We are the BJHamakers!!!!!

2011-10-07T23:43:00.000-07:00

Three possibly four more weeks of school and then all my homework will be in.
THREE MORE WEEKS.
Three more weeks.
THREE MORE WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just have to hang on for three more weeks.
Then all the stress WILL be worth it.
Three more weeks.
Hang in there Clair Annette!
You are almost done!

"Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam!"

2011-10-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."-Nelson Mandela

A New Day

2011-09-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

Today is a new day.

Clair feels like she has been in a cacoon for the last six years.
Whilst in this cacoon she has been literally turned into jelly.
In the last little while, all of a sudden there has begun to be a change inside her crystalis.
Things are starting to change.
Form is beginning to take shape.
Foundations are begining to grow.
New strength is found amongst the jelly.
The sides of the crystalis are starting to feel tight against new found wings.

Growing
reaching
stretching
pushing
pulling.

Soon the bonds will break and the new Clair will emerge.
First slowly.
Carefully.
Already there are tears in the crystalis.
Vulnerablity fills the void.

Such real feelings and crazy understanding of what this process must feel like to a butterfly.
Feeling life at this angle is...dificult to explain.
Can only be felt and lived through.

New beginnings.
New feelings.
New standards.
New approaches to life, people, truth, relationships, the world.

All is quiet.
All is loud.
All is hard and soft.

Today is a new day.

If I can just get on the Road...

2011-02-27T20:59:00.000-08:00

Well, we are super behind in the blogging world, but I am downloading pictures as we speak. So great things are a'comin.

xo
Clair:)

He loves me for me!

2010-11-09T22:38:00.000-08:00

These are the lyrics from the new song my BJ wrote for me about me.:) I love those kinds of songs.:) That are about me.:)

Her Uncommon Sense
by BJ HAMAKER
about CLAIR HAMAKER:)

My Clair's a clever thing
I can ask her anything
And when she answers then
she makes uncommon sense.

one night, no cloud, no thunder
in a field we lie
when aloud I wonder
"how many stars in the sky?"

she said, "All of them.
Where else would they be?
I don't think you're talkin
'bout the stars in the sea.
It's a simple thing
you can understand
it's no complex question
like two birds in the hand."

My Clair said "Ohmygator.
How cold is my nose?"
I said, "refrigerator.
You should hold me close."

She said, "Hold you close?
How else could I do?
I can't hold you here
if you're in Timbuktu.
It's a simple thing
you can understand
it's no complex question
like two birds in the hand."

...he needs to write more verses. This song rocks. You should hear the guitar accompaniment.

"For He's a Golly Good Fella!"

2010-09-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

One more interview and we are in......SEATTLE.

"....ooh ah, incredible..."

2010-08-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

WAITING. The last frontier.
Or atleast, it feels like it.
Need to expel some of the drama weighting down my insides.

BJ has graduated with his BA finally.
Tick VG. Check!

Now is the time for looking to the future.
BJ had mentioned Japan.
So the last two weeks we have been planning, and making it a possible thing.

Yesterday, due to some EXTRAORDINARY events, including an angel hitting the print button on BJ's computer TWICE, we are possibly moving to WA! Like as soon as we can!
INSANITY. ANGST. SO much ANGST it should be spelled ANGXST.

Waiting is NOT Clair's favorite. NOT AT ALL.
So things are being put in motion, like resumes being sent. Plans for moving being written on paper.

But mostly there is waiting. This will be a slow process over the next few months, with a few spots of crazy times. And then there will be no more waiting. There will be progression. And longtime-weights being lifted off our shoulders. Debt will be taken care of, bills lessened. CRAZY TIMES.

CRAZY TIMES.

This is how I like life.:)
love
me:)

"I love to laugh...ha ha ha ha...."

2010-08-17T23:55:00.000-07:00

"More than words"

2010-08-09T22:35:00.000-07:00

BJ has been on the phone speaking Japanese for the last hour.

Why you ask?

Because in Japan it is already tomorrow afternoon.

Who was he talking to?

JAPANESE UNIVERSITIES!!!

In 2012 BJ might be entering a Japanese University to earn his MA.

OMG8R.

I am soooooo FREAKING EXCITED!!!
You have no idea.
I can't think about anything else.
I AM SO EXCITED!
You may come visit.
:)

"We are ALMOST the Champions my friends.:)"

2010-07-30T14:05:00.001-07:00

Beloved has THREE days of school left. THREE. Also, it is the end of the month. For base pay+commision pay people like us, that means a whole maniac of stress come end of the month. So today being the last day of the work month, and only three more days of BJschool. WE ARE A BIT ON THE STRAINED SIDE. ANd it is Golden Son's birthday! Two years ago I gave birth to my son right over there in the corner of my living room surrounded by people I love.

Today CLAIR is incoherrant. She is stressed and blessed. She is on the verge of a nervous breakdown(see the beginnings of a nervous tick?:). She is so happy how things are, and happy about the next step of our life, but she is kind of crazy right now in these last THREE DAYS. So should she not seem normal to you while you happen to be conversing, or should she say something not quite right. Please ignore, and remember she is literally insane...for the next THREE DAYS.

Call her on Tuesday when she has returned to normal.

Oh yeah, call to congratulate BJ too.:)

ps.Just so you don't ask me in the next three days while I am crazy and stressed. BJ is finishing his BA. THen we are taking a hiatus from school so Clair can finish her MH(next June!) and BA(next Dec 2010, or Jan-ish 2011!), and so we can pay off some of our debt. Then it is off to grad school for the Boj (and maybe the Mrs.:)! Hurray!

THE REAL END.

"this salad rocks!" and so do I:) OR "I'm so vain, yeah I know this song is about me..."those are the words right?:)

2010-07-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

Ohmygator, I SO rock.

I have been kicking trash all week with deep cleaning/deep organizing my home.

I have been doing so much, I can't even tell you.

Just take my word for it.
I SO rock.:)

Maybe you can come visit me in a week when I recover....;)

Meanwhile, it is now time to cuddle with Beloved and watch us some super freaky THE LOST WORLD.

Yeah, that is as "horror flick" as we get. (I think it is pretty DANG freaky.)

love,
The Amazing Clair

ps.The photography and styling of this post was inspired by and is dedicated to the ULTRA Amazing Dee.:)

"Happy Birthday dear Baby Alice!"

2010-06-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

Today my littlest baby turned one. I was completely surprised by the overwhelming emotions that surfaced from this occasion. I love our Baby Alice so SO SO much. I am so grateful that she is in our family right now. She is one of my greatest sources of peace. We love you Baby Alice.

So here are some interesting things about BA(what we call her for short-Baby Alice:)

-Whereas Jane was a super mommy from the time she came out of the womb, BA is not all that interested in babies. But she LOVES books and trying to figure toys out. She loves stacking, and opening, and putting things away. She LOVES figuring things out.

-My first two babies were walking around 1. Baby Alice BARELY started taking her first steps last week.

-My first two kids had eight teeth by eight months and teethed like MANIACS(and truly turned US into maniacs with all the sleepless nights:). BA only had 6 teeth at eight months, but now she almost has all of her teeth. She is THE EASIEST teether in the world. She is so calm!

-My favorite time with BA is when I am holding her and rocking her to sleep in the mei tai. She plays pass the pacifier with me, and we just get to be peaceful together. I always feel, durring those times of quiet, that we are teaching eachother how to still our minds, bodies, and spirits together. I treasure these times everyday.:)

-BA smiles SO BIG. It looks like her face is going to tear in two!:) SHe loves to laugh and play.

