Merry Christmas!

Saturday night we went to my Mom and Dad's House. We ate, opened presents and decorated sugar cookies and gingerbread houses. Sunday morning we opened presents here. They got lots of goodies. They are definitely spoiled! One of our favorite traditions is waffles on Christmas morning. After breakfast and clean up we went to the farm for Christmas lunch. The weather was beautiful. We even did our gift exchange outside in the front yard! It was a great Christmas and many wonderful memories were made!

Here are some professional pictures we had taken last month.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Love,

One year ago...

Kimber was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia.

It was physically and emotionally exhausting. It was one of the scariest things I have ever went through. I am glad I blogged about it then because most of the details are a blur now, but I will never forget how hard it was to see her in pain, to see her SO sick, to see them poke her and run tests on her, and to know we would miss out on some of our favorite Christmas Traditions! We are so thankful that she is healthy this year. We will pray for all the families that have loved ones, especially children, in the hospital, especially on Christmas.

Kanyon hit the six month mark this week, which doesn't seem possible. He had his six month checkup yesterday. He had to get four shots. He was such a big boy. He barely cried. He is trying to sit up, but falls forward. He has started watching The Backyardigans. Kinnison and Kimber both loved that show. I am he will love it too! He is such a happy boy. He loves to jabber and laugh all the time. He is trying to hold his bottle on his own. He loves to get two handfuls of my hair when I kiss him. If we take a nap together he plays with my hair until he falls asleep. If he is sleeping by himself he plays with a blanket until he falls asleep. His favorite is a frog blankie his Auntie Fran bought him. He loves to rub it on his face. He has brought so much happiness to our lives. We love him so much! I can't wait to see him on Christmas Day. Six months is such a fun age!

Kinnison is on Christmas Break! She and her sister are having a hard time following the rules and doing what they are asked, but I am still really excited to have her home with us. I miss her being here. She is a big help and always makes us laugh. We had a lot of fun when we were all home together. I'm ready for summer vacation!

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday Luke and I celebrated nine years together, which doesn't seem possible. Honestly, every year gets better. Luke and I don't always see eye to eye. He loves to give me a hard time and I have gotten really good at giving it right back to him. We fight hard, but we love even harder. We aren't the same people we were nine years ago. I love him differently. I love him more, which I didn't think was possible. We have evolved into something much different. We are a crazy, chaotic, loud, sleep deprived team. Our daily routine resembles a tag team wrestling match. We are outnumbered, but I thank God every day that I have my three beautiful kids. I have the most wonderful life and I can't imagine sharing it with anyone else.

To celebrate Luke and I left Tuesday and went to Mt. Magazine . We stayed at the lodge. It was absolutely beautiful. We hiked the trail to the highest point in Arkansas.

When we stopped to take a picture Luke surprised me with a beautiful three stone diamond ring that I had picked out a few weeks ago. Luke never surprises me. He doesn't do romance. He rarely buys me things. I was SHOCKED. I am cheap and after showing him the ring I told he better not buy it for me because there is no way we can afford it right now. He did buy it and I love it. The whole time we were there it snowed. It was fabulous. We went to dinner at the Skycrest Resteraunt. The food was wonderful. We had an amazing view, a cozy fire and we were the only people there! That night we went to swim and we were the only people there too! It was an amazing trip that I won't ever forget.

Our trip wouldn't have been possible without my mom. She watched our little herd so we could go. THANK YOU!

