Some answers & info

The past couple days have been busy. They moved Link from the NICU to the Encdocrinology floor. Then they moved all of us to another room on the 5th floor so Jason & I could sleep here with Link. We're still on the waiting list for the Ronald McDonald House.
They took out the PICC line in Link's left arm & put a new one into his left foot. That was a painful process & I hate to hear his screams. :-( The other difficult thing was that they tried to draw his blood when his blood sugar was low & they couldn't get enough & he was screaming & he ended up getting so upset that his blood sugars rose & they ended up not being able to get the sample anyway. Not fun. They also removed the PICC from his head, which is nice :) Right now he is on 30% Dextrose at 18.5 ml/hr. That's quite a lot of sugar. And now he's having some intestinal issues. Poor guy. He has been pretty good overall, though. Love this little dude.
Today was a bit better than yesterday. The biggest reason is that we got some answers on what's going on with our sweet boy. The genetic tests are back. They got Link's test & it showed one genetic mutation. It took another day before they got the results back from us - the parents. But we JUST heard that the results show that the gene came from Jason. Which is REALLY good. That means that there is a VERY high chance that Link has focal disease instead of diffuse, meaning that they should only have to take out a portion of his pancreas instead of the entire thing.

So - Link has officially been diagnosed with hyperinsulinism. If you want to know more about it, go HERE.  Jason & I watched this yesterday & it REALLY explained a lot & went through the whole process of what needs to happen. Right now, Link's PET scan is scheduled for Tuesday, December 4th & his surgery is scheduled for Friday, December 7th. I am so relieved that we are getting some answers & are looking at moving forward. Dr. Adzick will be doing the surgery & he is really THE MAN. He has done more than anyone & he has pioneered amazing surgical procedures (among which is a breakthrough in-utero Spina Bifida surgery that he was on Good Morning America to discuss).
Jason & I got to walk to the grocery store today. FREEZING! But so good to get outside finally & walk around & see all these beautiful old buildings. Also - Carrie Underwood stopped by CHOP today & it was fun to hear her answer the kids' questions :)
THANK YOU again for all the prayers & support! They have truly sustained us!

Philadelphia

I have thought about how to start this post & I'm not sure even where to begin. 

It's been a pretty amazing, intense, crazy past couple of days. My heart has been going through such a range of emotions:

Link & Dr. Carroll

Frustration that the nurses & doctors have to keep pricking & poking my little boy. You should see his poor little heels. I think about that initial PKU test & how hard that is to watch your baby go through. Think about doing that every 3 hours.
BUT ALSO...Gratitude for those same doctors & nurses. They truly care for him - they have the knowledge, the technology, and the concern that helps them care for my baby.

The Life Flight plane we took from St. George to Philly

Discouragement that we had to make this trip to Philadelphia. I mean, really, Philadelphia...what in the world!!??

Cozy cabin :)

BUT ALSO... so thankful that we made it here safely. We left at 3am this morning. Jason got to sit in the copilot chair. We made a couple fuel stops. Link was fussy for a little bit, but great for most of the time - he slept a lot. I slept a little, too. The Life Flight nurses were awesome. We really had no hitches & the weather was beautiful. SO thankful that Jason & I got to fly together. In the beginning they said only one parent could fly with him, so I was so thankful that we both could fly together & be together. We got here at 4pm Philly time. It's been a whirlwind learning protocol, meeting doctors & nurses, etc. But SO grateful that we're here & he can get the help he needs to get better & COME HOME.

Disappointment that we weren't able to get into the Ronald McDonald House today.
BUT ALSO... so grateful that they are letting us stay in a boarding room here & we get to sleep in the same BED! Yay!

Saying goodbye to the girls :'(

Extreme hurt and pain having to say goodbye to my girls yesterday. There were times I thought I wouldn't be able to breathe when I thought about not being able to see my girls for a month or more. I can't tell you how difficult it was to give them that last hug - smell their hair - kiss their cheeks. I love & miss them SO much already.
BUT ALSO... full of gratitude for my family in Salt Lake who are caring for my beautiful girls. I know they are in good hands and I'm just so thankful that our family did not even miss a beat & stepped in right away to support us in our time of need. Jason's family has been so amazing as well & I truly don't feel worthy of these awesome people.






So sad that we are here - not knowing anyone. In this huge city.
BUT ALSO - grateful to all the family to came to see us before we left. Link has had so many wonderful visitors. Both grandmas. Both grandpas. Jason's Aunt & Uncle & their spouses. My sister. Jason's brother & sis-in-law. So many wonderful people to see our beautiful boy.

Depressed that we are here at this time of year. Honestly... I can't even THINK about it being Christmastime or I start to get teary-eyed. How can I face the holidays when our family is separated? How can I listen to Christmas music without being able to dance with my girls? How can I enjoy all the lights & decorations when ours are going to sit in boxes this year?
BUT ALSO - thankful for my Savior, who this season is really all about. Through Him, I can do all things. Because He was born, I can have eternal hope.

