February Newsletter & Slideshow

https://picasaweb.google.com/103753336633055957263/2014_02_Slideshow

FAMILY:  On the first Sunday of the month, the girls got to hand out programs at church and were so cute, smiling and welcoming everyone as they entered the chapel. Jason & Heidi got to go to the temple twice this month (thank you Camri!!) & loved taking family names through. On the 7^th, Heidi took a great aunt on her side & Jason took a great uncle on his side – both of which had birthdays of September 9^th, which is McKinley’s birthday! Pretty neat! Jason took the girls sledding after our one big snowstorm at the beginning of the month & they had a great time.  On the 12^th, we headed down to St. George again – this time for another Noelle ultrasound. The girls all came and we loved seeing how much she’d grown since we last had an ultrasound at about 19 weeks. The 3D even showed how chubby and cute her cheeks are getting J Afterwards, we headed to the park and enjoyed some exercise and sunshine.  Valentines was a fun day. Daddy bought the girls their white roses and mom got a dozen red ones, along with candy. Daddy also made pink heart pancakes for breakfast. Mom “heart-attacked” the girls doors with post-it notes featuring all the things she loves about them. Mom fixed their hair in hearts and they brought back lots of candy from school. Dad took the day off to be a watchdog at their school – meaning a helper and a safety guy. The girls had been looking forward to that all year long & were SO excited to get to see their dad at school & play with him at recess!  That evening the girls hung out at the Bealers while mom and dad went to see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and then out for a romantic dinner at The Garden House. It was a wonderful day. We got to see the Corrys new baby boy this month, Kaden. He is really cute and we are so excited for their family! When Jason went on an overnight scout trip this month, Heidi decided to let the girls have a lateover. McKinley invited Kiersten Corry and Ireland invited Shaylee Johnson. We had fun making & eating pizza, painting nails, watching the “real” 101 Dalmations, and eating caramel popcorn J The 17^th was President’s Day & we had full intentions of going on the Kanarraville Falls hike. Unfortunately, it seemed to be ill-fated. Neither Jason nor Heidi brought money & the parking lot was $10, so Jason parked about a ½ mile away & walked up to meet us, but then we saw a sign that said NO DOGS and we had Sydney with us. Sigh… so, we headed back home. We still had fun, though, and Jason took McKinley out for a date while mom took Ireland & Kezia swimming. The girls also had fun this month going to our neighbor, Mahina’s, birthday party. They had been looking forward to it all week and had a lot of fun. We have been really lacking in moisture here in Utah this year. We fasted for moisture and got some, but it melted pretty quickly. It has sure made it nice, though. We’ve gone on walks, the girls have ridden their scooters & bikes & played in the backyard more. We also enjoyed watching the Olympics this month, though for part of the month it didn’t come in on our TV. We did get to see ice dancing, some bobsledding, the ski halfpipe, some slalom, and women’s skating. It was a lot of fun and the girls had fun staying up late J GO USA!

JASON: Heidi made “14 days of Valentines” for her sweetie this month & had fun leaving all sorts of treats for him every day, along with witty sayings J  Jason enjoyed being a watchdog at the girls’ school and getting to meet their teachers and friends and help out. Jason enjoyed watching the superbowl – at least half of it – Denver pretty much gave up the game from the beginning, so we ended up watching America’s Funniest Home Videos. Jason had an overnighter with the scouts this month up at the Davies cabin. He said they played a fun game & had a good time. They also hiked the Bristlecone Trail. Jason got a sweet surprise in the mail this month from our good friend, Vic Jackson (Lucy Jackson’s dad). He had made him a dog tag with a picture of Link on one side and picture of Link and Jason on the other. He wrote a sweet note about how dog tags identify people and Link is a part of Jason’s identity. Jason has worn it quite a bit and it’s such a neat gift. He has also taken more time this month for family history and enjoyed talking with his Aunt Margaret on the phone – clearing up some confusion & getting more information about his relatives on that side. Jason apparently has decided to grow his hair out & it’s almost long enough to braid now!

 HEIDI:  Heidi was busy with her calling this month - making posters for the upcoming Relief Society meeting about family history work. She also made flyers and door-to-door postcards. It was fun to get to be creative J Heidi still deals with the 3^rd trimester difficulties, but it’s par for the course. She went to the chiropractor a few times, but didn’t notice a major difference, so she is just trying to stay active and do yoga to help with the carpal tunnel, sciatic pain, and achy hips. She is grateful for all her helpers that pick things off the floor for her J She did have a bit of a scare in the middle of the month when Noelle wasn’t moving quite as much as she usually does – she went into the hospital in the morning and they did a non-stress test and she was fine, which was such a relief to Heidi.  She went to a Share service day, where she got to help make headbands for stillborn babies & visit with some great ladies. Much of this month was spent in memory projects for Heidi. She has scanned all her hard copy pictures up through college and has transferred probably 50+ video or camcorder tapes to her computer. She has enjoyed seeing these videos – especially the ones from when she was in elementary school. One of them reminds her very much of Ireland. She also shared a couple of these videos (from 1984 &85) with her family & got lots of fun comments & reminiscing. One night while dad was at scouts, Kezia got out the lotion and each of the girls took a hand or a foot and gave mom a wonderful massage. It was so nice.  The girls have also been cute about wanting to fix mom’s hair this month. They will fix and brush and spray and primp and eye-shadow till mom is just beautiful! Heidi decided to go ahead and start therapy this month to help her deal with some anxiety she is having about Noelle’s upcoming birth. The first day brought out more emotions than anticipated & she was pretty emotional all day long. The family was so sweet, though, and brought her breakfast in bed to help her feel better the next day. She is sure thankful for her family.

McKINLEY:

-McKinley had fun at activity days this month – including sweeping Sage Drive and passing out Stake Conference reminders. She also got to go to a Stake Activity Day get-together on the 8^th. She learned about families and made a “service wand” that you place wherever you do a service. She gathered the whole family together when she got home to talk about what she had learned & how the service wand works J

-McKinley learned how to make friendship bracelets & made one for Emma Beacham during Stake Conference, along with a sweet note.

