Hamilton Newsletter
November 2017
FAMILY: November is over & it’s hard to believe
we’re getting so close to the end of 2017! The 4th was a very
special day this month! Kezia was baptized at the West Stake (our stake center
was being used for the temple open house) at 10am and we had many family &
friends there to support us. McKinley gave a special musical number and GG gave
such an awesome talk on the Holy Ghost. Daddy gave her a beautiful
blessing/confirmation. After the
baptism, we came back to the house, ate, and headed to the temple. We had to
wait for over an hour in the strong wind and cold before we got in, but it was
beautiful! And we loved being there with our loved ones. It was a sweet,
special day. A MIRACLE that happened after that day was that the SD card with
all the pictures from the baptism got lost! Mom was heart-broken and we didn’t
find it for over a week, when McKinley found it in her Halloween pillowcase!
Mom was SO SO SO thankful! The 7th
was Link’s 5th birthday. We love him & Miss him so very much. We
sent some treats and toys to Link’s friends, donated to the Ronald McDonald
House, went to the cemetery for a balloon release, donated to the Jubilee
House, went to McDonald’s and ended at the Bealer’s house with an ice cream
cake! We love celebrating our sweet boy. The 17th was a big day for
the Hamilton Family! First, we went to the temple open house again, this time
with Truly & Zhane. And we got a talking tour, so that was awesome. And
then… We got a new family member!! –
Daizy Rose Hamilton. Born on August 6th, Daizy is not quite 4 months
old. She’s about ¾ Golden Retriever & a fourth labradoodle. She is
McKinley’s dog (after YEARS of begging and working) and McKinley has been in 7th
heaven J She
seems like a natural part of our family and we all love her very much! Now, we
just have to figure out the potty training ;) The 18th was a garage
sale/hot cocoa stand at the Vogts and the girls had a great time! They earned
some money for Christmas and McKinley enjoyed showing off Daizy. On the 19th,
we had grandma & grandpa Potts over to celebrate Grandma Potts’ birthday!
We had beef stroganoff and GG brough cheesecake. In the middle of the month,
mom & dad completed the Self Reliance course that the church put on. We’re
so glad we did it! We learned a lot and got closer to the Savior, and each
other. Thanksgiving was on the 23rd this year & it was the
Hamilton’s year. We were here that morning, so we enjoyed doing the
neighborhood turkey trot – McKinley walked Daizy, Ireland rode her bike, Kezia
did her roller skates, Noelle walked most of the way, and Mom & Dad pushed
Oaklyn. It was a GORGEOUS day and very warm (in fact we’ve had ZERO snow so far
L). We enjoyed hanging
out with our neighbors in the morning, watching the Macy Day Parade, and
helping make some yummies for Thanksgiving. We headed to St. George about 1 and
had fun with the Hamiltons and Devenishs (the Reeds were in Texas this year). There
were LOTS of dogs (Our 2 dogs, Hamilton’s Jessie, and the Devenish’s new puppy
Sophie and also Sam). We ate, talked, watched football, and went to the park.
It was a lovely day and we have SO much to be Thankful for right now! Most of
all, our Savior, Jesus Christ. The next day, we went to the Aquatic Center
for a swim and had a great time, then we
headed to St. George again for family time!
JASON: Jason had a minor surgery at the beginning of
the month. He took a few days off, got to watch a lot of football & eat
goodies, and is recovering nicely J
Jason has been an ANIMAL this month with the health challenge! He has gone from
being in very last place to being 4th overall! He is serious about
getting his workouts in and getting his challenges done. He’s down 8 pounds
since we started 6 weeks ago. We’re so proud of him! Jason got to help at the
temple open house – doing parking. The next day, he got to go to an SUU
football game with the Elder’s Quarum. They had a tailgating party beforehand
and SUU won! So, a great day overall J
Jason got to do baptisms with McKinley in St. George and had a great time. Some
sad news this month… Jason’s coworker and our family friend, Omar, died L Jason & Heidi were
able to go to her beautiful service.
HEIDI: Heidi also has been doing the health challenge
& working hard to get her time in and challenges done. It’s been hard and
good! Grandpa Potts watched the littles one day so Grandma & Heidi could
head to Alton to help out Lena for a few hours. We enjoyed our visit and
hopefully helped a little bit to prepare her for her move.
McKINLEY:
-Like stated in the family section, McKinley’s big news - She finally got her dog! We bought her from a family in Escalante (they were here for the temple open house) ¾ Golden Retriever, ¼ labradoodle, and ALL cuteness! McKinley named her Daizy (after Daisy in the book Wonder) Rose. She is about 15 weeks old. We are so happy to have her in our family! That first day or so, McKinley kept saying “I can’t believe she’s mine! I feel like we’re just puppy-sitting or something!”
-McKinley did SO well the first quarter of middle school! 3.966! And she got into the National Honor Society! Great job – we’re so proud of you!
-At Kezia’s baptism program, McKinley finally got to perform “Baptism” on the piano – she’s been working on it for about 5 months. She did SO well! She got many compliments and Kezia gave her a big hug afterwards.
