Joseph with Kalli and her friend, Pria
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POTTS FAMILY NEWSLETTER
October 15 - 31 2009
- The girls and I (except Tiffany in Arizona) got together 2 days after Heidi’s due date and gave her hand, foot and tummy rubs, watched a video and visited! I love our “girl times” and we all hope Heidi’s baby will come soon.
- KEZIA TRIANNA HAMILTON came at last on Oct. 26th 2009 (just 2 ½ hours before grandma’s prediction!) For a full write up you just have to read Heidi’s blog: http://jhhamiltonhappenings.blogspot.com/2009/10/introducing.html
- The girls and I went to the Oquirah Temple on the 16th then I took them out to the Olive Garden.
- MIRACLE: We are finally able to get our 2nd mortgage paid!! THANK YOU HEAVENLY FATHER!!
- Mom rejoiced when some friends of their helped them make a ramp for Cindy’s wheel chair!!
- HALOWEEN PARTY!! – I invited the grandkids over and we enjoyed pizza, the what is missing game, apple bobbing and taking pictures.
- Cindy came by for Halloween and we all enjoyed visiting at Merrills home where they have apple cider.
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FAMILY
…waiting for little Trianna to join our family (Heidi’s baby)
DAN
..Busy preparing the activities for next years calendar for the Young Men
- Dan went to the energy solutions to see the Star Wars presentation.
- Dan has gone to the U of U games with Doug Isackson a few times.
- Dan and I enjoyed going to the Conference Center for our Region Conference. We ended up sitting about 20 rows from President Monson. What an amazing and beautiful experience that was. It seemed to me that Charity itself shone from his countenance, his waves, his hand shakes and his words. It was so Christlike. What a testimony it bore in my heart of his divine preparation and call.
- Dan and I enjoyed visiting Linda and Fred (in our ward) after their knee surgery. Linda was at a Rehab Center.
- Dan is enjoying his football outings with Doug Isackson very much!!!
- 30 – Dan took the scouts on a camp to Antelope Island. Afterward he came home to have Joseph surprise him by jumping on him!
PATRICIA
..Working on the Audio Tape for my book. I ended up recording it once (as is), rerecording major chapters then ending up re-recording the whole thing professional-style so I could have it produced professionally. The cost will go from $2 per pkg. to about $9 per package but Dan feels it would be blest to have something we are proud of. Please help us and guide us Father in Heaven.
- Angie, Kerri and I met at Heidi’s place to go over our presentation. Angie also brought sweet gifts of love including a bracelet for the new baby and clothes for me. Kerri and I enjoyed fried onions for lunch while Heidi and Jason went to their baby forum with Sherrie their midwife.
- Cell phone trouble. My blackberry stopped working so I bought a G1 and I’m having trouble getting the calendar and sending pictures.
- Taking dinner to Cindy when she was sick.
- Meeting with Margaret for speaking
- I finished reading YEARNING FOR THE LIVING GOD by Elder Busche. It was excellent
I received a beautiful email from someone from high school days. Her name is Char. She ran across my book at a bookfair and read it. When she realized we both went to Granger she wrote to me. Among her comments were: I can't wait to finish reading the book. I have to get it done so I can give it to Shirley on Monday ~ but I just had to say hello and tell you thank you for being so courageous in your efforts to diminish the stigma of Mental Illness. I work tirelessly on Suicide Prevention. Books like yours help me a great deal as I strive to reach out and better understand you "blessed" Angels on loan to us from God.- Char
It is emails like this one that make all the work worth it. THANK YOU HEAVENLY FATHER.
- Dentists appt. no cavitees! Yea!
- Heidi’s baby, Kezia, was born on the 26th (see entries under “Heidi”) . I got to stay to help out for 4 days.
- I’ve been busy making arrangements for the cruise mom and dad (and their friends) are going on in December to celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday. She has always wanted to go through the panama canal.
- I was trying to decide whether to accept a speaking engagement on the 23th (Just after a week long commitment at UVU.) My head was saying it was too much. When I asked Heidi’s opinion she said “I have a wise mother who often asks me whether I have prayed about it.” What a wonderful reminder. I stood at their kitchen sink and talked to the Lord about all the plus reasons then when I went to discuss the minus reasons they seemed to disappear. What a beautiful answer to prayer. THANK YOU HEIDI. THANK YOU FATHER.
