Edmund's Blessing

On May 25, 2014 we were able to gather with family and friends to give Edmund a baby blessing at our church. Here are some pictures of the beautiful people we got to spend the day with!

Michael, Laura, and Family

Stephen, Amy, and Family

Garrett, April, and Edmund

The Hamon Family

More Hamon Family

Friends

Rachel, Brian, and Family

Garrett Handsome Boy Hamon

April and Edmund

To Just One of My Many Amazing Sisters!

As far as family goes, I couldn't have asked for a better one. I love each and every member of my family and feel so blessed to have so many people to turn to for help. This being said there is one member of my family in particular that I need to spotlight today. My amazing sister Rachel!  She is the most loving and giving person and I hope one day to be a mother like her. I absolutely love the way she is raising her family and I can never thank her enough for watching Edmund for me while I go to work for the past month or so while our incredible mother has been healing from surgery. She's the kind of mom that collects 400 milk jugs so that her son can build an igloo with them. And she's the kind of sister that is always there to help and uplift, no matter what hard things she might be going through. So here's a big thank you to beautiful sister Rachel!

Photo Shoot

Now I'm no photographer, these pictures aren't great, but the boy in the pictures has stolen my heart!  So here are a few pictures from our latest photo shoot.

Overwhelmed!

The other day I was sitting on the couch, snuggling with Garrett and Edmund, feeling completely exhausted and it hit me... I was overwhelmed. All of this was just too much.... but not in the way you would think! I thought as I was holding back tears about how overwhelming it was to feel so much love for my little family. Then I thought of how perfect God's love is and I sat feeling consumed with overwhelming feelings of happiness and love. I am so grateful for my family and that God has entrusted me with the duty of being a mother. I couldn't ask for a better calling in life! So I will take the sleepless nights and the dirty diapers because there is no greater joy than the joy that my family brings me.

2 Weeks of Mommy Me

Edmund Leon Hamon was born two weeks ago on March 19, 2014 at 11:50 pm and at that moment I learned what love really is. I now truly believe in love at first sight! Little Edmund weighed 8 lbs, 2 oz and he was 20 1/2 inches long. He now weighs 8 lbs and 8 oz. He is healthy and strong and he brings so much love and joy to our household. We expected to be sleep deprived and we were ready to make adjustments for this handsome little guy but there have been many unexpected twists and turns in our last two weeks of parenthood.


1. I never expected to have so much to recover from. I knew I would need to take care of a new baby but I didn't know how much I would need to take care of myself. I keep thinking I'm going to start feeling better but I am still hurting. Sitting is difficult, standing is difficult, going to the bathroom is torture. I guess that's what you get when you have a 4th degree tear, or as my nurse at the hospital was calling it a "Vaginal C-Section."  But still every bit of pain is worth it, even if it has been much more than I had ever expected.










2. I never expected to spend the first week of motherhood with my baby on the bili bed making daily trips to the hospital to get his bilirubin levels checked. It was awful not being able to hold and cuddle my baby and I can't express how happy I was when we got to send the bed back. Although it was unexpected and quite miserable I can see some good that came from it.  Because he was on the lights and I wasn't supposed to pick him up he has learned to lay content on his own at least some of the time. Which is quite convenient in the mornings when I am trying to get ready.



3. The last thing I never expected was not being able to breastfeed. Nursing was the plan and I didn't even consider bottle feeding. The first couple times went really well but after a couple days he refused to breastfeed. He was loosing a lot of weight and I was having to supplement with formula. Every feeding ended up with  both of us in tears and me feeling like a failure as a mother. So one morning I decided to go with the bottle. I knew I could go to a lactation consultant and there were more things that I could try but I only get 6 weeks before I have to go back to work and I didn't want to waste one single minute frustrated because I couldn't feed my baby. I would love to be able to nurse and I'll try again with the next baby but for me and little Edmund Leon bottles are the way to go.