Sad that we are the "needy family." I want to be the family that gets to GIVE, not receive.
BUT ALSO  - so very, very humbled in appreciation for those that have supported us through this ordeal adventure. The Facebook messages, texts, e-mails, calls, prayers, gifts, words of comfort... I cannot tell you how overwhelmingly amazing it is to know of & feel everyone's love & support. We are SO VERY blessed to have these people in our lives.

Heartbreaking to watch my son go through this. Sometimes it's just so hard to think that he is not just a regular, healthy newborn. He looks so good. You would never know he has low blood sugar issues. The heel pricks, the vials of blood taken for tests, the IV lines in his umbilical cord, his arm, his head. Wires & cords all over him. The endless noises & beeps. Sometimes I have to refrain from just ripping everything off of him & making a break for the door.
BUT ALSO so thankful for him in our lives. So thankful that so far he has been so good & mellow & sweet. He's let them prick him & do all these things to him with minimal fuss. He's so adorable. I LOVE kissing those cheeks. I LOVE watching him come into awareness more every day - he loves looking at mom & dad. He loves looking out the window. He loves hearing us sing to him. I love him so very much & so thankful that his issues are still so minor compared to so many. I am so very thankful for him in our lives.

Can we say EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER? I think Jason is feeling a little bit like this...


We'll know more tomorrow, but we talked briefly with a couple of the endocrinologists tonight. They are going to keep things as they are tonight - try & keep him stable - and then probably run some more tests. They are still waiting for the results of the genetic test I mentioned in my last post. They said that will tell them more about what they are dealing with. If Link has issues with his pancreas, they would be either focal or diffuse. Focal (a recessive gene from one of us) would be a smaller portion of the pancreas that is producing too much insulin - and they would just be able to remove that smaller portion & he should be fine. If it's diffuse (a recessive gene from both of us), he might have to have most or the entire pancreas removed & most of the kids who have to have their pancreas removed will later have diabetes as a result of not having enough insulin. If he needs surgery, they are talking 4-6 weeks of being here.

So - that's what we know right now. I'm sure this week we'll be learning more about hyperinsulinism, hypoglycemia, and how things work at CHOP, including meeting all the doctors & nurses working with Link.

Everyone has been so amazing - asking what they can do to help. At this point, I think we mostly just need prayers. Please pray for Link's doctors & nurses - that they will be able to help him, comfort him, and understand his health problems. Please pray for Link - that he can continue to be mellow and understanding and that his body may heal. Please pray for Jason & I - that we will have the mental, emotional & spiritual strength to get through this & learn what we are supposed to learn through this trial. Please pray for those amazing family members watching over our sweet girls who are missing their mommy, daddy & brother. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for all your support.

Update on Link

Life can just be hard sometimes. And sometimes (many times) our expectations don't match reality. I expected to have a perfectly healthy little boy. I expected to be able to take him home in his new car seat within a couple days of his birth. I expected to let his big sisters smother him with hugs and kisses - help with burping, baths & binkis. My expectations certainly didn't include being in the NICU - let alone for 12 days now. But, of course, no one really expects that. 

Link's doctor says he's "that kid" - you know - the one that keeps him up at night, researching... trying to figure out what the deal is. For a while, he was doing great with weaning off the glucose, but at 25% concentration, 6 ml/hr Dextrose (sugar water - glucose), Link has stalled. Every time they try to go below that level, his blood sugar readings drop. They want his blood sugar readings to be above 55, but they keep dipping into the 40's & 30's. They've tried upping the hydrocortisone. They've tried upping the food - they have his feeding tube at 25 ml/hour + as much breastfeeding & bottlefeeding as he'll take. And just yesterday they started a new medicine - Diazoxide. It is supposed to block the insulin. They started the dose at 5 - today they are maxing it out at 15. It will take till Friday to really see if this medicine is going to work. And we are all P R A Y I N G it will work. Because if it doesn't... (d e e p breath, cringe)...
they are setting things up for a transfer to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). This Children's hospital is where all the research & experts on hyperinsulinism are located. From their website: 
An additional cause of hypoglycemia in children includes a condition called hyperinsulinism. This may occur as a result of abnormal cell development of the special "beta" cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin or from a mass in the pancreas. Some children are also born with errors in their metabolism that can lead to hypoglycemia.

Today they are taking out his UVC (the IV through his belly button) and putting in a PICC line - and the people at CHOP recommended some labs that would help rule out some rare genetic disorders. One of the labs is a very specific genetic test where they are drawing blood from me, Jason & Link. That lab alone is $8,000 (did I mention how grateful I am for insurance?) 