-McKinley also made a few projects from Aunt Trisha’s craft box that she got for Christmas, including crystallized pipe cleaners (cool!), silly sludge (crazy!), and a button bowl (that one didn’t quite turn out, but was fun to try).

-McKinley’s creativity kept going & she put on a little play that we printed out and then she decided she wanted to make her very own play, so she wrote the script, directed it & starred in it J Way to go McKinley! She also did a cute treasure hunt for the family where there were about 7 different clues and we ended up finding stickers in the end.

-McKinley & Ireland had a cool happening at their school – a helicopter landed on their field & they got to go explore the inside!

-McKinley is reading The BFG (Big Friendly Giant), by Ronald Dahl in class & mom has enjoyed hearing about it J

-McKinley really enjoyed the Olympics and after watching skating she would put on socks and a dress and glide around the room.

IRELAND:

-Ireland had her first of what will probably be many trips to the orthodontist this month. He verified that her mouth is going to be too small for all those teeth & suggested we wait 6 months & then possibly proceed with a retainer and/or mouth expander. Ireland did great with all the pictures and prodding.

-Ireland has been learning all sorts of fun things this month! She continues to excel at jump roping. She also learned how to do McKinley’s ankle jump rope. She learned how to do a “3-braid” (yay!) and she learned how to make the friendship bracelets (she made one for every member of our family – including dad!). Way to go Ireland!

-Ireland doesn’t remember her dreams a lot, but one night she said she had a dream that Miss Whizzle (from the Magic Schoolbus) came to our house and we were all My Little Ponies and we were all running from a bad guy.

-McKinley & Ireland had a cool happening at their school – a helicopter landed on their field & they got to go explore the inside!

-It’s humerous listening to conversations in the van sometimes when mom takes the girls to school. One day they were talking about who had crushes on who. Ireland said “No one has a crush on me…” (and just when mom was going to say something about Ireland still being beautiful and wonderful and so many people loving her, she said)… “I’m lucky!” ;-)

-Ireland loved watching the Olympic ice skating, but mostly just talked about their outfits J She did, however, watch the ice dancing & said “Can Grandpa Potts do that – cuz he is a REALLLY good ice skater!”

-I showed Ireland a pictures of Aunt Cindy with some flowers she got for her birthday. Ireland just saw her & the flowers & said “Did she just get out of the hospital?”

KEZIA –

-Kezia earned a date this month & decided to go to McDonald’s. She & mom had a great time! J

-Kezia seemed to be missing her baby brother one Sunday this month. She wanted to keep singing his goodnight song and hold his picture.

-Kezia had a parent-teacher conference this month & her teacher talked about how great she’s doing! She is doing most things that the older kids that are going into Kindergarten this year are doing- and she’s REALLY taken to sight words! She knows about 30 sight words now. Way to go Kez!

-Kezia called for mom in the middle of the night and she went into her room. Her eyes were still closed & it was like she was still dreaming, but she was telling mom about her dream – something about her sisters in their room and spelling her name – K-e-z-i-a. And she was reaching out for something.

-One night as mom and dad were putting Kezia to bed, we started singing her goodnight song & she said “WAIT! I do not allow you to sign my goodnight song unless you are rubbing my back!”

-On Valentines Day, Kezia was so cute. She secretly colored & cut out a bunch of hearts. Then, she told mom to go in the other room & she would ring the front doorbell & run in & mom would say “hmmm – I wonder who is at the door?” and then she would find a heart. This happened about 3 different times & Kezia was so happy that mom never “figured it out.” Until the next day & she told the TRUTH about the secret heart giver J

- One time, Kezi said to dad “You go in the other room while I fashion-style mom to be Sleeping Beauty and then you can come in and be her prince and kiss her.”

-One day at church, Kezia said to mom “I think my mind is starting to tell me that I’m almost starting to fall in love with him” (the “him” being Luke Beacham – a 7 year old in our ward)

-Kezia has about 3 different containers for her “collections” and she has now started one for “prizes.” She will randomly tell people they can pick out of her prize bag. The difficulty comes when they pick something and she says “Um… sorry, you can’t have that. It’s too special.” So, they pick something else and she says the same thing. In the end, we tell her to just let us know which ones we can have J

-Kezi & Ireland have lately been wanting to be hammock-blanketed to bed lately – where we put a blanket on the ground, they lay on it, and we each take a side and carry them into bed.

LINK:

We enjoyed decorating Link’s grave for Valentines at the beginning of the month. It looked really sweet with roses, a decorative Valentine envelope and hearts. Kezia even picked out a pink butterfly & even though she didn’t want to leave it at his grave, she did and we are sure he enjoyed it. One night, we had pizza for dinner and Heidi looked around and had a very strong sense that Link should be there – that he was missing from our family. At that same moment, Jason commented on how Link would have loved eating pizza. We think he might have truly been close with both of us having those same feelings at the same time. Some friends of ours, the Corrys, had their baby boy this month & Heidi decided to give them one of Link’s outfits that he never got to wear. It was hard, but we are thankful to share and give something so meaningful to our good friends. Mom had a rough time on Valentines, missing her baby boy. It wasn’t the same to write Valentines’ notes to the girls and not our boy. One day, mom & Kezia stopped to visit his grave and a flock of doves flew right in front of them, low to the ground. It was a wonderful love note. Mom posted about our plans for honoring Link for his angelversary next month & we have felt his love and help as we have taken family names through the temple and continue to search out names. 

Learning to sing a new song

  
One of my New Year Resolutions this year was to scan all my old, non-digital pictures & get them backed up. Also - I'm transferring videos of my own and my parents to digital copies. 

It's been kind of fun and humorous to see the changes as I scan the years on by. Different friends, hairstyles, clothing, dates, classes, etc.  I was blessed to have good growing up years. Something, though, has been disturbing as I look at all the pictures and video.



