https://picasaweb.google.com/103753336633055957263/2015_03_Slidehshow
Hamilton
Newsletter
March 2015
FAMILY: Lots of traveling & fun this month! The 6th
was mom’s birthday and the girls surprised her with breakfast in bed and lots
of homemade gifts. She had a surprise for THEM, though, when she told them –
after they’d already gotten ready for school – that they in fact WEREN’T going
to school & we were all going to go up to SLC & Grandma & Grandpa
were taking them to Disney on Ice! We really should have recorded their screams
J They were SO excited! It took us a
little bit to get out the door because we had to leave it show-ready, but we
finally got on our way and headed North. We stopped by in Fillmore at the
Garden of Eat-In for lunch and it was fun and yummy. We made it to the Potts in
time to eat some dinner and head over to Tiarra’s play, Guys and Dolls. We were
so happy to make it to her play – she did FANTASTIC as Adelaide! And was very
entertaining. Afterwards there was a
cake & ice cream party at the Potts. So much fun J Saturday, the 7th, we
headed over to Trisha’s for breakfast and a little more birthday fun as we also
celebrated Uncle Richard’s 60th birthday. Grandma & Grandpa took
the grandkids to Disney on Ice that afternoon & they all had a great time.
That evening we went to the Simon’s and had fun playing games with them and the
Edwards. We came back on Sunday after
going to the Murray Ward and stopped by the Bensons. Quick trip but packed with
fun! On March 14th, we
finally had our Sibling Share Day (the last one was cancelled because of the snow).
It turned out neat – Mom & McKinley read some stories, we went around and
talked about our angel brothers, then we did some crafts – candles, bracelets &
coloring. It was a neat day. That evening we headed to the park for some pizza
and fun on the playground. The 17th was St. Patrick’s Day and the
girls had fun eating Lucky Charms, dressing green, and finding people to pinch J The 26th was Link’s
angelversary. Grandma & Grandpa were so sweet to come down and spend the
day with the girls while Jason & Heidi went to the temple. The St. George
temple was closed for maintenance, so they drove to the Manti Temple and had a
wonderful time doing sealings and an endowment session for family names. We all
met at the cemetery after the temple to put our chain of family names on Link’s
grave and release balloons. It was chilly, but beautiful. Afterwards we came
back & watched his slideshow. We love our baby boy and while our hearts
still ache to have him here, we know he is doing great things where he is at. The
28th was the Sunday before conference, which was on Easter, so we
put on all our pretty dresses the week early and headed to church. After
church, we headed up North again. We made it in time for Sunday dinner and
watching Into the Woods with the family. Monday, the 29th, Jason
headed to Ogden for a budget meeting and Heidi & the girls stayed with
Grandma. Their spring break was that week & mom let them have a couple
extra days off ;) Monday evening we got together with the Simons for FHE and
toured the conference center, which was really neat to do right before conference.
And then we hiked Ensign peak just as the sun was setting. It was wonderful,
beautiful & fun! Tuesday was Spencer’s birthday and so we headed out to the
new Children’s Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point. Grandma Potts & GG came too! It was so
much fun and there was SO much to see and do! We all had a great time. Wednesday,
the 31st, we hung out with Michael & Joshua at grandma’s. The
girls had fun playing in the backyard and we also went to the Murray Park,
which was fun! Thursday we visited Great Aunt Cindy in the morning and went to
Classic Skating at night. It was a wonderful spring break with family &
friends! In between all of our month events, we had quite a few showings. Every
week, we had 3-4, sometimes 5 showings. We received a full-price offer on the first
day it was on the market, but they wanted a 90 day close and rejected our
counter to put in a 72 hour clause, leaving it on the market. We had another
offer from a couple from Holladay (their bishop is John Bytheway). We countered
and although they still talked to us and kept looking at the home, they never
countered. About that same time, a couple from California saw our FSBO sign and
stopped by. They came three times to see what it would take to finish our
basement to be able to accommodate their large collection of juke boxes (we
actually went to their warehouse to see them – pretty neat!). Finally at the very
end of the month, we got an offer from them of 320k. They are cash buyers , can
close in 30 days and can put 10k down, so even though we had other offers that
seemed forthcoming, we went ahead and accepted their offer and as it stands
right now, we are scheduled to close on the 30th of April. What a
blessing!! Another thing intermixed with all our happenings was sickness L It started Jason getting strep
throat. Then Ireland had a sore throat, then pinkeye. Then Noelle had pinkeye
and was just acting really sad. We got eye drops for both Ireland & Noelle,
but had to end up giving them to the other 2 girls as well. Also – Heidi had a
really sore throat and just felt yucky for a couple weeks. Hope we’re done with
that for a while!
JASON: Jason has been good about helping out and getting
ready for showings when he’s here. He’s also been really good about working
with agents and potential buyers. Work has been busy as well, and he’s had a
lot of planning projects he’s been working on – even having to stay up and work
on them well after his meetings in Ogden. No word yet on the fleet job he
applied to.