Baby Alice is such an angel, and we love her so much!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

"You are my home"

2010-06-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Holy Toledo Batman, these last two weeks have been INSANE.
I feel like gak inside. Do you remember that blobby stuff your parents wouldn't let you have, back in the 90's?:) I feel like that. I feel so maleable, and unsure of my solid state.:)

Two weeks ago I was having an awful day...AGAIN. And then I went to my counseling session(which I REALLY didn't want to do because of a bad previous counseling type session two days before). Anyways, during that session, between me, BJ, and my counselor, we found out what has been the cause of pretty much all my mental/emotional/physical/spiritual problems for the last 22 years. I realized that although I have absolute 100% faith in my Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, and the power of the Atonement to heal me (mentally, emotionally, etc), I did not believe that I could do my part. I had no faith in my ability to do my part in applying the purifying, cleansing, healing power of the Atonement.

Realizing that about myself has changed everything. Through that experience I have come to know that with my LOVING Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, through the Atonement, I can be healed from anything that happens to me. I feel so light, and like a GINORMOUS weight, that I have been carrying for 22 years, has been lifted off my shoulders. I have power and control over my actions, and I have the ability and I am worthy of being a normal, balanced, healed person. That is a powerful feeling, and powerful knowledge.

Getting to the root of my problems, released a lot of other unresolved issues I have been carrying around. I have realized that pretty much all my life, that I remember, I have been afraid of going to bed because something awful might happen tomorrow(like it has over and over in my life since I was 5 with my parents divorce). And I didn't know how to deal with things when really bad things happened. SO I feared and dreaded tomorrow. Especially in the last few years when one really horrible thing after another, with no pauses,was happening. And now that I have the confidence in myself to do what I need to do, I know that when bad things happen I can do what it takes to turn toward my LOVING LOVING LOVING Heavenly Father, and through His Son's Atonement ANY grief I feel can be healed. That is so powerful! This knowledge has changed my life this last week! I feel so different. I don't feel so afraid all the time like I used to. It has changed everything in every area of my life.

I also realized a week ago that I did not feel worth trying to understand, especially when I am having a hard time communicating. All my life I have felt that. It is a HORRIBLE feeling to feel unworth energy on another person's behalf to get to know you. It affects your relationships, and obviously your own feelings of self worth. I have been so grateful this last week to have been able to hang out with some of my old college roommates who love me so dearly no matter how sick I have been, or how fat I have gotten because of that sickness. They love me just as me, and they know I am imperfect and will make mistakes, but they love me and want to be around me even, and sometimes espcially, when I am going through these times of changing. I am also so grateful for a husband who has, the whole time, seen who I AM, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And chooses to see who I AM everyday no matter what is going on.

I feel so blessed to have had the hard experiences I have had in my life. I have felt my Savior's love and my Heavenly Father's love all the more because of these experiences. I am so grateful for the absolutely consuming peace I have felt this last week as I have been healing emotionally/spiritually/etc. I know this feeling is from our loving Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for my family and friends who have shown so much patience and love toward me, especially when it was hard. And mostly, today I am so grateful for the personal revelation that I have gotten in the last two weeks, and for the knowledge that anyone who wants this knwoledge only has to ask our loving Heavenly Father, and He is WAITING and LONGING to give it to you SO FREELY!

Happy Sabbath!
love
Clair:)

"Tradition!"

2010-05-09T18:37:00.001-07:00

Jane's 1st Easter

Denny's 1st Easter

Baby Alice's 1st Easter

"She's A Very Extraordinary Sort of...female...woman....you know the type. Whohoo!"-I love you Gilbert O'Sullivan:)

2010-05-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

I love my Mum. I also love my Mother-in-law, she is so much more special to me than an "in-law". I am also so so so grateful for the other "Moms" I have had in my life so far.:) For Sister Briggs and Sister Hadfield, Sister Borden and Kathy. I am thankful for Sharon and My Mel who took such good care of me durring my time at the Y. There have been so many beautiful women in my life and I love you all!
Happy Mum's Day!

The following pix are from the last two months and are especially for Grandma Allison and Grandma Becky.:) The best Moms ever.

The first five pictures were taken today:)

"JALS" 50 points to anyone who can name the band who wrote this song and what the letters stand for.:)

2010-02-28T20:06:00.000-08:00

It feels like I haven't blogged in FOREVER! Oh wait, I HAVEN'T blogged forever.:)

Well, 2010 hit HamakerLove like a ton of bricks, and we already need to recoup so we are taking March and April off from our worldly cares(tv, internet, email, ETSY, parties, etc.) We need to get back to basics and spend some serious time just us as a family!

In May 2010 please expect:
A new and improved HamakerLove family:)
An insanely healthier Clair!
New family pix!
(Especially of Denny and Jane...sheesh.)
Exciting news in the Etsy category!
AND SO MUCH MORE!

In the meantime here are a few pix to tide you over for the next two months.:)

ps.If you need to get a hold of us we are still answering our phone and our SNAILMAIL(Pick snailmail! Snailmail!!!:)

XOXOXOXOXOXOX!
HamakerLove

Not a song title because this post is important.

2010-02-15T23:27:00.000-08:00

I do not like family blogs to be an outlet for political feelings, but I felt this particular post was really important.

Many of my friends and family have been very outspoken about their beliefs about traditional vs. same sex marriage. Most of them are for same sex marriage. I believe we are all entitled to our own opinion. What I take issue with is the anger most of these same friends and family start emitting when this subject comes up. It bothers me that they get so contentious. A very bad feeling comes into the room, and it really depresses my spirit. It affects my children. If they could talk about it without the contention, it would be one thing, but most of the time this is NOT the case.

Because of this I have felt that I need to stand up for what I believe. I have had several friendships with gay and lesbian people. I love them very much. I think they are amazing people and I have been blessed by their friendships. I do not agree with their lifestyle choices, but I love them, and their lifestyle choices have nothing at all to do with whether I love them or not. I make decisions in my life that they probably don't agree with either. There are other lifestyle choices I also do not believe in. I don't believe in living together before you are married, and having sex before you are married. Not just because of how I was brought up, but for personal experiences I have had in my own life. I also don't vaccinate my children. I have researched this and with BJ we have decided that our children can be better "immunized" in other ways. Other people who live together and aren't married, or who vaccinate their children, that's their choice. So why is it different for same sex marriage? Why do I not support it?

Do you really want to know? Or are you looking for a fight? Are you angry already, or do you really care about why I would feel this way? The reasons I have for what I believe about this particular issue are extremely personal to me. I hesitate to share these feelings because they are so personal, and if you are already angry then you will take what I say and hurt me with them. This would feel like a huge betrayal, and I don't know if that is a place I want to go.

So for those who are really interested here you go:

-First of all, from a scientific point of view man and woman were meant to be together. Our bodies fit together in a really special way. Procreation can only happen with a man and a woman. I am not talking about invetro, I am talking about the natural procreation of babies.

-From a psycological view, children deserve a dad and a mom. Men and women bring totally different things to a family. Yes there are bad dads and bad moms out there, I am not talking about them. Yes there are very happy families with just a mom, or dad, or grandparents, etc. And I am not saying that kids can not be happy with two moms, etc. I am saying that children deserve to have a mom and a dad. It is something you can not create in any other dynamic. Single parents can verify that. You just can't make up the difference. I know some women who are so loving, and would make amazing moms who are living a lesbian lifestyle, but to me, as much as I love these women with all of my heart, what the children need and deserve is more important.

-Childrens needs are more important than adults needs, in almost everycase I can think of. I feel this way about adoption too. I knwo you can get so caught up in the weird psychology of international adoption, etc. But what it comes down to for me, is that kids need love, and every kid deserves a mom and a dad. Every kid deserves those two things, and nothing is more important than that. No adults' feelings are more important than that. And maybe if adults would be less selfish, both men and women, there would be a million less divorce in the world, and abuse, and infidelity.