It's me. 

It's Heidi.

The one that is smiling out from that picture... her. See that twinkle in her eye? Her excitement about life? Her hunger for new adventures? 

I miss her. I'm not sure exactly where she has gone. Have I lost her forever? Some days I think I have. I mentioned in this post that once Link died, I became a new person. It's completely true. I read a quote recently that basically said when someone close to you dies, you have to grieve two people - the person that died and the person you used to be.   I've lately been struggling with this new Heidi. I'm not sure if I can explain it. I want to be happy. I want to find joy. I want to enjoy life more than I ever have with my knowledge of how absolutely precious and fragile it is. I want to find a mix between that old, joyful  Heidi who is ready for adventure and challenge and this new one that has so much more wisdom and empathy. I wish I knew how. 

The other day as I was putting away laundry, I heard a song from the My Turn on Earth soundtrack & it stayed with me.  Here's a piece of it:

What does it take to make a family?
One that won’t break when the bumps come along.
What does it take to make a family?
People who work and love and laugh,people who sing a song.

What does it take to make a family?
One that is there even when you are wrong.
What does it take to make a family?
People who all forgive and help, People who sing a song.

Sing to yourself or sing out loud.
Sing very low or high.
Sing when you think the world’s just great
Sing when you think you’ll cry. 

What does it take to make a family?


One that will last more than just this life long. 

What does it take to make a family?


People who love eternally, People who sing a song.

And it just really hit me... I haven't been singing. That's it. I just haven't. I have listened to songs. I enjoy them. I like to listen to other people singing them, but I've stopped singing. I've sat on the sidelines and half-smiled. I've watched as Jason takes the girls sledding, swimming, etc, and I've stayed behind. It is nice sometimes to have that quiet. Time when I can cry and hurt. But I feel like my family has had to sing without me a lot. I've lost my song and I need to learn how to sing again. And how to smile a real, genuine smile again. 

I know it will still take some figuring out, but I am trying. I'm trying to actually, truly sing out loud. I'm trying to be there WITH my children as they sing their songs and sing along. It's going to take courage. It's going to take prayer to figure out how to sing this NEW song - different, more solemn, maybe, but truly joyful. My mom actually just sent me this song - seems to be there perfect one to start with!! (Thanks mom!)

January Newsletter & Slideshow

https://picasaweb.google.com/103753336633055957263/2014_01_Slideshow#slideshow/5977086516630917730

Hamilton Newsletter

January 2014

FAMILY:  2014 started out with McKinley going into the hospital for appendicitis. It was a bit scary, because her appendix had already been ruptured for at least a couple days, though we didn’t know it. She hadn’t complained about it till the day before. She  had to stay in the hospital for a couple days, but we are so thankful that she is okay and acting like herself again J For more details on her hospital stay, see her section. We joke that she was just wanting to give us a jump start on our healthcare deductibles for the year.  J Thankfully, she was feeling good enough to head to Salt Lake on Friday, January 10^th. The Checketts were in town with their latest addition, Grace. It was neat to be able to meet & hold our new niece/cousin. She is beautiful. There was also a little baby shower for Noelle and we celebrated Grandpa Potts’ 60^th birthday with a “surprise” (he knew about it) party. Also – little Grace Checketts was blessed on Sunday at Grandma Potts’ home. We were thankful to be there for all these wonderful milestones & events. We enjoyed seeing family & visiting. On Saturday, the 18^th, we decided to head down to St. George to check out the new Children’s Museum. There were a lot of people, but it was really fun & there was so much to see! Also – it is free, so that is even better! The girls had fun “milking cows,” changing tires, acting on stage, exploring electricity, making their shadows freeze, & playing basketball – just to name a few! Afterwards we had pizza & headed to the temple with Jeff & Keeley. It was a great time down south. The 20^th was Martin Luther King, Jr day and we decided to go for a little hike as a family – with our good friends, the Bealers. It was a beautiful day and short enough that even the little ones could make it. We have had such a dry winter. It has been nice, but the ward asked us to pray for moisture & the Lord delivered. We had quite a snowstorm at the end of the month & we are enjoying the white stuff. Another miracle was that the internet wasn’t working one day & Jason found out that Rainbow Truck had chewed the internet cords. It was kind of funny, but also sobering considering if he would have chewed a power cord, he probably wouldn’t be here right now. So – we are thankful for that. On the 29^th, our family went into the dentist. Looks like Jason & McKinley have a few to be filled & we got a referral to an orthodontist for Ireland L On the 31^st, we headed down to St. George to celebrate Keeley’s 40^th birthday. We enjoyed Café Rio, ice cream, & good company. Happy Birthday Keeley! It was also Maddy’s birthday & we called her to sing – Happy 2^nd Birthday Maddy!

JASON: Jason was very supportive with his oldest daughter in the hospital. He left church and came to gave her a blessing – then he stayed in the hospital at nights to help her. Thankfully, he could work from his laptop for a couple days & make up on lost sleep. We renewed our aquatic center membership & Jason has started working out again. He had fun this month with the Scouts this month at an assisted living center – singing songs around a piano for the residents. Jason’s truck wouldn’t start after work one day & after a bunch of calling around, we decided to take it to Amen Diesel. Thankfully, they were able to fix it fast & somewhat reasonably priced. Thankful to have 2 vehicles again!

