January Newsletter & Slideshow

Hamilton Newsletter

January 2015

FAMILY:  Happy New Year!! 2015 sounds so futuristic, doesn’t it? For the second year in a row, we had sickies on New Years & so we couldn’t hang out with friends :( And – we all went to bed at midnight New York time to get some much-needed rest! Daddy took the girls ice skating on the 2^nd and they had a lot of fun – they LOVE to go ice skating! The older girls headed back to school on the 5^th and afterwards, we went to the park to try and soak in some vitamin D. On the 8^th, we headed up north for the 3^rd time in a month J It was all worth it, though, when we reached the amazing cabin by Bear Lake. It is a gigantic home with 9 bedrooms, a theater room, a gorgeous view, about 6 tables in the kitchen, indoor slides to each floor, and an enormous play area on the bottom floor, complete with a basketball area, an indoor trampoline, and a playground. The girls got their own room with 2 bunk beds and pink bedspreads. The next few days were spent playing, watching movies (Box Trolls, Fault in our Stars, Guardians of the Galaxy), sledding, playing games (Tiffany’s biggest fear is getting killed by a sloth) ;), doing puzzles (we stayed up till 1am one night!),playing air hockey, snowmobiling, drinking LOTS of hot cocoa, eating yummy food, going to church, doing sticker pages, watching the boys play pool downstairs, going on a 5-mile sunrise run (okay – that was just Grandpa Potts & mom), painting nails, and grabbing raspberry shakes on the way out of town! All-in-all, it was a wonderful, fabulous Potts family retreat. There was plenty of room for everyone and we all enjoyed being together. The only downers were Adam & Tiffany getting stuck on the snowmobiles (Maddy & Grace weren’t happy, either, missing their parents) :( and Ireland & Kezia not liking the raspberry shakes! The girls had a fabulous time and couldn’t stop talking about it. Mommy & Daddy had been slacking on lunch dates the past few months, so we made up for it this month! One week, daddy took Ireland to Denny’s & then DQ. Another week, mom took McKinley to Zaxby’s (a new restaurant in town), and then another week Kezi got to go with daddy to Denny’s & DQ! Whew! Glad we’re all caught up J We always have a wonderful time on our lunch dates. On the 24^th, Keeley was so good to watch the girls while Jason & Heidi did sealings for family names at the temple. It was a wonderful, educational, spiritual night! Thanks Keeley! On the 30^th, the girls had a late-over. McKinley had Lindsay Jordan over & Ireland & Kezia had Isabella & Emi. They had fun playing & watching movies. We really want to get healthy as a family this year, so we decided to sign up for a 5k at the end of April. We’ve already gone on a 2-mile run as a family & look forward to working toward this goal! We’ve been reading the book Heidi for the past few months, here and there as we can. It has been a lot of fun – Ireland is the one who picked it and she loves hearing the story of the girl of the alps J  

JASON: Jason went back to his gs9 budget analyst position this month & moved his office back to the S.O. He has worked very hard on organizing the house – building shelves in the garage and hauling things to the dump and the D.I. Jason spent a good week or so going through all our music files and making playlists to put on his new micro SD card that he got for Christmas.

HEIDI: Heidi worked hard as well – cleaning and organizing the house. That was what much of January was spent doing J She really enjoyed being with her family this month – especially seeing Tiffany who she hadn’t seen in a YEAR! Heidi did another freezer meal swap this month & she made 25 meals in 4 hours! It’s always a lot of work, but she’s so happy to have her freezer full again! The only casualty was her fingernail. She sliced the top of it off when she was using her food processor to slice potatoes. Ouch!

McKINLEY:

-McKinley has really gotten into indexing this month! Sometimes, we really have to pry her off the computer to go to bed! We know her brother is so proud of her when she indexes – and we are, too!
-At school one day McKinley asked the lunch worker a question and she got yelled at. It really hurt McKinley’s feelings and apparently, this one worker seems to yell a lot. Mom, dad & McKinley discussed it and we suggested she write a letter to her. So – McKinley wrote her a letter, thanking her for all the work she does for the students, and politely asking her to stop yelling.  She was very brave and gave it right to her. We are so proud of her and love seeing how she truly is a leader at her school.
-McKinley had SO much fun at the Bear Lake House. She said her favorite things were seeing Aunt Tiffany and riding snowmobiles.
-McKinley’s tablet just wasn’t charging this month, so we went ahead & used the warranty we bought for it and got her a new one. She was bummed that she had to re-download all her favorite apps and start over, but she’s thankful this one works so much better!
-For all of January & February, McKinley has Activity Days every Tuesday. An SUU student is helping out and McKinley has had fun seeing more of her friends from the ward!
-McKinley has REALLY loved her new CD, 1 Girl Nation. It’s got such a fun tune, and she has almost all the lyrics already memorized!

IRELAND:
-Ireland was in time out one day and she started just crying loudly. Mom came in to see what the matter was & she sobbed “I threw the boot at them & it didn’t even hit them! And so then they laughed at me!” Hmmm – mom had a difficult time trying to find empathy for that one!
-Ireland went to Isabella Daniel’s birthday party this month. They went ice skating, played games, and ate cake and ice cream. She had so much fun!
-Ireland has really been excelling at school – she’s done so well on her spelling tests. Usually over 100% & her math tests are also coming back with 100% - SUCH an improvement!!
-We are wondering just what to do about Ireland’s teeth. We met with Anderton Orthodontics and Wilson & Whetton. They both have different approaches as to what to do about the severe crowding. They also have different pricing, so we will need to make a decision soon, but we are so thankful for insurance to help with the costs!
-One night, Ireland was in a sad, difficult mood. She went off about how it wasn’t fair that Kezia could stay home and she couldn’t. Then it went to it wasn’t fair that mom and dad spent more time with Link than her while he was here and why couldn’t she be in the hospital with him. (then she started crying) Then it wasn’t fair that Link died. Then – she said it was her fault that he died because one day she said she wondered what it would be like if he died “and then I got the answer and I didn’t want it.” . Then – she said there WAS a way that we could have saved Link “by taking out someone else’s heart and guts and moving them over to him.” (this has a little bit of background since we’ve been praying for a family whose little boy finally just received a heart transplant) Then – she expressed guilt about not thinking about him very much – pushing away her feelings and guilt.    Wow. It was a lot to take in at the time. Mom tried to just let her talk and reassure her that it wasn’t her fault at all. There were tears and hugs. Ireland seemed very relieved after talking – it seemed that she had been bottling that up for a while & we are thankful that she finally talked to us about it.
-One day we were talking about Golilocks & the three bears. We said mom could be the momma bear and dad could be the daddy bear & Noelle could be the baby bear. We asked what McKinley & Kezia would be & Ireland said “They would be the illustrators!”
-Ireland was standing on Noelle’s ride-on toy behind the couch – moving around. She said “look at me mom!” – then she busted out “I got the moves like Jagger!”
-We were watching a youtube video one day and the guy was talking and we asked where they thought he was from (the answer was India). Ireland said “Texaco?”