-McKinley got to go with her orchestra all day Saturday to St. George to perform and listen to other orchestras. She had a fun time! Especially getting to be with her friend Lizzy.
-McKinley gave her first talk in Sacrament meeting this month! It was on Choice & Accountability and she talked about making good choices and receiving direction from the scriptures. She shared about the time when mom was praying about homeschooling her and found a direct answer in the scriptures. She did such a great job! Grandma & Grandpa Potts came to watch, too J
-The Saturday after Thanskgiving, dad & McKinley went to do baptisms in St. George and had a wonderful time!
-Like stated in the family section, McKinley’s big news - She finally got her dog! We bought her from a family in Escalante (they were here for the temple open house) ¾ Golden Retriever, ¼ labradoodle, and ALL cuteness! McKinley named her Daizy (after Daisy in the book Wonder) Rose. She is about 15 weeks old. We are so happy to have her in our family! That first day or so, McKinley kept saying “I can’t believe she’s mine! I feel like we’re just puppy-sitting or something!”
-McKinley did SO well the first quarter of middle school! 3.966! And she got into the National Honor Society! Great job – we’re so proud of you!
-At Kezia’s baptism program, McKinley finally got to perform “Baptism” on the piano – she’s been working on it for about 5 months. She did SO well! She got many compliments and Kezia gave her a big hug afterwards.
-McKinley got to go with her orchestra all day Saturday to St. George to perform and listen to other orchestras. She had a fun time! Especially getting to be with her friend Lizzy.
-McKinley gave her first talk in Sacrament meeting this month! It was on Choice & Accountability and she talked about making good choices and receiving direction from the scriptures. She shared about the time when mom was praying about homeschooling her and found a direct answer in the scriptures. She did such a great job! Grandma & Grandpa Potts came to watch, too J
-The Saturday after Thanskgiving, dad & McKinley went to do baptisms in St. George and had a wonderful time!
IRELAND:
-Ireland continues to stay busy with school (math homework!!!) and gymnastics. She’s doing well in both and we love her!
-On the 13th, Ireland was in charge of Family Home Evening. She was so cute and made a board game called “The Path Back to God.” It included lots of squares like “you served a mission! Go forward 2 spaces.” Or, “You lied. Go back 3 spaces.” It was a lot of fun & Ireland put a lot of work into it! Thank you Ireland!
-This month was Ireland’s maturation program J Mom went with her and we got to learn all about the changed ahead as our beautiful girl grows up!
-One day while mom was reading Little Women, Ireland fixed her hair into lots of rose swirls. It was so pretty J
-Ireland has had a lot of fun with Daizy and loves it when she gets home and Daizy gets so excited J
-Ireland continues to stay busy with school (math homework!!!) and gymnastics. She’s doing well in both and we love her!
-On the 13th, Ireland was in charge of Family Home Evening. She was so cute and made a board game called “The Path Back to God.” It included lots of squares like “you served a mission! Go forward 2 spaces.” Or, “You lied. Go back 3 spaces.” It was a lot of fun & Ireland put a lot of work into it! Thank you Ireland!
-This month was Ireland’s maturation program J Mom went with her and we got to learn all about the changed ahead as our beautiful girl grows up!
-One day while mom was reading Little Women, Ireland fixed her hair into lots of rose swirls. It was so pretty J
-Ireland has had a lot of fun with Daizy and loves it when she gets home and Daizy gets so excited J
KEZIA:
-November 4th was Kezia’s special day and she looked so beautiful in her white dress and braided hair. So many people came to support her and she got wonderful gifts, including scriptures, a CTR ring (two actually!), a cute tiny white board, some journals, 2 CTR towels, and many other sweet things. We hope she always remembers the feelings of that day and keeps them close to her heart (and writes them down!). It was so special to get to have daddy baptize (twice J) and confirm her, McKinley give a musical number she’s been working on for so long, listen to GG give a talk, and get to go to the temple open house all on the same day! We are so thankful that Kezia has made this choice and have seen her choose the right many times. We’re proud of you our Kezia!
-There was a situation with one of our friends this month where Kezia was asked to do something very inappropriate. She said she felt the Holy Ghost and she said NO! And we are SO thankful and proud of her!
-Kezia bought some flowers at the store to have in our home for her baptism. They were starting to fade, but she wanted to share them, so she brought some to Bernice and Jamie. Kezia is so good at brightening people’s days!
-Kezia is reading Wonder (the deal is she needs to read it if she wants the shirt) J and she’s really loving it!
-Kezia’s Thanksgiving program was SO CUTE! She wore a little pilgrim hat and sang some songs in Spanish and was a narrator for a little play about a turkey that gets spared at Thanksgiving J
-Kezia was so sweet to get the breakfast all set out and write a note to each family member on the 27th J
-November 4th was Kezia’s special day and she looked so beautiful in her white dress and braided hair. So many people came to support her and she got wonderful gifts, including scriptures, a CTR ring (two actually!), a cute tiny white board, some journals, 2 CTR towels, and many other sweet things. We hope she always remembers the feelings of that day and keeps them close to her heart (and writes them down!). It was so special to get to have daddy baptize (twice J) and confirm her, McKinley give a musical number she’s been working on for so long, listen to GG give a talk, and get to go to the temple open house all on the same day! We are so thankful that Kezia has made this choice and have seen her choose the right many times. We’re proud of you our Kezia!