 HEIDI:  It was pretty nerve-racking when McKinley went through her hospital ordeal. Memories of both Link’s death and his birth were everywhere. And her longer-than-expected surgery had Heidi pacing the floors. However, she is so thankful that Link was there to watch over McKinley, the doctors, and nurses working with her. She is so thankful for her beautiful McKinley & grateful to see her running around again J Heidi enjoyed her time in Salt Lake. She enjoyed putting together a short slideshow for her dad’s 60^th birthday celebration – it was fun to see some old pictures. She was also able to go to Olive Garden & then to the movies (The Book Thief) with her dad & sisters & then that evening she met up with a couple local SIDS moms. It was great to be able to visit openly with them.  Heidi has been reading more and also started “working out” again. She would like to be in at least moderate shape when this baby is born. The 3^rd trimester woes have begun and she finds herself waking up with carpal tunnel or sore hips. Also – sciatic nerve pain has shown up. Heidi decided to go see a chiropractor in our ward – Becca Whittaker. She’s only been once, but hopes after a couple more sessions, she’ll see a big difference. She blogged about their plans for Link’s angelversary & she’s excited to do more temple work in the next couple months!

McKINLEY:

-Saturday, January 4^th, was our primary meet and greet at the church. We all went in our PJs & had fun meeting our new teachers. McKinley wanted to play with her friend, Olivia, after the activity, so she went over there and they played for a couple hours. When she got back from Olivia’s, about noon, she started complaining about her tummy hurting. Mom advised that she try & eat something. She said it was still hurting, so mom told her to go lay down. After a few hours, she started throwing up. We thought it was the flu at that point and had her stay in our room for the night. She threw up about every hour and was moaning. In the morning (Sunday), we gave her some ibprofin & she took a bath & seemed better for a little while, but then she was hurting even more than before and finally mom decided to take her to the ER. We got there about noon & it took till 5pm for them to confirm that it was appendicitis. The surgeon did an exam & told us he really didn’t think it was her appendix because it wasn’t localized or inflamed. He thought it probably was the flu or something else & suggested we keep her there for a while to rehydrate her, but a nurse that worked there (Kim) really suggested we do some more testing because McKinley really was in a lot of pain. Her flu test came back negative & the x-ray didn’t show anything, so we proceeded with the CAT scan. About 10 minutes after she got back from the scan, Kim came in & told us it was appendicitis & they would be doing surgery that evening. At that point, we updated family & friends & asked for prayers. She went back to the OR about 6 & didn’t get back until 8. We were pretty worried, but found out it was because her surgeon (Dr. Munford) told us it appeared the appendix had already been ruptured for at least a couple days. McKinley stayed in the hospital for two more days, taking antibiotics and pain medicine through IVs. She had just had strep throat the week before, poor girl – so LOTS of antibiotics! She had wonderful cards, letters, phone calls & visits. The bishop kept checking on her, Krista Corry, Dr. Dowse, Lisa Riddle, The Bealers, The Hamiltons, Sister Beacham, and Mrs. Hardin all came to see her – and they all brought sweet gifts and things to keep her busy. She was in a lot of pain for about a week after she came home from the hospital. One time, she was hurting so much dad took her back into the ER just to make sure nothing else was going on. After about a week, she started to feel a lot better, though, and could get up and down without help and without pain meds and was eating better. Within another week, she was running around again. We are SO thankful she is okay & has guardian angels to watch over her! Everyone joked that she just wanted to extend her Christmas vacation (she ended up being out of school for about a month!)

-McKinley must have been spurred by creativity and missing her sisters when she got feeling better. Here are some fun things she did this month: She put out breakfast one morning & wrote a note to Kezi from one of Santa’s Elves telling her that he was watching her & that he liked her. She had a “McKinley Store” one day and when dad came home, he found various things on the living room floor for sale – including his 2 other daughters, dressed as dolls. She also woke up early one morning & had a “circus” -  drew circus animals and had circus music and spun her sisters on Link’s exersaucer for fun. She is so creative, loving & giving.

-McKinley & Ireland both went to the symphony for a field trip!

-Mom got some bamboo cooking utensils for Christmas. McKinley told mom “you shouldn't have gotten these bamboo spoons.  Now the pandas won't have enough to eat. 

-McKinley was student of the quarter for math – way to go McKinley!

-McKinley says “The part I liked best about January is going to grandma’s house & getting out of the hospital. I like Ashten, Taylor,  and I might be related to a boy in my class named KC Barton.”

-There are a bunch of vinyl quotes on the walls of McKinley’s school – most of them are from famous people like Albert Einstein. A FEW of them, though, come from students. McKinley is one of them. Her quote says “Remember to think what will happen at the end.” Great thought McKinley! We’re so proud of you!! 

 IRELAND:

-Ireland has LOVED the sparkly jump rope she got for Christmas. It’s in our living room and almost every time she passes it by, she picks it up & starts jumping. She’s gotten to 50 in a row. She can even jump backwards on one leg!! She is getting pretty tricky  & it’s fun to watch her!

-Ireland was pretty worried about her big sister when she had her surgery. When Ireland was at  church, Sister Beacham (the primary president) asked Ireland how she was. Ireland replied “My life is over! My sister is in the hospital!” After the shock wore off & we knew McKinley was going to be okay, though, Ireland got a bit jealous of all the gifts & McKinley missing school. She was glad when McKinley got to come home & life got back to normal J

-Ireland was a lucky girl this month. She got to go to Dennys for a lunch date with dad and Arctic Circle for a “date points” date with mom. We enjoyed our time with our spunky 6-year-old.

-Watching the girls play “store” one day, Ireland took a Barbie as was using the cash register’s conveyor belt as a treadmill J

-Ireland prays at night “And PLEASE bless that we WON’T – with a ‘T’ at the end – have bad dreams!”

-McKinley & Ireland both went on field trips to the symphony this month!

-Ireland got student of the quarter for Math. Way to go Ireland!!

-At assemblies, they do the “we will rock you” chant with the students banging on their legs. Ireland likes to do this at home, too, and sings “WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU!” as she bangs the table.

- When we were on a date, we saw a policeman chasing a car on the freeway. Ireland asked “Do those fast guys go in the dungeon when they get caught?”

-One day Ireland was doing a characteristic wardrobe change & she had a dress on. She kept asking where the umbrella was. Mom asked her why she wanted it. She said “I just want to see if I jump off the couch if my dress & umbrella will poof out and I will float like Mary Poppins.”