-On a really really personal note(I really hesitate to say this because I have never EVER spoken about this to anyone, except BJ, and only once), my Mom doesn't even know. When I was a child I was exposed to some really innapropriete sexual material. I was really really young, like maybe five or younger, and I started to have some sexual feelings towards other girls. I didn't understand it that way, and I didn't feel those things on purpose, but I had them. Really strong sexual feelings. But at the same time I felt these feelings were extremely wrong. Not because someone told me they were wrong, no one knew I had these feelings, but I knew in my heart, even as a young young child that these feelings were very wrong, and that I had a choice what to do about them. And I chose not to have them. And I don't have them, I haven't had them since. To this day, sexual material in movies and books really bother me. I think that those feelings are sacred and should be shared withing in the bonds of matrimony where they are appropriete and are beautiful. I get upset about crude things because it is just like seeing sexual things as a child, absolutely innapropriete. So when I tell you that I feel that sexual attraction toward the same sex makes me uncomfortable, I am not just saying it to be a prude, or a republican:), or to be religious or whatever. There are deep feelings of wrongness that I feel about it from the innocence of my childhood. And like I said, I have friends who are lesbians and who are gay and I love them, I love some of them millions and millions. But I have to defend what feels right in the very core of me.

So I probably have other feelings about this topic as well, but those are the main ones that I feel strongest about. I am not a great debater. I HATE conflict. I HATE contention. I know someone else could have said all this much better. I know my grammar and spelling suck. This is hard for me to write, and I know it will probably hurt some of my dearest friends, but I have to say it. I have to defend traditional marriage. I have to defend the future of my children. And it does affect other people, it affects the family, it affects future generations. You can't keep this kind of thing from NOT affecting family and other people. This is different than smoking and other things people have had problems with in the past.

I have felt sick to my stomach with anxiety writing this,but please know I am speaking from my heart. And I really need you to know that I will never EVER be on the contentious side of this side of the argument. I may rally and protest, but I WILL NEVER do it with hate, or have horrible, untrue signs about God not loving someone because of their lifestyle choices. I know you can love people and not agree with them. I know it. I don't say things perfectly, so please try to understand what I mean in this post.
love
Clair

"All My Lovin'" OMG8R I love the Beatles....sigh.

2010-01-24T23:28:00.000-08:00

Dear Hamakerlove blog,

How I miss thee. I have been so busy with babies with sniffly noses, and trying to get my own energy up, and teaching my class, and doing a ton of schoolwork everyday. Not to mention all the millions of other things on my plate. I do still love you. I love you more than facebook even(I know you were wondering;). Never fear, in the next few months I shall have found a balance in our new family dynamics, with an energy you have not yet known.

All my words,
C.

ps.BJ has started a new blog for his creative writing outlet needs:
www.plausibly.blogspot.com

It is all a bunch of hooey, just in case you were getting those confusing THE PRINCESS BRIDE THE BOOK feelings.

"Don't you know every time it rains....." (for BJ "...maccaroni". Thank you Louis Prima)

2010-01-13T00:07:00.000-08:00

Simple Cough Syrup

2 onions chopped up
raw honey(not creamed)

Put the chopped up onions either in a crock pot, or in a glass dish(suitable for the oven) and cover with honey until the honey is about a 1/2 inch above the onions. Cook at a low temperature for several hours, strain, put in a jar and seal and date.

For children take 1/2 tsp as needed(I give this to my kids every hour, while they are awake, when they first get a cough or cold and it goes away within two days max). For adults 1 tsp 6-8 times a day(again at the beginning of a cold or cough I take this every hour while I am awake).

If you catch a cold in the beginning and work with your body to get those germs out you heal very quickly with rest and nourishing food. If you don't get on top of it right away it can take FOREVER. I know because sometimes I am a lazier person than I would like to admit.;D

Honey coats the throat and onions break up and draw out the germs and mucus. The best thing about this is it is relatively inexpensive to make, and it has absolutely no harmful or unknown chemicals in it. And it is very effective in helping a cough. Hurray!
Take care!

(holiday pix and update to come soon....I hope:)

"We Didn't Start the Fire...."

2010-01-10T02:43:00.000-08:00

Etsy shop is up!
Seller name:OHMYGATOR!

xo.
Clair

ps.Its my birthday. Happy Julianuary.(It is so sad I have that movie and know what that means.)

2010-01-03T01:35:00.000-08:00

Update on Clair's OHMYGATOR! Etsy shop, soon to be opening on a computer near you.

Ok, so it is actually not Saturday night techinically anymore(being about 1:30am Sunday morning), but I have been working feverishly all yesterday and today. I was just going to make three, but decided to go for 6-8 instead, so I am only mostly done with all of them, and not entirely done with any of them. They will be ever so much more impressive if I show them to you completely finished, so I will just give you a quick glimpse tonight, and you can try and figure out what I am making.:)
Cheers!
Clair;)

ps.I will be HOPEFULLY opening my shop next weekend, but I need to take some amazing pix first(and finish them OF COURSE). I will post as I am getting close to my store opening.:D

Viva la Vida

2009-12-28T00:24:00.000-08:00

This is BJ.

Clair is gone. She's in facebook. She has finally signed up... clicked the "I ACCEPT" button and signed her life away. She already has 30 friends. It' been consistent: 10 friends an hour so far. We're in the Pacific Time Zone, though, so I reckon some people will be hitting the hay soon. I expect 10 more friends an hour from 10:00 tomorrow AM.

She hasn't figured out how to use all the features yet, or that there is no real purpose. She keeps asking "what is this for?"

Anyway, she kept laughing. She wouldn't have a reason; she'd just be on some page and start laughing. I guess she's feeling this buzz that's become unfamiliar since high school when there were people around all the time, so many friends to choose from.

So doing the math (there's what, 16 waking hours in a day?) she'll have 160 new friends a day for maybe two months before it starts to peter out. Having friends is nice. Having friends on facebook is different. Faceboook admits this in the confirmation for accepting a friend. It says something like "facebook needs to make sure you know this person before you can be friends on facebook." Real life's requirement for friendship is a mutual understanding. Facebook's requirement is: you have to know the person.

This is not to diminish the incredible power and advantage of facebook. If Clair ever comes to me in a moment of insecurity and says"nobody likes me," I'll be able to check her profile and say, "no, you have 10,318 friends, Clair! You're the coooooooooolest!"

Socializing is good. I say go for it. I was surprosed who's on facebook at any given time. I don't have a profile. I'm not saying "yet" either... we'll see. Anyway, I hope you all add Clair as a friend. She's good people.

"Goodbye! Goodbye...goodbye..."-Hello Dolly

2009-12-25T02:37:00.000-08:00

So the show MONK has ended.
BJ and I just stayed up late to watch the last two episodes EVER tonight.
IT WAS THE BEST SERIES FINALE OF ANY SHOW THAT EVER HAPPENED EVER.

OHMYGATOR.

It had the most perfect ending.
You can watch it on hulu.com.

the end

and merry christmas:D

"a spoon full of sugar"

2009-12-20T16:12:00.000-08:00

So last night I had a CRAZY attack of strep throat. I have been working in Santa's workshop overtime times a million, and my body was done. So last night around 7ish my throat started to hurt. Two hours later I couldn't talk at all, and it hurt millions and millions to swallow. Strep throat you know? So I was super bummed since the next day(today) was Christmas Sunday and my own lovely Jane's 3rd birthday, and i had made all these plans to celebrate! I didn't want to be sick! So I made a herbal concoction of 1.5 TBS of raw, unprocessed honey, 1/8 tsp of cayenne and 4 ground up cloves of garlic, and mixed it all together and took about a tsp of it every hour for a few hours(until I went to bed). I didn't wash it down because you want the honey to coat your throat. It was a bit crazy feeling, but not unbearable. I also drank three mugfulls of 1.5 TBS of raw honey, and 1/2 a lemon in boiling hot water(I let it cool a tiny bit so I could drink it:). A crazy thing started happening when I was drinking the lemon and honey drink. (this is a bit gross but awesome!) Great big globs of mucus started gently coming out of my throat. My throat hurt durring the night, but when I woke up this morning my throat felt millions better, and by the afternoon the hurt was ALL GONE! I did not have some wimpy strep throat last night, it HURT MILLIONS. Do you know how amazing it is that the herbal things I did last night made it go away so fast?!!

