Merry Christmas 2016!!

(this is a 12 minute 2016 in review slideshow)

Hope everyone reading this has had a peaceful 2016, full of love. We look back on 2016 with gratitude. Here are some highlights:

-Going to the huge Bear Lake cabin for the Potts Family Retreat. Snowmobiling, sledding, watching movies, playing games, going to church & visiting & having fun! 

-The Bargers (Dustin's family & Yvetta) came up from Texas in March for Spring Break & we LOVED spending time with them -  we did the St. George park, the St. George Children’s Museum, the Pizza Factory, Pioneer Park, Zions National Park, the Parowan Gap, swimming, movie night, tubing at Brian Head, lunch at the Brick House, and a birthday dinner bash at our house for Yvetta, Dustin & Camri (16!)

-We also had visits from the Potts, the Simons & the Edwards! & loved exploring Zions, going swimming, and spending time together. We love when people come visit!

-We were SO excited when we learned that the newly retired Potts (Heidi's parents) were not just going to be visitors, but NEIGHBORS! They bought a second home in St. George and we have enjoyed their company so much this year, it's been fabulous!

-We had a fun summer with our daily themes, making crafts, summer treats, hiking, etc. 

-August 3, 2016 was a big day for our family! We welcomed our 6th child, Oaklyn Alice Hamilton into our family. She is so adorable and we are so thankful Heavenly Father sent her to us! 

-The end of October, our family earned a trip to Lagoon by choosing kindness over contention! (we put fuzzy balls into a huge container). We had a great time at Lagoon and are grateful we got to go! We also got to go to the Benson cabin after that & enjoyed our time there, 4-wheeling, playing games, going on the paddle boat & visiting with our best friends :)

Jason: We are so proud of daddy this year. He received a much-deserved promotion to the Admin Operations Specialist job here on the Dixie NF. He's working a bit more, but we are grateful for the extra salary and for his devotion & dedication to our family. He also stays very busy being the Elders Quorum President - he loves his elders and is a wonderful leader. He also is good about working around the house & fixing things, as well as at our rental. What a good daddy & husband he is. We are all so blessed to have him.

Heidi: Heidi spent a good deal of this year being pregnant and then up at night with a tiny one, so productivity was not the highest :-/, but she wouldn't trade it for the world. She read some great books, went on some beautiful hikes, visited with some wonderful people, served in Activity Days with some great leaders & girls,  made a lot of birthday books, and gave birth to a tiny, gorgeous baby girl. She also had carpal tunnel surgery on both of her hands this year & that has helped with sleeping and functioning, especially at the end of her pregnancy. At the beginning of November, she joined the gym & has had fun taking some classes. Her favorite memories from 2016 were Oaklyn's birth and the couple getaways we had - including a couple days in a bed and breakfast in Provo and a night at a hotel in December. In 2017, she's looking forward to the Cedar City Temple completion, hopefully going to Disneyland, and running a couple races with her dad. 

McKinley: McKinley turned 11 this year and is queen of North Elementary school in 5th grade - in Miss Isom's class. McKinley loves everything music - she's taking piano and voice (both of which she is a complete natural at), she's in the ward choir (even though none of her family are!), she is in 5th grade orchestra, playing the cello (doing great!), and she just loves listening to music and singing in general. McKinley continues to excel in school & is looking forward to some more challenging concepts in middle school next year. Her favorite friend is Micaela Adams.  McKinley went to a sewing camp and Girls Go Digital this summer and learned a lot & had fun at both! McKinley's favorite memories this year are being present at Oaklyn's birth, and going to Lagoon! In 2017, McKinley is most looking forward to starting middle school, going to the temple, and Disneyland. 

Ireland: Ireland turned 9 in July and is in Mr. Sahagun's 4th grade class. Ireland loves recess and her favorite friends at school are Mahina (who is finally in her class!), Hannah, and Raquel. Ireland is a great runner & is great at gymnastics as well - she does a backbend kick-over, is SO CLOSE with her middle splits, and is doing great on the bars. She has being doing SUU gymnastics almost all year and loves it. Ireland is a great artist as well & loves to draw fashion girls, animals, and landscapes. She finally got braces this year & looks too grown up! She loves her 2nd cousin who lives in Texas, Kaydence, and is pen pals with her! Her favorite memory of 2016 is Oaklyn being born (she LOOOOVES babies!) and going to the Benson cabin with her great friend Sienna. In 2017, Ireland is looking forward to getting her ears pierced & her goal is to get to Level 2 in gymnastics. 