-Ireland didn’t have any cavities at the dentist (yay!) but her permanent teeth are coming in all crooked (boo!). Her mouth is just so tiny, so it looks like we’ll be doing a combination of roof expanding and pulling teeth. We need to get her into an orthodontist (already!)

-Ireland found out her cousin Joshua learned to tie shoes, so she is working on it! She’s almost got it!

-Ireland also went through a paper airplane phase. Daddy taught her how to make them & she made about 50 to “sell” to people.

-Ireland says “I like Isabella. I liked when I got to see my cousins. The end.”           

KEZIA:

-Kezia loves preschool and says “I wish I could go to preschool every each day.”

-Mom heard some fighting in the other room & then Kezia yelling “CTR McKinley!! That means you have to be nice to me!”

-Kezia is always trying to get her “grandpa that doesn’t like peanut butter” to change his ways. When we were over at their house, she grabbed a glob of peanut butter & came over to grandpa & said “Open your mouth & close your eyes!” He refused… maybe it was the smell or the patch of peanut butter on her face that gave her away.

-Kezia has been asking to go fishing a lot lately. Soon Kezi!

-Kezi & Adelaide Price play almost every Tuesday & Thursday after preschool. They usually get along great, but sometimes have disagreements. One day on the way home from preschool, Kezia was crying. We got home & mom asked what the problem was. Kezia said that Addie said “Let’s have a staring contest! … I win!” Kezia didn’t like losing and was crying. She turned around and yelled at Addie “Let’s have a crying contest... See!  I win!!”

-Kezia got to have a Teddy Bear picnic – she decided to take McKinley’s Snoopy Dog she got from being in the hospital.

-Kezia & Adelaide love to see this horse on the way home from preschool. Every day they look for her. They named her “Crystal Gem Gray Brown White.” One day Addie said “I am happy, but if I am sad it’s because do you know why? What if our horse is dead?”

-We went to St. George to celebrate Keeley’s birthday & found out when we got there that Kezia had gum stuck in her hair. Luckily it was at the bottom of her ponytail & with some peanut butter & shampoo, we got it out. Whew!

-Kezia says “I hope you have a great Valentines. I love you. I love you all. I love grandma & Link. Hope you put Valentines stickers on.”

                                                                                                                                                                

LINK:               

-We really feel like Link watched over his sister while she was in the hospital. We are so thankful for such a loving guardian angel!

Mom had a dream about Link in January that went something like this: “I was on a long field trip. He had been with babysitters all day. I was so anxious to see to him, I ran all the way there from the school. There were 3 little old ladies at the house & they raved about how good & polite he was. I went back there to see him sleeping in a playpen. He had a cute, little robe on. He woke up & sat up when he heard my voice. I picked him up & held him. So happy to be with my chubby-cheeked little man.” Mom loves dreaming of Link… though it’s hard to wake up.

-Heidi blogged about Link’s angelversary coming up and plans to “link” families together. We are excited to do more family history and head to the temple more in the next couple months!

-It’s so nice to go to the cemetery and enjoy his bench instead of just the temporary marker. We love seeing his face & playing with his cars.

Link's Angelversary - "Linking" families together

When I pulled up my computer yesterday, this picture was on the desktop.

It took my breath away. 

He was so beautiful. So perfect. So handsome. So ALIVE. 

I love every detail of his perfect little face - his tiny ears, his expressive eyes, his little nose, his tufts of hair, his precious smile, his perfect cheeks. My favorite. I could sit and stare at this picture all day long. 

Yesterday marked 10 months since he left our earthly home & returned to his heavenly one. In two months, on March 26th, we will ______ (recognize, honor, celebrate?) his one year angelversary. As I mentioned when I blogged about his birthday, we have felt some ideas about how to do this. 

You might also remember when I blogged about The Message, how this paragraph struck my heart: 

Randy looked at me with a smile. "In most cases, Lance, when you pray to God for help, it is your dead relatives and loved ones who are sent by God to help you in answer to your prayers. Thus we weld links and bonds of love within the family forever. The family is the central and eternal unit of our society...And so, those relatives of yours who have lived righteous lives can be used as ministering servants, by God, to assist His children who are still in mortality. We serve you, and you serve us. It is the mode of heaven." (underlines added)

This touched me powerfully (and still does). I felt the spirit witnessing the truth of it - and I felt Link telling me, in a sense, "Mom - this is it! This was my mission on earth and it is now my mission on the other side. I am here to help Link our family together with an eternal chain. Please help me do this."  

And, so... I began to wonder... it says that our dead relatives serve us. I know this is true and I think it will amaze us when we die and find out just how much they help us - every day - in every conceivable way. Through thoughts, feelings, impressions, protection, and direction. I am so thankful for their help - for Link's help - every day. Now... how can we serve them? How can I serve Link? That was my question. 

So - I have thought about it & prayed about it & have come up with some ideas. We would love if you would help us serve & honor our loved ones (and Link) in the next couple months. Here's how: 

1. LINK our families together. This is the first & foremost thing that helps our deceased relatives & the #1 thing that I feel like Link is telling us to do. How do we do this? Temple work! If you have questions about temples, go here. The bottom line is that we believe that families can be together forever & this happens through ordinances and sealings here on earth, in our holy temples.  So - the first goal is to go to the temple for yourself. I was able to witness this blessing & miracle for my mother-in-law this past year & it was absolutely wonderful. I know Link was SO proud of his grandma for taking this step and many of us felt him close. 

