Dear Loved Ones,
This has been a very typical January week. We
are well into the winter doldrums and last weekend seems like a really long
time ago. I’m still struggling to get all the bags unpacked an put away. I
think I finally got all the laundry washed, I just need to put it away. There
were just so many things going on away from home this week, I didn’t do a great
job around the house.
Monday I took a sick day with Ammon and we had a nice
family night. The little boys had a story from the Friend and then the bigger
kids watched Elder Ballard’s Q&A BYU Devotional. Tuesday
I finally got the gumption to put away all the Christmas stuff---I still felt
pretty sick but I did it! It was a quiet night at home and we all got to bed
early. Wednesday I finally got Ammon
back to school (he had a gnarly cough) and I went to Bozeman to Costco to get
much-needed groceries—in a snow storm! I was home before noon to do a telephone
interview and get the food put away and dinner made. Rich had YM early and I
took the rest of the family up to the church at 7 so James could go to scouts
and we could attend the New Beginnings program for the Young Women. There will
be five new Beehives this year! Addie and Heidi each earned a value
ribbon—Addie for knowledge and Heidi for virtue—and we had a really nice time
together. Thursday I finally had a
chance to work on laundry—no clothes in the little boys’ drawers! In the middle
of that I got called into an emergency meeting at the high school to talk about
the suicide prevention program at the middle school. I was there from 1:30-3:30
and it was pretty draining but also kind of hopeful. I picked up the kids
because I was out and it was snowing. We made a big fire and stayed cozy all
evening and I pondered whether an empath should ever attend any kind of support
group meeting, since I felt like I had absorbed 10 tons of grief that
afternoon, even though our family is doing fine. There is a lot of darkness and
pain in this world and the Adversary is having a field day terrorizing young
people. Please be so compassionate-- there are people who are so fragile and in
so much pain all around us!
Friday Addie and Ammon did not have school and they were still asleep when I took Heidi to school and James to the eye doctor at 8:30. James got a new prescription—he’s very slightly far-sighted, and I ran to the grocery store to get ingredients for a Saturday brunch. In the afternoon we took a break and watched the funeral for President Monson. I was very moved by the messages, especially from his daughter. I so deeply want to be like him and bring some good and light in to the world each day! I made a few quiches on Friday night and we had one for dinner, saved the rest for the brunch. After dinner I went on a date with James—his request. We kind of wanted to see “The Darkest Hour” but didn’t want to drive to Bozeman in the snow, so we stayed in town and watched “The Greatest Showman.” I had literally seen NOTHING about this movie, so it was a pleasant surprise that it was a musical and it was so well done. We really enjoyed it, although I forgot to take my phone so we couldn’t do our regular hobby of fact checking movies based on history (I simply can’t resist! I turn the brightness way down and look up history, characters, actors, etc.--chalk it up to adult ADD or something but it’s a compulsion for sure). We came home and listened to the soundtrack and found dance tutorials for the awesome number that all the circus freaks do. Here are the lyrics: “When the sharpest words try to cut me down/ I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out/ I am brave, I am bruised/I am who I'm meant to be—THIS IS ME!/ Look out 'cause here I come/ And I'm marching on to the beat I drum/ I’m not scared to be seen/I make no apologies---THIS IS ME!” We love it. Saturday we did some morning chores and prepared some food. I hosted a brunch for some friends and my sister Sara came down from Great Falls with her friend Brooke to present some hair care products they are promoting. It was a nice gathering and my kids were happy to see cousin Raef—we need some more Hamlin time! As Sara was leaving, I took the girls to their first ukulele lessons at Conley’s. I sure love that place and the Conley’s are the coolest. Jim is a straight-up leprechaun, an amazing musician, and I think the girls will learn lots from him. We passed the theater on the way home and the girls begged to go see “The Greatest Showman” so I gave them some money and sent them on their way. I hurried home because Rich had to drive youth to a Stake activity (but then he didn’t—it was a fun surprise for him to come back home at 5:30 when there were no deacons needing a ride). The boys decided they just wanted peanut butter milkshakes and muffins for dinner so we did that and watched the Odd Squad movie. The girls came home from the movie in tears (as usual). We had bought some Beatles music at Conley’s so we spent the evening going through it. They were learning “I Will” when I was heading to bed and I am pretty sure it’s the sweetest song Paul McCartney ever wrote. Today we had a lovely Sabbath—church was great and I even took a nap!