Kezia: Kezia turned 7 in October and is in 1st grade. This is her first year attending East Elementary's dual immersion program, leaning Spanish. She wasn't really excited about going, but has done SO well & learned so much! We love hearing her sing her Spanish songs and read her Spanish books. Thankfully, daddy knows Spanish & has been a big help. Also - Macie (her friend from Kindergarten) is in her class & she has so much fun with her and her new friend Ivy. Kezia has done amazing in school. For reading she is at a 4th grade+ reading level and is way ahead in math, too, working on her multiplication.  Kezia did soccer in the spring, and their team (Purple Power!) was undefeated again! She did swimming lessons in the summer & did really well & gets to go to the next level! Kezia is a fabulous performer and loves to sing loud and dance loud ;) Kezia's love language is GIFTS - she is constantly giving them, and LOVES when she gets them, too. She has loads of boy crushes :) Kezia's favorite memory from 2016 is going to the Bear Lake cabin and Lagoon! Kezia is looking forward to Disneyland next year and getting baptized. Her goal is to get to level 3 in swimming and tying her shoes.

Link: Link would have turned 4 on November 7th. This year we decided to do something special and send Matchbox cars to all the little boys we could find that are close to four years old. We sent about 30 cars & loved seeing all the #LoveforLink posts, videos, and texts. It was so neat to share his story with them & send them a special car. We still talk about Link every day, share his story, look for rainbows, and anticipate the day we can be with him again.

Noelle: Noelle turned 2 in April and is a simultaneous joy and terror :) She speaks so well, many people think she's older than she is. She loves cars and trucks, puzzles, books, being outside, going for walks, Daniel Tiger, Dora, loving on her sister Oaklyn, her doggie and binki, playing with her sister's friends, and seeing her grandparents.  She also loves drawing on almost anything other than paper, pulling hair, pushing, pinching, screaming, a complete lack of patience, and making messes. She is very familiar with time-out.  Noelle knows how to count to 10, all of her basic colors, almost all her alphabet, and can put together about 40 of the 50 states on a puzzle & knows about 12 names of the states. We love her smile, her energy, and how gentle and loving she is with Oaklyn. She loved Lagoon and all the hikes we went on. We don't hardly have to put her in the hiking backpack - she can go for miles. She moved from the crib to a BIG girl bed - sleeping with Kezia in her queen sized bed - she's had struggles, but has done well! We love our sunrise girl! Noelle's goals for 2017 include being potty trained, and getting rid of her binki. 

Oaklyn: Oaklyn is 4 months old and is the constant center of attention in our family. She does this adorable scrunchy-nose smiles and her laughs are just too cute. She rolls from her tummy to her back and reaches for anything and everything to put in her mouth. She just started solids and so far hasn't met a food she won't eat! Her cheeks get constant kisses and she doesn't get put down a whole lot. She just made this family a whole lot cuter, there's no denying it. We think her favorite memory from 2016 was being born and she (and her mom) are looking forward to sleeping through the night in 2017! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2016!! Love, The Hamiltons

Merry Christmas 2015

*7 Minute slideshow*

The years seem to fly by and we can hardly acknowledge the possibility that 2015 is over! Overall, 2015 was a really fantastic year for us. Here are some of the highlights:

-In January, we went to Bear Lake for the annual Potts Retreat. Grandma & Grandpa rented this ENORMOUS cabin that had slides from floor to floor, an indoor trampoline & basketball court, theater room, etc. They also got snowmobiles for us to enjoy. It really was a fantastic trip and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. The girls haven't stopped talking about it and are VERY much looking forward to a repeat of the fun next year.

-We made a trip to Texas in April to be with Jason's family for his Uncle Joe's funeral. It had been over 7 years since we'd been down there, so it even though the drive was very long, it was so worth it to be able to spend some time with his Texas family. We sure love them & miss them!

-Right after that trip, we sold our home & moved one street over.  Same neighborhood, ward, and schools, but smaller, fully finished home on a less-busy street. The first Cedar home we lived in was too small (Greenslake Dr.), the next home we lived in (Ridge Rd) was too big, but this one is juuuuuust right :) We have really loved settling in here. Each of the girls has their own room & that has been really nice. The only downsides are the lack of grass and the garage is only big enough to fit our van, not the truck. But all-in-all, we love it!

-We also were able to purchase a rental home by SUU with my parents. There has been an SUU housing shortage this year, so we had LOTS of interest when the upstairs space went on the market, but we ended up finding a great renter and we are so thankful for this opportunity. We are learning lots about having a rental!