On a side note, Michelle Duggar miscarried her 20th child today. I know that a lot of people don't agree with their way of life, but I think they are a wonderful family. They have done a better job with nineteen than most people do with one. Some of those people say, "there is no way they can give those children enough attention". But, so many people these days have different priorities. They may spend 40+ hours a week at work while someone else raises their children. The Duggars also support themselves instead of living off the government. I am not condemning either of those things. Do what you have to do. I just wish people wouldn't be so quick to judge others. I have seen some really awful comments on Facebook. Christian or not, please have enough respect not to kick someone while they are down. This miscarriage was not "a sign from God to tell them to stop reproducing". I miscarried my 2nd and 3rd child. If I had taken that as a sign and given up Kimber and Kanyon wouldn't be here. When I had my miscarriages I had people say some really awful things to me and they were trying to help. I cannot imagine going through it and having to deal with all the horrible, mean things people are saying. No matter if it is your 1st child or your 20th, you are 4 weeks or 20 weeks, losing a child is devastating. Please say a prayer for the entire Duggar family.

Christmas Traditions.

Sunday we made cinnamon ornaments to decorate the kids' Christmas Tree with. They are fun to make and smell wonderful! It is one of my favorite Christmas Traditions! Here is the recipe I posted last year.

We are starting a new tradition this year.

The Elf on the Shelf came to the Hamilton House lastnight. I am so excited to do this with the kids. Kinnison is skeptical, but I think after a few nights of "Buddy the Elf" moving around she will find it more believable.

I love this time of year!

Giving Thanks.

I am thankful for God who has given me so much to be thankful for!

I am so very thankful for my kids. Being a stay at home mom is very hard and very stressful, but I am so thankful I have the opportunity to do it. I can't even fathom leaving them with someone else while I work. I am thankful for my husband. He is one of the hardest working people I have ever met. He is the reason I get to stay home! He is a great provider for our family and he is a terrific father to our children! I am thankful for each and every day I get to spend with my family. I am thankful for my friends. And, I am thankful for the men and women who serve our country!

Today is my dad's 53rd birthday! Happy Birthday Pappy Dog!

I am truly blessed!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Proud.

We are so proud of all of our children! They are smart, sweet, well behaved kids! (most of the time)

We are especially proud of how fast Kinnison is learning sight words and how well she is reading now. I am posting a video of her reading words this morning. She did 50! I am going to have to make cards with the words from her favorite books because we don't have those. I bet she knows over 100!

Kimber is counting to 10 without skipping numbers now. She can say her letters and write most of them, but needs to work on recognition still. When I hold up a flashcard she rambles off about 5-10 different letter names. Kanyon is excelling in the jumperoo. He also likes to get two handfuls of Kinnison's hair and shove it in his mouth. :) He has really developed a lot of personality this week. He loves to smile and laugh. He is such a happy boy.10

Happy Birthday Kinnison!

Kinnison turned six years old today...which doesn't seem possible. We had a swim party at the Boys and Girls club yesterday. It was a Luau themed party. I worked my tail off. Lastnight Kinnison told me it was the best birthday she has ever had, which made it worth all the hard work. Everyone had a lot of fun. Thank you to everyone who came to share her special day. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and such a wonderful family.

Kinnison is reading anything and everything. She is very smart and very witty. She has a great sense of humor. She remembers EVERYTHING. She loves to sing and dance. She loves to help her brother and sister. She is a huge help to me. Kinnison's favorite color is pink. She loves Taylor Swift. She loves anything that has chocolate in it or on it. She has lost three teeth and has another one loose. She loves peace signs. She loves her dog, Tator. She is sweet, happy and compassionate. She has an amazing personality and a contagious laugh. She is just wonderful. She has brought so much joy, laughter and love into our lives. We are so blessed to be her parents! Happy Birthday sweet girl. We love you to the moon and back!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Here is a link to last years montage.

http://cryshamilton.blogspot.com/2010/11/denial.html

Here is a slideshow with pictures from her party.

Six Years Ago...

Kinnison should have been entering the world six years ago today, but she had different plans. She was due November 9th, but decided to come on November 14th. She wanted to make an entrance! She lost another tooth today! This was number three for her! This was her snaggle tooth. A couple years ago she was running around upstairs and fell and hit our footboard. It pushed the tooth up into the gums. It has been loose since then and turned a gray color, so we were very happy to see it go.

Update.

I've run out of new blog titles.