Jason & I are holding up pretty good. He is my rock & my anchor. What a wonderful daddy & spouse he is.  He is watching the girls for today & tomorrow & then they'll come back down to St. George (they were here last weekend as well) so we can be a family for Thanksgiving. 

Prayers on Link's behalf are very much appreciated. We have felt them. We know that we are loved & being watched over. I truly believe Link sees some very special angels watching over him that we cannot see. I will try to update this blog again when we know more. Thanks again for all the support & prayers. 

The Adventures of Link Hamilton

I have posted plenty of this on Facebook, but I thought I'd give a few more details & pictures on the blog: the adventures of our 4th-born child, 1st son, Linkin Dallin Hamilton.

I woke up a little after midnight on November 7th (I was 39 weeks). Gosh, I sure seemed wet. I really doubted that my water had broken - it usually never breaks until RIGHT before the baby is born. However, while I knew that my bladder control had weakened since delivering 3 other babies, I didn't think it was quite that bad. And then I stood up and - GUSH - my doubts were quickly dissipating that that this was anything other than amniotic fluid. I called (& finally YELLED) to my sweet husband to get outta bed & we talked things over. This was quite unexpected. We called my friend Diane (ANGEL ON EARTH) who came to the house to be with the girls & I drove over by myself just to make SURE this was what we thought it was (as if there was any doubt as I left a trail of water walking to labor & delivery). I arrived in L&D about 1:15am or so. Jason arrived about a half-hour later. 

And then... it was a L O N G night and following day. 

I was only a 1+ when I got there & they gave me 3 doses of cytotech over about an 8 hour period before I was dilated enough for pitocin. Did I get an epidural? You better believe it - by that time I was so exhausted. And I was so thankful that I did get the epidural. The epidural was light enough that I could move my legs & feet. In fact, my midwife had me do some hands & knees positions & I could hold my own. I could feel the pressure, but not really the pain. And I'm pretty sure I would have felt some pain given that he was posterior & was up there, turning him as he came. Link didn't arrive until 6:40 PM(!!!)  He came with the cord around his neck & was pretty purple, but the purple quickly subsided to pinkish/red and was fine. I held my precious baby boy for the first time and just COULD NOT believe he was here. 

And that he was that huge. 

I knew he was a big boy from the moment I saw those huge cheeks. And then when they put him in my arms - WOW - so much different from the girls (7 lbs 11 oz sizes).  He ended up being 9 lbs, 6 oz! He was so adorable, though, and I was instantly in love.  I cherished that skin-to-skin time with him before they took him away. Little did I know that would be the last time I would hold him for a while without him being attached to some sort of machine. When they found out he had low blood sugar, they kept him in the nursery in Cedar & gave him some glucose & were hoping that things would improve. I would come into the nursery & feed him & we were told maybe it might be another couple days till he could go home. I wasn't quite prepared for the phone call from our doctor telling us that he had been working with the NICU doctor in St. George & with his blood sugar levels being so erratic and low, he felt they needed to transfer him to the NICU in St. George. He said the ambulance would be there in an hour & a half. I hung up the phone in disbelief. Everything was kind of a blur after that. Rushed check-out, paper-signing, gathering our things, watching as the emergency crew surgically inserted a line through Link's umbilical cord stump and loaded him into the waiting ambulance. I was kind of a wreck. A long, draining labor, minimal sleep, and all the post-pregnancy hormones were definitely displaying themselves as sobs and prayers and tears. 

  

So - here we are - day 5 of Link's life, and day 4 in the St. George NICU. We are staying in a boarding room one floor above the NICU, so we are able to be close to Link. The hardest part of this whole thing for me has been that I haven't been able to breastfeed him. They are worried that he is using more energy (glucose) breastfeeding than he's getting from the breastfeeding. I'm hoping that will soon change. For now I'm pumping every 3 hours. Waking up to feed your sweet baby in the middle of the night can be hard, but waking up in the middle of the night to a machine pump is just downright depressing.

So - do we know why his body is low in blood sugar? Well, Link is acting like a baby who's mother had gestational diabetes. I've been asked by numerous doctors if I was diagnosed & I tell them all no! My 28 week test came back totally fine. My weekly samples came back well in the normal range. What they are telling me is that even if I didn't have gestational diabetes, it is probably a matter of genetics. We do have some family history of diabetes. And Jason has some on his side as well. So... the poor kid gets to deal with bad genes. The GOOD news, though, is this isn't something he should have to deal with in the long term. Once his body learns to maintain its blood sugar levels, he will be fine & it doesn't mean he'll have diabetes or anything. 