Garlic-natural antibiotic. Manmade antibiotics kill bad and good bacteria in your body. This is especially not good for you if you struggle with yeast problems. And it kills your body's natural immune system. Garlic just kills the bad stuff.

Honey- Also a natural antibactirial. If you don't have any neosporin, you can put honey on a wound. I have done this before and it helps the wound heal really fast!

Cayenne- THis stuff is really amazing. It stops a bleeding wound really fast(I have tried it on small wounds, and it hasn't burned). It stops a nosebleed, when you put some in a glass of water and drink it down, before you can count to ten. It increases circulation. For the strep throat it increases circulation to the throat to help heal faster.

lemon-lemon is one of my favorite things to use in herbal remedies. It cleanses, it helps with digestion, it breaks down mucous. It is great.

I am telling you guys, if you want to get rid of strep throat fast, these are some great things to do that are cheap, and won't hurt you. Sleeping is also really important, especially if you got sick because you weren't taking the best care of yourself in the first place.

XOXO!
Clair:)

Honey,garlic,cayenne mixture

1.5 TBS raw honey
1/8 tsp cayenne powder
4-5 cloves garlic (pressed or minced)

Take as often as needed. 1 tsp at a time is best.:) But taking more won't hurt you.

Lemon, honey drink

1/2 lemon
1.5 TBS raw honey

Stir into a mug of boiling water. This can be a little potent, but when you are sick it tastes really good.

"Dashing through the snow!"

2009-12-16T11:05:00.000-08:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

"It's Been a Hard Day's Night!"

2009-12-14T21:04:00.000-08:00

So awhile back I decided that if ever I became a famous person I would go by the name Vivian Pickles. Isn't that the awesomest name ever?! I was watching a movie with BJ one time and there was an actress in the credits named that. I have loved that name ever since.:)

I love reading the scriptures lately. I have been trying harder to figure out what the Savior would do in certain situations I have found myself in. Sometimes that is very hard. I think part of the problem is I try to imagine what he would do literally, and I being a woman, that doesn't always work. But I love reading His words, and the words of His apostles and prophets. I find great comfort in them. I think it is amazing what you can learn from our Heavenly Father just by trying to do what is right, even when you don't do it perfectly right. Its the trying that is the important thing.

Also, I love Agatha Christie murder mysteries. It is true. I can not stop reading them. Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence. I love them.

Yay for random thoughts.
xo
Clair;) someday perhaps the famous and gorgeous Vivian Pickles!

"Tell it like it is...."

2009-12-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

I have been told by certain authorities that I have been blessed with the gift of communication, and that I will bless the lives of many with this gift.

I BEG TO DIFFER. MUCH AS I TRY WITH ALL MY MIGHT. I BEG TO DIFFER.

It seems like I suck at communication more than anyone else in the whole world!(Well, maybe I am a little better than Ozzy Ozborne, but it is a close thing)(Hahahahahaha! Ozzy Ozborne! That makes me laugh so hard!). I have been attempting to mend some broken fences lately with a ton of people I have not had the best of relationships in the past, and it is hard! I am NOT a brave person. So after three seperate prayerful attempts this week, one has been a huge success! My Mother-in-law and I have not had a horrible relationship, but it had room for improvement, and I think we have a lot more open communication now after some emails we sent back and forth to eachother about how we feel about one another. I got to tell you, my mother-in-law is awesome. She has come through some serious trials in her life, and is a huge source of awe and inspiration to me. When BJ and I were first married I called her our concierge because she either knows information about almost anything, or how to get it.(Did that make sense?) She has been a huge inspiration of how I want to raise my kids. She was always teaching her children about art, music, culture, etc. I love hearing stories from BJ about how one week she went to the library and got a whole bunch of movies with classic comedians, so her kids would be exposed to lots of different funny.:) She is incredibly resourceful, more so than almost anyone else I know.(and this is coming from the gal who needed some bloomers, so she ripped apart an old pink polo to make some:). I always worried about marrying a fella whose Mum I couldn't get a long with, but I am not worried about that anymore.:) We niether of us are perfect, but we are both pretty awesome(Well, I am only a little awesome:).

Good at communication though? Maybe in the next life?

ps.I do believe a soul can change though, so when I get to finish my BA I am getting it in the writing emphasis so I can finally atleast have good grammar when I talk.;D

pps.This is a pic of me and BJ eating a footlong hot dog at Disneyland back in the day.:D Random? I'll let you be the judge of that.

"A Red Letter Day!"

2009-12-11T19:17:00.001-08:00

Elder Jonathon William Cox is called to serve the Lord in the Apia Samoa mission, and he is to report to the MTC February 24, 2010! We love you Jon!

"Oh Happy Day!...Called to Serve Him!" Hooray!

2009-12-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

OHMYGATOR!!! OHMYGATOR!!!! OHMYGATOR!!!!!!
My Brother Jon is reading his mission call TONIGHT!!!! I am soooooo excited! I have never had a sib go on a mission before. We are soooooo eightymillionbjillionclairillionmillionsandmillions proud of him and all the hard work he has done to get to this moment in his life.
Yay Jon!
We love you!
XOXOXOOXOXOXOX!

"Pardon me boys...."

2009-12-08T23:52:00.000-08:00

ROck teh typpo.
Suuuckers!@

"It's Raining! It's Pouring! [two of my children are snoring!]

2009-12-07T14:22:00.001-08:00

I got to give a shout out to my sister Catherine and my chum Kaarina who I KNOW are rejoicing with me this rainy Monday afternoon.:)

ps.Denny AND JANE! are sleeping right now! Oh boy!Until five minutes ago I had all three asleep for one whole glorious, quiet, rainy hour!

"Hello Hello!"

2009-12-06T12:39:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone. I know a lot of you are not on our friends list on the sidebar with links to your super cute blogs. I haven't kept this updated very well, but if you are out there and want to be on our list, please email me your link so I can get it on there.;)
Clair

"Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!"

2009-12-01T16:28:00.001-08:00

BJ sent this to me today.:D

"Gettin' Ready To Run..."

2009-11-15T19:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some quick pix, sorry they are out of order with no explanation.:)

"America"

2009-10-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

When I was in junior high I stopped saying the pledge of allegiance. I was really mad at the people in government who were only in it for the money. Isn't that strange in one so young? I felt like the government was SEVERLY corrupted, and undeserving of my loyalty. I felt like the American dream was bunk. That people didn't really care about what was right. In high school I worked at JoAnn Fabrics and saw all sorts of un-neighborly behavior. People being cranky and grumpy at long lines. Fighting and being stingy about fabric, and selection, and prices. I felt like I could relate to other countries who didn't like America. I could see how vain and egotistical we were. I could see why people would be put off by how Americans think they are the best of all the countries in the world. I felt America was VERY hypocritical.

Then when 9-11 happened something happened that made me change my mind. It is going to sound silly, but at JoAnn's allasudden things were different (at least for a tiny while) after 9-11 happened. People were all of a sudden so patient! They were waiting in line for ribbon for hours sometimes, and there were never any complaints. Do you remember those red, white, and blue ribbons everyone wore after 9-11? People were making sure not to buy too much so there would be enough for everyone else (we had a lot of ribbon shortages because EVERYONE was making ribbon pins). It was awesome to see so much "happy community" around me. I can't tell you what an all of a sudden joy it was to work at JoAnns when there was such a beautiful thing going on!And then I went downtown to the Seattle Center where they had filled this HUGE walk-in fountain with flowers for the people who had died. It was so neat, and really spiritual feeling. It was a fountain with a long spiralling walkway, and it was just completely filled along the whole path with flowers and candles and signs. I went by myself and didn't "know" anyone there, but I felt this HUGE connection with the people who were there remembering and mourning and feeling. This was America to me. Community. Unity. Helping each other. Doing the right thing regardless of personal comfort. Unselfishness. Self-sacrifice. Hard work. A willingness to mourn with those that mourned. A feeling that material and artificial things didn't matter as much as people. Lately I have said "I think we should move to Canada" A LOT. Sometimes mostly in jest. :) I think sometimes it feels like America equals our government. And I am REALLY not happy with our government. They are making some seriously frightening decisions regarding my families rights. It has led me to wonder what other peoples' definitions of "America" are. Is America its government or something much bigger and more important? Is America the land, the physical land?

