A Light At The End Of The Tunnel.

Luke and I will graduate May 8, 2010.

To be honest, I am a little bit excited that we are going to walk together at our college graduation. I know it isn't a big deal for some people, but it is for us. It has been a long, hard, and exhausting road. We have sacrificed a lot to get here. When I decided to go back to school, Luke worked the third shift at J.B. Hunt. We literally passed each other in the hallway. I only went back half time because I thought it was too hard to work full time and go to school full time. Now I am going to school full time, working full time and have two children! Luke gets up at 3:45 in the morning. He gets to work at 5AM in Lowell. He drives from Lowell to Fayetteville on his lunch for class. He drives back to Lowell. He doesn't get off work until 4. On Thursdays he has class until 9. Last semester he had class every night after work. When I get off work I pick up the kids, fix dinner, give baths and prepare for the next day. I get to see Luke for about 2-3 hours a night. When Luke and the kids go to bed, it is my turn to "go to school." My classes are online, which means I have to make time at home. So, my homework normally gets done between 9-11. I wake up 2-3 times a night with the kiddos and then start the next day at 5:30. Hindsight is 20/20. If I would have known how much time I would have to spend away from my children and my husband, I could have been done a lot sooner....or perhaps I wouldn't have dropped out my first semester. Luke took a couple of semesters off and also went part time because of work. We like to say that the path we chose, builds character. I took classes while I was pregnant. I took finals 3 weeks after Kinnison was born. Since the fall of 2003 I have been determined to finish. When I met Luke I inherited some of his student loan debt. And now, we have accumulated student loan debt together. Hopefully we pay it off before the girls go to college! I am glad that I went back. I am proud that I am going to graduate from college. I am even prouder that Luke and I have survived. I am still not really sure what I want to be when I grow up, but I am proud to say that I will have a Bachelor of Science in Education Degree, with a Major in Human Resource Development. Luke will have a Transportation and Logistics Degree.

Bake For The Cure

The last couple of years I have participated in the Race for the Cure with the NWA Playgroup. Our group name is Mommies on a Mission. We also have a bake sale each year. The bake sale is Saturday, March 28th at 9:30. It will be held at the Wal-Mart by the NW Arkansas Mall. Last year I made dog treats and they were a huge success. So, I made them again this year. I am going to try to make human treats tomorrow.

I use a recipe from a book I bought many years ago. (Before we had kids....when I actually made homemade treats for the dogs) The book is called, "The Doggy Bone Cookbook" by Michele Bledsoe. It actually came with a dog bone cookie cutter. Here is the recipe:

Paw Lick'n Chick'n

3 Cups White Flour

3/4 Cup Yellow Cornmeal

1 Cup Chicken Broth

4 Tablespoons Softened Margarine

1 Egg

1 Tablespoon Milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour, cornmeal, chicken broth and margarine. Knead dough for 3 minutes. Apply a light layer of flour to rolling surface and rolling pin. Roll dough to 1/4" thickness and cut out with cookie cutter. Beat egg and milk together and baste each biscuit with a brush. Bake at 325 for 35 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet. Makes 2 dozen. Aren't they cute!?

And just because they are so darn cute, I will post another photo of my beautiful girls. I can't believe how big they are getting. :(

Jackhammer

I have nothing to say about this. The video speaks for itself. Thank you Aunt Charity.



Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Girls Will Be Girls.

I can't count the times I have heard people say, "Boys will be boys," or "He's all boy". I rarely hear that being said about girls. Girls are just as wild and crazy. Mine are anyway. Today my girls were racing. Kimber was in the jeep walker and Kinnison was on the Turbo Turtle. They are both fearless. They love to throw themselves backwards when you are holding them or jump off of things hoping you will catch them. Kinnison has fallen and hit her head so many times. Luckily, only one of those resulted in a cat scan. Kimber has figured out how to get into the rocking chair by herself...and stand up in it.

"They haven't seen me."

"Busted."
"What? I was just sitting here rocking in the chair."
"Ooops! I fell."

My girls also do silly things. Today when I was cleaning house, I found this...

This would be the Easter basket mom bought for Kimber. Kinnison got a horse. My girls felt the need to accessorize the giraffe. Giraffe is sporting a Hello Kitty bracelet now.

New Professions.

Luke and I decided we both want to be meteorologists. How many jobs are there that allow you to be wrong 75% of the time and still get paid? Today was supposed to be in the 60's. There was supposed to be a 30% chance of rain. So, we packed up the kiddies and headed to Petit Jean State Park. It never got above 50 degrees and rained the whole time. We wore shorts. We still had fun though. It is absolutely beautiful there. We were going to hike but it was too cold, wet, and muddy for us to hike four miles with the kids. We are going to go back this fall and rent a cabin. We went to the grave site overlook and decided to take a photo. I had to set the timer and run across wet rocks to get in place before the camera snapped the photo...while holding Kimber. So, we only attempted it twice. This is what we got.