Second, our deceased relatives have work to be done & this is how we can serve them! I will admit that the words "family history" have always kind of brought on a yawn for me. In addition, I wasn't sure how to start & I knew my grandma had done so much already that I really didn't think it was necessary for me to get involved. I was wrong on so many levels! Family history is EXCITING! Talk to anyone who has done it & they will tell you the same! There is a true energy when you start looking back and seeing the names of your ancestors & especially finding out their stories. I LOVE the stories! And now, it's sooooo easy to do. Here's where you go to get started - https://familysearch.org/. Once you log in with your church membership info, it's SO easy to see your family tree, and when you click on "Temple" & see what work still needs to be done. Then you reserve it, print it and GO! I've always loved going to the temple, but taking a family name through is honestly a whole new experience - a whole new level. A couple weeks ago, I took my great aunt's name through the temple. Awesome. Amazing. Wonderful.  A month or so before that I witnessed the sealing work for Jason's grandparents. Tears fell as I could almost hear the "links" coming together in this eternal family chain. It was...wow. This is how I know I am helping & honoring my son.

SO - for the past 8 months or so, we've gotten more into family history & taken names through the temple. I have been keeping track of the names. We are going to go as much as possible from now until March 26th.  If you would like to help honor Link on his angelversary, PLEASE send me the family name that you took through the temple. On March 26th, we are planning on going through the temple and then bringing all the names to his bench at the cemetery to show how we have helped "Link" families together. This, even more than supporting the Ronald McDonald House, makes me feel like I am helping Link. Serving him. Honoring him. Expressing my love for him. 

2. Mend any "broken Links" in your existing family. I can only imagine how sorrowful it makes our deceased ancestors when they see family chains being broken. Divorce. Estrangement. Pride. Call that brother or sister you've had an argument with. Write your parents a letter. Work on strengthening the relationship with your spouse and your children. I know it's hard sometimes, but just as it brings our dead loved ones sorrow when they see the broken links, imagine their joy when disagreements and pride are overcome and the links come back together. 

3. Link pictures and stories to https://familysearch.org/. I mentioned that I thought all the family history work on my mom's side was pretty much done. I've since realized that family history work is NEVER done! In fact, we decided the first Family Home Evening of every month is going to be dedicated to family history- and it will never be done! On the family search website, you can post pictures of loved ones that have died. You can share memories and stories. You can look at pictures and read stories that others have posted. It's awesome! The stories and pictures are priceless. I found out as I looked at my family history that my Grandpa's brother died as a toddler - before he was born. I looked at the picture of this boy that had died and couldn't stop the tears. I have felt this mother (my great-grandmother's) pain at losing her young son. I have shared that with her. Maybe she has sent me specific comfort that I have needed to get through this time. I wouldn't doubt it. I am so thankful for her and all the relatives & their sacrifices and their amazing stories. I am hoping to post Link's story & some more pictures as well as add some memories of my grandmas. 

4. QR code headstones. My sweet friend, Molly, who lost her daughter almost six years ago, wrote a post about adding QR codes to headstones. It's great! I still need to get one for Link - I'd also like to find a way to get one for my dad's parents, my aunt, and my Grandpa Tew. You just scan the QR on the headstone & it takesyou right to a page all about that person. So - instead of just seeing a name cut in stone, you get to see lots of pictures, stories, etc about that person. Awesome, right? 

5. Write a letter to a loved one - dead or living. Strengthen those links. Mend those links. If you write a letter to a deceased family member, I promise you they will know. They will feel your words and you will feel more connected to them. 

6. Family History Book for kids! My mom gave my children the most amazing gift a couple years ago. I blogged about it here. She asked us to get the life stories from Jason's side of the family - him, his mom & dad, his grandparents & great-grandparents & then she compiled his side and my side into one book for each child. It is AWESOME! We read it for FHE sometimes. And not only have my children learned a lot about their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, I have learned a lot, too! And some of these life stories are the first time they've actually written them down, so it's pretty awesome. Sharing these stories with my children strengthens those links between the past and future and it warms my heart every time. 

7. Hang pictures of dead loved ones. Of course, I have pictures of Link in every room, but I also have pictures of my grandmas that have died that my girls are named after. I would love to eventually do something like this, but in the mean time, I will print & display what I have. I will mention them often. I will tell their stories. And I will remember them.  

8. Share your memories. Not just on familysearch, but you have a friend or family member that died, write down some memories and send it to their closest living relative. I PROMISE they will love you for it. I am so thankful for every person that has sent me a memory of Link. It is an absolute treasure. After Link died, I thought a lot about a friend in high school that had died. I was with him the day he died. We were hiking. He fell. It was obviously a traumatic experience. I remember going to see his family afterwards. We raised some money to help with the funeral costs. But that was it. I was a teenager and I didn't feel his family's grief as I should have. I was not as compassionate as I should have been. I did always remember the date of his death, though, and sent his parents a letter around the anniversary  last year. I apologized for being insensitive. I shared memories. They wrote back and were so sweet. They appreciated me sharing memories and gave me some wonderful advice. It's never too late to write to someone & share memories. 

9. Visit the hometown of your ancestors. We can't wait to take our trip to Ireland/Scotland and walk the streets our grandparents walked. But there are some areas closer to home that connect us with our ancestors, too. We've read some of Jason's ancestor's journals & one of them helped settle the Park City area. He talked about helping Mr. Snyder. We lived in Park City at the time and the name "Snyder" was everywhere. We would think of him and remember his stories everywhere we went.  

Me & Grandma Potts

10. Record the histories of your relatives. You never know when someone will die, but my parents have done a wonderful job of making sure their parents' histories are documented. I love to read the stories, but my favorite is to sit down and watch the video of my Grandma Potts as she tells her life story. It's not just words on a page, but to watch her little movements, hear her Irish accent, and see her classic dress (she only wore pants one day of her life), apron, and fallen "stockings" (nylons) is so much more precious. It's HER telling her story. I love it. If only I could have found a way to get the smell to come through :) You will NEVER regret taking the time to do this. 

PLEASE let me know if you do any of these things for his angelversary. It will mean the world to me. In the next 2 months, we are going to try to take as many names as possible through the temple.  I am going to tell him all about it. I appreciate your help SO much & I know he does, too! And I hope that as you do this, you will feel the "Links" in your family chain get stronger, and as they do, amazing things happen! THANK YOU! 