-At the beginning of August, Jason & Heidi took a belated, though much-anticipated trip, to Prince Edward Island - by Nova Scotia, Canada -  to celebrate our 15 year anniversary. The girls went to stay with Grandma Potts as well as the Edwards & had a great time while mom and dad just had such a wonderful, cherished, perfect time in PEI. Heidi loved all the Anne of Green Gables things (we actually read it while we were there) and Jason loved the beaches & the food. We both just loved getting to be together & enjoy nature and spending time together.

-As a family, we enjoyed reading Heidi, Anne of Green Gables (& watching the movies), Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone, and The Mouse & the Motorcycle.

-Even without our trailer, we enjoyed some decent outdoor time, including "tenting-it" in Mapleton, the Benson cabin, & some fun hikes: Kanarraville Falls, Spring Creek,  Hidden Haven, Ensign Peak , and hiking the "C" trail.

Jason: Jason continues to do well with his job and got a raise in March. He was called to the Elder's Quorum this year and has enjoyed teaching and helping people move and getting to know the elders. In his free time, he enjoys riding his dirt bike, watching football (live or on TV), and fishing when he has the chance. He has been good at taking care of things with our vehicles, our home, and the rental. Jason started working out with some guys from the ward & has enjoyed doing TRX, P90X & some other workouts. Jason's favorite memory from 2015 is spending time with Heidi on PEI. He looks forward to spending more time outdoors in 2016.

Heidi: Heidi enjoyed completing a sprint distance triathlon in April (just missed placing in her age group) at Sand Hollow and a 5k later on in the year in Salt Lake. She also gets together a few times a week with some girls from the ward to workout in the mornings.  She has enjoyed her mornings with Noelle and has also been trying to get ahead in some things like family history, organizing, and service. She still enjoys reading & has read quite a few books this year. Her 3 callings keep her pretty busy: Relief Society meeting publicity coordinator, activity days leader & visiting teacher. Heidi's favorite memory from 2015 was PEI, hands-down. It was such a perfect vacation and she loved every minute. Heidi is looking forward to a lot in 2016, including hopefully getting another trailer! One goal for 2016 is making anniversary books & an ancestor ABC book.

McKinley: McKinley turned double-digits this year - the big 10! And with that birthday came the rite of passage in our family to get her ears pierced. We went to Walmart on her birthday and she chose blue butterflies (her birthstone). She is in 4th grade this year, but is in a 4th/5th class. This is the first year she's had a boy teacher and she really loves Mr. Sahagun! She often talks about the funny things he says in class. He's good about letting her excel in Math and reading and he loves having her in his class. Her favorite friends at school are Maddilyn also known as DG( dimple girl MrSahagun made that name up) and Tayzia and Isis                       and her crush (for the second year in a row) is Orlando. McKinley got to go to a Girls Go Digital Camp in the summer for a couple days. She REALLY loved it, learned a lot & had so much fun. She is already talking about going back next year.   McKinley started piano & voice in June with a lady in our stake, Jan Pressgrove, that comes to our home, which is great. McKinley has progressed so much & her teacher says she is just such a natural that we're going to need to be constantly buying more challenging books for her. She also loves singing and got to sing a solo in the Primary Program. She also sang at Ireland's baptism as well as a girl in our ward. She decided to join the ward choir a couple months ago and she's the youngest member. Mom and dad aren't going, so she's pretty brave to go all by herself, but everyone talks about what a great singer she is & how she LOVES music. We love our McKinley & are so proud of her. Her favorite memory from 2015 is the Bear Lake Cabin and she's most looking forward to the Bear Lake Cabin in 2016 :). One goal for 2016: to master 5 Hymns from the Hymn book.

Ireland: Ireland turned 8 years old this year and had her big birthday bash and baptism. Many family members showed up and we loved watching her get baptized and celebrating at a small park near our home with an 18 foot water slide! We invited all our friends in the neighborhood & there was quite a turnout. Her rite of passage at 8 was to get baptized and also get a tablet, which she has enjoyed :) Ireland is in 3rd grade this year, in Mrs. Strother's class. She really likes Mrs. Strother & Mrs. Srother gave so much praise to Ireland in her SEPs. Ireland is such a top reader & has done so well at math, too. We are so proud of her! Her favorite friends are Mahina, Anna, and Lindsey. Ireland started Activity Days this year and she loves getting to see her friends, her mom, and do some fun activities, crafts, and service projects. Ireland did gymnastics in the summer time again with Julie and almost had her back-walkover and she could walk on her hands 8 times! She also did soccer in the fall - she learned a lot, had fun, and made new friends! We are proud of how far she came and how she never gave up. Ireland's favorite memory from 2015 is her big birthday party and she's most looking forward to having another fun birthday in 2016. One goal for 2016: finishing the Book of Mormon.

