Stressin's & Blessin's

The past week or so... WOW. So much going on. Moving is always such an ordeal, is it not? Even when you are only moving 5 minutes away. The de-junking, the packing, the cleaning, the can-we-live-without-this-until-we-move questions, the sheer amount of STUFF. It's enough to make a person NEVER want to move again.
Lots of moving stress. We had to be out of our rental by the 5th because of the foreclosure - and there ended up being some last-minute issues with our move into the new home.
Let me talk about this home we moved into. It's not my ideal home. It's on a hill. There is no landscaping in the backyard and even if/when we DO come up with the money to finish it, the backyard will be very small. The kids can't really even GO in the backyard right now until we can put a fence up. It's way too steep. Unfinished basement. Tile. ACRES of tile. Have I mentioned I have a hate-hate relationship with grout? Bigger home than I want to clean. Oak cabinets everywhere. The ward/neighborhood is almost completely made up of older families - many of whose kids have moved out.

OK- I think I've covered the stressin' part. Let's get into the blessin's. For they are plentiful. I mentioned it's really not my ideal home - not what I would have chosen for my family - but I am pretty certain this is where the Lord wants us. The timeline of us getting "kicked out" of our rental and being able to purchase this home was pretty amazing. We had put offers in on some short sales with no luck. There was a home further west that I thought would have really suited our family & been just what we want. In fact, we almost rescinded the offer on this home because we really thought the other home would be better for our family - huge, finished yard, 6 bedrooms, etc. I'm so glad we didn't back out of this home. The other family wouldn't really budge an inch on their price & there's no way we would have been able to afford it. SO - here we are. What a blessing. Getting kicked out of our old place & feeling rushed was stressful, but we were able to get some cash for keys from the bank. BLESSING! We also got our deposit back. BLESSING! And - as many things as I don't love about this home, there are just as many that I do. Big, beautiful trees out front. Very open & welcoming. Gorgeous view. 3-car garage. Big kitchen. Bonus room! We're able to have the girls all sleep on the other side of the house from our master bedroom. Master is huge & master walk-in is unbelievable. The girls get to go to South Elementary. We're so close to Walmart, the Aquatic Center, and Discovery Park. BLESSINGS!! We had SO much help from friends - and from my AMAZING parents - in getting into this new home. WONDERFUL BLESSINGS!

So - even though the stresses still surround me, the blessings surround me more. I'm so thankful to be here in this home with people that I truly love. I'm excited for this new adventure & still grateful we're close to our friends on the other side of the freeway.

Blue

So - yesterday was the big ultrasound day & I wanted to document some thoughts/feelings I had.

Things have been so busy with us getting ready to move (did you see that in our newsletter? we're moving... like... this week) that honestly the ultrasound came faster than I imagined. With the others (especially with Kezia), I was DYING to get to the ultrasound, so excited to know! With this one, we were all definitely excited - it's just there is a lot going on! Yesterday there was grocery shopping, McKinley had a birthday party to go to, etc, so honestly when the time rolled around to get to the hospital for the ultrasound, I was almost late! I had to call & remind Jason, too - he was so busy at work.

McKinley didn't come because she was at the a fore mentioned birthday party, so it was Jason, me, Ireland & Kezia. Once we got there, it was so nice (except for the confounded full bladder they make you come with) & we were able to get in there pretty fast. 

Now... I'm going to back up here & just give you an idea of our thoughts before going into this. Jason wanted a boy, but honestly thought it was a girl. He had a theory that my body just rejected male embryos. I was seriously hoping for a girl. There are 4 of us sisters & I thought it would complete our family & besides - I'm kinda familiar with the girl scene & we had all the stuff for a girl. Plus, we watched an America's Funniest Home movies episode on Sunday where this kid - probably 3 years old - was so excited that he PEED in his EYE. I was just thinking - PLEASE let this be a girl! McKinley REALLY wanted it to be a boy. Ireland REALLY wanted it to be a girl (right before we left for the ultrasound, she said "it's a girl, mom cuz girls have girls and boys have boys. Well... we did discuss that a bit). Kezia vacillated between a boy and a girl and she's convinced she has a baby in her tummy, too. 