-There was a situation with one of our friends this month where Kezia was asked to do something very inappropriate. She said she felt the Holy Ghost and she said NO! And we are SO thankful and proud of her!
-Kezia bought some flowers at the store to have in our home for her baptism. They were starting to fade, but she wanted to share them, so she brought some to Bernice and Jamie. Kezia is so good at brightening people’s days!
-Kezia is reading Wonder (the deal is she needs to read it if she wants the shirt) J and she’s really loving it!
-Kezia’s Thanksgiving program was SO CUTE! She wore a little pilgrim hat and sang some songs in Spanish and was a narrator for a little play about a turkey that gets spared at Thanksgiving J
-Kezia was so sweet to get the breakfast all set out and write a note to each family member on the 27th J
LINK: Happy 5th birthday Link! We loved
getting to send some treats to your friends this month, as well as donate to
the Ronald McDonald House. The Bealers were so sweet to make you an ice cream
cake. Oh, our sweet son. We love you! We wish you were here every day. Thank
you for blessing our lives and providing love. We felt you close as we got to
go to the temple open house. It was so neat and we look forward to doing much
work there in honor of you.
NOELLE:
- Noelle likes to say “Jinger bells!”
-We love how Noelle calls Oaklyn “baby cuteness”
-We had a really scary thing happen with Noelle at the end of the month. Mom and dad went on a walk. McKinley was cleaning out the van but we told her where we were going. About 30 minutes into our walk, mom got a call from someone in the ward – Helen Englehart. She said Noelle was at her house & mom said she would come to get her. Turns out that Helen lives at the very bottom of Ridge Road (like 3 blocks away from our house) and RIGHT next to Royal Hunte Dr. – a VERY busy road! She was without pants or shoes. But not scared at all! She was just chatting with Helen and another lady who found her when mom picked her up. We are so thankful that she was protected!! But never want that to happen again!!!
-At the swimming pool, mom was playing with Noelle and then Noelle said “Mom, hold your nose. I got to baptize you.” And mom plugged her nose and Noelle pushed her into the water JJ
-We just LOVE how Noelle LOVES sunrises and sunsets. One morning, our sunrise girl burst into our room and yelled “Daddy! Daddy! The sky is pink and blue! You have to come see! Heavenly Father gave us pink today! You have to come see NOW!”
-Noelle is starting to READ! She is sounding out more words in BOB books and she loves making 3 letter words on her magnet board with mom & dad before she goes to bed
- Noelle likes to say “Jinger bells!”
-We love how Noelle calls Oaklyn “baby cuteness”
-We had a really scary thing happen with Noelle at the end of the month. Mom and dad went on a walk. McKinley was cleaning out the van but we told her where we were going. About 30 minutes into our walk, mom got a call from someone in the ward – Helen Englehart. She said Noelle was at her house & mom said she would come to get her. Turns out that Helen lives at the very bottom of Ridge Road (like 3 blocks away from our house) and RIGHT next to Royal Hunte Dr. – a VERY busy road! She was without pants or shoes. But not scared at all! She was just chatting with Helen and another lady who found her when mom picked her up. We are so thankful that she was protected!! But never want that to happen again!!!
-At the swimming pool, mom was playing with Noelle and then Noelle said “Mom, hold your nose. I got to baptize you.” And mom plugged her nose and Noelle pushed her into the water JJ
-We just LOVE how Noelle LOVES sunrises and sunsets. One morning, our sunrise girl burst into our room and yelled “Daddy! Daddy! The sky is pink and blue! You have to come see! Heavenly Father gave us pink today! You have to come see NOW!”
-Noelle is starting to READ! She is sounding out more words in BOB books and she loves making 3 letter words on her magnet board with mom & dad before she goes to bed
OAKLYN:
-Oaklyn’s molars have been coming in this month & she has had a non-stop runny nose and much sadness L
-Oaklyn has started sitting on the regular barstools!
-2 of Oaklyn’s favorite foods – spaghetti and grapes. If she even catches a glimpse, she is reaching and whining! We’re still working on saying PLEASE!
-Oaklyn is talking more, though, and some of her new favorite words are HAPPY! (She will say it over & over again) and Daizy!! (so cute!)
-We finally eeked out a teeny-tiny ponytail in her hair this month. It was so cute! She still has some cute, cute curls in her hair & hope they never leave!
-Oaklyn’s molars have been coming in this month & she has had a non-stop runny nose and much sadness L
-Oaklyn has started sitting on the regular barstools!
-2 of Oaklyn’s favorite foods – spaghetti and grapes. If she even catches a glimpse, she is reaching and whining! We’re still working on saying PLEASE!
-Oaklyn is talking more, though, and some of her new favorite words are HAPPY! (She will say it over & over again) and Daizy!! (so cute!)
-We finally eeked out a teeny-tiny ponytail in her hair this month. It was so cute! She still has some cute, cute curls in her hair & hope they never leave!