We have received so much love and support from our friends and family and we are so grateful for the people in our lives. We are so blessed to have all of you in our lives and hope to be able to give back to all those who have helped us.

37 Weeks

To be more accurate I am 37 1/2 weeks. I only have 2 weeks and 3 days left till this baby is due! We have the things that we need and just about everything is ready, we still need to pack the hospital bag but that should be done today.

In the last seven weeks I have been absolutely amazed at the generosity of my family and friends, I have been truly blessed with so many incredible people in my life! I will get around to thanking everyone personally for all the ways my life has been blessed because of the people Heavenly Father has surrounded me with but today I want to highlight my wonderful parents. Here are just 5 reasons why my parents are the best in the world:

1. They are always happy to pick up the phone and talk, even when my questions are silly or when I don't have any real reason to call at all.

2. They have completely spoiled me, I can't even begin to list all of the generous ways they have helped Garrett and I.

3. They have taught me the value of hard work. They are the hardest working people I know and it has blessed my life to have that example.

4. They have shown me how to serve others. Their example of Christ like service has been an inspiration to me, there is not a day that goes by that they aren't found serving the people around them.

5. They have shown me how a family works. Their love for each other has shown me how to build a lasting relationship and the loving way they have cared for each of their children has shown me how I want to raise my family.

30 Weeks

I know it says 30 weeks but really I am 30 1/2 weeks which means on 9 1/2 weeks to go!  We are getting so close and I'm feeling more and more pregnant each day.  Last night he sat on my bladder and I had to get up 8 times.... that's right 8 trips to the bathroom last night!  And my hips hurt so bad that even when I was in bed I was pretty restless. With each passing day we get more and more excited.  Garrett is the best support and he's going to make such a great daddy!  I am so in love with our little family and even if it means never having a good nights rest again it is worth it!  Oh the crazy things we do for love.

Epidural vs Natural Birth

Throughout this whole pregnancy I've been planning on going with a natural birth but the last week or so I have been thinking about why I wanted to go natural.  As I have been evaluating my decision I really haven't been able to give myself a good reason of why I wanted it.   I understand that many mothers have very strong opinions about the use of epidurals and how much better a natural birth is but in all honesty I don't have those strong opinions.

In looking at my reasoning behind going without an epidural it really came down to this; I wanted to do it naturally because I felt like I had something to prove.  Not because I felt like it would be a better experience for me or for my baby, because in all honesty I don't think the experience would be any better going without an epidural and here is my reasoning.  My mother gave birth 10 times. That's right 10 times!  She has done it many times without an epidural and a few times with and she personally felt like she was able to enjoy the experience more with the relief she felt by having the epidural.

So I was thinking about it and I just feel like what do I really have to prove?  I am growing a human being inside of me!  Isn't being pregnant and then giving birth an amazing feat no matter how it is done?  I personally feel like for me having an epidural might just be the way to go.  If it means that I can be a little more comfortable and enjoy the process a little more then I feel like for me it is worth it!

I know that for some people having an epidural wouldn't be the best choice, I understand that it is different for everyone, but knowing how my body and mind work I'm feeling good about my decision.

28 Weeks

Goodbye 2nd trimester, Hello 3rd.  We're almost there and anyone who has spent any time with me lately knows that I am absolutely obsessed and totally in love with this baby.  I cannot wait to meet him!

This little one is so full of energy, he almost never stops moving which, as my mommy friends know, is reassuring because it means he is healthy and strong!

He likes to hang out on the left side of my belly and he'll sit there and streeeeetch, It seems he feels a bit crowded in there. I'm feeling like it's getting a little crowded as well and we still have a lot of growing ahead of us!

Since our last post we've added the name Edmund to the top of our list. It's not the official name but just another one on our list. We both really like the Chronicles of Narnia and Edmund turns into quite the amazing character so we're thinking it just may be a good fit for our amazing little boy!

So in love!

