The Gang

After Kylee's birthday party, it was time to sing "Happy Birthday" to Lincoln...his bday is this Wednesday. I felt kind of bad that we made such a big fuss about Kylee's birthday & hardly paid attention to his. Luckily he isn't one to want much attention anyway. He was perfectly happy with his movie tickets from my parents, the zoo pass that they gave him a few months ago, and the new shirts we bought for him in Anthem.

The birthday boy...turning 1. :)

The birthday girl giving me a kissy face...

The whole gang (minus Shawn & Ashley, who we really missed!)...

Goofy picture...yes, I know we are so weird.

Happy birthday Lincoln & Kylee!!!

The Outlets in Anthem

Saturday morning we borrowed my mom's Pilot & headed to pick up Brad, Melissa & Nixen for a shopping trip in Anthem. I quickly decided that the outlets there are my new favorite place! I was beside myself with the deals we got and all of the fun stuff we bought!

Had to take a quick pic...

Our deals:
3 Quiksilver shirts:
Reg. $19.50 each ($58.50 total)
Paid: $7.79 each ($23.37 total)

1 Roxy shirt:
Reg. $22.50
Paid: $8.99

1 Roxy sweatshirt:
Reg. $44.50
Paid: $2.98

THANKS TO BRAD FOR LETTING US USE HIS 40% OFF QUIKSILVER/ROXY DISCOUNT!!!

1 Carter's dress:
Reg: $12.00
Paid: $7.99

2 Carter's shirts:
Reg. $12.00 each ($24.00 total)
Paid: $3.99 each ($7.98 total)

1 pair CP tennis shoes:
Reg: $12.50
Paid: $1.99

1 pair CP sunglasses:
Reg: $3.50
Paid: $1.50

This was the first time we've spent one-on-one time with Melissa & Brad in awhile & we really enjoyed it! A couple of lessons I learned on our outing:
1) Kylee needs an umbrella stroller. Way too many people had to hold the door open for me so I could fit myself & her huge stroller through it, and way too many people gave me funny looks when I ran her stroller (& her) into the clothing racks.
2) When Melissa & I are walking one way to a store & our husbands are walking with our babies the opposite direction, don't assume that when they laugh at us & wave that that means that they "must be going to the car so that they can meet us over there & we won't have to walk in this heat." It means they know where they are going & we don't. :)

By the time we drove home, both of the babies were tired & hungry. Once one baby started crying, the other started crying, increasing in volume as time passed.
Poor Nixen wasn't a happy camper...

Luckily one of them fell asleep...

Birthday Planning

Today I took Kylee to Target to buy some things for her birthday: wrapping paper, cake mix, frosting, & gifts. We are having a very low-key party for her this year. Even so, I became incredibly happy & excited while I was shopping. As I was wondering why I was feeling so elated about it , it hit me...I've never celebrated my child's birthday without feeling sad. I'm so used to planning a trip to the cemetery & releasing balloons for Jackson's birthdays. I've never planned a party for my child, or sang happy birthday to them, or watched them open presents. But now I get that chance!

I've said before that Kylee has in no way replaced Jackson for us. It has just been so neat to be able to experience things with her that we were never able to experience with him. I can't wait to feel like a "normal" mom who gets to do all of these fun things on my daughter's birthday. I am once again overcome with gratitude at how perfectly this has worked out for us. Kylee is amazing & I can't believe we are lucky enough to be her parents! Happy early birthday to our favorite daughter! :)

Hiatt Family Reunion 2010

This past weekend was our annual Hiatt Family Reunion at the family cabin in Pine. I think there were about 150 people there...seriously. Lincoln's family is huge! Linc & I helped get the food for the reunion earlier this week, & we filled up 6 shopping carts...& then our sister-in-law filled up 4 more carts at Walmart. It's quite the task to feed that many people for 2 days!

Anyway, Kylee & I drove to Pine early Friday afternoon, then Lincoln met us up there on Saturday morning. The drive up was awesome. I had another "I can't believe I am so healthy" cry on the way up & eventually had to block my mind of those good thoughts so that I could see well enough to drive. :)

This isn't the best picture of the cabin, but shows the wrap-around deck that I am IN LOVE WITH...