KEZIA:
-One day we went to Walmart. Mom was trying to get a cart, but they were stuck together. Mom was pulling hard & finally it broke free, but it came forcefully & unfortunately Kezi was standing right behind it and it whacked her right in the forehead! :(
-We all enjoy Kezia’s prayers. One night she prayed “And please bless that she will choose the right by inviting me to her birthday party…” Also – every night she prays “for Link, Tundra, and all the babies, toddlers, kids, and adults and animals to be resurrected soon.” :)
-Heavenly Father must have heard her prayer, because Kezia DID get to go to a birthday party for a girl in her preschool class – Audrey.
-Whenever we have soda (rarely) or chocolate milk or any drink other than water, Kezi likes to save a bit of it & pour it into popsicle molds. We have all kinds of yummy experiments currently in our freezer :)
-Kezi got a little tiny ball maze from the birthday party that she went to. She dropped it and the ball came out. She exclaimed “Oh no! What have I done??”
-Kezia had her Kindergarten shots this month and she was SO brave! The nurses were so impressed and kept saying “Wow! She didn’t even make a face – not a peep!” She was so excited to tell her daddy & sisters how brave she was.

LINK:
Aunt Deb was so sweet and bought a 12x12 original painting of a rainbow, here’s what she said about it:
There was a little Laotian man selling a few of his paintings in a family restaurant that Larry and I were eating at. They were all landscapes with trees, trails, etc., but when I saw the one with the rainbow I immediately thought of Link. He said that he hadn't been painting for long because when he lived in Laos, he didn't know that he could paint. He had just recently started to paint rainbows and this was his favorite because it showed the entire rainbow, except that he asked if I knew that rainbows were actually circles. He said that if we were in the water, we might be able to see the entire circle, without beginning or end. Pretty awesome, and meant for your family. Love you guys!
Heidi also wrote a blog that was well-received & was able to share some ideas about how loved ones could bring up our angel children & let us talk about them. Had a few people tell us how much Link’s story means to them, which was very sweet.

NOELLE:
-9 months old!! Her 9 month appointment went well. She is growing & progressing well! :)
-She is still quite a mommy’s girl. It’s so cute when mom is around someone Noelle doesn’t know, she will just put her head on mommy’s chest and just kind of suspiciously glance over at the stranger.
-Noelle fully has 2 little teeth out and tall! They are sharp chompers, too!
-She definitely has been gravitating toward “real” food & not liking the baby food as much. She loves mac n’ cheese, tortillas, and rice.
-Another favorite of Noelle is the dishwasher. If she’s fussy, just stand her up by the open dishwasher & she will usually calm right down. She loves pulling things out and moving the utincil container up & down.
-Mom has to keep Noelle’s fingernails pretty short – she loves to scrape mommy’s face!
-Noelle is getting to be a strong stander. She can stand all by herself for 10 seconds! And she’s soclose to taking  that first step. She still doesn’t love her tummy. She will get up on all fours, but she doesn’t really like to go anywhere & soon she’ll go down to her tummy & start crying.
-She did go down the sledding hill a few times at the Bear Lake cabin – so fun!
-She also got to hang out with her two cousins that will be in her grade – Grace & Caden.
-After we got back from the cabin, mom decided it was time for Noelle to graduate from the Guardian Sleeper to the sleep sack. The first few nights were rough – she woke up a lot & wasn’t used to not being strapped in. Also – the Snuza kept falling off with all of her movement all over the crib until Anna suggested that we fold her diaper down & that’s helped a lot. Now, she is pretty used to the sleep sack & likes to sleep on her tummy. That was hard for mom to get used to for a while, but she sleeps better that way & with the Snuza on, it gives peace of mind.
-Noelle has pretty much given up her 3^rd nap for the day & goes down usually about 9:30 and about 1pm.
-She still loves talking and makes the “t” sound a lot.
-If there is something she’s really excited about, she will just kind of squeal & shake all over – like McKinley’s tiny helicopter she got for Christmas. It’s hard to tell if she’s scared or excited, but it’s so cute!
-She is liking Signing Time more & more. When the song comes on at the beginning, she is definitely paying attention – and will usually watch one whole 30 minute DVD without complaint :)
-Mom spent a LOT of time going through clothes for Noelle last month – we found 2 containers of 12-18 month clothes & it took a while to go through them all, but thankfully the cutest ones are now in her closets and drawers & she has a LOT of them! The fun ones are the ones that all the girls have worn. It’s so fun to see her in them.
-Noelle is a momma’s girl, but she LOVES seeing her daddy when he gets home & she just wants to go to him immediately. It’s so cute.
-Mornings are so fun with Noelle. After her oldest sisters head to school, mom & Kezia get to sing songs, read books, and do finger games with Noelle. We LOVE our Noelle-my-belle!

How to talk to your friend about her dead child

As time has gone on, people have reached out to me when someone they know has lost a child. They want to help, but they don't know how.  This blog post aims to bridge the gap between those that want to help and the parent of a child that has died. I have read many blog posts about what to say or not say when a child dies (here's a great one from my good SIDS mom friend), I just wanted to add more specific words people can use when they want to reach out and talk to their friend about their child. 

Back on my Grief University post (written about 3 months after Link died), I talked about how amazing and surprising it was for me, after losing a child, to realize how much I needed to hear my son's name after he died. Now, almost two years after his death, that longing to hear his name, to talk about him, to share his life story has not diminished one bit. In fact, it seems to only have strengthened. Talking about him validates that he lived and that he was and is a very important part of our family and my life. Someone posted this the other day and I think it sums it up - amazing as it is, I want to share about my dead child as much - if not MORE - than I want to share about my living children! 

So - the first thing I can say is that if your friend wants to talk about their child that died, LET THEM TALK! We know it is not comfortable when we talk about them. We know you don't know what to say! If your friend brings them up... just listen. Acknowledge their pain. Please don't change the subject. Please don't try to lighten the conversation. 

I had SO many people tell me "I cannot imagine..." - and that's fine. We know you can't imagine - it's not something we ever could have possibly imagined, either. But the people I really, truly appreciated were the ones that tried to imagine. They tried to put themselves in my painful shoes - and tried to offer the kind of support they would want if their child died. That is true empathy. More often than not, people said those words, and just kind of backed out of my life. They didn't want to imagine. They didn't want to walk with me in this painful journey. And unfortunately, it added to my broken heart and broken life. This is something I hear from loss moms a lot.

Now, I don't want you to think it's a natural thing to be able to talk about your friend's dead child. It wasn't for me. Before the afternoon of March 26, 2013 shattered my universe, I had friends who had lost children. Sadly, quite a few. And my heart hurt for them. It stung. I cried for them. I wrote cards for them. I bought them jewelry and gifts. I watched their other children. But I never knew what to SAY.  One friend specifically I had daily interactions with - she was a close neighbor friend. After her twin girls died, I really tried to be kind, but unfortunately, I didn't realize that she wanted to talk about her children. I figured that it would hurt more than help. HOW WRONG I WAS! Now that I'm on the "other side," I know better. So, even though many people said or did hurtful things - or acted like it never happened after Link died, I have always tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. I know how hard it is to think of something to say, which is why I am writing this post. I asked moms from three different grieving boards what helped bridge that gap. You are sitting by your friend who lost their child. You want to help, you want to heal. You just can't think of the words to say. Here are some suggestions from me and other angel moms:

-How is your heart?  You know, I really didn't mind when people asked "how are you?" as long as it wasn't in passing and I could tell they were sincere, but usually that wasn't the case. "How is your heart?" is a deeper question - one that tells me they really want to know how I'm doing and I'm more likely to share. 