Kinnison is doing great in school. She knew 13 sight words on her report card and knows even more now. This week she started bringing a book home in her study bag. She has already mastered it. She can read most of the old school Dick & Jane stories too. We are so proud of her. I know that God has special plans for her. She is so smart and has an exceptional memory. She is also very compassionate. I think she needs to be a doctor or a nurse. But, she decided this week she wants to be an artist. That was on my list when I was growing up, so I can't blame her. I am sure she will excel at whatever she chooses! I finished her birthday montage. I'll be posting it soon.

Kimber is....Kimber. LOL She is such a joy and so much work at the same time. She is very tender hearted and very passionate about everything. Tell her "no" and it will break her heart. She can be very high maintenance, but she is such a wonderfully sweet girl it is hard to get onto her. There is no doubt in my mind that God has something very special planned for her as well. She has so much love to give and laughter to share. I am so thankful I am getting to spend more time with her. Kinnison got me all to herself for 2 years before Kimber came along. Even though I worked and went to school, all of her time was individual time. When Kimber was born I had Kinnison, work and even more hours of school. So, Kimber got the short end of the stick. She still has to share her time with Kinnison and Kanyon, but there is a lot more time now that I am staying at home. I need to enjoy every minute I have with her because she will be starting school in 2 years! Hard to believe.

Kanyon is changing every day. Yesterday when we were shopping he would puff out his cheeks real big, blow spit bubbles and then giggle. It was adorable. His favorite activity is his Jumperoo. He is on formula now. I exclusively breastfed for 3 months. At 3 months I did formula during the day, pumped before bed and then breastfed him at night. The next morning he got the pumped bottle. We did that for about 2 weeks. Then he decided he didn't want to nurse anymore. Before he didn't care what he ate or where it came from! The next two weeks he went to primarily formula and 1-2 breastmilk bottles a day. At 4 months we switched to formula only. I'm very proud of both of us. My goal was 6 months or until he got teeth and he got his first two teeth last week! I am a little sad we are done, but it was very hard to do with two other children...especially when one is in school! He is rolling all over the place. He flips from tummy to back and somehow gets his feet where is head was?

Happy Fall Ya'll!

It is absolutely beautiful here in Northwest Arkansas. This might be one of the prettiest falls we have had and I was worried we wouldn't have fall at all. We had extreme snow, extreme flooding, extreme heat and drought. We had a lot of trees die over the summer, but somehow our trees have changed to the most beautiful shades of reds, oranges and yellows. Saturday we took the train ride from Springdale to Van Buren. It was absolutely beautiful. And, we made some great memories. We took fall family pics this weekend. It was crazy and stressful, but we got some good shots. I am thankful for every photo I have with my family. I will cherish them always.

Monday was Halloween. I helped organize Kinnison's class party. It was a lot of fun. Kinnison and Kimber were witches this year. I made their costumes and I must say they were the cutest witches ever! Kanyon was a cow and he was adorable! We went to Charity's house to celebrate Meme's birthday. We had a wonderful dinner! (thanks Gammy!) After dinner the girls got to go trick-or-treating. When they were done trick-or-treating they handed out candy. I think they enjoy handing it out just as much as they like getting it.

Luke and I have both had a stomach bug. I couldn't sleep lastnight so I decided to work on Kinnison's DVD and write in their journals. I stumbled across some old videos. There are no words to describe the emotions I have about my kids growing up. It takes my breath away. I watched videos of Kinnison and Kimber when they were babies. It doesn't seem possible that they are going to be 6 and 4. They have brought so much joy into our lives. There is not a night I go to bed that I do thank God for my kids, my family. They mean everything to me. They are growing up right before my eyes. It is bittersweet. I am sad that they aren't little babies anymore, but I am so proud of the young ladies they have become. They are wonderful big sisters to Kanyon. I am trying to soak up every minute I have with him because I know in the blink of an eye he will be celebrating his 6th birthday. It makes me sad.

Love,