HEIDI: It has been a busy month
with all the showings and life in general, but Heidi is grateful for all the
help & support of her family and grateful that we hopefully won’t have to
show it anymore!!! She is reading the Chicken Soup for the Soul book about
angels on the other side sending love notes to earthly loved ones. It’s been SO
neat! She also read “Fairiest” – the 4th book of the Lunar
Chronicles, which was good. Heidi also finally started training for her
triathlon. She got her bike all tuned up and has gone on a few rides since
then. She’s also gotten back into swimming & trying in general to just get
back to basics in her training. She must be a little nervous about race day
because she keeps having dreams about her race and forgetting to bring her bike
or stopping to talk to someone & realizing she never did finish the race.
Hopefully things will work out better than that! Heidi did have a few really rough days before
Link’s angelversary. Lots of tears and anguish. She misses her baby boy so very
much – and she felt much like she failed him with not getting as much family
history done as she had hoped for him. His angelversary day was very special,
though, and she felt his love and joy. That helped so very much. Another thing
that was really good was getting to visit with a couple other angel moms –
Cindy from SHARE met Heidi at a park & shared some really special
experiences with her. Anna, her SIDS mom friend, met her for a hike when they
were up in SLC & it was very therapeutic and healing. Another exciting thing
that happened this month is that Heidi finally got everything planned &
reserved for her & Jason’s 15th wedding anniversary! Since it’s
during school, they aren’t going till August, but she is SO excited to go to
Prince Edward Island!!!
McKINLEY:
-We had Parent-Teacher conferences at the beginning of the month. When I sat
down with McKinley’s teacher, Miss Heap, she said “you must just really look
forward to coming to McKinley’s conferences. You always know you will hear how
wonderful she is.” McKinley is really doing well and is constantly bringing
home 100%+ tests. Her teacher also talked about what a great writer she is and
she did very good with her persuasive essay writing.
-McKinley’s science fair was the first part of the month. She decided to do it
on the eyes. Her friend, Addison, has a genetic eye condition called Retinitis
Pigmentosa. We researched it and learned about how the eye works and then made
a pair of glasses to simulate what it would be like to have Addison’s condition
– with black blinders on either side, cutting off her peripheral vision. We all
tried them on and it was very interesting – and sobering to understanding a
little more about her condition.
-McKinley planned and cooked (with minimal help) 2 meals (enchiladas, sloppy
joes & mashed potatoes) and a dessert (marbled brownies) this month – and they
all turned out really yummy!
-McKinley really loved doing scripture study with Michael when we were in SLC.
She came to mom and talked about how she wished she could skype with him every
night. She learns so much from her cousin, which we love. One thing that was
kind of hard, though, was that Michael had the day off school to spend with
McKinley & the girls, but they couldn’t seem to find common ground. Michael wanted to play outside & do
sports-type things. McKinley wanted to do dress up and write a story together.
In the end, they did a little of both, but it’s becoming harder for them to do
something they both enjoy L
-When we were in SLC, McKinley decided to write a persuasive paper about why
dogs are better than cats as pets. She didn’t have to do it, but came up with
the idea herself and did a great job!!
IRELAND:
-Ireland’s parent-teacher conference went well and her teacher, Mrs. Willden, really
loves having her in her class and is so impressed at her reading skills. She
was already at a 4th grade level at the beginning of the school
year, so they aren’t re-testing her. She
also seems to breeze through the spelling tests as well. We are so proud of our
Ireland!
-Ireland’s science fair was also at the beginning of the month. She decided she
wanted to find out the different factors that would affect how ice freezes –
hot water, cold water, room temp water, vinegar water, salt water, water with
metal & water with plastic. It was an interesting science project &
took a lot of the day to record information, but it turned out really cute and
we used the movie “Frozen” as the theme for her board. It turned out cute &
fun!
-One day Kezia ran to mom & said “Ireland is being mean! She gave me two
choices – being punched or getting told on & I didn’t like either one!”
-Ireland missed 3 days of school for pinkeye L It was kind of nice to
have her home, though & get to cuddle with her and have her help out.
-Ireland and Joshua had a lot of fun getting together this month. They don’t
always get along, but mom was proud of them for working things out on their own
and apologizing when they argued. They did a lot of make believe dress up games
and playing outside.
-We went to IFA & saw the cute chickies one day and Ireland & Kezi
LOVED letting them nip at their fingers. They just giggled & laughed and
laughed & didn’t want to go.
KEZIA:
-Kezia had parent-teacher conferences, too. The first thing her teacher, Miss
Clara, said was “I love having Kezia in my class. She is NICE. She is smart,
too, but she is NICE. And that is so important.” That statement just made mommy’s
day. She loves how kind and loving Kezia is. One day at the park, mom watched
as she helped other kids on the merry-go-round and then pushed and pushed them.
She never even got on, but was happy to help others. That makes us SO proud of
her. More even than the amazing reading, math and vocabulary skills that Kezia
has. Kezia got registered this month for Kindergarten at South Elementary. We
saw some of her friends there & she was able to test with Mrs. Ekker
(Ireland’s teacher), so that would be fun if she had her!
-Kezi did a FHE about choosing the right and she did a great job! Also – she helped
mom make a cookie cake with whipped cream and strawberries for afterwards. It
was yummy!