-I can't take away the hurt you feel from losing Link, but tomorrow, I am coming over to bring a meal/get some of your laundry/clean for an hour/etc. I'm sure you know by now that saying "let me know how I can help" is pretty worthless. Even if you mean it, the chances that your friend will actually take you up on it are pretty slim. I love this quote from Elder Ronald A. Rasband "“would you ask someone who was drowning ‘let me know how I can help you’ or would you jump in and save them?” Let me tell you, someone that has lost a child is drowning. 

-I can't believe it's been three weeks (or 3 months. or 3 years. or 30 years) since Link died... This bridges the gap. You are acknowledging their child. You are using their name. This opens things for your friend to talk. If you want, you can also follow up with something like "what do you miss most about the age they would be right now?"

-Tell me about your plans for Link's headstone... After the initial shock is worn off, this is something that we unfortunately have to think about. As hard as it was to acknowledge that I had to pick out a headstone for my son, I loved sharing our plans for Link's bench. It was something that I put a lot of thought into. While I won't be getting a tattoo, I also love to ask people about theirs. If your friend got a tattoo, ask them about why they chose what they did to remember their child. 

-I visited Link's grave today... Oh my goodness, I cannot tell you how much love I feel for the person that just randomly visits his grave and tells me about it. Even more when they leave something sweet for him. 

-Tell me about a favorite memory with Link... This is something that makes us think... we may not always know the answer right away. Link only lived 4 months, but thinking about our favorite memories together makes me smile. Now - if your friend lost her baby when she was pregnant, or had a stillborn baby, I believe you can still rephrase this question to something like "When did you feel Jonah move the most?" "Did he seem like he liked certain music?" And if your friend lost an older child -  "What was Jennifer's favorite toy?" "Did she have a favorite food or movie?" "What outfit was your favorite on Link?" I know this seems awkward. I KNOW it's hard to ask because you are scared they are going to freak out. Obviously, you are going to need to know your friend, but when someone asks this to me, I love it. I get to talk about him! One angel mom said "I love it when people remember that he lived, not just ask how he died."

-How are Link's sister's handing everything?... Another way to open those lines of communication and see how everyone is doing. Each of my girls has gone (and continues to go) through their own grieving processes and it sure helps to talk about. 

-Will you tell me about the day Link was born? An angel mom said that her sister-in-law asked this question on her child's birthday and it meant so much to her. I agree. Just as I love sharing the birth stories from my living children, I love to share his, too. Questions like "how long were you in labor?" and "how much did he weigh?" are perfect follow-up questions. 

-Will you tell me about the day Link died? Obviously, this wouldn't be a question you would ask at any random time, but in the right setting, I want to tell you about the day Link died. Something you need to understand is that I carry the hurt from the day he died 24/7. It is ALWAYS with me, so you asking me about it isn't going to cause me MORE pain. I will share different details with you depending on how well I know you or how sincere I believe you are, but I will not get offended by this question. 

-Will you show me pictures/videos of Link? Again, I just want to hug the person that asks this. I regularly download pictures from my phone each month & delete them, but I haven't ever deleted the pictures that I had of Link on my phone. I can whip it out anywhere and any time and talk your ear off about each picture. And if you're in my home, I have two photo albums to show you, pictures on the wall, hand molds, etc. Many moms of stillborn babies have gotten pictures as well & I know it means so much to them to be able to share them with you. 

-Do you have plans or ideas for Link's upcoming birthday/angelversary? We have specific things we do to honor our son on his special days (Link's birthday and anniversary of his death) and while of course it's hard, I love to share our plans. 

-I thought of Link today when... it could be they saw a rainbow. It could be they saw a baby boy that was Link's age when he died - or a boy the age that Link would be. It could be that they read a scripture or they did family history. It could be when they were rocking their baby. Whatever it is, I love to hear it & I am filled with gratitude when people don't just keep that to themselves, but share it with me. 

-I'm praying for you. This can be just another trite saying, but I can tell when people really mean it. When they really are praying for me. And it means a whole lot - especially on his birthday or angelversary. 

-I wanted to show you this picture that Brandon drew... I LOVE it when people share with me when their children talk about Link. Whether it's a picture that they drew, a question that they had, or just a comment, it all means so much. And little children are not prone to awkardness when asking questions :) One angel mom said "Last week I had a friend in my church stop by and she brought her daughter. We were talking about Gabriel's upcoming 6th Birthday and my daughter said he will be 6. My friend's daughter who is 8 very abruptly said "if he is dead how can he be almost 6"? It took us by surprise a little and her mom immediately went into overdrive trying to smooth the comment over and explain it to her daughter. I felt a little bad for my friend because I'm sure it made her uncomfortable but for me it was kind of nice to hear the honesty in her little voice trying to understand. I welcomed the question and was happy to help her understand that we still celebrate his birthday's whether he's with us physically or not."

-I had a dream about Link... Ahhh - dreams. I cherish each and every dream I have had about Link. Both the sweet ones and the crazy ones. My sister called me one day & shared a dream she had about Link and it meant so much to me. So - again, don't keep it to yourself, thinking it will only bring up hurt!! Please - share!! 

Some final thoughts:

*Consistency! Keep showing you care when everyone else has gone back to their lives. Probably the most meaningful thing to me after my son died - even more than all the sweet gifts, cards, money, etc was my sister's act of kindness. For 3 months straight, she didn't miss a day checking in with me - either texting or calling (we live 3 hours apart). Sometimes I had a lot to say. Sometimes I didn't say much. Sometimes I didn't answer the phone because I was sobbing too hard. But I saw that she was calling. I knew that she cared. Even with all she had going on with her life, her act of acknowledging my pain, asking those hard questions, and just putting herself in my shoes was a huge support for me. Her constant care brought me love & security when sometimes I thought no one else cared. 

*Remember Dates! We know you are busy. We know you have lots of other dates and times to remember, but you don't know how much it means to us that you remember our sweet children on their special days - especially birthdays and angelversaries (the anniversary of their death). And not just the first one. Or the second one. Or the 20th one. Send flowers. Send a card. Call. Or at the very least, send a text or e-mail to let us know you are thinking of us and our child. Also - please remember that babies month birthdays are days that we hurt, too. I think Link's 6-month birthday was almost harder than his year birthday. My mom is really good at remembering all his dates & sending texts - it just tells me that my son isn't forgotten - and neither am I. 

*Use their name! I always say that hearing Link's name is like food to my starving momma soul. I get to hear my living children's names many times a day - and in our family I don't think a day goes by that his name isn't mentioned, but for others to use his name, it's such a blessing. Such a treat. It swells my heart with gratitude. 

*Share memories and pictures! Right after Link died, I sent an e-mail to family & friends asking for them to send me any memories and pictures they had. It was so neat to read their memories and see their pictures. I put them all in his book. Once in a while, I will even get a random e-mail with a remembered picture or memory and it is seriously like finding a diamond. Doesn't matter how blurry or seemingly insignificant it is - each picture and memory is SO precious to me! Send your friend any/all that you have and don't worry so much about it bringing pain to them!

*Do not assume these things become obsolete after a certain period of time! Pretty much all of the questions I suggest are timeless. As I said in the beginning, talking about my son only becomes more precious to me as the time goes on. So - if your friend's child died 12 years ago - ask these questions! My grandma lost her son almost 50 years ago & she still wants to talk about him. 