22 Weeks and Baby Names

As my belly grows bigger and more and more people are noticing that I am pregnant I often get asked if we have a name picked out. Garrett and I have decided that we don't want to choose a name until we meet him and make sure the name we pick is just right for our little one. When discussing names in the past we haven't always seen eye to eye so I thought picking a name would be difficult but the other day we sat down and looked at baby boy names and I was pleasantly surprised by how many names we both agreed on.  So we have started a list of possible names, I am sure that in the next 18 weeks names will be added and dropped but by the time this little bundle of joy is born we'll have the perfect name picked out.

So here is the list as of today: Elias, Mark, Marcus, Kelson, Hyrum, Oliver, and Carter

Which one is your favorite?

It's a..............Baby!

It's not a Winged Golden Stallion......

It's not a little princess......

It's a little Hero.....

Now this is not to say that girls can't be Hero's too, because I definitely feel like I've got some super power/ hero qualities.  This is just saying our little one is going to be a boy, an adventurer, and a little super hero! 

Anyone who has talked to Garrett and I about what we were hoping for know that we were thinking girl so you may ask if we are disappointed. I'm here to tell you that we are not!  We thought it would be fun to be the first ones on his side of the family to have a girl, that somehow it would feel more special.  But I don't care because we are having a boy and it is Our little boy and that makes him more special than anything!

Boy or Girl?

Tomorrow we go in for an ultrasound where we get to see this baby and hopefully find out the gender.  So I thought it would be fun to see what you think.  Here are some facts to help you make your guess: The baby is very active, always on the move. The heart rate is always above 140.  The nausea and exhaustion have never gone away.  I don't crave anything in particular, I just always want to eat.  My skin is more dry than usual except for my face which doesn't seem like there has been much change at all.  The Chinese gender chart says we are having a girl, what do you think?

What is your guess: a boy, a girl, or a winged golden stallion?
	Boy
	Girl
	Winged golden stallion
pollcode.com free polls

18 Weeks

I'm now at 18 weeks and I am still feeling pretty sick, lots of heartburn, and lots of growing pains.  But I decided that my last post focused too much on those things and not enough on the things that I am so thankful for.  So here are just ten of the reasons I feel thankful today and with this pregnancy thus far!

1. Heavenly Father has entrusted me to take care of one of His children and even though this baby is still just about 1/2 a pound I know it has a divine lineage and I feel proud to be the one carrying this little pumpkin.

2. I have a job that has health insurance. I had to give up teaching preschool but I am so thankful that I had an job that I could turn to that has health insurance for me. Because having a baby costs lots of money.

3. I have such a supportive husband.  I have been crazy tired and way more emotional than usual and Garrett is there helping me every step of the way.

4. I have such an encouraging family.  I have so many sisters to turn to for advice and amazing parents and in laws that are all so supportive and excited for this baby to come.  This baby is truly going to be loved!

5. So far I have no restrictions on exercise except to be careful and listen to my body.  This means I can still Zumba and for this I am grateful! 

6. Fuzzy socks.  I really am so thankful that I have comfy, cozy, fuzzy socks to warm my cold feet as we haven't turned the heater on in our house yet to try and save money.

7. I know I already mentioned my husband but I'm grateful not only that he is supportive but also that he can almost always make me laugh.  I'm so thankful for the laughter in our home....... yeah,  he just came in here and did it again.  I don't think a day goes by that he doesn't make me laugh.

8. Comfy clothing.  Who knew how comfortable maternity pants were, if I had known I would have started wearing them years ago.  Oh and a special thanks to a mother who bought me my maternity clothes.  

9. Soft toilet paper.  I've always had a small bladder but this pregnancy takes that to a whole new level.  I am so thankful for soft toilet paper because I sure do have to go potty often.

10. A scheduled ultra sound.  I am so excited to see my darling little baby and hopefully find out the gender!  We have the 20 week ultrasound scheduled for November 4th, that's only a week from Monday!

16 Weeks

If you haven't watched the video in the last post, go watch it, watch it now!  And then proceed reading.