SO I wanna know, what is YOUR definition of America? What does it mean to you? I would really REALLY love to know what you think. Please try to keep your thoughts on this subject in keeping with the spirit.:) I know it is hard sometimes.;)(wink wink).

"The Monster Mash!"

2009-10-11T22:15:00.001-07:00

I totally copied you Corine! Whahahahaha! (Yours was so cute, how could I help it?!)

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

"Twenty Something.."

2009-10-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

BJ Hamaker is the best part of our family for a million reasons. We love him more than pie or chocolate or anything on this planet.

On October 7th BJ turned twenty something.
He doesn't have a age complex, we just love that song by the fabulous Jamie Cullum.

For his birthday Clair made him a sushi scarf.
On the card it said:

Watashi wa sushi o tabemasu ka?
Sushi o tabemasen.
Tsukaimasu yo!

If you speak Japanese you will know what this means.

If you don't speak Japanese here is the translation:

You eat sushi?
Do not eat this sushi.
Use it!

If you crochet and want to make this amazing yarn creation go to ravelry.com for the pattern. You have to sign in but it is free and awesome. Then search for sushi scarf on their search engine. They have sooo many awesome free patterns.

'I got too much on my plate...don't have no time to be a decent lover...;)"-Thank you Paul McCartney:)

2009-10-11T19:42:00.001-07:00

October is FLYING! Here are a few pix for your enjoyment...

My handsome man in his new shoes! He is a flying walker!

My beautiful angels.

Heck yes I made these!
Preview of not quite finished Halloween costumes(Alice is just trying on the family pumpkin costume that all the kids have worn, her costume has not been made yet;)

IMPORTANT

2009-10-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of really concerning info. coming out about the new H1N1 vaccine. Friends, PLEASE do your research from several sources. There are concerns about high levels of mercury, natural mercury, which is more dangerous then inorganic. There are concerns about how the makers of the vaccine refuse to take it. There are concerns about testing it on children. Vaccines are serious stuff. Especially new vaccines that we know very little about as far as effects on our bodies and especially our children's bodies. These are adult doses. Please be careful and know there are other options to build your immunity than vaccines.

2009-09-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

I HATE MICROSOFT WORD 2007 WITH ALL MY HEART, BODY AND SOUL.
I FEEL BETTER NOW.

"Make a New Friend Everyday..."

2009-09-24T10:42:00.000-07:00

OHMYGATOR!!!! I have entered the new world of CROCHET and it is ADDICTING!!! SO many new things to make! So far I have done a ton of granny squares and I am halfway through a potholder. Everytime BJ goes to JoAnn's with me he talks about wanting to learn how to crochet, so about a month ago we got some yarn, some hooks, and a learn how to crochet book. We had a bit of a sketchy beginning, but Kaarina came over and showed us A BRAND NEW WORLD! She also told us about this SUPER ADDICTING website called ravelry.com. OMG!(Short for OHMYGATOR!)
Anyways, go learn a new skill today! It will blow your mind and make you a happier person. Don't fancy crochet? NO worries, I mean learn ANYTHING new today. It really does make you a happier person.:)
XO
Clair

"Nobody likes me, guess I'll go eat worms..."

2009-09-19T01:33:00.000-07:00

OK, so I just had a happy experience and a frustrating experience with blogs. HAPPY NEWS! I was the FIRST person to post a comment on one of my favoritest blogs! This might not sound like a big deal, but it was on the GROSGRAIN blog which has like a million followers. Anyways, it made me feel special. Then I went to go check a different blog I had left a comment on. Again I was first, but everyone else who posted was having the TOTAL opposite opinion as me, and I felt super lame. It was on an issue that is super convtroversial, and I knew I was taking a chance saying what I felt, and I still feel good about what I wrote, but having so many people disagree with you is hard. Anyways, I had to vent a little right now. Isn't it silly we sometimes feel a need to feel recognized? I feel a need to have my voice heard in the world. I think about things all the time, and I feel my thoughts are important. Don't we all?

PS. Today I missed my friend Meridy MILLIONS. I hope Hurricane is treating her well!

"Isn't She Lovely..."

2009-09-13T19:55:00.001-07:00

Our amazing photographer friend Stanford took some pix for us of Baby Alice, and I wanted to share them with you all! He took way more, but I only had time to upload some of my very favorites. Please don't rip these off our blog. If you want a copy of any of these pictures I can give you the link for where you can get them. Enjoy! She's GORGEOUS!

This one is my personal favorite.;)

"The Venga Bus is coming...."

2009-09-05T20:08:00.000-07:00

I love that song, I also super love the EFY dance that goes with it....Ah, good times. Speaking of good times, I got to pick a winner for my 55th post giveaway! Everyone was so kind in their comments. I think I have the bestest friends EVER!
So I put all your entries in a box and picked.......Anna! Her prize is going to be a super cool gift from Anthropoligie(my favorite store-that I've actually never bought anything from yet. But I LOVE window shopping there!) Anyways, thanks for playing, I love you all millions!

ps.I am doing a juice fast today to help cleanse my body from the surgery(I have to pump and discard my milk because of the pain meds, Alice is being bottle fed from milk I had stored up. SO I thought today would be a good day for a small cleanse). Anyways, food IS on my mind, and I love you all so much for your sweet thoughts that I want to send you all your favorite type of chocolate(chocolate being DEFINETLY one of the best foods in the world;). So for all of you that left me sweet thoughts, post a comment for this post with your favorite type of chocolate and I will send some your way!

"Son be a dentist!"

2009-09-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

Ohmygator. I am the worst sick person ever. I hate being unwell.

Getting your wisdom teeth out SUCKS!!!

ps.Just for the record though, I did love that relaxing feeling that comes over you when they knock you out. I think I need to do something about my insomnia issues.

"CLAIR" and/or "SHAMELESS" GIVEAWAY!!!!!

2009-08-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting many days for this post. Do you know why? Because it is post 55!!!! Five is my favorite number. I think I have mentioned this before. So that makes 55 even more super amazing. In honor of this 55th post I am going to tell you 55 things about me you may not know. AND I am hosting a give-away.:) I have thought long and hard about what to giveaway,and I have decided....not to tell you until I pick the winner on September 5th(because I still haven't quite decided, to tell you the truth.:) To have a chance at winning the amazing giveaway leave a comment at the end of this post saying something you love about me. Whahahahaha, how conceited is that?! Well, everyone needs an ego boost every now and then, don't you think? Especially when one is so tired and overwhelmed with three babies, school, hubby's school, cleaning, etc. Now that you feel awful for thinking me conceited, and now that you are feeling very sorry for me, go ahead and leave me a message. Each lovely thought counts as one entry for the giveaway, go crazy. I really don't mind.;)