I know this seems like a lot. Maybe you are not up for it. Maybe you would rather walk away than try and make it work with all the messiness that comes with losing a child. But I promise that you both will be blessed if you put in the effort. THANK YOU to all my loved ones who have "walked with me in the rain" and continue to do so. Your love, empathy, and kindness have blessed my life more than you will ever know. 

*I would still love input from any loss parents out there on what helped them. I'm sure I haven't covered all the bases, but hopefully I got the important things. 

December Newsletter & Slideshow

https://picasaweb.google.com/103753336633055957263/2014_12_Slideshow

Hamilton Newsletter
December 2014

FAMILY: December is usually a busy month for the Hamiltons, but this year, it seemed to pass at breakneck speed! It might have something to do with all the traveling. Jason & Heidi were able to attend Heidi’s cousin, Cannon’s, first trip through the temple. It was at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple and it was so very joyful and wonderful. Afterwards we went to Village Inn for dinner. Thank you to Tiarra for watching the girls – especially Noelle who was not a happy camper L The next day, Sunday the 12^th, we headed up to Clifton, ID for Cannon’s missionary farewell. He is heading to Thiland and we are so happy for him! His farewell talk was wonderful & it was great to see so much family there. We headed back up north on the 19^th & stopped in Richfield for a nice dinner. Monday, the 20^th, was the Tew Christmas “Eve” party and it was at the Potts this year, so Heidi & the girls helped clean & prepare for everyone to come over to grandma’s. It was a full house! But – good food and good conversation. Then, on Christmas Eve morning, we all headed back up to Clifton for Burton & Natalie’s wedding. The girls all got to wear their brand new beautiful Christmas dresses from Grandma Devenish! We are so happy for the Tews! Then back to SLC for annual PJ opening, candle-lighting, and songs. We also watched  “A Christmas Story,” which was fun J Christmas Day was wonderful – we even got a white Christmas after so much warmth! It was awesome! Uncle Richard came about 11 and the rest of the family was there by noon. It was a wonderful, classic Christmas and we loved spending time with family – playing games, talking, resting, watching movies, etc.  We had a Christmas miracle when some packages were stolen from Grandma’s home, but we were able to find a couple tiny charms near a home up the street and then we found the missing necklace that it went with that Tiffany sent for us. We were so very thankful! That night, Kezia wasn’t feeling well & so we took her temperature. 103.8! We gave her a lukewarm bath & it came down, but thus started a two plus week bout of sickness for our family L We all got it except Ireland – headaches, fevers, cold sweats, coughing, runny noses, etc.  It’s lingered for 2 weeks now & we all still have coughs. Not a fun way to end the year – especially since we had to cancel plans with friends – but at the very least, we spent lots of time together & all got lots of rest. In between all the traveling, there was Christmas gift buying & making, gingerbread train making, story reading under the Christmas tree, going to North Elementary  (see McKinley’s section), the Elder’s Quarum Party, Jason’s work party, the ward party, and we hosted the Relief Society Christmas party at our home this year, so we probably had 50 women here. It was fun to see them and visit 

JASON: Jason is nearing the end of his fleet detail. They haven’t officially flown the permanent position, but he will apply when they do. Jason took a week off work after Christmas. Unfortunately, it was spent being sick L He continues to be our Mr. Fix it & we are so thankful! He fixed the freezer (the fan was broken) as well as the dishwasher (replacing the thermostat). He got a high capacity micro SD card for Christmas and has spent a lot of time going through all our songs so he can put them on his phone J Heidi gave him a tie bar for Christmas – it has “Link”s that go across & an “H” if you turn it sideways with a diamond at the end. One frustrating thing for Jason this month was his laptop. It was having issues and they had 3 different guys come to work on it, but it still wasn’t working & he had to use a loaner computer. His regular one still isn’t running right

HEIDI: Heidi was a bit stressed trying to get her house in great shape for the Relief Society Party. She finally decided to call a cleaning lady (Lydia) for help & was so glad! It took a lot of stress off her shoulders. She was also pretty stressed with gifts. She decided to finally make some new Christmas Calendars for everyone with personalized pictures. It did take quite a bit of time, but they were really nice in the end & she was glad she did it. It was no fun being sick at the end of the month (she had a 102 temp), but it makes her thankful to feel better & also to just spend time resting & enjoying her family. Santa brought Heidi a new CD (Calee Reed) and some afterlife books. Jason got her a NEW PHONE! We were done opening gifts & he said “you missed one!” It is a Samsung Galaxy s2 & it’s in great shape. Heidi was so surprised & excited to have a working phone that she can actually download apps and run multiple programs on!! 

McKINLEY:

-One of McKinley’s reflection entries won (in photography)! The family came to the award assembly and got to see her get her ribbons (she got an honorable mention, too)! GREAT JOB McKINLEY!! We are so proud of you! Her entry now goes to the district to be judged :)
-The 3^rd grade had a Christmas program this year and they did a sing along to the story of the little boy who gives his little coin and makes the bells ring in the church. It was really neat! Grandma & Grandpa Devenish came, too!
-One of McKinley’s 4H leaders, Kelsey, got engaged! McKinley was SO sad to see her go, but SO excited because her last name was going to change to Hamilton J
-One morning we woke up to find the table completely set & personalized tags for everyone. What a sweet, thoughtful act by McKinley!
-McKinley really wanted to make personalized gifts for everyone this year. She originally had the idea that she would cut out the first letter of each of her cousin’s names in cardboard and wrap it in yarn with their 3 favorite colors. It just wasn’t working out well and McKinley ran out of time, so she decided to make OHOs (popcicle sticks with yard wrapped around) for everyone. They were really cute & she did a good job. She also made Mrs. Hamilton & Mrs. Edwards necklaces for her teacher aunts. J
-McKinley says she likes to play with her friend, Lindsay, at recess, but lately she’s been running away from her L
-For Christmas, Santa brought McKinley a Bluetooth speaker, so she can walk around and listen to her music all around the house & not have to bring her tablet everywhere.  She also got a set of American Girl movies. From mom & dad she got 5 CDs (1 Girl Nation, Brave, and 3 Disney CDs), a game called Funglish

IRELAND:

-Ireland has had a hard time sleeping lately & is coming into mom & dad’s room more.
-Ireland’s thing lately has been to make SUPER silly faces in all our pictures – even our nice family pictures!
-One night, Ireland was having a hard time sleeping & came into mom. Mom rocked her on her rocking chair & Ireland talked to her about all that she was struggling with. She said that she always made bad choices & that she didn’t have friends at recess and she was lonely. Mom listened & tried to comfort her. She’s been praying extra hard that Ireland will find a good friend at school.
-For some reason, Ireland was being extra naughty right before Christmas. Mom warned about coal & she said “Well, if I get coal in my stocking, I’ll just save it for when we go camping & throw it in the fire!”
-Afer Burton’s wedding & we were headed home, Ireland said “Well, you guys have kissed a LOT because you’ve been married a long time, but Uncle Burton & Natalie are just learning how.” ;)
-For Christmas, Santa brought Ireland a Pearl Princess Barbie with an vanity. Mom & Dad got her a bow & arrow (a favorite of Christmas!), a fashion tracing set, and an outfit. From Aunt Tiffany, she got a Frozen book & craft purse.