December Newsletter & Slideshow

Sorry so late! Had a little adventure with McKinley in the hospital. Hopefully I will get around to blogging about that, but in the mean time...

https://picasaweb.google.com/103753336633055957263/2013_12_Slideshow

FAMILY: We are glad to have made it through 2013 and looking forward to 2014! December was filled with Christmas activities, including putting up decorations (it was the first year we put up Christmas decorations in this home because we were in Philadelphia last year, so it took a while to figure out where to put everything), gingerbread house-making, seeing Santa at daddy’s work, the ward Christmas sing-along party (the “Hamilton girls” were called up to the front to sing some songs J, going to see ELF at the theater with daddy’s work, ice skating, playing games & drinking hot chocolate, and doing service projects to put in Link’s stocking (see Link’s section). Grandma and Grandpa Devenish stayed overnight after a concert they went to – it was fun to eat dinner & visit with them. Also – we got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Potts as well. They stayed for a couple days on their way to Vegas & grandpa took Heidi and then the girls to the movies and out to eat. Grandpa also took the girls ice skating which has become a new favorite for them! On the 21^st, we headed up to Salt Lake for the holiday. That evening, we went to the Ronald McDonald house to sing Christmas songs, then Jason & Heidi went to the Salt Lake Temple & afterwards, walked around for a bit to see the beautiful lights. The big Tew Christmas Eve Party was at the Simons this year & it was great to see lots of family, eat yummy food, and watch the white elephant game. Jason fixed some yummy egg casserole in the slow cooker & we had it for breakfast on Christmas morning (yum!) before we headed downstairs to see what Santa had left us. He was very good to us this year and we stayed downstairs for quite a while enjoying our new presents. The Simons came for a bit in the morning & brought their gifts for us, the sweetest of which were two huge signs for our home – one that reads “FAMILY: A Link to the past, a bridge to the future”, and the other reads “Because someone we love is in heaven, there is a little bit of heaven in our home” – with a picture of Link and his dates. They are beautiful & Trisha really was very thoughtful in all of her gift-giving (as always). She also made all us girls homemade, glitter-monogrammed aprons – they are so cute J Uncle Richard & The Edwards came and opened our gifts to them. It was a very laid-back, wonderful day to appreciate gifts and loved ones and Jesus’ birth. We made our way south on the 27th & we stopped at the Bensons & ate lunch with them and had fun watching the kids run around together. Then we headed to Richfield & stayed there for a couple nights. We enjoyed our time with them and on Saturday, we tried out the bowling alley & the arcades & had a lot of fun. On New Years’ Eve, McKinley had strep, so she & mom stayed home and played Headbandz, Battleship, and her new snap circuit game while Daddy, Ireland & Kezia went to the Bealers for some fun. They came back home & we all played Spot It & then celebrated the New York New Year before the girls headed to bed for some sleep. There was some bad news this month: 2 of our friends had to take their kids to Primary Children’s Hospital - & Katelyn Bealer still has heart issues that they are trying to solve. Also – a good man in our ward passed away – Roland Brown, from cancer. We attended his memorial here in Cedar and feel blessed to have known him for a short while. With all the bad news, we are grateful for the chance to start a new year. Happy 2014 everyone!

JASON: A funny Christmas tree story – Jason & the girls had gone to Panguitch Lake to pick out a Christmas tree and when we got home to put it up, realized it was about a foot too tall for where we wanted to put it. So – instead of the hassle of having to drag the tree outside to chop it up, he decides to bring the chainsaw to the tree – INSIDE. We proceeds to chop the bottom of the tree off as chainsaw smoke is pouring out and every alarm in the house is going off & there is a huge mess on the floor. We had to open up all the windows and doors to the freezing December temps to get the alarms to stop. We are thankful no neighbors assumed that our house was burning down J  Jason enjoyed taking some time off work at the end of the year and spending some time with family. While in Salt Lake, he got to go see The Hobbit – which he’s been itching to see.

 HEIDI:  Heidi had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year and  had a bit of a meltdown right before we left for Salt Lake. Grief really took her to a dark place and it was difficult to function for a few days. A big part of her wanted to simply call off Christmas altogether. It was so hard to face without Link here. And with all the memories of last years’ miracle Christmas. Thankfully, by the time they made it to Salt Lake, she was able to find a little more perspective and she truly enjoyed seeing the girls open their gifts. Heidi was able to get together with some Cheerleader friends while she was in town and enjoyed catching up. It was great to see them. Heidi read 2 great books over the holidays – Divergent and Cinder.

McKINLEY:

-We were going outside in the cold and mom told McKinley & Kezia to get some hats on. They both came back with their Disneyland Mickey Mouse Ears hats on J

-One morning McKinley decided that daddy deserved breakfast in bed, so she brought him some! J

-One of McKinley’s favorite sayings lately: “I know, right?”

-McKinley has consistently been scoring 100%+ on her spelling tests & she brought home a math test, too – over 100%! Great job McKinley!

-One day mom said something about a “lunatic.” McKinley said “Is that someone who studies the moon? Cuz – luna means moon in Spanish.”

-Mom & Kezia came into Mrs. Hardin’s class to help with their Christmas party. Mom had fun meeting McKinley’s friends and helping them make gingerbread men.

-McKinley  was really excited to GIVE gifts this year! She helped a lot with our service projects (see Link’s section), and made a list of ideas for her cousins. The cutest was the lego picture frame she made for Michael and a lego bracelet that she made for him. She also wrote out Link’s story to give out, and she bought barbies for her sisters’ gifts.

-McKinley worked hard on memorizing and singing “Jingle Bell Rock” for the Ronald McDonald House. She did great!

-McKinley must have been good last year because she got a sewing machine for Christmas! Aunt Cindy & Grandma have helped her set it up and taught her some basics – she has done some sewing mazes, hemmed some pants and started a pillow! Other fun gifts for McKinley this year: A snap circuit set – learning about electricity, a yummy science kitchen set, some dresses, a cover for her tablet, some cash register money,  and Aunt Trisha gave her the most awesome craft set – about 12 gallon sized zip-locks with print-outs and materials for craft projects. It is great & will definitely keep her busy!