Look at the way Kimber is looking at me. Those who are around Kimber know she can give "the look". She is giving me "the look" because I took her pacifier out of her mouth for the photo. She gives a nasty look and then laughs her evil laugh. After two attempts at a photo...I figured this one was good enough. Kimber who is cranky most of the time actually enjoyed the outdoors. She kept pointing at things. She loved the waterfall. She hated the car ride.

Family Fun!

Luke built an amazing swingset for the girls. We designed it together and he built it this week. (Thank you to his Grandpa and Mom for the help!) It turned out awesome.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Pinkalicious

I am addicted to Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. I read her site daily. I swear she is part superhero. I normally step away from the computer feeling inadequate as a mother and wife. I still love her though. She introduced me to Bakerella. She also makes me feel inadequate. Anyway, she has a recipe for some adorable, delicious cupcake bites. I bought the stuff yesterday and decided to give them a try. I made about 3 dozen. The recipe is enough for 50. I knew we wouldn't be able to handle eating 50 though. This is a photo of one of the first ones. They got better with some practice. If you decide to give these a try, I have two tips.

1. Buy more than one mold. This will make it go faster.

2. Make your cake bites bigger. You need to make sure they will fit into the mold with chocolate around the sides. But, mine are too small and don't really look like cupcakes. If you look at Bakerella's photos you will see what I am talking about.

They are adorable and delicious! We made ours pink because Kinnison loves the Pinkalicious book. I will attempt these for Easter!

Adoption

Luke and I are opening our home and our hearts to adoption, again. Before we got pregnant with Kimber, Luke and I tried to adopt a little girl. We didn't understand then why it did not work out. We understand now. It is all part of His plan. We are blessed with two beautiful girls. Kinnison and Kimber mean everything to us. Our lives are centered around them. But, we feel that our family is not complete. There are so many children in this world that need a family and a home. We hope we can provide that for atleast one child. We really feel like adoption is part of God's plan for us. Please say a prayer for us. This is something we have dreamed about and prayed about for a long time.

Thank You!

Congrats!

I would like to say CONGRATS to my best friend Fran and her husband Blake. They are expecting their first child. Baby Raybon is due October 24th. I can't wait! We will be praying for a safe and healthy pregnancy. We love you guys!

Blog For A Cause

I have helped raise money for local charities since I was in junior high. My favorites are Race for the Cure, Polar Bear Plunge and the American Heart Walk. One of my favorite events is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. This charity is near and dear to my heart. I am a women. I have a mom. I have a sister. Most importantly, I have two daughters. Although I have participated in this event in the past, I did not get passionate about it until Kinnison was born. This will be Kinnison's fourth year to walk in the Race for the Cure with me. This is her first year to be registered as a participant. She has raised more money than I have! This will be Kimber's second year to participate. I hope that my girls will share my passion and carry on this tradition with their children.

2006
2007

2008

If you would like to sponsor one of us, click on this link:

http://race.komenozark.org/site/TR/Race/General?pg=pfind&fr_id=1070

Type in Jamie Hamilton or Kinnison Hamilton.

Here are some statistics off of the Komen Ozark Race for the Cure website.

National Statistics

• An estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the United States during 2008. An estimated 40,480 women will die from breast cancer.
• An estimated 1,990 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in 2008 and 450 will die.
  Being female is the most important risk factor for breast cancer. Although men can develop this disease, it is about 100 times more common among women.
• Studies of exercise and breast cancer have had consistent results, women who are physically active on a regular basis seem to have an approximately 20 percent lower risk (0.8 relative risk) of the disease compared to women who aren't active regularly.
• At this time there are slightly more than two million women living in the United States who have been diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer.

I know that right now is a difficult time for a lot of people. If you are unable to donate there are other ways to help. You can participate or volunteer to help on race day. Thank You!

Where Has The Time Gone?

Today I took the girls to the farm to get their pictures in the daffodils. I do it every year. It is amazing how much they have changed. I thought I would do a little comparison.

Here is Kinnison the first year.

Second Year

Third Year

Fourth Year

I just can't believe how fast time goes by.

Welcome Emerson Ruley

I am pleased to announce the birth of my beautiful niece. We are about 99.9% sure her name will be Emerson Lynn Ruley. Emerson made her entrance into this world at 2:23 p.m on March 5, 2009. She weighed 7lbs4oz and was 20 inches long. Ty was very excited to finally meet her.

I didn't think that she looked anything like Ty when he was born, but I think there might be a resemblance.

Barrel of Monkeys Pottery

My friend Mindy is opening a shop on Main Street in Prairie Grove. The name of it is "Barrel of Monkeys Pottery". It is an adorable boutique where you can paint your own pottery! She even does parties there! She will also be featuring baby/kid items that her friends have made. There will be pillowcase dresses, burp cloths, tutus, bows, hats and more! I am personally going to make and sell hair bows, pacifier clips and diaper cakes. I am working on some new projects as well. I will post pictures when I get them mastered. :)

I truly hope that the shop is a success. Spread the word!

Here are some of the items I will have for sell in her shop.