So - what's his treatment plan & timeline? Well, they are giving him glucose and hydrocortisone. They are trying to SLOWLY wean him off the glucose. I say slowly because every time they try and push the weaning, his blood sugar levels drop & they have to up the glucose levels again. He's shown us that he's not going to just let them crank down the glucose & he'll adjust. He really needs time for his pancreas to stop shooting out that insulin. So - they are slowly weaning him off the glucose. Then they will be weaning him of the hydrocortisone steriod. Then they need to make sure he's going to be stable for a couple of days. So - right NOW that translates to about another week here - if he cooperates 100%. 

So - that's the scoop. It's been rough, but we have SO much to be thankful for. And in this season of thanksgiving, I want to count my many blessings & list them so I can remember how much I have to be grateful for!

1. I am SO thankful that my baby is HERE! There are not enough underlines, bold, italics, etc to express how grateful I am that my baby boy is here - on the earth, in my arms, and in our family. SO GRATEFUL!

2. I am so very, very thankful for my amazing, wonderful husband. For the 4th time, he was the force that grounded me in my labor. He was SO wonderful - multiple nurses and doctors marveled over how helpful he was & they kept saying they were going to hire him :) Not only has he seen me through the labor & delivery, but he has helped me work through it & keep it together through this whole NICU experience. There is a tiny baby girl in the room with Link & her mom is so sweet & is going through a divorce right now. I can't even imagine trying to go through something like this without your best friend & husband by your side. 

3. Our family & friend support system is unbelievable! Friends that have watched our girls whenever we have needed it. My mom & his mom - coming to watch the girls and staying to help. Our amazing family here in St. George (Hamilton's) - feeding us, watching the girls, helping us in every way. Prayers to heaven offered by SO very many family & friends. Messages from so many people asking what they can do to help. I am overwhelmed by the love, support & sacrifice of so many people. 

4. Both at the Cedar City Hospital & here in St. George... SO many wonderful, amazing nurses & doctors. Understanding, helpful, informative. They have been awesome. 

5. So thankful for this boarding room - and for the INCREDIBLE view of the St. George Temple from our window. Talk about helping us keep an eternal vision:

6. Insurance. We're still going to have some hefty medical bills, I am sure, but I am SO thankful for health insurance. It might be tight, but we should be fine. 

7. My girls. They are SO VERY excited to have their baby brother here. It's sad to have them only touch him through the isolette or hold him with all the wires, but they LOVE to kiss him & hold his hand and sing him songs. Can't wait to get him home & let them really get to love on him.

7. The weather. Still wish I was in Cedar, but I have to admit the weather here in St. George has been chilly, but just about right for me! 

8. Gospel perspective. I've had a few reminders lately through song or scripture that have reminded me that I chose to come here to have trials and see if I will choose faith instead of fear & doubt. I still have a way to go, but I  am going to choose to trust in God & His will for us. 

So - keep the prayers coming. We are certainly playing it by prayer. And waiting for the day we will have our "wireless Link" ;)

Some more pics :)

October Newsletter & Slideshow

Enjoy!

FAMILY:  On October 5, we headed up North for some fun with family & friends. See this post for more details :) On the 13^th, we headed to New Harmony for the apple festival! We enjoyed eating Navajo Tacos, playing on the bounce house, visiting the booths, and (of course!) getting some yummy apples & apple cider. Grandma Tew & Donna stopped by on their way to St. George & we showed them our home & gave them some of the yummy cider. It was good to see them! On the 18^th, the Hamiltons stopped by to see us on their way up north. We met at Discovery Park & ate lunch and enjoyed the beautiful morning. That evening we had a baby shower at our home hosted by Jen Strand. Heather Johnson, Elise Dixon, Lisa Anderson, & Diane Bealer came – and Kim & DeeAnn drove from Richfield to come, too. It was a lot of fun. Good food & wonderful gifts. Thank you!! On the 20^th, Jason took the girls swimming at the Aquatic Center while Heidi took pictures J They had a great time. That night we had dinner @ the Bealers & enjoyed our good friends. The 21^st we used the pumpkins & felt kits that Grandma Devenish brought us & had fun decorating pumpkins. The morning of the 22^nd, Jason took the girls fishing at the lake at the hills. McKinley caught 6 fish! The 23^rd-26^th was red ribbon week at South Elementary, so the girls had fun with backwards day, crazy hair day, PJ day, and crazy sock day. They also had some fun activities & assemblies that week! The 26^th was Kezia’s birthday – Happy #3 Kezi-boo! On the morning of the 27^th, we went to the Livestock Festival Parade on main street. We saw lots of trailers, horses, trucks, and sheep! It was a lot of fun. Afterwards, we headed over to the East Elementary Halloween Carnival that our friend Jen was in charge of. The girls were in their costumes & had fun going on the bounce houses, eating popcorn & cotton candy, playing games, and getting a balloon animal. McKinley also had fun seeing her teacher Mrs. Jones & a few classmates from last year. On the 29^th, for FHE, we carved our pumpkins. Kezia’s was a kitten, McKinley’s was Frankenstein & Ireland’s was just a really scary face! Halloween was on Wednesday this year & the girls got to go to a party at the church where they had a dinner, some goodies, dancing, and fun. Then, it was off to go trick-or-treating with daddy, who wasn’t feeling very good L We sure had a LOT of trick-or-treaters this year! We bought 6 bags of candy & it was all gone before 8pm! The girls got lots of candy, too. It was a warm year for trick-or-treating!