-After much questioning and badgering from McKinley, mom and dad finally talked to McKinley and she is aware of Santa’s role in Christmas.

IRELAND:

-Ireland’s favorite saying lately – “I tell you!” as in, “It looks fabulous, I tell you!”

-Ireland got to make gingerbread houses AND go to the movie theater for school one day!

-Ireland still HATES getting her hair brushed in the morning. It’s a morning ritual for mom to brush and for her to scream and whine and complain. One morning mom said “why don’t you try singing a song?” and Ireland said “I can’t when you’re hurting on me!”

-Ireland also got lots of fun gifts for Christmas: Santa gave her some VERY nice, expensive clippety-cloppety, REAL cowgirl boots J She tried them on immediately to test out the clippety-cloppety-ness of them and was very satisfied. She also got a cowgirl hat from mom and dad. She would just watch herself in the mirror to see how cute she was J She also got a Barbie movie, a sparkly sweater, a pretend makeup/nail kit, and a spirograph kit. She also got a sparkly jump rope & she is up to 50 jumps in a row!  Aunt Trisha made rocks with pictures on them so she can make a story!

KEZIA –

-Rainbow truck was missing one day. We all searched & searched for probably an hour & couldn’t find him. We thought maybe he had gotten outside somehow & we wouldn’t see him again. Mom suggested we say a prayer, so we knelt down and Kezia said the prayer. Unfortunately… she forgot to actually pray to find Rainbow Truck. So – she said another prayer & prayed specifically to find him. Within 10 minutes, daddy found him downstairs. We’re so thankful!

-It was Kezia’s turn to go on a lunch date & she decided to go to IHOP, so she & mom headed over there. She was determined to get the smiley face chocolate pancake. When it finally came, mom didn’t think she’d be able to eat all of it. It was huge! So – mom asked for a little bite, but it wasn’t the bite that Kezia wanted her to take & she was VERY upset. She cried for a little while & told mom that she was going to tell “that girl” (waitress) on her, but finally she calmed down and she actually finished the whole thing!

-One day Kezia was playing with her ponies while mom was working. Mom asked her what was going on. Kezia said “Well, Rainbow Dash has to go in the ambulance because she bumped her head when she got baptized.”

-Kezia has LOTS of Christmas dresses to choose from being the third girl. She loved to wear them. But when mom vetoed her wearing it to preschool, she yelled “But it’s BORING when I don’t get to wear my Christmas dress!”

-Kezia got to go to Anna Strand’s 4^th birthday party at 5 Little Monkeys. She had a great time!

-Kezia has become quite a horder of candy. When she’s given candy, she doesn’t eat it. She saves it and puts it in the fridge. Her sisters will come home with candy & she will beg them for some, but she won’t eat her own candy. One day, mom gave her ½ of a candy bar when we were done grocery shopping & she saved it. Mom asked why she does that. Kezia said “I realized that when I don’t have candy, then I’m sad.”

-Kezia’s current  favorite colors are purple and pink!

-One day at lunch, Kezia said “I’m FOR SURE going to marry Luke, mom!” (Beacham)

-One day, Kezia brought mom part of her candy and said “Give this to Noelle!”

-The girls were all talking together at once & Kezia said “Girls, Girls! Calm down.”

-One day Sydney jumped up on Kezia and she was crying. Ireland said “she doesn’t know any better Kezia.” Kezia said “Yes she does! She’s ten!”

-Kezia wanted My Little Pony things for Christmas & Santa brought her 6 ponies and a shirt, so she was happy! She also got a VeggieTales movie, an outfit, a roll of butcher paper and a bunch of paints, and a little shopping cart with pretend food. Aunt Trisha made her a tiny mouse in an altoid box. It was so cute. She also got a Hello Kitty airplane for the Tew white elephant gift exchange, so she was a happy girl.

LINK:

Link was definitely not forgotten this Christmas season. We decided to do service projects in his name to put in his stockings. Here are some things we did: brought treats to the PD and FD, sang Christmas songs at the Ronald McDonald House, gave out toys for people who needed them, shoveled someone’s driveway, left quarters on the machines at Walmart with a note saying “take one! Merry Christmas!”, went through the drive through & paid for the car behind us, donated food to the local food bank, & donated to a refugee in Utah. Aunt Trisha also made glass ornaments with “NICU – December 2013” & tiny footprints etched on them. She donated them to the local NICU with a sweet poem in honor of Link.

-Our tree was filled with reminders of our sweet baby boy: The lady that made our Link bears also sent heart ornaments made from his clothing & we put them on the tree. For FHE we made a color chain for the tree & on each Link there was a memory of him. We loved remembering all those moments! We also had 3 glass ornaments on the tree – remembrance ornaments. On one was Link & Tundra, another one had Richardson grandparents on one side & Potts grandparents on the other, and then the last one had Grandpa Tew and Uncle Bart. It was so neat to see all these things that remind us of our loved ones!

-Mom ordered a stocking for Link this year & we loved seeing it & knowing he will always be a part of our family.

-Mom had a really rough time missing Link this month – right before Christmas. She spent a few days just watching videos and missing him. We know he would have been trying to get into the decorations and gifts – but also mesmerized by the lights and feeling the excitement of the season. We missed him a lot L

-Someone that Grandma Devenish knew had to come to the hospital here in Cedar & stayed at the Jubilee House. She was so touched to get one of the bags that we donated for Link’s birthday that she sent Grandma a card. So very sweet & heartwarming to know they are being loved.

-For Christmas this year, Heidi made “Link” earrings as well as printed pictures for each family with Link’s picture and a quote from The Message, along with a copy of McKinley’s handwritten story of Link’s life.

-The BEST gift for Link this year was his bench! It’s FINALLY done!! We got to see it on our way back to Cedar and we are so happy to have it finished!