KEZIA:
-Kezia colored pictures for each member of the family and put it in our stockings J
-After we got back from our party, Kezia asked “how was your corndog party?” (Elder’s Quarum) ;)
-The girls were looking at their birthday books one day, and mom overheard Kezia say to Ireland “that was the SUPEREST long time ago, right?”
- We were driving home from SLC & were playing a question game. The question was "What are you most worried about & why?" We talked about worries about finding good friends and safety and whatnot. Mom asked Kezia what her answer was & she replied "Bad manners." I said "you're most worried about having bad manners?" She said "Yes. Because I want to be respectable."
-Kezi was quite the little secret wrapper. She made 3 gifts for mom & 2 for dad. She would draw pictures and then run downstairs and wrap them up nicely with paper & ribbon & put them under the tree J She also made one for her preschool teacher.
-Kezia ran up to mom one day and said “I am going to do enough chores today to get a REAL diamond, okay? I’ll work ALL day long!”
-Santa brought Kezi a Frozen Razor scooter & from mom & dad she got a beautiful, nice music box, a Frozen outfit and an IKEA easel with TONS of crafty things to go with it (chalk, paint, markers, crayons, puff paint, etc). Aunt Tiffany got her a frozen book & a string lacing kit.
-After Kezia’s 103.8 temp, her temperature & condition fluctuated, but she still just wasn’t getting better. Finally, after about a week, mom took Kezia to the doctor. She had a wheezy cough & the dr. prescribed her some antibiotics and steroids. She still has a cough, but seems to be doing much better. She didn’t like her medicine, though! She took it the first time & said “It tastes like bubblegum!” and then after a second, she made a face & said “The end tastes yucky!”

LINK:
We sure missed our duder-dude this Christmas. We would have loved to fill his stocking and wrapped his boy gifts. We felt his love, though. On the way to Grandma Devenish’s there was a rainbow! In December! And we were blessed enough to find Heidi’s gift from Tiffany – a picture of her baby boy with some sweet charms like a rainbow and a forget-me-not. The Edwards also made a cute snowman that we brought to your grave. Also – Cannon’s time at the temple was a blessed time. We went through with family names and we felt so much joy. At the end, we noticed the “Links” on the ceiling & Heidi relized it must have been the Oquirrh Mountain Temple that she said the links on the celiling that made her want to name her son Link. It was a sweet, wonderful time. She also gave Cannon a tie with links on it & a letter about how proud she was of Cannon & Link & how they both are going to be awesome missionaries.

NOELLE:
-Noelle really loved the Christmas lights. She would sit and stare at them & try to grab at them.
-Noelle’s food tastes are really growing up! She still loves the baby food, but she really loves it when we give her the food we’re eating. And she’s getting good at drinking from her sippy cup! She also likes the small dissolvable treats, so it’s nice to have some portable food!
-Some of Noelle’s latest cutest tricks: waving bye-bye, clapping hands (SO CUTE!), and trying to blow kisses. She also still loves clicking her tongue and trying to “talk.”
-Noelle will “share” her binki if you say “ahh!”
-She’s started to shake her head. Not sure if she knows that it means no, but she’ll probably figure it out soon!
-Noelle has also got the jumping thing figured out. She gets in her exersaucer & jumps & jumps. It’s difficult to carry on conversations when she gets to jumping because it’s so loud! She also likes to jump in her jumper in mom’s room!
-Noelle is really cute  - sometimes when you dip your head forward, she will dip hers forward to “bump” you J
-Unfortunately, Noelle has turned into quite a mama’s girl. Like – she cries whenever mom is out of sight and fusses when others want to hold her. Mom has to hide so she won’t be upset & just cry for mom all the time.
-Santa brought Noelle a walker with some fun activities on it. She LOVES it!! She also got some blocks, balls, and a cute sweater dress. She also loved getting to suck on a sucker on Christmas day!
-Still no crawling! But she’s really starting to pull up on things and cruise around!
-Her sleep schedule was pretty good for a while, but with all the traveling & her getting sick at the end of the month, it’s not so great any more. She’s usually up 2-3 times at night L Unfortunately, she is still having coughing fits multiple times a night, too.

November Newsletter & Slideshow

https://picasaweb.google.com/103753336633055957263/2014_11_Slideshow

FAMILY:  The 1^st of November found our family in St. George to support Daken on his baptism day! We are very proud of him & enjoyed our time with them & family – as always! Congrats Daken! On the 7^th, we celebrated Link’s birthday – he would have been two. We are thankful for all the support we received that day. See his section for more details. The 8^th was the Storybook Parade! We have lived in Cedar for three and a half years and this was our first time going – it was awesome! Storybook and Disney themed floats mesmerized the girls and some of the characters even came up to say hi! We had a great time at the parade – and eating ice cream afterwards J We did our annual Gerald the Grateful Turkey FHE on the 12^th & it was fun & turned out great. On the 14^th, we had fun welcoming Sister Crandall back from her mission at the airport (she was Kezia’s Sunbeam teacher) and then having a late-over with Olivia and Adelaide Price and Emmy Schoppman. They had earned their late-over by staying in their beds each night J They had fun painting nails, eating popcorn & watching movies. That next night, Heidi & Jason got a sitter & we had a date night with the Bealers at his parent’s home – we played Celestial Companions and Rummicube. It was fun! We headed to Salt Lake on the 19^th, so we could go to Kalli’s high school play on the 20^th. She was the lead (Julia) in The Wedding Singer & it was so much fun to see her! She did a wonderful job as did her entire cast. We decided to stay in SLC till Thanksgiving, so Jason worked at the Uinta-W-C FS building while Heidi & the girls did some fun things, including going to the Pioneer Museum in S. Jordan with the Simons and going to a bounce house in N. Salt Lake. As a family, we went to Joshua’s soccer game and Tiarra’s dress rehearsal. Jason & Heidi also spent a few hours at IKEA, went to a SIDS parents dinner at Cheesecake Factory, which was really neat, and we went on a date eating dinner @ Trisha’s and then to see the newest Hunger Games movies with the other adults in the family – fun! – but hard part was Jason had to take Noelle home because she was too fussy in the movie L Jason watched the girls, too, while the sisters (and mom) had a fun time shopping, eating at the Olive Garden, and watching movies at Trisha’s. It was a wonderful night! Thanksgiving started with Heidi & her dad doing their traditional turkey run. Then we all got ready & were to the Tew’s at noon for a yummy Thanksgiving meal. After helping with clean-up, we headed back to the Potts’ to watch How to Train Your Dragon 2 – really cute movie! Then we played charades and went for a walk. We have many things to be thankful for and It was a fabulous Thanksgiving. Friday morning was even more wonderful as Heidi, Jason, Grandma & Grandpa Potts, Aunt Cindy, GG Tew, Kalli & Tiarra spent the morning at the Jordan River Temple doing family names. Afterwards we went to Kneaders for some yummy food & goodies. Afterwards, we packed up & headed back home, spending Saturday spreading rock for our side yard, putting together the girls’ new bed, going to Home Depot, putting in a new kitchen sink, putting up a couple Christmas trees,  and putting together a new crib for Noelle. It was a busy, but good day J The next day, Sunday, we spent at church and decorating our trees. We are excited for the Christmas season!