- One morning while I was helping at Heidi and Jason’s house I had my personal study. I was sitting on the floor then I paused to look around the room. It was a basement room and the window well was just outside the window. It was decorated with a cabin atmosphere and a log bed. I leaned against the bed and just basked in the warmth of the spirit. “warm fuzzies” filled my heart and silence reigned supreme. Perhaps this gift of love and warmth came to be because I had so recently observed the birth of the baby and perhaps because my Father just wanted to give me a gift. Either way it was like being given a precious stone of great worth…just because. THANK YOU FATHER.
- I finished up at Heidis and gave my hugs and kisses then stopped at the temple on the way home. I met a young woman that I hope to her back from on a few fronts (Trisha’s salon and my book)
- My friend, Colynne Call and I enjoyed going to Jamba juice for her birthday and stopping to get some things for Trisha.
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CINDY, KALLI, TIARRA, MICHAEL, JOSHUA AND CINNAMON
..Almost finished with her Thursday night classes. Beginning November her classes move to Tues. till graduation
- for almost 2 weeks Cindy was sick with tooth pain following a root canal. In the end, after much internet research, she chose to have the tooth extracted. After that she did much better.
- I got to help Cindy with the kids and cleaning on the 20th when she had her tooth pulled
- Thanks for helping so much with the birth and afterwards. You made a very good assistant midwife Cindy.
- Thanks for heading up the meals for after the baby was born
- Thanks for being so patient as we all waited for the kids to get well so they could see the baby.
http://kallisbblog.blogspot.com/
HEIDI, JASON, McKINLEY, IRELAND, TUNDRA & SYDNEY
: waiting…waiting…waiting for her baby…waiting…waiting…waiting for Jason’s job.
- Heidi made yummy chicken tortillas for dinner. When I was there helping when they went to their forum. – I enjoyed playing the guitar for the girls.
- Heidi enjoyed wearing her new shirt from Angie a few days before she delivered.
- Heidi once again hosted the 3 day scrapbook gathering at her house following general conference. This fall it included a trip to the temple and a baby bow shower. Cute bows!! I got to make hot chocolate and aple dip
- 22nd- I took Heidi to brunch on her due date to help pass the time away. She helped burn my audiotapes too.
- On the 24th Cindy, Trisha and I invited Heidi to come over so we could give her a hand rub and watch a movie to wile away the time.
- On Monday the 26th I was busy going about my normal housework stuff when Trisha called because she wasn’t feeling very good. I was going to take her to the doctors when I called Dan. He said “Don’t do it.” Heidi is dialated to a 6. I’m headed over to pick up the kids.
- Cindy got to Heidi’s first. Trisha and I got stuck in slow traffic but we all eventually got there… the rest of the story is best told in Heidis words:
Kezia Trianna Hamilton!
For those wondering about the name...
Kezia is a bible name - one of the 3 daughters Job was blessed with after he went through his trials. The bible says "And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job." (Job 42:15). (as a sidenote, we were undecided between Eden and Kezia. We took a family vote - Jason's side was more for Kezia. Heidi's was more for Eden. Then we flipped a penny, and Kezia it is!) We'll call her Kezi for short.
Trianna - a combination of our mother's names - PaTRIcia and DeeANN. McKinley & Ireland are also both named after grandmothers. It is also a street (and town) in the Canary Islands, where Jason served his mission.
Here are the short stats:
-Born October 26th at 9:34pm
-8 lbs 4 oz
-20.5 inches long (just like her sisters!)
-Born at home
Now, for those of you wanting the nitty-gritty details - and for her journal, here is the rest of the story (as I remember it):
Her due date was Thursday, Oct 22, and even though I know I always go late, I was pretty miserable, so my midwife, Sherri, came on Oct 21 & did the primrose oil and stripped my membranes. I went for a good hour walk & the contractions were coming pretty good. I got my hopes up, but was disappointed when the contractions fizzled that night & were gone the next day. My mom was cute & took me out to breakfast at Kneaders the next day & my sweet neighbor, Kristina, took me some fresh-baked bread as a sympathy offering. It was hard to wait, but wait we did.