Friday Addie and Ammon did not have school and they were still asleep when I took Heidi to school and James to the eye doctor at 8:30. James got a new prescription—he’s very slightly far-sighted, and I ran to the grocery store to get ingredients for a Saturday brunch. In the afternoon we took a break and watched the funeral for President Monson. I was very moved by the messages, especially from his daughter. I so deeply want to be like him and bring some good and light in to the world each day! I made a few quiches on Friday night and we had one for dinner, saved the rest for the brunch. After dinner I went on a date with James—his request. We kind of wanted to see “The Darkest Hour” but didn’t want to drive to Bozeman in the snow, so we stayed in town and watched “The Greatest Showman.” I had literally seen NOTHING about this movie, so it was a pleasant surprise that it was a musical and it was so well done. We really enjoyed it, although I forgot to take my phone so we couldn’t do our regular hobby of fact checking movies based on history (I simply can’t resist! I turn the brightness way down and look up history, characters, actors, etc.--chalk it up to adult ADD or something but it’s a compulsion for sure). We came home and listened to the soundtrack and found dance tutorials for the awesome number that all the circus freaks do. Here are the lyrics: “When the sharpest words try to cut me down/ I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out/ I am brave, I am bruised/I am who I'm meant to be—THIS IS ME!/ Look out 'cause here I come/ And I'm marching on to the beat I drum/ I’m not scared to be seen/I make no apologies---THIS IS ME!” We love it. Saturday we did some morning chores and prepared some food. I hosted a brunch for some friends and my sister Sara came down from Great Falls with her friend Brooke to present some hair care products they are promoting. It was a nice gathering and my kids were happy to see cousin Raef—we need some more Hamlin time! As Sara was leaving, I took the girls to their first ukulele lessons at Conley’s. I sure love that place and the Conley’s are the coolest. Jim is a straight-up leprechaun, an amazing musician, and I think the girls will learn lots from him. We passed the theater on the way home and the girls begged to go see “The Greatest Showman” so I gave them some money and sent them on their way. I hurried home because Rich had to drive youth to a Stake activity (but then he didn’t—it was a fun surprise for him to come back home at 5:30 when there were no deacons needing a ride). The boys decided they just wanted peanut butter milkshakes and muffins for dinner so we did that and watched the Odd Squad movie. The girls came home from the movie in tears (as usual). We had bought some Beatles music at Conley’s so we spent the evening going through it. They were learning “I Will” when I was heading to bed and I am pretty sure it’s the sweetest song Paul McCartney ever wrote. Today we had a lovely Sabbath—church was great and I even took a nap!
Life is
good. It’s time for me to feed my people, so I gotta run. We hope you all have
a great week. We are so excited to hear from President Nelson Tuesday morning!
We also hope Liam and Aunt Erin had a happy birthday on Thursday. We love and
miss you all!
Love, Jamie and Rich and Family
PS: I literally only took ONE photo this week and it was the girls at New Beginnings. I did make a video of Ammon telling me about his first Sunday in Primary today but it's almost 3 minutes long--too big to attach, but trust me, ITS ADORBS. He was really hung up on not getting to get one of the "thingies out of the bag"--huh?--then I remembered during singing time the kids pulled objects out of a tote bag to remind them of the lyrics to the second verse of "I Am a Child of God." I assured him he would get a turn next time--you've got a million singing times to go, buddy, you will get a thingie someday!
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| 1/13-Girls at Gil's getting cheesy fries after music lessons... |
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