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.

Quick Update

Kimber took her first steps tonight! She has been able to pull up and walk around while holding on to things for a couple months. But, tonight she took her first steps by herself! I can't believe how fast time goes by. Even though last year was difficult, I miss it. My babies are growing up too fast.