-Kezia saw McKinley’s section about meals & she wanted to make sure that
everyone knows that she knows how to make sandwiches, quesadillas, and macaroni
and cheese. J
-Kezi had a lot of fun in SLC with her cousin Parker. They were so cute when
they walked down the Ensign Peak trail hand in hand.
-At the Museum of Curiosity, the girls were playing in the playground & we
couldn’t find Kezia. For 15 minutes we all walked around looking for her.
Apparently, she was up in the playground, but no one could find her. She said
she was talking to some boys!
-Kezia cavorted with Grandma & came up with an Easter egg hunt for mom and
grandpa. It was so cute & sweet.
-We are so proud of Kezia – she got her CTR ring at the beginning of the year
& she still has it almost 4 months later. Great job Kezia!
-Kezi was really good at helping mom this month. She was almost always around
when there was a showing & mom had a lot to do to get ready. She was such a
helper to be able to grab things & get out the door. She was also great at
being flexible when we had to leave the house & go somewhere. Usually it
was the library and a couple times we even caught story time! J
LINK:
Our sweet baby boy. It’s incredibly hard to accept that it’s been two years
since you left this earth. We are so thankful for the gospel and the knowledge
that you haven’t left our family, though. You are so much a part of us and we
still talk about you every day. Mom started a Facebook page called “Link’ing
Families Together” that is a family history page. On Tuesdays, she issues a
family history question. On Thursdays, she posts a picture of an ancestor.
Sometimes she gets a lot of response to her page. Other times, not. But there
are over 100 “likes” and she hopes that it helps a tiny part of fulfilling your
mission, sweet boy. We did get to do some family names this month and it was
wonderful. We hope you know how much you are missed. How hard it is for us to
go on without you. But most of all, how much you are LOVED. A couple tender
mercies: When the girls’ went to Grandma Potts’ ward, McKinley said the opening
song was “Give Said the Little Stream” (your song tune) and then she said a boy
named Lincoln said the opening prayer. Also- daddy’s cousin again raised money
for the Ronald McDonald House in your name when her son had his birthday this
month. In addition, on your angelversary, there was a flock of geese that flew
directly overhead – and there was a rainbow (of sorts – a sundog) in the sky as
we drove home and sat at your grave. We LOVE YOU!
NOELLE:
-We really have to keep a close eye on Noelle now days as her curiosity,
courage, and mobility increase. She can open drawers and cabinet doors and is
getting REALLY fast at crawling. One minute she’s there & the next she’s
gone!
-She took a couple steps this month! Her first steps were at Grandma Potts’ in
her basement right before she turned 11 months. She still isn’t so sure about
the walking thing, though. She mostly just sits down & starts crawling, but
a few times she has ventured to take up to 3 steps, so if she can be convinced
that walking is better than crawling, we know she’ll get walking SOON! In the
mean time, her pants are filthy whenever we are outside :/
-Noelle is finally done breastfeeding and has done SO well! She transitioned to
cows milk wonderfully and while mom misses the cuddles, it’s also nice to have
freedom for both of us.
-She is really getting more into books & getting better & better at
turning pages.
-Her new phrase: UH OH! So cute J
Also- NI-NI! (Night-night) Her language is definitely getting more pronounced and
distinguished. She will be talking a million miles an hour like her sisters
soon!
-Noelle continues to love Signing Time & now knows “More” “Milk” “All-done”
and “eat”
-Noelle’s cries have also transitioned. Instead of just crying when she’s hurt
or tired, she’s started crying and yelling when she can’t reach something or
she’s frustrated.
-Her Snuza alarm went off a couple times this month, sending mom into a panic. There
have been so many issues with trying to order the “breathable mattress.” It has
been so frustrating for mom, but FINALLY it came and is giving us lots more
peace of mind.
-Some of Noelle’s favorite foods: Milk, German Pancakes, Mac n’ cheese, grapes,
and cheese.
-Her sisters LOVE to make her laugh and can get her into quite the giggling fest!
-We’ve gone to the library quite a bit this past month with showings &
Noelle loves to crawl around and play with the toys & puzzles. She also has
really started people-watching and will just stare at someone as they go by.
-One super-cute thing Noelle has been doing this month is playing peek-a-boo!
Give her a light blanket & she will bury her face in it & then pop out
& give you a huge grin. Sometimes she even says peek-a-boo!
-Noelle had some real scares this month L
Mom accidentally closed the van door with her foot in it. It wasn’t broken or
anything, but was really bruised L
The other really sad thing happened after mom took her to the instacare to make
sure she didn’t have an ear infection or anything because she was acting in
pain a lot. Mom took her out to the van and put her in her car seat. Then she
threw the keys to the front seat (like she’s done lots of other times &
shut the door. It locked. Noelle was inside along with the keys, mom’s phone,
everything. All the windows were rolled up. She tried & tried to get in,
but couldn’t. She used the instacare phone to call daddy again & again, but
he wasn’t answering (he was talking to a potential buyer of our home), so mom
had to end up calling 911 & the police had to open the van door. By that
time, Noelle was crying & hot and mom was crying, too. It was a traumatic
experience for both of us. Hope it never happens again!!