So - when he finally got around to showing us the gender, we were all speechless for a few moments. A... boy? Wha...? How....? I just felt like someone plucked me up from where I was & put me in some foreign land somewhere. Complete disorientation. I always referred to the baby as a "her" and "she" and was pinning all kinds of ruffly, fun things on Pinterest. 

It's now been 24 hours since the news & my brain is finally starting to acknowledge that there is a human of the male gender in my body. I even noticed a boy with such a cute little outfit today that I had some hope & happiness. We're starting to call him "little brother" and think of boy names. Something totally new!! 

Yes - Jason is really excited. Of course, he repeats that he would love the baby just as much if it were a girl, and I believe him, but I know that this is special and he is excited & looks forward to all the boy stuff ahead. I didn't post the "boy parts" picture, but let's just say that it was PRETTY obvious and VERY different than what we've seen in the past ;)

We are feeling blessed. Lots of exciting changes in our family!!!

(isn't he cute? HE!!!)

May Newsletter & Slideshow

Been busy 'round here! Finally got around to posting May's updates. Enjoy!

FAMILY:  Another busy, fun traveling month for the Hamilton family! The first weekend, we were up in Salt Lake for Madelyn’s baby blessing. In addition, there were cousin sleepover, a trip to Zupa’s, and a bounce house excursion. The girls had lots of fun and we enjoyed being with the family and then going to the Checketts on Sunday to see sweet Maddy get blessed. It was a beautiful day. On the 9^th, we headed to St. George to see Camri’s band performance and watch Daken’s baseball game. They both did a great job! And we even got to run into Brock at the park. The 12^th, we headed back down to St. George & the Hamiltons watched the girls while Heidi & Jason celebrated their 12^th wedding anniversary (thank you Hamiltons!!) Heidi & Jason did sealings at the temple, which was neat, but unfortunately Heidi got sick at the end and had to run to the bathroom. She felt better after that, though, & they went out to eat at the Brick Oven & then went shopping & Heidi got a couple new maternity dresses. Mother’s Day was on the 13^th and McKinley was so sweet & brought mom breakfast in bed while dad went to meetings in the morning. The girls had lots of fun, cute, creative gifts for mom and Jason bought roses. It was a wonderful mother’s day. On the 16^th, Heidi & the girls had fun at the Bealers on their new slip & slide. The 18^th, we went to a pot luck at the park with some friends from the ward (old and new) & we all had a great time. On the 19^th, we went over to the Bealers again & got to hold their new chicks, watch the kids play, and eat pizza. Great summer fun with friends. That Sunday was the eclipse & Jason was able to get some x-ray film, which we doubled up & put over our eyes so we could see the eclipse. It was really neat! Won’t happen again for another 18 years! The 23^rd was the girls’ last day of school. McKinley made a sweet book for her Mrs. Jones with lots of cute drawings and Ireland did a cute card for Mrs. Milei as well. We left for Mapleton early on the 24^th & got there around 11am. Thankfully there weren’t too many cars at the top so we could turn the trailer around easily & get to our spot. We camped for the next 4 days, enjoying our trailer, our family, and yummy food. The kids had fun on the hammocks, playing with the dogs, going hiking, making fairy homes, listening to the rain on the trailer roof, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs, riding Comet the horse, singing songs with grandma, riding bikes, and just playing with cousins. The 28^th (Memorial Day), we headed down the mountain & mom watched the girls (THANK YOU MOM!!!) while Jason & Heidi flew to San Diego for 3 days of relaxing on the beach & eating yummy food. It was a wonderful belated anniversary vacation. The weather was great & the location of the studio apartment was wonderful – we could walk or ride the bikes he provided. We came back on the 31^st & had hats & hugs for our girls. They were so cute & missed us lots. That night, Heidi went out to each at the Blue Lemon with her sisters & dad & then to City Creek for some shopping. It was a lot of fun!  In other exciting news, we put an offer in on a foreclosed home and the bank accepted our offer. We’re hoping to move in by the end of June! We are excited & feeling very blessed because the same day we got the acceptance call, we got a call before that from the realtor in charge of the foreclosure on our twin home & found out we needed to be out of here by July 5^th, so we are so thankful right now that everything seems to be working out. Miracle!! Another miracle was that Kezi decided to go swimming in the backyard with mom’s phone. It dried out for a couple days & seems to be mostly functioning. So thankful! Another miracle would be not having to go to the emergency room. On the same day (a Sunday), Ireland got her fingers SMASHED in the car door & Kezia got burned with hot soup.