I let Kylee talk to Lincoln on the phone on Saturday morning, before he got there. I was sitting in the tent with her, & turned around to find her giving my cell phone kisses. She definitely missed her dad! She even woke up at 1am on Friday night crying & yelling "Dad!".

I do have to mention though, that twice this weekend Kylee wanted me to hold her instead of Linc. That was definitely a first!

I really enjoyed spending time with my nieces & nephews. Here I am with my awesome nephew Jayten. (Notice the 2 girls in the background peeking into the tent. How cute is that?)

We went on a walk to Camp Lomia. On the way, Linc used Jayten's bike to try to run him over...

While we were walking, Linc & I said something about being married. Our 4-year-old niece Claire said, "I know what happens when you get married." When we asked her "What?" she answered, "You get married, you kiss, and ALL your wishes come true!"

Kylee loved acting like "one of the boys" while we were there. Marcus & Griffin are so sweet to her...

Us being us!

Feeding Kylee string cheese in the cabin...

Kylee loved being outside! She tried putting everything in her mouth...

She looked so big sitting in this chair by herself!

Clapping...

I took the picture below at 12:30am. Lincoln's cousins & aunts & uncles love to stay up late and play cards. I definitely married into the right family. I would choose to play games over almost anything!

This reunion allowed us to spend quality time with a lot of people who we love, including Lincoln's sister Holly & her kids, who were visiting from Utah. I really don't think that I could have married into a nicer family. From the moment I met them, both sides of Lincoln's family have been extremely kind to me & have completely accepted me the way I am. I know that is so rare, & I am continually grateful for it!!!

Some funny things that I didn't get pictures of:
Playing "Minute to Win It" with everyone
Grandma zipping by on her scooter...she is fast on that thing!
One of Linc's uncles slapping my butt, thinking I was his daughter (I won't name names...he was mortified!) :)
The girls screaming & hiding from the HUGE bugs
Grandma telling us that Grandpa kept asking her to go to bed with him, but not for "young people reasons"

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

Because of my experiences, I have never and will never take being a mother for granted. With that being said, I still think that being a mother is hard.

I just watched this message on motherhood at lds.org. I'm pretty sure that every mom needs to see it. Click on the link below to view it:

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

4th of July Trip!

We drove to Snowflake after Nixen's blessing to spend a few days with Lincoln's family. All of his siblings & their kids were in town from Utah & Kansas (which is very rare) so we had a lot of fun spending time together! We got there in time for a donut party on Sunday night with Lincoln's extended family. If you've never been to a Willis Donut Party, you are missing out!

Kylee wore her 4th of July dress from Grandma Allen & a bow from our friend Tiffany that was ADORABLE! (She is actually much better now at leaving her bows on, but didn't have it on in this pic.)

Grandma gave Kylee a donut hole to eat all by herself at the party!
Going...

Going...

Gone!

Kylee & Grandma...

Reaves gave me the cutest smile when I told him that I was going to take a picture of him & Uncle Lincoln...but then pulled out his knife at the last second. :) These two adore each other.
We didn't get to see any fireworks this 4th of July. I was way more disappointed about it than I should have been. Snowflake had their fireworks on Saturday & Mesa had theirs on Sunday...& since we left Sunday afternoon for Snowflake we missed both! Oh well, maybe next year!

Cemetery

I went to the cemetery by myself on Monday. It was a great visit. I was so happy to sit & look at Jackson's headstone, & to ponder where I am in my life & what I'm working towards. I hadn't been to visit in a long time. The cemetery looked BEAUTIFUL.

I know his headstone never changes, but I like to take a picture of it each time I go.

The only two pictures I have of myself from this trip are of me without makeup on, but I'm swallowing my pride & posting them. I've learned that no matter how I look, it's important to document life!!! You can see how green the cemetery is in this pic...

Sitting back & taking everything in...

I miss you Jackson.

Stairs

I've mentioned before that Kylee loves climbing stairs. Luckily for her, Lincoln's parents have a lot of stairs at their house! Here she is, so proud of herself...
(no worries, Lincoln is next to her, just outside of the pic!)

Such a sweet girl...

Hanging upside-down is one of her favorite pastimes...

Two of my favorite people...

During our trip, I walked down the hall one morning to find this...

Kylee & her cousins sure do love each other!