Monday, October 26th, Sherri got to our home at around 1pm. She again did the primrose oil & stripped my membranes. We were both surprised & glad that I was dialated to a 4 by that time (I was a 2 the Wednesday before) Then she had me do some lunges & squats & off we went in her tiny neon green Volkswagen Bug to Walmart. The contractions were coming, but I had had so many in the past, I was kind of in a "I'll believe it when I see it" mode. However, my shopping experience at Walmart was not an especially pleasant one. I was really having to start to stop and focus and they were getting painful. After checking out, we had planned to go to Dave's Health & Nutrition, but I really wasn't sure that was a good idea because they were really coming stronger. So we headed back to the house & she checked me. This was about 4:30pm. I was a 6! Hooray! That really meant that I was progressing & we could have a baby that night!
Sherri starting calling her attendants and I started calling my sisters & mom (for the record, my sister Cindy was the only one that answered even though I called the others multiple times). I also called my dad & he came to get the girls and take them to his house (thanks dad!). Sherri had Jason running around getting things ready and I was just trying to focus. At about 5pm, I got in my jetted tub and that seemed to really help ease the pain.
workin' it in the tub
Cindy got here at around 5:15 or so. Mom & Trisha got here around 6pm - and the other attendants did as well - Molly and Denise. She checked me again around that time & I was about a 7. By that time, I decided to get out & try the ball & see if that would get things moving faster. I went in the baby's room and everyone was really great to help push on my legs and my back & help get me through the contractions. Sherri had me do the stairs and lunges and I was walking around and they were getting pretty painful. I was getting kind of cold, so I got back in the tub, but when they checked the baby's heartbeat, it seemed really really fast. Sherri came & checked and was worried as well. Jason gave me a blessing and we waited & they tried a different Doppler fetal monitor. It seemed to have slowed down. We were so thankful because we would have ended up going to the hospital if her heart rate would have stayed elevated. Sherri checked again around 8 and I was "almost an 8."
We decided that we should probably break my water soon to get the baby to come since that was what it took to get Ireland here. They set up the birth stool in the baby's room and I got situated with everyone around to support me - physically and emotionally. Not too long after getting situated on the birthing stool, the contractions changed. I could tell they were the REAL DEAL. Funny how you forget all the pain from a previous birth, but it all just comes back it all reality and I was going oh YEAH - this HURTS! I was glad the girls weren't there. I was "vocalizing" quite a bit by the end :)
After I was about a 9, Sherri "teased" the bag and I got some good pushes in, our sweet baby girl was there about 10 minutes later - 9:34pm. I was soooooo thankful she was here! I could not contain my tears! She had finally made her way into the world & I was able to hold my sweet girl in my arms. They put her on my chest and I just chrerished the moment of this fresh-from-heaven treasure.
I wish I could say that was the end of the story. I won't go into too much detail here, but the postpartum story involved an irregular placenta, hemorrhaging (with blood clots), a blessing, a "manual D&C", throwing up, an IV bag, and barely a wink of sleep the night after she was born. Needless to say, I am still pretty weak and tired while my body builds back all the blood I lost. I am SO blessed, though. There were at least 3 instances throughout this time that I was close to going to the hospital, but I truly feel that we were watched over and protected. I cannot say enough how thankful I am to my AMAZING husband. His priesthood blessings were critical and his support was unwavering. He was truly inspired the entire time. I am so thankful for Sherri. Watching her work is amazing. She has so much knowledge and experience which she incorporates, but I'm most comforted by her ability to work by the spirit and by inspiration. I am also SO, SO thankful for my sisters and mom for being there for me - supporting me every step of the way and being such a blessing to me. I am thankful to the attendants - Molly & Denise. So awesome. I felt SO loved and taken care of the entire time. I could NOT have asked for a better support team in bringing this sweet, amazing, beautiful girl into this world and into our home.
Meeting their new sister. They are SO, SO, SO excited to have her here!
Mommy & her precious Kezi
- The only other things I would add would be:
- Jason and I got to help deliver Kezia into this world with the help of the midwife (it was so exciting!)
-27th Darrin and Trisha took the girls to meet their baby sister.