I've reached 16 weeks and I'm ready to let people know.  I am going to have a baby!  Garrett and I are so excited to become parents although this whole pregnancy thing is tougher than I thought.  People keep telling me that I should be getting my energy back any day now and the nausea will soon be a thing of the past but I am still waiting.

The other day I had someone ask me if I was excited to be pregnant and my initial reaction was an emphatic "Yes!" then I thought about it and I have to change my answer to "No, but I am soooo excited to be a mom!"  I didn't realize just how much energy growing a baby could take but I know every second will be worth it!

With this big change coming in March I've had to make some changes in my employment.  Yesterday was officially my last day at the preschool, for now, as I am going back to work for Myler Disability so that I can have better health insurance and afford to have this baby.  It is bittersweet as I absolutely love teaching and I will miss my students with all my heart but I know I'm doing what I need to do for my family.

I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves me and who has trusted me with the precious responsibility to care for one of His children.  I'm absolutely in love with this little one already and we haven't even met yet.

16 weeks down and 24 weeks to go!

The Video

The following link will take you to a video that Garrett made for a family reunion this summer and now for the first time ever it is available to the public!  Watch all the way to the end, that's where it really gets good!

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=5491F28EA8E2E8CD!179&authkey=!AAlor79-80JVGcs 

This summer we tried our hands at gardening and our pumpkins took over so Garrett was inspired to draw this piece...... well our pumpkins weren't the only inspiration, but you'll see after you watch it!

For Love or for Money?

So the title of the post may be a little misleading.  This post is about deciding where to work and not about deciding who to marry.  I have two jobs, both of which I absolutely love, neither of which pay all that much.  This summer I have been looking for a part time summer position to help with the bills while the preschool is out.  In my search I had an interview for a position that I thought was part time, flexible, and probably pretty crappy (but I didn't care because I was only planning on working there for 3 months anyway.) 

When I went to the interview it was nothing like I was expecting.  First of all it was a commissions only kind of job selling life insurance.  Not the type of job I would ever think of applying for.  But I stayed and I listened to the details and it sounded like something that I wouldn't really enjoy but something that I would be good at and that I could potentially make a lot of money doing. 

The interview process was quite intense, a phone interview, a one on one interview, group interview, 4th interview, and a hiring interview.  I went through each stage of the process and all along the way I was feeling more and more like.... woah, this job could really change everything, I would be making more than enough to buy the car we've been wanting to buy for a while, we could go on trips more often... Everything that we could use that money for was rolling through my mind and I was going to take it and hope that I could still teach during the school year. 

The farther I got in the interview process the more I felt that in order to really make any money with this company I would have to give up my other two jobs and put all my focus into the one.  Then I found out my schedule would be noon to 9 pm and some work on Saturdays and I thought, ok if I'm going to do this Garrett and I are never going to see each other, but we would have lots of money to spend when we do see each other! 

The decision was really stressing me out I love teaching and I love working for brainworks and I make enough to pay the bills and put a little away each month into savings but the extra cash was very appealing.  They gave me sometime between the 4th interview and the hiring interview to think it over, the job was mine if I was willing to commit to it.  So it came down to love or money, in more ways than one. Did I go with the jobs that didn't pay well but that I was passionate about; The jobs that allowed me to spend a lot of quality time with my husband.  Or did I go with the job that would have financially made life easier? 

To those reading this it probably seems like a no brainer, but for me this decision was hard.  Ultimately love won out.  My love for teaching and my love for Garrett is worth way more than that company could have paid me, no matter how cheesy that sounds!

Summer time is here!

Preschool is out for the summer and I am so excited! We have plans of camping, hiking, swimming, gardening, and just general adventuring..... hopefully this year we actually do these things.  We are however off to a good start! 

To start our summer off right we went with some of our very best friends, Zach and Suzzie Vehrs, to Zions National Park over Memorial Day Weekend.  The beauty that God created for us never ceases to amaze me!