JASON: Jason continues to be very busy at work. He had a meeting in Richfield this month, and was able to work from the Uninta/W-C National Forest Office while we were in Salt Lake, which was very convenient.  He & Joseph spent a lot of time hanging out & playing video games J Jason is enjoying getting to know the young men in his new calling with the teachers & getting to plan fun activities. Jason participated in no-shave November with a goatie – getting pretty long now! Jason has worked hard getting the side yard done – and it shows!! We now have rock in our side yard – in the RV pad, down the pathway & into the garden. It looks awesome!!

HEIDI: Although she still had some bad days, Link’s birthday was definitely softened this year for Heidi & it was healing to have a baby to hold as we remembered & celebrated our baby boy. Heidi’s friend, Krista Corry, was so sweet – she brought over a beautiful “Link” bracelet & Heidi wore it the whole day of his birthday. Heidi enjoyed her time in Salt Lake, with her sisters, her friends, and the outings with her sweetheart. She continues to listen to Eragon with Cindy as they each exercise in their own towns J Heidi has been quite the taxi now that the Vogts are gone – driving to both North Elementary for Ireland & McKinley & South Elementary preschool for Kezia. Heidi did well on the healthy eating challenge & lost 10 pounds! J It was hard, but very good. Heidi asked on Facebook if anyone had recommendations for books that dealt with living people on the earth who had interactions with loved ones on the other side & she was surprised by how many people shared their beautiful stories with her! In fact, Jason & Heidi are reading an account of one of Heidi’s HS friends & his story with his brother who passed away. It’s been neat! Heidi is also staying busy buying & ordering things for updating their home. Their living room & family room especially look completely different & it’s fun & exciting to see all the changes. Heidi got a yucky cold sore at the end of the month L

McKINLEY:

-McKinley hasn’t gone to 4H as much this past month – we’ve been gone & busy. She says she wants to do volleyball now, like her cousin Sedona. She’s also wants to take ice skating lessons.

-McKinley was sick & had to miss a couple days of school this month.

-McKinley really wanted to do reflections, so she used mom’s camera to take some pictures and made a poster with them all. She had taken a picture of her tablet & did a cross through it and took pictures of all the other things we should be doing instead. The theme was “the world would be a better place if…”

-She really had fun playing with her cousins in Salt Lake this past month.

-We got a book from a lady who wanted to use a picture of Link’s bench in the book she was making for her grandkids, called Sammy the Sad Sunflower. It is a great book about learning who we really are & knowing that we are each of great worth. McKinley read the book for FHE in Salt Lake City & everyone seemed to enjoy it!

IRELAND:

-At Daken’s baptism, mom overheard this conversation… Sloan (her 2^nd cousin): I’m related to Joseph Smith! Ireland: Well… I’m related to my grandma!

-On the way to school, Ireland said “Mom – I know why they call it this month – Novemberrrrrrrr- cuz it’s cold!!”

-Mom asked Ireland a question one day and Ireland said “I don’t know.  You can check it out for yourself at www.idon’tknow.org” (and if you’re wondering, no – it’s not a real website. Just a smart-alec daughter ;))

-Ireland is feeling a bit lonely lately. Her best friend at school, Drew, moved and her other friend Mahina is in Idaho for another couple months. She is having a hard time making new friends at school L

-One day when we were doing a family clean, Ireland was just the best helper!! She didn’t complain one bit and ran around taking care of everything. She definitely earned a date point!

-Ireland had fun on her lateover with Emi Schoppman J

KEZIA:

-One evening for her prayer, Kezia said “And please bless that Noelle will survive the whole time she is here.”

-For Kezia’s birthday, she got a dress-up kit and one night she decided to put on a “show” – complete with tickets and theater candy! It was awesome! J

-Kezi had a fun time with her lateover friend, Adelaide. They don’t get to see each other as much lately with Addi being in Kindergarten.

-Kezia gave a primary talk this month. Mom had printed out the talk and was practicing with her. She was doing really great! She just messed up a little bit when she said “thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, with all your SOUP, and with all your mind” J

-Kezi says she wants to be a doctor AND a princess when she grows up.

-Kezia went birthday shopping with Grandma & Grandpa Potts when she was in SLC. For some reason, she chose ANOTHER dress up kit and ANOTHER Anna doll. Mom convinced her to order the Elsa & Anna dolls online instead J

-While we were watching Tiarra’s dress rehearsal, the song they singing kept repeating “Welcome to Toyland!” Kezia whispered “it sounds like they are saying toilet?”

-Mom was talking to Kezia and Kezia was staring at mom’s lip (where her cold sore is) She pointed at it and said “those look like beard seeds.”

-Mom was fixing Kezi’s hair one day & Kezi was telling mom “I KNOW that Satan is on the naughty list, mom. He’s caused nothing but trouble!!”

-Kezia continues to be  stellar reader & is getting really good at math, too! Mom loves having her home in the mornings & having “mommy & Kezi time” J

LINK:

Happy 2^nd birthday our duder-dude. It’s hard to believe it’s been 2 whole years since you came into our lives and blessed us so very much with your presence.  We donated 30 bags to the Jubilee House, we donated to the Ronald McDonald House both in SLC and in Philadelphia. We released balloons at your bench. We hope they made their way all the way to heaven & you enjoyed their bright colors and your new Lightening McQueen car. We went to McDonald’s on your birthday and we ate cake. Our friend, Diane Bealer, had a new nephew born on your birthday! They named him Linkon, and we felt it was a tender mercy.  We continue to try and serve in your name. We felt your joy as 7 of us did temple work for family names. Grandma was working in the temple one night and she said you were in the elevator with her! She said that you were very joyful and were basically letting her know that being busy in the temple is what it’s all about. That touched our hearts!!! We love & miss you each and every day!

NOELLE:

-At 7 months old, Noelle is growing up fast! We can’t seem to get enough of her cuteness!

-Noelle got her first cold this month and had a runny nose, fever, and croupy cough for a few days. Mom took her into the doctor just to make sure it wasn’t RSV. She also seemed to be in teething pain. It was a difficult combination for everyone! Thankfully she is feeling much better!

-We finally decided it was time for Noelle to move out into Link’s room. It took a lot of courage – and a donated crib – to accomplish it, but we are so thankful. She was not sleeping well & neither were mom & dad. It’s taken some adjustment, but she’s done really well with the change & it’s SO nice to not have to tiptoe and whisper all the time in our room! She is still in the Sleep Guardian and has the Snuza on.

-One of the cute things Noelle has been doing is to give kisses! She’s not always in the mood, but when she is and you say “kisses!” and pucker up, she’ll give you a nice open-mouth, slobbery wet one! It’s so cute!

-Another cute thing she’s doing is making clicking noises. She just thinks she is so grown up when she can sit and click, click, click!

-No crawling yet, but she is getting closer every day! She will sit and then put her hands way out in front of her. She just hasn’t figured out how to get up on all fours yet.

-Noelle is such a strong stander! If we place her next to the couch, she will stand there for a long time – and has even started to cruise!

-Noelle loves music! She pays attention when people sing at church. She  LOVES to bang on our real piano – and the toy one.

-She gets into such a giggly mood right before she’s tired. She just laughs at just about everything – and her sisters love to sit and say funny words and noises to get her into a giggling fit.

-We are trying the sippy cup with Noelle this month – she still hasn’t quite figured out how to tip it up, but she is getting closer all the time!