55 things you may or may not know about CLAIR:
1.I have a sleeping beauty complex. I can never decide whether pink or blue is my favorite color.
2.I love doing the dishes during my children's nap time. I HATE doing dishes right after I have eaten.
3.One of my all time favorite movies and books is ENCHANTED APRIL.
4.CONVERSE Chuck Taylors and flip flops are my favorite types of footwear.
5.Besides my favorite FAVORITE pair of shoes that are chocolate brown suede, 40's retro heels. Guhguhguh.
6.BJ is my spiritual twin. Babies can be born as twins in this world of course. Before we came to this world I believe we were born spiritually. So IF there is such thing as SPIRITUAL TWINS. Then BJ is my spiritual twin for sure.
7.Pizza is my favorite food lately. Pretty much ANYTHING Italian is my favorite food.
8.And chocolate.
9.And raspberry yogurt covered pretzels(I just ate some)
10.Anthropologie is my FAVORITE STORE IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!
11.I don't regret having three babies in three years, but I also wouldn't recommend PLANNING it that way. I ABSOLUTELY recommend following Heavenly Father's plan for your own family.:) Having three babies is HARD but it is EQUALLY rewarding.
12.I miss BYU. I miss college. I miss taking classes on campus. I miss the experiences I had while I was in college. I miss that atmosphere. I don't miss not being married while I was in college. I do wish to be back in Provo in that academic life.
13.I am an academic. I LOVE learning for the sake of learning. It brakes my heart that Liberal Arts is a fading major, and that people go to college to get a job, not just to learn and help create themselves. I am constantly reading and learning new things and expanding my knowledge of the world around me. I find it very rewarding.
14.I love herbs. I love healing through nutrition. I love learning about how bodies function and how amazingly wonderful they are at healing themselves when given the proper tools.
15.I love gardening, I love being out of doors. I love green, living things.
16.I hate snakes and spiders and scorpions.
17.I love camping in Belfair, WA at Zion's Camp. I have never camped outside of WA, but we are planning on camping in CA next summer. I am excited.:)
18.I have never traveled outside of the USA(except to Canada a few times). I feel this is a detriment to me and my outlook on the world.
19.I love baking bread. I love kneading it.
20.I love BJ more than I love anyone else in this world. Then I love my children, then my Mum and then the rest of my family and dearest friends. I can't help it, that is the order.
21.I love to create things. I feel very close to heaven when I am creating things. I feel like Heavenly Father must be so happy when He creates. It gives a whole new perspective to the Bible when it talks about Heavenly Father saying "and He saw that it was good" when He was creating the world.
22.I think grammar and spelling is important, but not worth degrading and embarrassing people in public about it. As long as we are communicating, that should be the main bit. Good grammar won't get you into heaven, but showing people love and compassion will.
23.I love my siblings SO MUCH. But I am super sucky at letting them know. It either comes out cheesy, or lame. I am really proud of the good choices they make in their lives.
24.I think birthdays are about YOU BEING BORN INTO THE WORLD. Not HOW OLD YOU ARE. It is SOOOO wonderful to think about yourself being born into the world and the good you have done. I think about people like my friend April who has helped bring hundreds of babies into the world, that is millions of lives she has affected! Go ahead and have a George Bailey moment on your birthday instead of whining about how old you are. It is much more fun, and fulfilling.
25.I love the ocean. I am hardly ever as relaxed as I am at the beach. I am definitely a water element.
26.I am deathly afraid of sharks. This is lame since I love the ocean. I have had terrifying nightmares about them since forever.
27.I am afraid of the dark. I get the heebie geebie meemies very easily in the dark!
28.I love shock value.
29.I love slapstick.
30.I love the Marx brothers, don't really fancy the Three Stooges at all.
31.I try not to hate things or dislike things unless they are actually BAD. In my VERY opinionated youth I found that people don't like people who HATE EVERYTHING.:)
32.I love to dance. I love all kinds of dancing. I feel sooo eighty million happy when I am dancing.
33.I love to exercise. It is weird, but I love it. I love that working hard feeling. I hate being too tired to exercise.
34.I have not been myself for the last four years. I am not sure who I have been, but it has not been Clair. People call this the "Lost Woman Syndrome." I call it not being me, and not realizing it. I don't like not being me, it is uncomfortable. I am excited to be more me from now on. George Bernard Shaw said,"Life is not about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself." I absolutely believe that.
35.I LOVE sparkly things. I LOVE THEM.
36.I love to go shopping. This is very strange to me. I was never this way as a youth, but have recently found out that a Clair can spend a A WHOLE HECKOF AMOUNT OF MONEY pretty much in any store she wanders into. This is bad, but really fun.:)
37.I don't love having too many things though either. This is confusing and leads to sometimes a lot of purchasing and purging. I LOVE TO PURGE. MY HOUSE. :)
38.I love teaching people things. I don't think I know very much about any one subject, but love of teaching goes with love of learning. Let's learn together!
40.I don't believe in abusing animals just because we can talk and they can't. I believe they are in our stewardship, and that they are for our use, but that we should also take care of them.
41.I love the idea of recycling clothes, and am excited to learn how to do that. Taking something and making it into something else is AWESOME.
42.I believe in personal revelation, and think it is the most precious of all gifts Heavenly Father has given us.
43.I want to live in a place BJ and I call BEARHAVEN someday before I am not too old to enjoy it.:) I want cashmere goats and SouthdownBabydoll Sheep, and a few horses, and a pack of dogs. I want an orchard with a beautiful ballroom in the middle of it to host super lovely balls annually. I want lot of other things about BearHaven, but BearHaven is a special dream for me and BJ so I don't want to talk about it a lot.
44.I am a planner. I LOVE to make plans and goals. Planning is most of the fun for me. I think you can make any plan work IF you get a good enough plan.
45.I love cloth diapering....with BUMGENIUS diapers. Come to find out I really do not like prefold cloth diapers. I guess I like them better than disposables, but not by much.
46.I love healthy food and unhealthy food.
47.I love painting daisies on my toenails.
48.I LOVE DISNEYLAND. People who poohdidoo it don't really understand me at all.
49.I love people. I think they are fascinating. I love talking to people, and learning about why they do what they do. I LOVE books about people who do amazing things.
50.I have lived in Las Vegas for four years and never once been on the strip. I don't like it, it makes me uncomfortable. I hate the naked pix everywhere and I hate how many families have been ruined by the things it provides so easily.
51.BJ is my hero. He does more and accomplishes more in one day than anyone I know. He is FREAKING AMAZING.
52.If someone wanted to read a book to understand me better they would have to read ANNE OF GREEN GABLES and GIFTS FROM THE SEA. That is me to a tea.
53.I love wearing blue mascara.
54.Someday BJ and I are going to own a swing club and call it either:
Converse and Cufflinks
The Tower Club(after the Eiffel Tower)
Kalamazoo
Mairzy Dotes
55.The way I feel the most love is when people share their life with me, and let me share my life with them. The people who I hold closest to my heart are the people who do this.

Are you soooo totally over me yet?!?! 55 things about yourself is hard! Anyways, it was an interesting exercise. I have been thinking a lot about who I am lately. I am not sure how to end this post.
In the words of many famous people....THE END.

PS.Please forgive the grammar and spelling mistakes, I was in a hurry.:)

"I ain't got noBODY..."

2009-08-30T14:43:00.001-07:00

While Changing Jane's Diaper....

Jane:What are you doing?
Dad:Cleaning your bottom.
Jane:That's right; it's mine!
Dad:Yup, it's yours.
Jane:We all got a bottom.

OHMYGATOR, I nearly peed my pants!

"We were never being BORING"-Pet Shop Boys OH YEAH

2009-08-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

So yesterday BJ was being unnecessarily chipper. Whistling, singing...moving about. So I said, "BJ could you please stop."(It wasn't a question, but I did say it super nicely) And then I said, "BJ you are always telling me that one of the main reasons you chose me was because I am the only woman who has ever kept your attention. Because I am fascinating. I am always fascinating, and today I need to take a brake and be boring. Can you be boring too? I am really tired." He laughed heckof hard, and stopped whistling.:)

(I laughed too;).

On another note, this weekend I have been thinking about some of the things my Mum has taught me that has become an integral part of who I am.
Here are a few of them.