Kezia: Kezia started Kindergarten in September and turned 6 years old in October. Kezia had like 6 neighborhood friends going to Kindergarten at South Elementary this year, so we figured at least one or two would be in her class, but amazingly they were ALL in the other class! It's okay, though, because we love Mrs. Ekker and Kezia has got to make new friends (Macy and Ruby), while still getting to see her other friends (Paige, Laura, Courtney, Spencer, Emi, and Rachel) at recess and on the bus. The struggle with Kezia in Kindergarten is giving her a challenge. She has read almost 10 Magic Treehouse books and is much more advanced than many kids. They have an SUU student that reads more challenging books with her and they give her computer time that will challenge her, but we are considering sending her to East Elementary next year for first grade, so she can do the dual immersion program and really get some extra challenge. Kezia did swimming lessons again in the summer and really progressed! She was in a more advanced class & the teacher wasn't sure at first if she should be in there, but by the end, she had really proved herself. She did soccer in the fall with Laura and Macy and Maylee and had such a blast. Their team was called the Purple Butterfly Princesses and they were an awesome team! They won every game and more importantly, had fun together. Kezia would just constantly be laughing and giggling as she ran down the field. But she was great, too, and made quite a few goals. We are so proud of her - way to go Kezia! Kezia continues to be our creative girl, making creations, writing "stories," drawing pictures, and giving lots of gifts.
Kezia's favorite memory from 2015 is 7 Peaks Water Park and she's most looking forward to Bear Lake in 2016. One goal for 2016: read 13 more Magic Treehouse books.

Link: Link would have turned three on November 7th this year. It was a tough birthday for me. We sure miss him and would have loved to see him running around, opening gifts, blowing out candles, smiling and laughing. He is still such a part of our family and we still talk about him constantly. We love to do things to remember him, including doing family history, going to the temple, doing the May walk of remembrance, the wave of light, and doing service on his birthday. Link sends us many love notes to brighten our days and give us hope, like heart-shaped rocks and other items, shooting stars, dreams,  songs that come on the radio, beautiful sunsets and sunrises, and of course rainbows. He welcomed Jason & I to PEI with a beautiful rainbow. And we love how others send us pictures when they see rainbows and remember our Link. We love to wear our Link shirts & tell others his story. We love to visit his bench regularly. We are so thankful for him in our family and deeply anticipate the day that we will be reunited with him.

Noelle: At 20 months, Noelle is looking and acting more like a little girl than the baby that we keep calling her. Her hair is down past her shoulders and she is talking in 3 and 4 word sentences. She can do some counting and can sing a lot of the ABC song and can point to many of the letters. She knows probably 15 body parts and likes to sing Twinkle Twinkle. Her favorite show is still Signing Time, but she also likes CHU CHU TV and is watching Dora more and more. She's really starting to want to play My Little Pony & Barbie with her older sisters and be with them and she especially loves it when her sisters friends come over. She started nursery a couple months ago & she's still not sure about it. She loves to play with the toys, but she doesn't love it when mom leaves. One of the other kids' dads comes in, though, and she just loves him and is fine when he's there. Overall, she's quite a mommy's girl and wants to be constantly by her. She loves her daddy, though, and gets so excited when he comes home. She loves to come into her sisters' rooms in the morning to sing them their good morning songs and give them hugs and kisses. She also still loves Sydney the dog (still a little to much) and our bunny Rainbow Truck. She loves to go "buh-bye" and always wants to be going somewhere & doing something. Now, all this adoreableness has to come with some downsides. She LOVES to put things in the toilet, throw food on the floor, make paint messes, take out everything in the kitchen drawers, and mess up Kezia's bookshelf every day, but it's all a small price to pay for all the joy she gives us :) We love our Noelle-my-Belle. Noelle's goal for 2016: Take on potty training :)

2014 Year in Review

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family. 2014 was a very healing year for our family. We still very much grieve the loss of our Link - but time and the addition of Noelle has brought some peace and joy to our hearts. We have grown in so many ways and witnessed so many tender mercies this year that we cannot deny how blessed we are and how much our Heavenly Father loves us and watches over us, along with our baby boy.

Here are some of our family highlights for 2014:

-McKinley had an emergency appendectomy in January. Her appendix had already been ruptured for 2-3 days before we found out, so we are thankful she is okay!

-LOTS of back and forth between Salt Lake and Cedar! I counted 7 trips we took up North and 7 times the Potts family came down here! We also made trips to Richfield & St. George to hang out with Jason's family. Thankful for so much family time!

-Watching the winter Olympics!