-She’s a flapper!! When she’s excited – watch out, she flaps those arms like crazy! J

-She loves to hold Link’s picture at night while mom gets her jammies on.

-For some reason, she HATES being put into her high chair at first. She screams & cries, but once the food comes, she usually calms right down – especially at night when we have the candles at dinner. She loves to stare.

-She has really started making messes! Anything that is within reach – a bag of elastics, a cup of juice, etc – is fair game! She has a strong grab and a quick swiping action!

-She doesn’t seem to be into Signing Time or Baby Einstein yet. She gets fussy after a few minutes.

-In the morning, Kezia & Mommy like to sing songs and read books to Noelle. It’s so fun & sweet J

-She has DEFINITELY turned into a mommy’s girl. Especially when someone else watches her, but even with her daddy, she cries & reaches for “MAMAMAMA!”

October Newsletter & Slideshow - with 2014 Family Pictures

https://picasaweb.google.com/103753336633055957263/2014_10_Slideshow



https://picasaweb.google.com/103753336633055957263/2014FamilyPictures

Hamilton Newsletter

October 2014

FAMILY:  We enjoyed a wonderful October this year. It was amazing how good the weather was! The first weekend in October Uncle Burton came to buy our trailer. It was great to see him, meet his fiancé Natalie, and see Stellar, Camilla, & Love. We are so sad to see our beloved trailer go, but hoping to get a new, smaller one that will still be fun J We also enjoyed listening to conference that weekend and driving down to St. George to see the finish of the St. George marathon. Heidi got to cheer an old college roommate from Alaska (who she hadn’t seen for over 10 years) & see her daughter. We also cheered on a few ladies from our ward who finished the marathon. We watched the 2^nd session of conference at the Hamiltons and went to the park afterwards. It was a nice weekend! J The 2^nd weekend in October, we had a yard sale! It’s the first yard sale we’ve ever done & we think it was a success! The weather was great and we made a couple hundred dollars. The Price family joined in and it was fun to hang out with them for the morning.  The 15^th was the annual Wave of Light in honor of pregnancy and infant loss awareness month. The weather was a lot better this year and there was a beautiful song sung. Heidi shared Link’s story and we had hot chocolate & cookies & then let go of balloons. The next day – the 16^th – we headed to Capitola, California!!! (we surprised the girls – they didn’t know till that morning) Heidi’s good friend & fellow SIDS mom, Anna Packard, told Heidi about her in-laws beach house there & they generously let us stay free of charge!! And it worked out well, because the girls ended up having a full week off from school for fall break. The drive there was long – 15 hours including driving up to Los Altos to get the key – but the girls were really good. McKinley helped out a lot with Noelle & we bought a new DVD player for the van (the old one was broken) and mom bought some new DVDs so they stayed pretty entertained. The Packards were wonderful to meet – so very sweet & generous (and fun to see watching the Giants game). We got to the beach house about 11pm on the 16^th and had a good nights’ sleep & were ready for the beach the next day! Some fun memories from this amazing trip: Getting to hold a starfish that a woman found on the beach & let the girls handle before putting it back in the ocean, seeing sea otters, tiny crabs, and lots of birds, flying kites, playing in the waves for hours, building sand castles, making Ireland into a sand mermaid, picking up hundreds of seashells, seeing Noelle eat sand J, meeting other children there – including twin girls, staying up late to put together a 500 piece puzzle of cupcakes, watching a movie about a princess who helps endangered mythical creatures, playing with dominos, breakfast in bed, Jason & Heidi playing an 80’s quiz game, attending the Santa Cruz ward and enjoying meeting people and feeling the spirit, going on a walk out on the Capitola Wharf and then along a trail – enjoying and photographing flowers, spiders, birds, and beautiful homes and yards, going to Monterrey and playing at the Dennis the Menace Park and stopping by a fruit stand on the way back, going to Gayle’s bakery – way crowded but way yummy, watching all the surfers,  having root beer floats, more beach fun, eating ice cream cones from the shop on the corner (mom dropping hers in the sand), taking silhouette pictures by the waves as the sun went down on our last evening in Capitola. It was a wonderful vacation and one we think we’ll remember for a lifetime!! We can’t say thank you enough to the Packards for letting us stay. The drive back home was another long one, but we got home at 11 and were able to get up and ready for school the next day.  That weekend we worked in the side yard – cleaning out our garden and moving rocks. We had about 6 huge bowls FULL of tomatoes – mostly pear and cherry tomatoes, and about 10 watermelon and 10 pumpkins and a bunch of onions. We had to freeze a bunch of it and give lots away! Very yummy, though! And it was so neat to carve our very own pumpkins! That evening, the 25^th, we headed to the Aquatic Center for their Spooktacular Event. The girls got to wear their costumes, play games & get lots of candy! The 26^th was Kezia’s 5^th birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEZIA! See her section for details. That next Monday, the girls’ school had a Starry Starry Night event where they made siluette puppets, Moon Dough, and rockets – and they got to look at the moon through expensive telescopes!  At the end of the month we got to have some visitors passing through! Grandma Devenish, Aunt Deb & Aunt Lurae stopped by on their way to & from St. George for lunch and a visit and Grandma Potts & GG Tew also stopped by on the way to & from St. George! It was wonderful to see them! Halloween night was perfect for trick-or-treating! Daddy took the girls for 3 and a half hours! They had a great time and got LOTS of candy!

JASON:  Jason worked hard the time before our vacation to get everything done and enjoyed his time off in California with his family.  He is settling in more to the fleet position job and doing well. Jason had Columbus Day off work & spent time working in the yard & also enjoyed a lunch date with his bride at the Main Street Grill. He caught a cold at the end of the month & stayed home a day to recover & is feeling a bit better. Jason still likes to stay up & watch information on earthquakes, solar flares, etc J

 

HEIDI: With October being Pregnancy & Infant loss awareness month as well as SIDS awareness, Heidi felt strongly that she needed to write specifically about her experience with Link and the things she is changing for Noelle. She got a lot of positive feedback and over 16,000 views on her post. She really is thankful that her message is getting out. She enjoyed visiting with her old roommate after the St. George marathon – it was great to see her. Heidi started a new health “challenge” at the end of the month – called the Diet Game. Cindy decided to join in, too. It’s a lot more detailed than the 8-week challenge, and it’s based on teams, but so far Heidi is feeling pretty good about it, even though it’s hard. She has been running with Diane a couple times a week  in the mornings as well and has enjoyed that time. The beach vacation was exactly what Heidi needed at the time. It was relaxing and wonderful to make memories! Heidi was released from Primary this month. She misses Ireland & her class, but is also enjoying her time with Noelle & Jason in Sunday School. She is still in charge of publicity for Relief Society and enjoys putting together the posters and flyers. This month was a “make & take” night & she made a felt flower pillow and started some holiday blocks. 

McKINLEY:

-Some fun 4H activities McKinley did in October were a field trip to go bowling, glow in the dark games, and lego building. She really likes going!

-McKinley is still doing well in school & enjoying 3^rd grade. She spends a lot of time at school with 4H as well!

-On the 15^th, McKinley went to Aiden Anderson’s birthday party. It was Harry Potter themed and she came home with a cape, a wand, a book of spells, and treats.