Sometimes being a responsible, mature adult means doing things you don't want to do. I totally believe that, and I think about it lots during my day. I don't always want to do the laundry, or clean out the sink. I hate yucky chores, but they need to be done. And that is OK. I will survive these things, and the truth is, if I don't make a big deal out of doing them, then they are quickly finished, and IT ISN'T A BIG DEAL AFTER ALL.:)

It is important to be a hard worker.This philosophy has helped me over and over again. It has made me a super valuable employee(It feels really good to know it takes a few people to replace you when you leave a job:). Working hard has also taught me a love for working hard and a job well done. I love that feeling of accomplishment, but there is so much more that you feel. It is hard to put into words unless you have felt it too.

Enjoy the time you have with your children and sweetie. My Mum and Pop went out every weekend that I can remember. And they often went out for the weekend, even if it was just at the local motel 6. I totally have a testimony of the importance of date nights with your spouse and keeping that strong relationship through activities and time together, NOT just watching TV, or things like that. But talking and interacting together. And family time was always a priority as well. We went on lots of family vacations and hikes and outings. My Mum has always taught me to take time to enjoy my sweet babies while they are small, while I still have them at home before they grow up and have their own families. This has been so important to me when things seem overwhelming. When I have the good times I really try to soak them in and enjoy them. It doesn't necessarily make the hard times loads easier, but it BALANCES my life out in a way I NEED.

Be generous and the Lord will always bless you. I remember my Mum remarking lots of times how she believed she found good babysitters to watch her kids because she was a good babysitter as a teenager. I have thought of that lots in my life and really applied it and seen the benefit. It feels good to be generous, and that is blessing enough from Heavenly Father.:) My Mum is very generous with her time and energy. And HER SMILE. She smiles all the time, and I think that is such a beautiful gift to the people who see it. Smiles can lift what words can't. She is a really good friend to everyone. I don't think I know one person who knows my Mum and doesn't love her. I think that is testimony to the kind of person and friend she is.

The last thing I will mention(I have learned too much from my Mum, it would take to long to tell you all the things!)is something my Mum has said to me millions of times, and I think about it, and it buoys me up every time..."Clair, you aren't going to starve." :)I am NOT a good poor person. I starve HORRIBLY. One time in our marriage BJ and I pretty much were starving, and I found that I become QUITE stingy with food when there is hardly any in the home. But my Mum is right, I will never starve because she will make sure we at least have some food. This has taught me a few things. First, that it is important to look out for each other and take care of each other. To be generous and to have that compassion for each other, as the Savior has compassion for us. Also, it has taught me that it is good to have faith that things will be alright. There is a long time in eternity. Keep perspective. You CAN get through ANYTHING.

My Mum is amazing. She is one of the MOST beautiful people I know. I hope my life exemplifies what she has taught me.

"MORE THAN WORDS"

2009-08-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me REALLY REALLY well you will know how much the following sentence means to me.

JANE SAID "OHMYGATOR" FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY.

Oh that I could have had it recorded and played over and over!(Luckily two year olds repeat everything a million times, especially when you give them a good reaction.:)

Oh that I was blessed enough to live to see this day.:)
Ohmygator.:)

"I know Heavenly Father loves me..."

2009-08-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

Ohmygator. It is 12:45 in the afternoon and all three of my children are in bed. Alice is asleep for sure, and Jane and Denny are on their merry ways. OHMYGATOR.

...And I baked bread this morning.

Yup. Heavenly Father loves me for sure. I am going to go get me some well needed rest while cuddling up with a great book.:) Cheers!

2009-08-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

My friend Annjilla is doing a giveaway for our friend Jenny.Jenny has a fabulous etsy shop dedicated to help preschoolers learn shapes, numbers, and words in fun colorful inventive ways. All her products are sold in electronic form and emailed to you so you never pay shipping!

To go to Jenny's etsy shop click HERE:

To enter the giveaway and the chance to receive a free shape sorter game from Jenny and two free black and white korker bows from Annjilla click HERE to get to Annjilla's blog and follow the instructions on the post. (More pictures of the exciting prizes are posted on Annjilla's blog.)

"Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup..."

2009-08-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Julia Child's MY LIFE IN FRANCE, and I gotta tell you it was absolutely lovely. She has such a joy for life and good things. I had a lot of aha moments for my own life, and I just really loved it. So funny to find a kindred sister in Julia Child.:)

"And a hey nonny nonny..."

2009-08-12T23:47:00.001-07:00

OHMYGATOR. OHMYGATOR. I just watched Kenneth Branaugh's AS YOU LIKE IT, and it was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVED IT! Granted, this is one of the plays I haven't read or seen before, but I loved it. You should go watch it. Rent it, or get it from netflix like we did. Did I mention we have joined the netflix cult revolution?:) Anyways, it was awesome. I loved it. Also, there is a version of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW with John Cleese that is also most excellent. It is an older movie, not very cinematical, but very choice.
Go bananas.
me:)

"It's Been a Hard Day's Night!"

2009-08-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

Ohmygator. Did you know busy people get more stuff done?! Its true. Come over and see how clean my house has been compared to the last two years.:)
XO
C.

"Step by Step...ooOOooh Baby!" NKOTB oh yeah

2009-08-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

So my friend Maren is AMAZING. I met her when I was an EFY counselor back in 2003 I believe. We were roommates the first two weeks of camp. I was totally wowwed by her from the first. She is GORGEOUS, so beautiful. She is a returned missionary, and sings like a lark. I totally looked up to her, and still do.:) I started making my bed everyday because of her example(she never told me to, she just inspired me to start:). Anyways, she is now a lovely mother of two and on her blog a while back she wrote about this crazy challenge she was undertaking called 101 in 1001. What you do is write down 101 tasks to finish in 1001 days and do them!
I thought this was a FANTASTIC idea for me to do too since I LOVE goals and projects and challenges. So here is my blog post officially announcing my start with this challenge(even though I started it a few weeks ago.)

Here is the website and the rules to the challenge:
http://www.dayzeroproject.com/

I started my challenge on July 7 2009 and will finish on April 2 2012

Here is my list!

Health:
1.-Make a plan for me getting healthy, check/revise every week or so for a year
2.-balance my intestinal flora/fight Candida craziness
3.-get down to ideal weight (110-120) by the end of 2010
4.-get rid of excess mucus in my body so I can laugh hard for at least 30 minutes
5.-don't get pregnant for at least two years:)
6.-make and stick to family health check plan for a year
7.-get to bed before 10pm every night for a week
8.-track ovulation for 6 months

Nutrition:
9.-Consistently sprout for one month
10.-learn how to grow wheat grass mold free, and do so for one month consistently
11.-make bread regularly for three months
12.-drink half my body weight in ounces of water/herbal tea everyday for one month
13.-make lunch and dinner every week day for a month
14.-make nutrition/immunity plan for family, stick to it for 6 months
15.-build a food repertoire plan for up to two months/four seasons
16.-maintain an 80% whole foods diet by 2011

Exercise:
17.-run the 5k during lavender days with BJ
18.-exercise 5x's a week, for at least 30 minutes, for a year

Home Projects:
19.-paint small bathroom
20.-re-grout bathroom showers
21.help BJ organize the garage
22.learn the secrets of composting and start doing it!
23.Get house painted outside
24.-finish landscaping the outside

25.-get first aid kit organized for home
26.-get first aid kit organized for Mum's house
27.-get three month food storage in order
28.-get enough savings established to survive for three months

29.-organize scrapbooking stuff
30.organize computer stuff and add friends on bloglist
31.get house organized in a binder, make a system and follow for one year
32.establish a morning routine and do it for one month
33.-go to bed with clean kitchen/dining room/ living room for one month
34.-update pix in house once a year
35.-get family pix/videos organized
36.-start a recycling system
37.-organize books
38.-put together "Sunday" bag

39.-get Christmas card list organized
40.-get Christmas cards out by the end of November
41.-get Christmas boxes sent by Thanksgiving
42.-plan a spiritual and special Christmas at home with BJ and kids

43.-get Alice announcements out
44.-throw myself the awesomest nesting party!