-The girls all chopping 12-14'' off their hair!

-Noelle Eve's entrance in our family - 4/8/2014

-Benson's visit

-We've worked HARD to get the side yard done on our house. What used to be a steep sage-brush filled hill is now leveled off with retaining walls, 2 long garden boxes with an automatic watering system, a nice RV pad and rock that goes through the RV pad, down the path & between the garden boxes. It looks SO wonderful! Especially compared to how it started! We had a pretty good garden crop, too! - especially for our first year. 

-We've also been updating our home - changing out the "cabin" theme (though we are keeping that decor in case we do get a cabin one day) to a more modern, clean look. It's taken time & some guidance, but things are looking really great & we are loving the cleaner look and layout. 

-We went on a few wonderful camping trips before we sold our trailer this year :( Hope to get another one next year. 

-Our family sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" in the primary program this year.

-In October, for fall break, we went to Capitola, California!! We stayed in a beautiful beach house just a couple blocks from the beach. It was peaceful, magical, and healing. The perfect getaway. The girls loved hanging out and playing in the ocean. And the weather was almost too good to be true! We are so thankful for the amazing generosity that made that trip possible!!

*PLEASE SEE THE BOTTOM FOR A SLIDESHOW WITH PICTURES OF THESE HIGHLIGHTS :)

Jason:

Jason has really done a lot in his budget/finance position and earned a lot of respect there. A detail opportunity came available for a fleet management position in October and so he is currently performing that job and looking to possibly gain that job permanently. He really enjoys his job and the people he works with and all he is learning. He has also been a loving presence to two families in the forest service who lost children in 2014. Jason also enjoys his callings in the church - he is a scout leader and worked with both the priests and teachers. He had some really fun adventures, including a caving trip and a 50-mile hike in the High Uintas.  Jason says his favorite thing about 2014 was our baby being born. And he's most looking forward to the possibility of getting the permanent gs-11 position. 

Heidi:

Heidi continues to work through the mix of emotions that comes with still grieving plus learning to accept the joy that comes into her life as well - especially since the addition of Noelle to our family. She definitely does not fill the hole that Link left, but the amount of joy she has brought is amazing! Having a baby to hold, smell, kiss, etc is so healing. Heidi still spends much of her time running (she ran a half marathon with her dad in September), reading (afterlife books and fantasy books are her mainstay), engaging in support groups (both the share group locally and her SIDS mom group), working on birthday books, newsletters, and embracing the joys of parenthood - both the older ones with the projects, homework & field trips, and the younger ones with dolls, songs, diapers, and meals. Heidi worked in the primary this year until about August. Now, she is focusing on the Relief Society activity committee - she is the publicity coordinator & is in charge of the activity posters and invitations. Heidi also spends a good deal of her time being a human taxi - taking/picking up for both Kezia's preschool and North Elementary. Heidi's favorite memory from 2014 was our trip to Capitola. In 2015, she's looking forward to our 15 year anniversary (& hopefully a nice trip to celebrate)! :)

McKinley:

McKinley turned 9 years old on 9-9 this year! :) She is in Miss Heap's 3rd grade class and Miss Heap has nothing but wonderful things to say about McKinley. She is doing so well academically and is also such a great leader and friend. Her favorite school friends are Lindsey, Jaycee, Kaylin, and T-Nyla. They started a group called the Giggles Club. She sometimes goes to 4H, which is like an afterschool club where they make projects, go on field trips, and play games. She was a finalist in the North Elementary science fair with her static electricity project where they worked on generating enough static electricity to power a tiny lightbulb.  We are sure thankful that McKinley's scare with her appendectomy is over! :( McKinley got a kit from Aunt Tiffany where she got to order some caterpillars. We got to watch them form into chrysalises and eventually into butterflies. It was really neat! McKinley decided she wanted to be in the Suessical Musical this year. She was a quail and she went to lots of rehearsals through the summer and finally performed in August. It was awesome!! The whole play was wonderful and McKinley did a great job and had fun meeting new people and being on stage. She is a great big sister and helps out with her younger sisters even when they don't listen to her ;) Her other good friends are Addison Bealer, Olivia Price, and Emma Beacham. McKinley also loves Activity Days & has made some awesome crafts and even made a quilt with her activity day friends for Noelle! McKinley is good at drawing, writing stories, and since we got a piano, she's learned quite a few songs by heart and can pick out the tune of songs she hears. We hope to get her in lessons soon! McKinley is so thoughtful & is still constantly making gifts, notes, surprises, and service projects for those around her. She is really loving her primary class with Brother & Sister Spencer & is really learning the scripture stories so well! At the end of the year, she got the award of excellence for her Reflections Contest entry - the theme was "The world would be a better place if..." and she took pictures with mom's camera of the beautiful things of this world and a picture of her tablet and placed a "no" symbol over it. McKinley's favorite thing about 2014 was Lagoon and she's most excited about seeing Aunt Tiffany and getting her ears pierced for her 10th birthday next year!