 JASON: Jason was able to work in SLC when we were there at the beginning of the month, so thankfully he didn’t have to take time  off. He enjoyed meeting some people up there & even did an impromptu training for them. He enjoyed his time fishing with Joseph & catching those catfish J He also had fun on the 27^th when he went with Adam Bealer to the SUU game. He said it was a lot of fun & a really close game. Jason was so good to spend time with the girls this month - especially since Heidi wasn't feeling up to a lot. He took them fishing & swimming and made a robot with McKinley. Jason was sick for some of the month. A couple days he had a really bad sinus headache & then at the end of the month he caught a really bad strain of strep throat. He had fever, chills, vomiting & a really sore throat. He was able to get to the doctor & get a shot & was feeling better within a couple days, thankfully.

 HEIDI: Heidi could not be happier that October is done & is looking forward to having this baby in November! Everything is 10x  harder to do with a huge belly, numb hands, aching hips & minimal sleep. She is thankful for the 2 baby showers that were given for her & the new little one. The wonderful gifts included a car seat, a nursery set, handmade blankets, adorable clothes, a diaper bag, diapers, wipes, and everything in-between. We are so blessed to have such giving, amazing family & friends! Heidi has worked this month to get the nursery ready, wash the clothes, get the hospital bag ready, etc. She’s feeling pretty ready to get this baby boy here! She’s thankful for the distractions this month, including all the activities up north & things going on around Cedar. She also read part of Redeemed (before she left it at the Potts) Breaking Night & is almost done with Goose Girl. She also enjoyed a night with the Relief Society making a wreath & eating yummy food.

McKINLEY:

-Mom met with Mrs. Robb for parent-teacher conferences this week & McKinley is doing great! She had lots of fun books that she made to take home & show us.

-McKinley asked one day “Mom – which one is my sweet tooth?”

-McKinley has been super-creative this month – especially on Sundays when we’re home most of the day. One Sunday, she made a flag and a container for dad to draw names to say prayers. Another Sunday, she & dad worked on a really cute, creative robot made out of the car seat box and another box. It was REALLY cute! She also wanted to make a tent in her room, so we helped put a sheet over the top of the 4-poster bed. McKinley said “We should TOTALLY put this on pinterest!”

-McKinley brought home her 1^st quarter report card. It looks awesome. Mrs. Robb put in the comments: “McKinley is a fine reader and writer, She is an exceptional student J” We’re so proud of you McKinley!!
-McKinley was so cute & wanted to help with the baby shower. She helped clean up & even made signs to hang up – pictures of mom’s big belly & pictures of her new baby brother.
-McKinley originally wanted to be the fairy godmother from Cinderella for Halloween, but mom couldn’t find a good costume, so she settled for being a wizard. She sure made a cute one! And she had fun trick-or-treating for about 3 hours on Halloween – including walking around with her friend, Brenna.

IRELAND:

 -Mom was scraping behind Ireland’s ears. Ireland asked what she was doing. Mom said “scraping the crust from behind your ears.” Ireland said “Yeah… it’s pizza crust.”
-Mom asked if one of her friends was being nice to her other friend. Ireland said “Yeah – he didn’t kill her life or anything.”
-Ireland has really mastered the monkey bars this month & has the calluses to prove it. They keep ripping & bleeding & we tell her to take a break once in a while!
-Ireland is still loving Kindergarten. Her teacher (Mrs. Ekker) says she loves having Ireland in her class.
-When we stayed with the Bensons at the beginning of the month, Ireland’s friend, Sienna, had a supergirl costume that Ireland LOVED & wanted to wear all the time, so she decided that’s what she wanted to be this year. We found the perfect one at Kid 2 Kid & she made an adorable supergirl. Mom brought treats to her class the morning of Halloween for her party. She came back from trick-or-treating after only about a half-hour. Mom asked why she was done so soon & she just said she didn’t want to eat too many candies or she’d have a tummy ache! She was mom’s helper after that – giving people candy.

KEZIA

-One night during her prayers, Kezia said “and please help our little guy to come out.”

-Kezia was a bit confused about all her early birthday parties. Mom asked her one day how old she was & she said “I’m 2, but I got 3 at grandma’s house.”

-One day Kezia said “that baby is trying to get outta your belly button!”