We started a garden and we are growing onions, zucchini, squash, pumpkins, potatoes, and sugar snap peas!  Neither of us have ever gardened before so this does qualify as an adventure.  Hopefully we get some good veggies to grow, we've already got some good sprouts, take a look:

All the Excitement

It's been a good April so far.  The first week of this month was Spring Break followed by a weekend with Waffles, visiting family, and an amazing and inspired 4 sessions of General Conference. I had so much fun spending this time and my birthday with Garrett, my mother in law Karalee, and my brother in law Grant. See pictures below!

A couple other really exciting things have been happening around these parts: 

1. Garrett finished this semester and applied to the BFA program and BYU.  Out of the 60 applicants only 20 got into the program, out of those 20 only 10 got into the concept art route and he was one of those ten!  I knew he would make it no problem but it sure is exciting to get the letter confirming it! 

2.  I love music and have been missing singing and dancing and I just haven't known what to do to get that back into my life.  Zumba has been my dancing fix but ward choir just hasn't been doing it for my craving to sing so I started looking into other options and tonight I sent in a sample recording of my voice to a local band that is looking for a female singer to join them.  I don't know if anything will come of it but it sure was exciting having an excuse to practice the songs and record my voice. If this doesn't turn out I'll have to find another way to use my voice but one way or another I'm going to start singing again, and I couldn't be happier about it!

The best gift is always a new outfit! My husband is the best.... oh and notice how well the socks complete the look, that's thanks to my amazing mother!

Photo Shoot

Big Face, Small Body

Grantikins hopping in on the shot

Art Show and Parent Teacher Conference

This week was so crazy at the Hamon house.  Garrett stayed up till 2 or 3 am every night working on pieces to submit into an art show and I had Parent Teacher Conference on Friday.  With all of this there were a lot of stressful feelings but through it all we worked together and stayed positive and it turned into a great week!

Art Show-
BYU is having a student art show this April and Garrett wanted to be a part of it so he worked all week to finish a couple more pieces so that he would have 4 pictures to enter into the competition.  After hours and hours of work and the money it took to print, mat, and frame the pieces we were able to submit all 4 pieces to be judged for the show.  Hopefully all 4 get into the show and hopefully we can win something from all of the hard work!  The student art show will be April 4th through the 26th in the HFAC at BYU.  Check out the digital version of his pieces on his blog http://ghamon.blogspot.com/ and we'll let you know if they are chosen to be displayed in the show.

Parent Teacher Conference-
PTC always makes me a little nervous, I have no problem working with the kids but I always feel just a little awkward in front of the parents.  I feel like maybe they will think that I'm a joke and don't know what I'm talking about.  So I just prepared myself the best I could and felt ready for whatever came my way.  I was ready to address even the most intimidating of parents which was a great feeling but only 6 parents showed up!  I have 17 children in my class and only 6 of them had parents who came!  All 6 of those meetings went very well and they were each important but that means that I have 11 students with parents who don't know what I need them to be doing at home to prepare their children for Kindergarten, 11 students with parents that don't know where their children are really at, and 11 students with parents that don't know what is going on in our classroom. But oh well, it'll all be fine.

Called to Teach

I love children, I love working with children, and I really love teaching children!  Being a preschool teacher has to be the best job in the world!  There is no other job where you get told 4 or 5 times a day how beautiful you are or how cool your dance moves are.  This week was a hectic week at the preschool, there was hitting, chasing, tears, and tantrums but in between the moments of crazy I got compliments and hugs and a good feeling knowing that I was making a difference, that I was having an impact for good on the lives of these precious children of God. 

I get to work with children on Sundays as well as one of the nursery coordinators (Our nursery is so big that we have to have three of us out in the hall making sure everything is running smoothly in all the different classes.) This week I was asked to teach the nursery teachers at our teacher development meeting, preparing for this helped me to slow down and remember how special each child is and what I can be doing as a teacher to help each child learn and grow.  Now I know that I can't use all the same principles in my public school preschool that I would have the nursery teachers use but I do believe that they all still apply.  This is a handout I prepared for the workshop, I feel that most of the principles are applicable for all teachers, parents, and anyone who is working with children in anyway.