Ireland:

Ireland turned 7 years old this year! She is in Mrs. Willden's 2nd grade class and is doing really well. She is the top reader in her class (at a 4th grade level!) and is improving a lot in math! Unfortunately, her best friend at school (Drew) moved away and so she has been lonely lately at school. We are hoping and praying she will find a new good friend soon. Ireland did gymnastics in the summer and was doing really well! She was so close to getting her kickover and she started doing front flips on the trampoline. Her non-school friends are Shaylee, Emi, and Isabella and she loves to have late-overs with them. Ireland REALLY loved the ocean on our trip to the beach in October. It's possible she could have camped out there forever :) She has loved getting to see her cousins so much this year - especially Joshua. Ireland really LOVES her baby sister Noelle & is still constantly wanting to hold her and kiss her every day. She's still pretty infatuated with shoes :) Mom asked her to pick an outfit that she wanted to wear the first day of school, but she decided to wear her old clothes & just get a new pair of shoes instead! She has fun playing with Kezia - they still like to spend hours playing My Little Pony and Barbies. Ireland says her favorite part of 2014 was going to the ocean and she's most excited about getting baptized next year! 

Kezia:

Kezia is now 5 and had quite the Anna & Elsa birthday - including a Frozen cake, Anna & Elsa dresses, and an Olaf pinata. She sure loves that movie! She also loves playing Barbies and Ponies. Kezia is attending South Elementary Preschool again this year and is now in Mrs. Clara's class. She is having fun and is really an awesome reader - she knows over a hundred sight words! Her preschool friends are Hadley and Emi. Her non-school friends are Adelaide Price and Paige Hillstead. She had her first lessons this year - swim lesssons - she did really well, but had a hard time staying above the water long enough to listen to her teacher. She's quite a little fish. Kezi loves her mommy and Kezi time in the morning before preschool. She loves to paint, color, draw, do puzzles, make crafts, and bake things. She is SUCH a thoughtful daughter. Almost not a day goes by that mom and/or dad doesn't get multiples drawings, colorings, or "tickets" to a "ball" or "show." :-) She also loves making things for her teachers and friends. She loves watching Jake & the Neverland Pirates, My Little Pony, and VeggieTales on Netflix. Kezia says her favorite part of 2014 was her birthday and she's most excited about "learning Kindergarten" next year! 

Link:

Link would have turned 2 this year. For his angelversary (the anniversary of his death - March 26th), we decided to honor him and help fulfill his mission by taking family names to the temple. Family & friends did names, too & we had 24 names in all by his angelversary that we wrote on strips of paper & "linked" around his bench. It was a special experience and we hope to do even more names next year!! We truly feel his joy when we are serving in the temple - especially working to "link" our family together :). There have been many tender mercies throughout this year where we have felt Link sending his love and care for us. One of them was when his sister came into this world. We felt him close - especially during some scary moments of delivery - and especially after she got here safely, we felt that he was bursting with joy. Also - on the very evening of when Noelle was the exact age of Link when he died, we found a beautiful rainbow outside our window. And, amazingly, DURING our family pictures this year, a gorgeous rainbow appeared & we were able to take pictures & forever document his message of love. On his 2nd birthday, we were able to again donate to the Philadelphia and Salt Lake Ronald McDonald Houses and again numerous donations were made in his honor to the Jubilee House in Cedar City. We also had a special surprise when Mike Edwards' Aunt Liz donated money to get a brick for Link at the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House. We enjoy visiting Link's bench as a family - we sometimes bring a picnic. We sometimes bring decorations. Sometimes we just sit. In May, many of our family came to wear shirts with Link's picture and go on a Share walk of remembrance. It was really neat. Another neat thing that came about because of Link was that a woman named Susan Curtis found a picture of the forget-me-nots on Link's bench & asked to use it in a book she was making for her grandkids titled "Sunny the Sad Sunflower." She was sweet enough to send us a special copy and it was SUCH a neat story. The other amazing thing was that she had previously come into contact with Grandma Potts & they knew each other! Also - Heidi wrote a blog post about some of the details of Link's death and ways that could possibly help others avoid going through what we have gone through. The post has gotten over 17,000 views and we've had many positive responses about it. 