-When the sacrament bread came to us, Kezia said (rather loudly) “Wait! I get 2 cuz I’m 2!”

-Kezia turned 3 on the 26^th! We woke her up with a happy birthday song, but she was SO grouchy! She kept saying “It’s NOT my birthday! My birthday is at Logan’s house!” or “my birthday is at Addison’s house!” She wouldn’t let us sing and she didn’t want to push the button on the happy birthday dog & she wouldn’t “break through” her happy birthday ribbon. It took mom saying “Kezia, there are presents to open & one of them might have CANDY in it” in order for her to perk up & get up. After we kept telling her it was October 26^th & it was her REAL birthday, she finally warmed up to the idea & had fun eating her birthday pancakes, finding presents, eating her candy (that’s what she was MOST excited about J, and enjoying the day. She chose to have princess spaghetti o’s for lunch & corn dogs for dinner. Some fun gifts she got were: candy, a 3D picture viewer, Dora wondercolor book & markers, Dora outfit from Grandma Devenish, a wand & book, a gumball machine, etc. We had cake & ice cream that night. Happy #3 Kezi-boo!

-The night of her birthday, mom & dad stayed up a bit late with Kezia, telling her how special she is & how thankful we are that she has come to our family. We asked her if she knew that she came from Jesus. She said “Yeah – Jesus threw me down to you!”
-Everything that happened in the past is “last night” to Kezi – even if it happened during the day – or a month ago.

-Kezia is a tissue snob. She will NOT use toilet paper to blow her nose. She says TP is for her bum & tissues are for her nose!

-She likes to pick her clothes & not only do the pants & shirt need to match, but they both need to match her panties as well.

-Kezia was a pumpkin this year for Halloween. She matched her mamma, but WAYYY cuter! She had fun trick-or-treating & got LOTS of candy!

Up North!

We just got back yesterday from a wonderful trip up north. We stopped in Provo for a couple days to spend some time with some best friends, the Bensons, and then on to SLC to see family & go to the Carrie Underwood concert :) It was a jam-packed-full-of-fun time. Some highlights:

*Double-date with Brent & Mindy to Sizzler
*Staying up till 1am both nights - talking, laughing, playing Cranium (GIRLS RULE! - even when boys cheat!)
*Watching Conference
*Going to the park with the kiddos on a perfect afternoon
*Birthday Party for Logan & Kezia
*Kids had so much fun with their friends
*Heading up north - more conference with family
*Another early celebration of Kezi's birthday - complete with an ADORABLE Dora cake made by Cindy
*Hair done at Trisha's!
*Baby Shower @ Kneaders! Wonderful gifts including homemade blanket & diaper motorcycle, homemade onesies, diaper bag, and LOTS of cute boy clothes!
*Grandpa Potts taking the older girls to McDonald's & then Grandma & Grandpa taking Kezia for her special birthday date to Walmart.
*Trip to Discovery Gateway with the girls and the Simons. So much fun!
*Picnic at the Willow Park
*Jason & Joseph stay to fish till 10pm - caught a bunch of catfish & took them home to fry!
*3+ mile Preggo woman walk with Chelsea
*Costume shopping with Trish!
*Wheeler Farm with Trisha & mom
*Out to eat at Texas Roadhouse & then CARRIE UNDERWOOD with dad at the Maverick Center! What an awesome concert!
*Hogle Zoo! The polar bear & the tiger were absolutely putting on a show! It was awesome! & we got to see the new baby giraffe. So sweet.
*Heading home - and stopping by the red bard in Santaquin for some YUMMY ice cream & doughnuts!

All-in-all, such a wonderful, busy trip. I need all the busy-ness I can get for the next month to get my mind of waiting for this baby to come! :)

September Slideshow & Newsletter

Here's some of our family adventures this past month...