  

JASON:  Jason was gone the week of the 14^th to attend training so he can work in the budgeting side of fires this summer. He just needs his red card & he’ll be fully certified to go on fires. The training was in Richfield, so he got to stay with his mom and go see Sedona & Payson’s games. He has put in a lot of hours this month and is looking forward to his boss coming back next month to even out the load.  It was nice for Jason to take some time off at the end of the month from his busy work schedule to go camping & to San Diego.

 HEIDI: By the middle of the month, Heidi was feeling much better and is finally able to have the energy to do more around the house & with the kids. She’s even stopped taken Zofran. Yay! Very thankful for this progression. Her monthly appointment went well and the baby’s heartbeat sounded wonderful.  She’s definitely showing more & she made Jason go dig out a few boxes of maternity clothes from the garage so she has more to wear. She enjoyed spending time with her sweetheart on their anniversary and she enjoyed Mother’s Day and all the sweet things her kids did. She LOVED San Diego & really wishes she could have a house there. The weather was so nice & it was so great to spend time with her honey. Heidi has been using a lot of her “spare” time to work on Ireland’s birthday book. She hopes she can finish before her birthday. It’s going to be close with all the packing that needs to be done!  

McKINLEY:

-With mom working on Ireland’s birthday book, McKinley decided she wanted to learn how to digitally scrapbook as well. She has done 3 pages so far – 2 princess ones and one for her cousin. She is getting pretty good at it & it’s fun to watch her learn a new skill.

-McKinley was supposed to give a talk on baptism the week we were in Salt Lake for Maddy’s blessing. She was SO heartbroken about not getting to give a talk, so mom called the primary president & they arranged it for the next Sunday. She found a talk in the Friend and practiced quite a few times. We even printed out the picture & put it on a popsicle stick for her to hold up. She was a little nervous at first, but she did SUCH a great job reading that talk. Mom had more than one person comment on how great she did and what a good reader she is. Great job McKinley!!

-McKinley still talks about the boys in her school class. She says Jared still wants to marry her, but there is Kody, who wants her to be his girlfriend, but she told him she can’t have a boyfriend till she’s older. MUCH older. ;)

-McKinley has been having a lot of fears at night lately – especially when her daddy was out of town. She worries about dying. She has dreams about going back to Heavenly Father and she doesn’t want to go & she says she will miss us. She also worries about dying because of a spider. We try talking through her fears and night & saying prayers & singing songs & hopefully she will get through this phase.

-One day at lunch we were talking about Mrs. vs. Mr. I told the girls I was Mrs. Hamilton. McKinley said “You can’t be a Mrs., mom! You’re not a teacher!!”

-McKinley is excited for summer, but will really miss her teacher, Mrs. Jones. She put together a whole book for her that said things like “You’re greater than a rocket. You’re greater than chocolate.” It was so sweet.

-On her last day, McKinley had to wear her nicest dress & shoes. She also brought home a folder with a bunch of her schoolwork and it was so fun to look through. She did a great job. She also got a personalized note from Mrs. Jones that talked about how wonderful she was. She got some test scores back, too, and did FANTASTIC. She continues to be WAY above where the goals are for her age.

    

IRELAND:

-Ireland has been more tired in the afternoons lately. One afternoon, she even turned off the TV & went to bed on her own. She must be going through a growth spurt because most of her 4T clothes are getting a bit to small on her now.
-One day Ireland said “Mom – when the baby comes out, we’ll have a BIG HUGE family!!”
-One afternoon Kezia came inside screaming. Ireland told mom she “accidentally” threw a big rock at her. It was quite a gash & turned into quite a black eye, but Ireland felt really bad for hurting her sister. She just kept saying over & over again “I’m so sorry Kezi!”
-One night while putting Ireland to bed, she put her fingers in her mom’s mouth (mom is wondering what she is doing?) Then she pries mom’s mouth open & yells in there “Good-night baby!”
-One afternoon, Kezia was saying the prayer on lunch and Ireland said “…and bless Great-Grandpa Tew to come back down from heaven”
-Ireland can be QUITE the jabber box. On one of our trips to St. George, she just literally didn’t stop talking for the entire trip – talking about how great wipers are to have in the van and what if trees were on the road and all kinds of other things. Another day on another jabber box rant, she said “Mom – if you bump into lightning then you might go to heaven & be with Jesus. And you have to be careful not to bump into lightning, cuz I don’t wanna die like that.”
-Mom usually let’s Ireland watch a show during nap time/quiet time & usually it’s Dora. Mom has finally banned Ireland from watching Dora during nap time/quiet time because again & again mom will be trying to rest and she hears “BACKPACK!” or “MAP!” or “ABRE” from the room next door. No matter how many reminders she’s given about trying to use a quiet voice, Ireland cannot resist yelling out words to help Dora. So… no more Dora at naptime.
-One Sunday, we were rushing to get to church and when we got there, mom accidentally slammed Ireland’s fingers into the front van door. It was so sad. They were black & blue & very painful. We got some ice from the church kitchen & she did pretty good, but mom took her home to get ibprofin and a band-aid. Just SO thankful we didn’t have to go to the emergency room.
-Ireland is officially done with preschool! We are so proud of her for doing so great this year. Her coloring and drawing has improved so much and she is a good reader and knows all her letters & sounds. She will sure miss seeing all her preschool pals, but she is so excited to be a Kindergartner next year. Way to go Ireland! We love you!

KEZIA

-One morning while mom was in the shower, Kezi dumped out EVERY box of cereal onto the kitchen floor (and Sydney). Most of it was almost an entire box of Rice Crispies. Sydney helped clean up the mess, but definitely not all of it!

-Kezia loves getting into mom’s make-up and has loved to put her cover up all over her face and body. Also – she loves using her lotion.

-For some reason, Kezia always wants to do things on Sunday. If we can’t do something the minute she wants to, we’ll say “we can do that in a minute.” Or “We’ll do that tomorrow,” but she always says “NO! not tomorrow! On Sunday!” Once we agree, she is happy.

-One afternoon Kezia came inside screaming. Ireland told mom she “accidentally” threw a big rock at her. It was quite a gash & turned into quite a black eye, but Ireland felt really bad for hurting her sister. She just kept saying over & over again “I’m so sorry Kezi!”
-Kezia LOVES helping fold laundry. She is always at mom’s side to help her fold whenever there is a basket of laundry. In fact, she has been known to take the clothes out of her drawers just so she can fold them.

-One night with Kezia was particularly hard – trying to get her to go to bed. It was so late & she was overtired & she was screaming & completely past reasoning, We kept trying to go in there & help her, but she was just so upset. After putting her to bed for the umpteenth time, it was quiet for a while & then we heard screaming. Mom went in there to find Kezia on top of Ireland (who was mostly asleep), screaming at her “We had sloppy joes for dinner!!” when she saw mom she sobbed “Tell her we had sloppy joes!!” That same night at 5am she woke up looking for her other croc shoe & wouldn’t go back to bed till she found it. Good Time!! ;)

-Leaving any food unattended at the table with Kezia is a dangerous thing. Mom stepped out one time & came back to find Kezia had eaten half the container of sour cream. Another time, she had a stick of margarine and had it all over her face & was eating it.

-Kezia REALLY doesn’t like loud noises. At the pool, she covered her ears with her hands most of the time because the big bucket of water that pours out was too loud for her. She will run away when you flush the toilet. And the other day mom was vacuuming & Kezia just followed her around, screaming & crying & holding her ears – telling her to stop.

-One Sunday mom made tomato soup & grilled cheese sandwiches. We put Kezia’s soup on the table & told her it was hot. She only had a diaper on. She went to jump down & the scalding soup splashed all over her skin. She screamed & we ran her to the sink & rinsed her in cold water. Her skin was really red & we were worried we’d have to go to the ER, but after having her in the cold water for a while and putting cold compresses on her arm & leg, it healed fine. We were so thankful she was OK! Between a black eye & getting burned, we hope she stays out of trouble for a while.

-We had the little swimming pool out back & Kezi apparently decided to go for a swim with mom’s cell phone. Mom was pretty upset, but thankful that it is working still.