Noelle:

Noelle came into this world on April 8th. We call her our "sunrise baby" because after a long night of grief, she has come, bringing so much light and joy into our lives. The girls are so infatuated with their baby sister and even after 8 months, she is still fought over and the girls constantly want to hold and kiss her - take baths with her and sit by her in the van. There was a lot of anxiety as she neared Link's age when he died and we had to put our trust in the Lord. Thankfully, she is still with us - continuing to bring light and love. Her laugh and smile just brightens everything. She is sitting up really well, LOVING eating her solid food as well as breastfeeding, shaking her head, laughing, talking (mama, dada, doggie, hi), standing up for long periods of time, trying to get on all fours, clicking her tongue, giving kisses, waving, and clapping hands. She loves watching her sisters. She loves holding her brother's picture. She still is sleeping with the Snuza monitor, the video monitor & she's strapped into her crib with the sleep guardian. Yes, we keep a pretty close eye on our sunrise baby girl, but our anxieties have eased a bit since she's older and we are praying we'll get to keep her. Noelle loves her exersaucer, her jumper, Sydney dog, playing the piano, flapping her arms when she's happy, and grabbing anything and everything within her reach! She can't really tell us, but we are guessing her favorite thing about 2014 was being born :) - and she's most looking forward to walking in 2015!

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2013

I wasn't sure I was going to do a newsletter for 2013. 

I was taught that if I didn't have anything nice to say then I shouldn't say anything at all & I didn't have a lot of nice things to say about 2013. 

2013 sucked. 

Our son died. 

Our dog died. 

The end. 

I'm sorry if that was offensive to anyone. The truth is that our loss consumed much of 2013. Our loss will continue to be a part of our lives. Every day. It still hurts. Every day. We miss Link and Tundra more than any amount of words could ever begin to express. The following in no way erases our loss. It is in no way an "at least..." statement. 

I realize, though, that if I can push through the anger, hurt, and heartache, that there is another truth. And that is that God is good. He loves us. He has watched over us and helped us to find perspective and begin to heal. He has given us SO very much. We have an amazing amount of blessings. 

So... with both of those truths in mind, I have gone through my journal, my newsletters, my blog, and just my memories and compiled a list of 20 things in 2013 that I am so very thankful for:

1. We brought Link home. The thought that he died almost 3 months later makes that last statement sting my heart, but the fact that Link died does not really take away the miracle of curing his hyperinsulinism. We got to take him home and enjoy our healthy baby at home for a few months before he was called home. Those three months were SO beautiful and precious and perfect - getting to watch him learn to smile more, laugh, "talk," grab at everything, and roll over were such blessings. 

2. McKinley & Ireland participated in tumbling lessons in the spring and swimming lessons in the summer. They both did a great job in both lessons and moved up a level!

3. We were able to bless our baby boy on March 3rd. Many people came to support us and for most of them, it was the last time they held Link. 

4. We had an enormous amount of support after Link died from SIDS on March 26th. It was a humbling experience. We are so thankful for family, friends, loved ones who made sacrifices to be there for Link's funeral and give us amazing, thoughtful gifts and service.

5. We got to be there for the day that Jason's mom, Dee Ann, went through the temple for the first time and was sealed to her parents. What an awesome day! Also, later in the year, we attended the sealing of Dee Ann and Jason's stepdad, Dave, to each other in the Manti Temple. These were amazing blessings and miracles to witness and we truly believe Link was involved and there for both those special days. 

6. On Link's funeral day, his 8-month birthday, and his 6-month angelversary, we witnessed amazing rainbows like this one. We know they are love notes from Link and we will always think of him when we see a rainbow. 

7. We were able to go camping in the summer with the Tew side of the family in Mapleton, the Potts & Edwards at Palisades Reservoir, and the Bensons at Pineview. We enjoyed swimming, hiking, fishing, s'more-ing, star-gazing, and just being with loved ones. 

8. Ireland turned six in July! She is still our active girl -loving to run, jump, climb, etc. She is also very determined!  If she sees a friend do it, she will not stop until she learns how to do it herself. For many months at school, she would come home with blisters on her hands from learning the monkey bars. She also loves swimming, jump rope,  riding her bike or scooter, and making "I love you" cards for mom and dad. She is a top reader in her class! She lost her first tooth a few months after she turned six and was so excited! She continues to LOVE fashion - especially anything twirly, sparkly, soft, shiny, and "clippety-cloppety" (shoes). Her best friends are Mahina, Isabella, Drew, Joshua, and Sienna. 