FAMILY:  The beginning of September was spent at Enterprise Reservoir for Labor Day weekend. We had such a great time catching fish (Heidi caught a bass, Jason caught a bass & trout & crawdads, and the girls caught some baby bass), riding bikes, roasting marshmallows, playing games, listening to the crazy rainstorm at night, and playing and playing in mud. The St. George Hamiltons even came up and joined us for a lot of Saturday & brought some fun 4-wheelers. What a fun weekend! The 6^th was our ward party & we had fun visiting & getting to meet some new people!  The 9^th was Sunday & it was McKinley’s 7^th birthday! Happy Birthday McKinley! See her section for more details on the fun. The 9^th was also the day that Heidi & Jason spoke in church. It went well, but Jason didn’t have much time at the end for his awesome talk L Heidi spoke from the talk “Coming to Ourselves” by Elder Hales & Jason spoke on “How to Obtain Revelation” by Elder Scott. The 10^th was South Elementary’s back to school bash. The girls had so much fun riding the train, doing the jumpy slide, and McKinley even got to do the walk-on-water bubble. Ireland & McKinley had fun seeing their school friends & teachers. On the 13^th, Grandma & Grandpa Potts came down & stayed with us for a couple days. They took McKinley out for her birthday date, did lots of piggyback rides, read lots of books, did some crafts, went for a walk, and on the 15^th, we got to go cheer Grandpa Potts on in the Cedar Half Marathon. He did great & took 3^rd place in his age group. Way to go Grandpa! Jason also got to see his friend, Brady Nielson & his family there as well. That evening we got to go to the block party with our Herriman friends, the Hooks. McKinley had so much fun reconnecting with Alyssa & we all had fun dancing to the live music, playing in the bounce house, eating yummy food, and free cotton candy. It was an all-around great time J On the 20^th, we headed to St. George. The adults went to the temple and then afterwards we had a little mini birthday party for the September birthdays – McKinley, Daken & Jeff. It was a great time! The 22^nd we had fun going to a swap meet in the morning, McDonald’s for lunch, checking out our lot in Enoch, going up to Woods Ranch to see the leaves, walking up to the fishing pond, and then meeting our friends at the park for a potluck. The 23^rd was the special temple dedication for the Brigham City temple & we had the Johnson kids over in the morning – Jason made pancakes & we had fun building temples out of marshmallows & toothpicks – while Heather & Dustin went to the 9am session, then our kids went over there & we went to the noon session. It was neat! On the 30^th , we made a quick trip over to Richfield to celebrate Aunt Kim’s birthday. It was great to see everyone & eat some yummy food!

JASON: September was a busy month for Jason with his boss gone and end of fiscal year arrangements to be done, but he did a great job & we’re all glad that a new fiscal year has begun. He’s enjoyed his calling in with the priests & getting to know everyone. Jason has been working on some family history & one night stayed up till 2am! He thinks he may have found his great-great-grandma on his dad’s side, so he’s pretty excited. He’s also started to read Lord of the Rings again J

 HEIDI: When we went camping over Labor Day weekend, Heidi slipped down the trailer stairs & really hurt her lower back. Thankfully, she & the baby were fine, though. She had her checkup this month & everything looked good. She really is looking forward to holding her baby boy in her arms finally. Heidi enjoys teaching the 6 year-olds and she enjoys visiting teaching & getting to know the ladies in the ward. She stays busy going to playgroup in the old ward & the new ward & she’s finishing up Kezia’s birthday book. She finished a Scottish historical novel called “Thorn in my Heart” this month, which was pretty good. On the 29^th, Jason watched the girls while Jason went to the Relief Society General Broadcast with Elise Dixon. It was great food and wonderful messages.

McKINLEY:

-McKinley continues to enjoy first grade. Her teacher, Mrs. Robb, had some hard times at the beginning of the year including sickness & some funerals, so that was hard, but things seem to be better now. Mrs. Robb said that McKinley is one of her very favorite students & she’s doing so well. She’s already passed off all her sight words for the year. Her friends in her class are Alyssa & Aurora & Gracie. She has a crush on Casen and Daniel & makes a heart with her hands & shows them J She’s also been learning lots of hand-clapping games at school & she really loves lunchtime. She sits by Ireland on the bus on the way to school & she sits by Olivia on the way home. She also likes to sit by her friend, Jenny.

-McKinley says she wants to be a teacher when she grows up AND a mom. She says “I know it’s hard word and I like hard work.”

-On the 8^th, McKinley went to a birthday party for Aiden in her class. It was a circus theme & was pretty amazing with magicians & face painting & game booths. McKinley even came home with a goldfish! (which, unfortunately, only lived for 2 days L

-McKinley turned 7 this month!! She was so very excited for her birthday. It was on a Sunday, so it was a little different than other birthdays, but it was still a lot of fun. She wanted the cereal Crave for breakfast & then she opened a couple gifts & we headed to church. Mom and Dad both mentioned McKinley’s birthday in their church talks & she got to wear the birthday hat & get sung to in Primary. Mom was teaching her primary class, so she brought cupcakes & we all had some J Since everyone knew it was her birthday, she got LOTS of Happy Birthday wishes at church.  For lunch, McKinley wanted homemade pizza, so we had fun making those when we got home from church. McKinley got to find more presents after that – including an MP3 player! She was SO very excited about that & has told most everyone that she got an MP3 player. We worked on setting it up & getting it going. For dinner, she requested Navajo Tacos & then we Skyped with the Potts & we all sang Happy Birthday to her while she blew out the candles on her cake. From mom & dad, McKinley got a Barbie coloring book, an MP3 player, a jacket, a farkol card game, some nail polish & some lip gloss. She got a Barbie, a shirt, a hat & some money from Grandma Devenish. Grandma Potts got her a birdhouse & a hummingbird feeder. Lots of great gifts! She’s VERY excited to be 7, though she asked mom what she gets to do now that she’s 7 & mom just said “go to first grade!”
-Mom & dad stayed up late with her on her birthday, looked at her birthday book & told her how special she is in our family. Afterwards, we played her new Farkol game. The baby was really active in mommy’s tummy, so McKinley got to feel him. Apparently he wanted to put on a show for her birthday because he just kept moving all around & kicking her hand &McKinley was laughing so hard that she was crying! J