- I enjoyed watching their family traditions such as scriptures in the morning and night.
- I marvel at Jason’s faith and prayers as he waits for his job to materialize
- I love all their pictures of Jesus
- I took the girls to the ward trunk or treat on the 28th
- Jason’s mom has been ill. We are praying for her.
- Kezia’s doctor appt. went well on the 28th.
_ Sherrie, the midwife stopped by twice to check on how things were going. We ended up having some very spiritual moments. The morning after Kezia was born I opened up my scriptures to “any page” and landed on the one in Exodus 1:19 “God dealt well with the midwives…” Sherrie shared some very special stories after that. THANKS FATHER
- www.Hamiltonhappenings.blogspot.com
TIFFANY, ADAM, SIMBA, FIJI
: Tiff got sick during her New York vacation.
see www.checkettslife.blogspot.com
TRISHA AND DARRIN
: Trisha and Darrin are busy getting their Bumblebee website ready for the Christmas season. It will feature things a woman wants.
- The night Cindy was sick Trisha and Darrin still came to dinner. We enjoyed playing Racko afterwards. The sad part was that I lost every time!!!
- Thanks for the great job on my hair on the 19th. Afterwards we went shopping at the new supermarket WINCO. Boy was that an experience!!!
- Trisha and Darrin are….
- Thanks for helping take care of the girls after Heidi had her baby.
- Trisha and Darrin finally found a new renter. It is a young married couple and a friend.
see www.strikingimagesalon
: see www.simonsmiles@blogspot.com
JOSEPH
:Joseph has an ipod now so we have enjoyed texting him.
- Imagine my surprise when Joseph came walking in the Family Room on the 30th!! He picked me up off the ground and gave me a big bear hug!
- We visited then he waited till Trisha stopped by for her sack so he could “jump” her as well.
- He hung out with David and Gavin the first few days
- On Sunday he drove 6 hours with Dan’s car to and from Rock Springs get his girlfriend Jenessa.
see www.facebook.com
JOSIE, DAVID, ALEX, JULIA, AARON, ANDREW
: It was great to have the family over for a Halloween party. The sad part of that one of their dogs has become a biter and they took camcord pictures before having to put him down. They now have a new puppy to go with Aowen.
Notes from the Regional Conference:
Pres. Costa-
• He read the Book of Mormon in 14 hours
• The Living Prophet has the most vital message for our day.
• The Living Prophet will never lead us astray
Wayne Chamberlain
• Pres. Of Jordan River Temple
• Our garments are hedges
• Going to the temple arms us with thy power. Angels have power
• Every temple completed lessons the power of Satan.
• If we attend the temple we will love our family members more than we ever have before
• Weekly temple attendance
Sheldon Child
• The temple is a place of peace. 130 in world.
Robert Hales
• When we go to the temple each Thursday Pres. Monson asks us about our responsibilities then listens to each of us talk about our stewardships.
• When it is his turn he talks about his family, home and neighbors.
• The center of all we believe is our Savior and his atonement (the temple and the sacrament.)
• Father sent an angel to strengthen Jesus. He will send help to us as well.
• Always remember Him and keep his Commandments
Pres. Thomas Monson
• I have visited all the stakes in Salt Lake in my 46 years.
• Where there are aged, sick or desolate help them!
• Story of boys who earned money to give a box of food to the widows
• If we don’t try we don’t do – If we don’t do then where are we? Be ye doers of the word
• 1. Show possibilities
• 2. Love thy neighbor as thyself
• 3. People can change
• Story of a man who worked in the prison and facilitated AA groups. He walked and talked with the inmates. Someone commented to him “You can’t change a leopards spots.” To this the brother replied “You should know, I don’t work with leopards. I work with men.”
• Let your Home teaching and visit teaching be more than a monthly visit. Be a friend.
• Story of a man who helped others get jobs. He had the ability to see Christ in each person.
Relief Society:
If we are not physically and spiritually reliant how can we have anything to give others? – Sue Merchant
There is a difference between talking with Heavenly Father and talking to Him – Teri Ann Allen
Try asking a question, opening your scriptures, finding the answer then WRITING IT DOWN! – Teri Ann Allen
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