-McKinley enjoyed the beach house and the beach. She loved to walk up and down the shore and find seashells. She also would bring her notebook so she could draw the things she saw – flowers, birds, etc. She was excited about the 500 piece cupcake puzzle at first, but then wanted to give up. It was hard! But after a break, she worked hard with her dad & mom & finished the whole thing!

-We took McKinley to the doctor’s this month for her allergies. She has also been saying she hasn’t been breathing well. Dr. Polson said they can be related & prescribed some medicine for her to take.

-It was red ribbon week at the end of the month and McKinley had fun wearing a mustache, getting to wear her pjs and making her hair crazy!

-McKinley was so sweet for Kezia’s birthday. She was up till 11pm – wrapping presents & making her a cute card. She gave her her Amercian Girl Doll & wanted to giver her her scooter. She also made scarf for her. So thoughtful!

-For Halloween, McKinley wore the costume that Tiarra gave us – she was a greek fairy. Lots of people thought she was an angel or a princess, but no matter what she was beautiful!

-One day mom was fixing her hair & she said it looked kind of “Kidly” – as in, not cool.

IRELAND:

-In the car on the way somewhere, Noelle was crying. Ireland said “MOM- Noelle is crying!” (she likes to inform her of this frequently). Mom said “yes, I know.” Ireland said “Well, fix it!!”

-One night the girls were not going to bed & there was fighting & Ireland came out crying. Mom asked what was wrong & Ireland said “I just know that Heavenly Father is so mad at me!” Mom talked to her & apparently, she had drawn poo.

-On the last Sunday that mom taught Ireland’s primary class, Ireland turned to mom & said “I will miss your lessons…” That made mom feel good & she was about to comfort her when Ireland continued “… you know, because you give out skittles.”

-One day “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga came on the radio. Ireland said “she has a language of her own.”

-Ireland LOVED the beach. She was really in her element. She would run and skip on the beach. She would dance in the waves. She would skip everywhere. She would yell at the ocean. She would dance and dance. We loved watching her. Unfortunately, we tried to be diligent about sunscreen, but she had a spot on her back that got pretty sunburned L

-For crazy hair day on red ribbon week, mom made Ireland’s hair into a Potato Head. Unfortunately, she was complaining about it hurting her head so we had to take it off right before she went to school.

-For Kezia’s birthday, Ireland gave her a random marker that didn’t have a lid.

-For Halloween, Ireland was a beautiful bride. But she wasn’t that happy about it. She said “This is gross. That means you have to kiss someone.” Mom told her she could be a dead bride & she replied “that’s even grosser!”

KEZI A:

-One day Noelle was playing with Kezia’s book order from preschool. Kezi said “You can’t let Noelle play with that!” Mom said “Never?” And Kezia said “not until Jesus comes again.”

-Another day one of her projects got ripped & she was really upset. Mom tried to comfort her & she said “Only money will make me feel better.” MmmmmHmmmm…

-Kezia was telling daddy that she kept finding pennies on our floor. Daddy said “really?” She said “Yeah!! Our house is like a wishing well!”

-Kezia bought something with her penny points and afterwards threw a HUGE fit because they didn’t give her a receipt! (she has some concept about receipts being worth something)

-We were taking Kezia’s friend, Adelaide, home and she sat on Kezia’s carseat. Kezia was NOT happy about that & started crying. Adelaide moved to Ireland’s car seat & Kezia looked at her & said “Now isn’t that refreshing to sit there?”

-When we made it to California & were at the beach, we warned the girls about the dangers of the ocean. Kezia does not like things that scare her, so for most of the first day, she just stayed way on the beach and gathered sea shells. Mom asked her why she wouldn’t even put her feet in the water & she said “it’s gonna wash me away!” But after that first day & she “got her feet wet,” she had lots of fun in the waves. And when mom said to come in, she said “But I don’t want to miss any of the waves!” J

-It was Kezia’s month for a lunch date & she chose Denny’s. Mom was talking with her about things & asked her what made her happy. She replied “My Birthday!.... (pause)… I mean, that God is all around us.”

-One day Kezi had a “store” for mom. She made lots of drawings &  put each one in an envelope & let mommy “buy them for free!”

-For the Aquatic Center Halloween party, Kezia wore the Queen dress that Ireland wore last year. We were running out the door & mom told Kezi to put shoes on. Well, when we got there, mom found out that Kezi had chose cowgirl boots to wear with her pretty queen outfit J

-HAPPY 5^th BIRTHDAY KEZIA!! Kezia’s birthday was on a Sunday this year, so it was pretty mellow, but she still had a wonderful time. For her meals, she wanted Krave cereal for breakfast, chicken nuggets for lunch, and homemade corn dogs for dinner. She got lots of Frozen gifts – nail polish, an activity book, a hat & gloves & her big gift – Elsa & Anna dresses! She was so excited. Mom even made her a Frozen cake & cupcakes with the rings she wanted. She got lots of Happy Birthday songs and she even wore a “birthday girl” ribbon to church J She also got a bike-riding Barbie from Grandma Devenish and a Hello Kitty bowling set from Aunt Keeley! In the evening, dad spent quite a lot of time making the Olaf Piniata that she wanted. It was fun to smash & eat candy!

-For Halloween, Kezia decided to wear her Elsa dress that she got for her birthday. She felt bad that she couldn’t wear it to preschool that day, but she did get to wear it to Walmart & people pointed & smiled & one girl said “Hi Elsa! I love your hair!” Kezia was a trooper & went the whole 3 and a half hours of trick-or-treating without complaining!

LINK:

It was neat to get the CD of pictures from our photoshoot last month & post them & tell people about the miracle of the rainbow. We can’t wait to print the pictures. We thought about you a lot on Halloween, wondering what we would have dressed you up as & how much you would have loved to go trick or treating & get candy. We love you & miss you forever.

NOELLE: -

-This girl is half a year already! She is truly SO much fun! She is so interactive and loves to GRAB GRAB GRAB!

-She is getting to be such a strong sitter – she hardly ever topples over. She has just started to reach forward while she’s sitting. We think she’ll get into crawling position soon!

-Noelle has started doing the cough-cry thing.

-She clearly will say dadadada or mmmmmmaaa when she’s tired or upset.

-One day mommy was making French toast & had Noelle in the Bumbo. Mom thought she was far enough away but suddenly Noelle cried out and mom realized she had burned the bottom of her little foot L We no longer are using the bumbo.

-We got the mirror/band/lights toy from the basement & Noelle has really taken to it. She hits the drums, piano and makes the guitar go, too. It’s so fun to watch her.

-Noelle continues to do very well with solids! She will usually eat an entire package during our meals!

-Noelle had her 6 –month wellness visit this month. She went from the 12^th percentile to the 36^th! (yup – she’s lovin’ those solids!) Her height is the 12^th percentile & head is 100%. She had to get 3 shots L but did pretty good.

-Still no teeth, but she definitely acts in pain sometimes. We hope one pops through next month!

-Noelle still sleeps right next to us in the crib – strapped into the Guardian Sleeper and with the Snuza on. She is usually up at about 10pm for a feed & then at 3am.

-She still rolls over from her tummy to her back & from her back to her side, but not all the way from her back to her tummy yet. She is enjoying tummy time a LITTLE more & has started trying to get her bum up in the air.

-Noelle has really started to take notice of Sydney & other dogs. She gets excited when they come near & she likes to pet her fur :)