-After dad had had a couple of really busy, late days at work, McKinley decided he deserved breakfast in bed, so she made him some chocolate milk and got his cereal ready in his bowl & brought it to him. It was so sweet J

-One Sunday, mom worked with McKinley to learn how to finger knit. She has really taken off with it & made at least 7 bracelets for family & friends!

-McKinley was supposed to give a scripture in primary & she decided to read 1 Nephi 3:7-8, where Nephi says “I will go & do the things which the Lord hath commanded…” She did a great job J

-One afternoon, McKinley decided to put together a band. She made a drum (for daddy) out of an empty ice cream bucket, 2 guitars (for McKinley & Ireland) out of empty Kleenex containers & rubber bands, and a tambourine (for Kezi) with 2 plates stapled together with noodles inside. She called it the “family band” J

IRELAND:

-Ireland continues to love Kindergarten as well & scored a 32 on the DIBELS test, which is great! She knows about 45 sight words now & is getting really good at reading. She sits by McKinley on the way to school & sits by her friend Isabella on the way home & they love to talk. Every recess she gets, she works hard at doing the monkey bars & she’s gotten REALLY good! She can go all the way across by herself & she has the calluses on her hands to prove her hard work. She even got a blister & had to wrap it for a couple days. She’s been practicing writing her letters for homework and she’s getting really good at it. Mrs. Ekker says Ireland is a joy to have in her class!
-One day we were talking about what the girls wanted to be when they grow up. Ireland said “I want to be everything when I grow up!”
-Ireland REALLY loves it when daddy gets to stay home from work & she expresses her gratitude in her prayers “and thank you that daddy didn’t have to go to work today”
-Ireland gave a talk in Primary this month about Helaman & the stripling warriors. She did a great job repeating what mom said & didn’t get the giggles at all! Great job Ireland!
-One day we were talking about skeletons & Ireland said “Yeah… and when you die and you have a skeleton & someone that didn’t die can take your skeleton for Halloween & it will be really scary”
-Ireland has had a harder time this month with telling the truth & remembering to ask before taking things. We’re working on it!

KEZIA

-Mom & Kezia have enjoyed their mornings together lately. Sometimes we paint. Sometimes we read. Sometimes we play games or go for a walk. One day we were out walking & we saw a black cat. Mom asked Kezia where she thought the cat was going & Kezia said “It’s going visiting teaching to that house.”

-At the ward party, Kezia was running around with her sisters & friends & playing. The next thing that we know, she is screaming. Jason ran over & stripped her down naked – in front of most of the ward. There were red ants all over her!  One was especially mean & clinging to her neck. They were attacking another little boy, too, that Jason tried to help. She does love to play with ants, so hopefully after that episode, she will stay away from the red ones.

-Kezia still loves her little “friends” & she has a little Winnie the Pooh. She held him up to mom one day & said “Look mom! Winnie the Pooh has a baby in HIS tummy, too!”

-Mom was singing to Kezia one day “..One fell off and bumped his head. Momma called the doctor & the doctor said…   what did he say Kezia?” Kezia – “he needs a band aid.”

-Kezia’s prayers have been more appeasing to what she wants. An example…”And please help that we will play with Anna & Ella and we’ll go to Walmart and get candy.”

-McKinley got a huge bag of birdseed for her birthday & Kezia had made a huge mess with it. Mom asked her to clean it up & she said “but I’m just making a sandcastle!”

-One day Kezia was looking at daddy’s socks & she asked “are there words on your socks, dad?” and he said “Yes. They say George.” Kezia said “Curious George?”

-Kezia has been getting so tall. Every day for bed she would reach to turn off the light, but she couldn’t quite make it, but in the last couple weeks, she’s JUST tall enough!

 -There was a katydid on the ceiling of our covered deck. It was pretty cool to look at. It was walking up there & mom said maybe it was looking for its family. Kezia said “Yeah – maybe they’re in Arizona.”

-Mom & Kezia were in the foyer at church during sacrament. There was a picture with Jesus & a boat. Mom asked Kezia what she thought Jesus was saying to the men in the boat. She said she didn’t know. Mom said “Jesus is saying Come Follow Me. Stop what you’re doing and come follow me!” Kezia said “ohhh… like… like Potty Time! Stop what you’re doing!”

-When Kezia gets upset, she’ll say “oh, dangit.”