecia's mother! I know that this will be only the first of many visits to the temple! When I went to the temple for the first time. Momma and Daddy were the only two family members there. Alecia will get the experience of having her parents, grandparents and Aunts and Uncles! My heart is full and I can't wait to be in the temple with so much family!!!

Time is Flying!

Time is flying by! I wish it would slow down a little bit.  We are doing great with getting Alecia ready. I sent off all the paperwork to the mission office about a month before they asked for it. So her Visa should not be a problem.  We have picked a date for the temple and I will be calling to make the appointment soon. We still need to start shopping for all the things she needs and get her luggage and stuff. But all in all I feel that the Lord is blessing us in our endeavors to get her ready. We don't have much longer, keep us in your prayers. : )

G-ma and G-pa's thought's on Alecia's call

Just a word about me and Grandma's reaction to hearing about your mission call to Bolivia.

The first thing I did was lookup everything I could about the country and the thing that stood out was the altitude. (12000 ft above sea level) Wow you are really moving up in the world Granddaughter! We know you will give God your all and that you are following the call of our Heavenly Father to serve in the place He wants you to serve.
Keep your eye single to the glory of God and all will be well in your world
Coolest adventure ever!
Love Grandma and Grandpa Alford

Lovin' the Gifts! :)

One of the things that kind of stink about leaving, is that I won't be seeing Russel till I get back from his mission. (He is in the Salt Lake City Utah Spanish speaking mission right now.) I'll be missing his home coming by a month, because I will be leaving in June and he will be back in July. So, I emailed him and let him know about my call and everything. Well, he couldn't be happier or more supportive! In fact, he sent me Jesus the Christ in Spanish! It is such a gorgeous book, and I can not wait to be able to read it! When ever I do, I'll definitely be sending him an email about it! :)

Sweet!!!!

I am so excited for you!  This is going to be the best experiance ever!  And a sister in my Branch has a sister who lives in your mission and loves to feed the missionaries!  HAHAHA  May be you'll meet her!

     The Spanish language is amazing!  If you want to learn how to read it, just practice the basics and its all phonics from there!  To understand it completely can take time, but I know way before you hit your 6 month mark in the mission you will understand close to every thing and you will be able to say what you want!  It's so weird some times to learn a laungage, but in order to help I am not going to write you in English! 

   Entonces...  La mision es el mejor!  Hay muchos cosas para conocer y Dios es el mas importante!  En los proximas dos anos, 6 meses antes y 18 meses aya, usted va a aprender mas de Dios y Jesucristo que todo su tiempo aqui en la teirra!  No tengo mucho tiempo para escripir hoy, pero usted esta en mis oraciones y yo se que Dios va a protejerle!  Cuidese mucho y Dios le binga!

Con carino,

Elder Heaton

2 Anos, 24 Meses

 Sin vergüenza!!!

On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 2:38 PM, Alecia Alford <cheetahlishuz@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hey Russel!

The message below was supposed to get to you this Monday, but I apparently had the wrong email address. : ( Anyway, I am really excited about all of this... I can't wait to be out there teaching the gospel and meeting new people, having new experiences. I've been sticky noting my room with Spanish words, and I am in a Spanish class right now... So maybe that and reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish will help... :) Thanks for the offer of the book by the way, I had been wanting one! :) I think it's pretty awesome that you're teaching some Bolivian people right now... That is just too cool! I can't wait to see you again... Love, Alecia

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Alecia Alford <cheetahlishuz@yahoo.com>
To: Russell Heaton <heaton_hill@hotmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 3, 2013 7:13 PM
Subject: Really Cool News :)

Hey Russel,
Its crazy to think that you are coming home soon!  I hope everything is going well on your end of the world. Grandma has been telling us all about how good you are getting at Spanish and everything. Anyway, I wanted to share some pretty cool news with you. I just received my mission call! I will be serving in the Bolivia Cochabamba mission in South America! When I get back, I'll be able to talk to you in Spanish! Isn't that so crazy? I'm not sure I believe it entirely quite yet. I mean, I've never been further than Florida on my own... And now I am heading off to an entirely different Continent! I've never been on a plane, never seen a mountain, never been away for more than two weeks from my family... I have to admit to being rather overwhelmed. But, on the other hand, the very notion that I will be able to share the gospel with so many people, the fact that I will be spending eighteen months of my life in the service of God... Makes it all worthwhile on so many levels! I can not tell you how excited I am! I'll be leaving on June 19th... Which means I won't be able to see you when you get back. : ( Which really stinks because I have missed you so very much. But I know that this is what the Lord wants for me... Anyway, I know your pretty busy, so I'll let you get back to everything... Just know I am praying for you daily. And so are all the kids! Love you, Alecia

 This is the Book! Isn't it pretty! :) I love it! The cover feels so nice! lol! It's awesome!

Also, Sister Jana Fryday gave me a miniature hymn book in Spanish! The cool part about this is that she received it from a returned missionary! So it's already gone through one mission, and now it's going back with me! :) I thought that was really kinda awesome!

Another really cool gift I got was from my wonderful little sister! Jessica has been having a hard time with my leaving, and decided to show it in the form of a song. She had been hearing the song "You're gonna miss this" a lot, (Brandon plays it a lot :), and decided to use that as the base for her song. I have to say, I cried when I read this song!

Over all, there are SO many more awesome gifts that I have been given... And wonderful ways in which I have seen the physical manifestations of my friends and family's support and love for me. I know I could not do this without that support! So thank you all! Love yall!

Signed, Alecia

Feelings of a Mother!

As time goes by, I am finding myself alternating between a plethora of feelings. I am so excited for Alecia! I know she will have a wonderful time. She is going to grow spiritually, physically, socially and emotionally! She is going to come home with such a stronger testimony (and it isn't weak now)! I have no idea what she has in store in the future but I know that she will be successful in all! There will be a day when she will be a Primary President, Young Women President, or Relief Society President. She will work in many leadership positions and she will raise up very strong children. The Lord is preparing her for something amazing!!!

I also find myself full of trepidation and yes even fear. I do not feel ready to have my beautiful daughter away from me for eighteen months. I can't imagine how hard it is going to be to not talk to her or hold her. I can't seem to grasp that she will truly be away. I know it but I really don't want to think about it.  At those times, I turn to my Father in Heaven. Alecia is    His daughter as well as mine! He loves her! He wants her to succeed! I may not be able to be there with her but I know that He will be there every step of her way! She will be guided, directed, and even protected. It is hard as a mother to turn your children over with complete faith. We have been a guiding influence in our children's life for a very long time. We held them that first time and fell in love. I remember when Alecia was born. She was such a beautiful little thing. I held her and immediately fell head over hills in love! That pink little bundle of joy had just been with our Father! She was perfect and clean. I was thankful for the opportunity to be a mother and knew that there would be a lot of work. Alecia has always been an easy child. She always wanted to do what is right. No matter what she strives for perfection. I have tried desperately to be able to keep up with her. So I know that she will excel as a missionary because she does so in every aspect of her life. Okay just so she doesn't get too big of a head she does have her trials and tribulations and she is not perfect; but she strives for perfection and that is what is asked of us. So in my times of fear I remember who she really is.... my sister and a daughter of my Heavenly Father. He loves us both and He will not fail us! I must trust in Him and not on my own understanding. He will give me comfort and He will guide us through all things.