We stayed at Matt & Danielle's house while we were there. Our niece Claire calls their spare room "Anjane's room". She allows other people to sleep in the room if I'm not there, but makes sure to tell them it is my room. Claire & I love to cuddle. Sorry I look like death in this just-woke-up picture...but this pic pretty much sums up my relationship with Claire. We LOVE each other!!!

Daisy is obsessed with Linc's mom. It's so funny. Our dogs know her name & get SO excited when they see her. There have been multiple times, while staying at Linc's parents' house, when Daisy sneaks out of our room & climbs in bed with Roma Lee. :)

We drove home Tuesday morning. Our brother-in-law Jordan drove back with us, so that he could catch a flight home to Utah. Lincoln & I enjoyed having one-on-one time with Jordan, & Kylee loved having him sit in the back seat as her traveling companion. Now we are quickly trying to unpack & get ready for our next trip! Stay tuned for more pics!!!

Nixen's Blessing

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Nixen on his blessing day. However, I did get one of Kylee & I in front of the church building that he was blessed in. This church building has special meaning to our family...it is where we found Kylee (via Melissa). It is also where Breonna (Kylee's birth mom) went to church while pregnant with Kylee. I know that there were things said & preached in this building that helped Breonna & Ryan come to the decision to give Kylee up for adoption.

I actually didn't even realize that Nixen's blessing was taking place in the building where all of this happened, until my sister-in-law mentioned it to me after we got there. Funny how I'd never really thought about it! The blessing was beautiful & Nixen looked so handsome. We had to leave town right after the blessing, but were grateful to witness it & to feel the spirit that was present there.

As I sat & listened to Nixen's blessing, I felt Jackson near. I felt so much peace. I was reminded of our journey with Jackson & Kylee and knew that things have worked out exactly how they were supposed to. I felt SO much gratitude for Nixen & for the fact that he made it here safely to Melissa & Brad. We love you Nixen & are so happy that you are in our family!

Did You Know?

I love my dogs!

Nixen's baby blessing is this weekend!

Bahama Bucks is our favorite!

Kylee loves her uncles & aunts!

This girl is amazing!

Today was full of fun! We're excited to have another day like it tomorrow...& are so happy that Lincoln has the next 3 days off!!!

Super Busy...

We have been super busy lately! We have A LOT of road trips coming up, as well as Lincoln & Kylee's birthdays this month. Add in lunch with multiple friends, family coming to town, a baby blessing & a bunch of other stuff...& I'm starting to wonder how we will survive it all! :)

Linc & I are trying to perfect our role reversal...meaning that I'm the mom now, instead of Lincoln. It feels so good to finally be doing what I need to do, so that Lincoln can focus on other things. I'm still trying to get in a groove with grocery shopping, cleaning, meal planning & everything else that goes with taking care of a household & baby (& two dogs who need to be walked multiple times a day), but I'm getting there!

Lincoln also started studying this week for the MCAT. He is taking it in August. We have decided that instead of studying for the test over the course of a semester, he will study for the next month and a half instead. We know we are crazy, but we have our reasons. I'll share those reasons someday soon. :)
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I do have one more insight to share about my health...I know you were hoping for one! :) I was really worried that my relationships with people would change drastically when I started feeling better...but in a not-so-great way. I kept asking Lincoln "What will I talk to people about now that I'm not sick?" I was SO used to people asking how I was doing & that being the main topic of conversation. Totally sad, but true. By being this "new person" I was starting from scratch. Most of my everyday experiences during the past years have involved me laying on the couch & watching tv, doctors appointments, surgeries, and other things that don't make good conversation topics & aren't experiences that are easy to relate to.

However, I have realized that my relationships now that I'm healthy are exactly the same as they were when I was sick...except that now I can actually spend time with people & do little things for them, instead of them always helping me. And I discovered that for the past 10 years I have sometimes thought that people didn't know who I really was & what I stood for, that all people saw was someone who they felt sorry for, & that my personality was hidden beneath all of the pain. But then I found out that I wasn't giving people nearly enough credit.

Thanks to all of you for seeing past the fact that I didn't work, didn't have children, didn't have much to give to you, and was never very put-together. I know those things don't make me who I am, but by the world's standards they do. I learned a great life lesson through all of this...don't underestimate those around you. They probably see a lot more in you than you see in yourself.