“Encircle them with Love and the Fire of Faith”

“Clearly, those of us who have been entrusted with precious children have been given a sacred, noble stewardship, for we are the ones God has appointed to encircle today’s children with love and the fire of faith and an understanding of who they are.” (M. Russell Ballard, Great Shall Be the Peace of thy Children, Ensign, April. 1994, 60)

You have not been called to babysit for 2 hours at church each week you have been called as teachers.  The difference between it feeling like babysitting and it feeling like teaching is up to you.  You are in charge of making this calling a spiritually uplifting experience for yourselves and for each child in your class, here are some ways to do that.

1.       Come Prepared- Prayerfully read through the lesson before you come, think of songs and activities that you could use to help reemphasize the message.  If you aren’t prepared with a lesson the children will know and most likely the lesson won’t happen.

2.      Pray in class- Don’t forget to have an opening and closing prayer!  This will invite the spirit into your class and help the children learn the importance of prayer.

3.      Observe the children- find what is important to them and what they respond to so that you can meet them at their level.

“What we learn about specific children helps us teach and care for each child as an individual. By continually observing children’s play and interaction with the physical environment and others, we learn about each child’s interests, abilities, and developmental progress” (naeyc.org)

4.      Play with them- The toy room is not a time for the kids all to go wild and for you to take a break. Get down on the floor with them and talk to them while they play.  See what they are doing and join in and find ways to emphasize the lesson while you are talking with them.  Take a little time with each child if possible. 

5.      Greet them when they first come in- Each child needs to feel welcome, safe, and loved when they come to nursery, the best way to accomplish this is to greet them cheerfully by name as they come into the classroom letting them know how excited you are to have them there.

6.      Call the children by their names- it’s simple but your children will feel more loved and welcome if you do. They are all special and unique, help them feel like they are more than just another nursery kid.

7.      Pray for the children in your class by name- pray for guidance on how to meet their needs, pray for patience and understanding because there will be weeks where you will need a lot of it! Pray to know how to teach each child and bring them closer to their Savior. 

“With my own children, I prayed for revelation to know how I could help each of them individually prepare for specific opportunities to serve God…..God knows our gifts. My challenge to you and to me is to pray to know the gifts we have been given, to know how to develop them, and to recognize the opportunities to serve others that God provides us. But most of all, I pray that you will be inspired to help others discover their special gifts from God to serve. I promise you that if you ask, you will be blessed to help and lift others to their full potential in the service of those they lead and love.” (Henry B. Eyring, October 2012, Help Them Aim High)

8.      Give them comfort- when a child is upset go to them and comfort them, don’t be afraid to give them hugs or hold them if needed. 

9.      Be excited about what you are doing- have enthusiasm when you teach the lessons and sing the songs, make them feel excited to learn about the gospel.  They will be excited if you are.

10.   Set rules and talk about them with your children- Let them know that you are in charge and there are times that they need to be quite.  “Toddlers (16 to 36 months) are working on their identity; they want to know who they are and who’s in charge.” (naeyc.org)

11.    Recognize their potential- Each child in your class has the potential to be something great, help them feel of their importance when they come to your class.

“… I prayed to know what contributions my children might make in the Lord’s kingdom. For the boys, I knew they could have priesthood opportunities. For the girls, I knew they would give service representing the Lord. All would be doing His work. I knew each was an individual, and therefore the Lord would have given them specific gifts for each to use in His service.” (Henry B. Eyring, October 2012, Help Them Aim High) 

12.   Let us know what you need- We are here to help!  I know it looks like we just sit out in the hall chatting and eating snacks but we are out there to help you in any way that you need, please don’t be afraid to ask!  We love you and appreciate everything that you do, this is not an easy calling but you’ve been called for a reason.  These children need you and the spirit that you can bring into their lives.