9. We are so thankful for the 10+ years that we had with our Tundra dog. Saying goodbye to him was very difficult (especially for McKinley), but we know that he is up playing with Link and watching over us. We are thankful that we could spend the last moments of his life with him and bury him in our backyard. 

10. We went to Lagoon in July with the Potts and Edwards and had a great time! We all rode rides, got wet, ate ice cream, and had lots of fun. 

11. In the beginning of August, the Potts family came to Cedar City for our annual Potts Retreat. It was great to have them here & do some fun activities including seeing Love's Labor Lost at the Shakespeare Festival, Mary Poppins at Tuacahn, hiking to Cascade Fall, going to the Cedar City Aquatic Center, Lake at the Hills, and the movies.  In between all that was great meals and great conversations. It was so wonderful to see everyone and feel their love. We were sad to see them go.

12. McKinley turned eight in the beginning of September (she had a bowling party with her friends!) and was baptized in October! We are so proud of her and thankful for all the family to came to support her on her special day. McKinley continues to be a great reader & has read many chapter books in the past year. She also loves swimming and jump roping. She loves to go camping. She loves anything to do with science or experiments. She loves crafts & has learned basic crocheting and needlework.  She also loves math & making up stories to write and illustrate in her "books."  She was so excited to get baptized & is also loving to go to activity days now! She got a tablet for her birthday and loves to download apps - her favorite one is Cut the Rope. Her favorite friends are Michael, Olivia, Mary Jane (MJ), and Kloie. 

13. McKinley & Ireland are attending North Elementary this year to try out their STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Math) program. It has been very good for them - especially McKinley. It is more challenging for her - which she needs - and stresses math & science - which she loves. We carpool with our neighbors up the street, which has been nice. They have a lot of "Polar Bear Pride," which we love to see.  

14. Kezia and Heidi went to Minnesota in September to spend some time with Heidi's sister, Tiffany, and her daughter & husband. we had a great time playing with the cats, going to the lakes, playing at the parks, going to the mall, going to a book store with live animals, eating yummy ice cream, going to church, watching movies, going on beautiful walks, visiting with each other, taking naps, and topping it off with a visit to the Minnesota Children’s Museum, where they had a Dora exhibit. It was a wonderful time! 

15. In October, Kezia turned four! She had a Halloween/birthday party at the library and park with many of her cute friends. Everyone dressed in their costumes and we did Halloween crafts, a maze, and played at the park. She got lots of fun gifts! Her big gift for her birthday was a bunny rabbit! He is a black and white dutch bunny & Kezia decided to name him "Rainbow Truck." She loves hugging her bunny, playing dress-up with him, and chasing him around the house. Kezia started preschool this year and she goes two days a week to the South Elementary Preschool. She is still infatuated with My Little Pony and will spend hours upstairs playing "ponies." She also loves watching the show on Netflix. Kezia loves swimming, running around, and playing with her friends. She can write her name and some other words and is reading BOB books! She loves coloring and painting. Some of her favorite friends include Adelaide and Callie. 

16. Link's birthday was on November 7th. For more details, check out the blog post. We are just so thankful for everyone who shared in his special day and donated to the Ronald McDonald House. 

17. In the middle of the year, we found out we were expecting another baby - due in April. See this blog post for my feelings on the subject. We are so thankful to have the opportunity to welcome another precious life into our family. We have decided to name her Noelle Eve. 

18. We are so thankful for Jason's job. He was furloughed for a couple weeks in October and we are glad that is over with. He likes his job and his boss and that is such a blessing. His coworkers have been so amazing to support us with Link's hospital stay, his death, and donating to the Jubilee House here in Cedar in Link's name. They are all such good people. We are thankful for the flexibility it gives our family. Jason is becoming quite the handiman and fixed our garage door, oven, truck, washer, and computer in the last year, just to mention a few. He also went on some fun scout camps to Kolob Reservoir and Great Basin National Park. 

19. Heidi is thankful for ladies that have shared the burden of her grief - loving family members and especially the local SHARE group (for pregnancy and infant loss) and online Utah SIDS moms group. She's thankful for these women who truly "get it" and have such empathy and love for what we're going through. She's thankful for her grief outlets - mostly writing, doing memory projects, connecting with other moms, and doing service projects. 

20. Above all, we are thankful for the gospel and our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. We are so grateful for the hope that the Savior's atonement and resurrection brings. More than anything else, this is what has brought us peace and love this year and hope for wonderful things in the years to come. 

As Casper Ten Boom (The Hiding Place) has said  (and we believe) - "The best is yet to be!!"

I'd also like to say a huge THANK YOU here for all those reading this that helped us get through the most difficult year of our lives so far. We love you and are SO thankful for you!!