Please Help

We're asking a big favor from friends and family -- see below and keep reading please.

Well it happened. Our external hard drive crashed.

*The hard drive that's holding ALL of our photos from the past two years? Yep, that's the one.
*The hard drive that has photos documenting 2/3rds of Logan's life? Yep, that's the one.
*The hard drive that's less than a year old? Yep, that's the one.The hard drive that we were told could cost $600 to $2,000 to restore? Yep, that's the one.
*The hard drive that we don't have that much money to fix? Most definitely, that's the one.


We thought a man from our ward would be able to repair it for much less, but no such luck. He said it has to be REBUILT if we want any of those photos.... costing thousands of dollars. We don't have the money for that, assuming it could even be rebuilt and photos resurrected. I can't even think about what this means without balling my eyes out. (And of course Ben gave me this news right before Primary today when I had to give sharing time and I couldn't keep myself together at all).

What does this mean? It means that besides the measly amount of photos that I've posted here, I have no physical memory or reminder of our lives over the past two years. I don't scrap book, and I'm awful at journaling and blogging. So this leaves us with very little. I'm heart broken.

Holiday photos, birthday photos, family reunion photos, special firsts for Logan that can never be redone, all gone. All of Ben's cycling races he's competed in and so proud of - gone. My awesome trip to New York - gone. Videos of Logan, tracking his development, showing how he talked, moved, walked, etc. as he has gotten older - gone. Special funny times with Logan spent at home - gone.

And I think those random ones of Logan are the ones I'll miss most, because I can't even remember what they are! There's nothing to reminisce with, because I've taken the photo and then forgotten the funny little things he's done. Instead of journaling about it, or scrapbooking about my sweet boy, I've just taken the photo and done nothing with it, and now there is nothing. Stupid, stupid me.

Luckily, all of the photos of Lincoln's birth until now are on Ben's laptop and our camera still. It's just poor Logan who will be missing two years of his life in photos and videos.

From then:

until now:

Nothing.

So here's the huge favor I'm asking of all our friends and family:

Could you please go through your photos and pass on to us any pictures that include us over the past couple years? To be specific, from May 2008 until now. I know that's asking a lot, but without these we have no memories to pass on to Logan or to remember down the road and look back on. Please, please, please. I would be so grateful for any pictures we get.

Also, if you have any advice, recommendations or info on rebuilding a hard drive, please enlighten us.

Although it doesn't take away the pain of our carelessness, we have learned our lesson... we will definitely back up our photos much more frequently now.

And for anyone still reading this who hasn't backed up their photos, go and do it now. Learn from our stupid mistake.