Crafts:
45.-finish sewing Alice's blessing dress
46.-finish making Christmas stockings
47.-finish friendship quilt
48.-make my vaccination book
49.-make 100 herb quilt
50.-refashion one outfit from recycled clothes
51.-make an outfit from a pattern I designed
52.-for one year make/refashion/etc. one article of clothing/accessory every other week (26 pieces)
53.Learn to crochet
54.-empty out my projects/mending baskets (by finishing the projects;)
55.-make reverent books for kids
56.-repaint tea caddy
57.Learn to knit
58.Use up all the fabric I have now in my craft room(or atleast get it down to two or three boxes)
Kids and Family:
59.-get baby books updated to two years old
60.-thoroughly research home school for Jane
61.-nurse Baby Alice for one year
62.-potty train Jane
63.-potty train Denny
64.-potty train Alice
65.-write in kids journals every fast Sunday for a year
66.-get on an activity schedule for the kids and follow for a season
67.-write family as a family every Sunday for a year
68.-get Denny and Jane on a sleeping schedule
69.-copy the kids’ blessings and put in baby books

Personal Growth and Misc.:
70.-start teaching a birthing class at WRM
71.-graduate from SNH
72.-volunteer once a month for a year
73.-read my scriptures 5x's a week for a month
74.-read scriptures daily for 2 months
75.-for one week really pay attention to not being prideful and judgmental
76.-for one week really try to focus on positive thinking and positive communication
77.-go to the temple once a month for a year
78.-kneel to pray for personal prayers every night for the whole project
79.-fill out BFW keepsake journal
80.-20 minute meditation daily for 5 weeks
81.-work on one fear a day for 5 weeks
82.-take adult swimming lessons
83.-run 5 miles at least once
84.-sing "Glitter and Be Gay" at one of Reggie's recitals
85.-learn how to cut BJ and Denny's hair
86.-go to Mt. Charleston
87.-pay off credit cards
88.-pay off school debt
89.-pay back Ben and Bobby Jean
90.-throw someone a surprise party
91.-make sure BJ is "back to work" by 6 weeks post partum
92.-make sure BJ is back to fulltime work by September 2009
93.-go Christmas caroling to the neighbors

BJ and Me:
94.-plan a romantic trip for me and BJ in La Jolla and GO!
95.-take Argentine Tango lessons with BJ
96.-wake up early with BJ and do yoga at least once:)
97.-go out with BJ once a week for a year
98.-learn balboa with BJ
99.-dress up to the nines and go to the opera with-BJ
100.-go horseback riding with Bj
101.-Get some gorgeous pix of me taken for my Beloved

I've already finished #'s 43, 44, 45, 68, and 91!!!!
PS.Since I love goals and projects and am constantly revising my life plans, I feel it is ok to replace one of my listed goals with a new one.

"There is beauty all around..." no really there IS!

2009-08-09T13:42:00.001-07:00

Today the coveting bug bit me. Isn't that horrible? It wasn't so much a material object that I coveted, more like a position in life. I wish we were at a point where we were settled down. We have a long haul yet. I am happy in our life choices, and feel like we have been led by Heavenly Father in making the choices we have(which is good since He is WAY smarter than us:), but still inside me resides this coveting bug who wishes BJ was out of school and we were settled in our beautiful BearHaven, and I was back to good health(probably still having babies, but in really good health;)....anyways, complaining and whining are SUPER annoying to me. So while I was coveting today at church, I also thought about all the things I have that people might covet. Like I am very happily married to my best friend BJ. I have three gorgeous children with the most beautiful countenances. I have so many friends. Amazing friends that constantly inspire me. I have a house that enabled me to bear two of my sweet babies at home. BJ is working a grown-up job and supporting our family while going through school. We have a minivan in which to travel around in. Most of all I still have a testimony of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and their plan for us and our family. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and my family and is watching out for us and leading us on the perfect path. It may take a while longer then some of my friends, but it is the PERFECT path for US! And when I take the time to stop comparing and start LIVING and paying attention to my own life, I realize how wonderful my life IS! I love my life! I lvoe where we are right now. I love all the wonderful plans we have yet to accomplish in the next few years. I like the pace we are at. I wish we were going a bit faster sometimes, but really I just wish the set backs would go away.:) We are doing just fine, and we are doing it! We are making it!
May we all realize everyday how very blessed we are!

"Oh life is grand! It's VERY interesting...."

2009-08-09T00:16:00.000-07:00

Life is crazy.
I miss blogging.
I am sooo busy!
Three kids is a crazy thing.
I love so many things right now.
I feel so inspired by so many things right now.
I could blogg about lots of things right now.
I am tired.
I reallyt don't want to get my wisdom teeth out in a few weeks.
Maybe tomorrow I will try and post some more recent pix.
I just watched NORTHANGER ABBEY for the first time.
...if you want me to post a real post soon leave a message, and let me know you are waiting!
xo
Me:)

"We like big butts and we can not lie..."

2009-07-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

IT IS TRUE! WE LOVE BIG BUMGENIUS CLOTH DIAPER BUMS!
Post coming soon.

"A [she's] adorable..."

2009-07-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

Alice's birth story has been posted on our other blog if you are interested.:)

www.naturallyhealthyhamakerlove.blogspot.com

Be forewarned: Homebirth is a bit naked.:)

XOXOX!
US

"She is my dear, my darling one..."

2009-06-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

Here is our darling girl!

Alice Michaela
born:Sunday June 28th, 2009
weight:6lbs 15oz
height:19 inches
eyes:dark blue
hair:dark dark brown like Daddy's, and lots!

(Birth story will be posted hopefully by the end of today or tomorrow in our other blog)

Jane meets Alice!

Denny meets Alice!

Sleeping Beauties;)...finally!:) We worked really hard!

Denny and Daddy showing baby some lovin':)

Baby Alice-Monday:)

If you look really hard you can see her tiny tiny dimple.

Grandma Becky and Baby Alice

Our awesome midwife and dear friend April holding Alice

My amazing doula and good friend Sherry holding Alice:)

Proud Daddy and the newest Hamakerlove model:)

"Who is this new lovely lady in our family?"

Sisters and fellow rosebud princesses:)

A damsel men will go into battle for...

Siblings:)

Denny loves to touch his sister...if only we could teach him the difference between "touching" and uh....."attacking". :)

Well here are only a few of the pix, but it gives you a tiny idea of how adorable this family is.:) I just keeping thinking, I know these next few months are going to be crazy, but I love these people sooooo millions, it is SO WORTH IT! WE are so happy Alice is here and Denny and Jane. Life ALREADY couldn't be the same with all three.:)

I will try to get more pix up and our birth story soon!
XOXOX!
The new US.
(BJ, Clair, Jane, Denny, and Baby Alice:)

"New day, brings on the morning sun"-"Good Morning Clair" by BJ Hamaker

2009-06-29T23:55:00.000-07:00

So I know I promised pix of the lovely Baby Alice. Well, today I spent asleep in bed and having my new baby midwife checkup at home and saying goodbye to my Mum(WE ARE SAD SHE HAS GONE HOME). So you will have to wait until tomorrow. If this makes you upset....well you try having two births in less than a year and we will talk.;)
Till tomorrow!!!
C. and co.

"Little Bird, Little Bird..."

2009-06-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

So last Saturday I had a super awesome time at my nesting party. I had a lot of friends over and we ate super yummy food, and got some things done to welcome Baby Alice. It was wonderful. My favorite part was having my friends over. They have cheered me up and buoyed me up so much in the last few months. I couldn't have made it through this pregnancy without their love and support and friendship.
Here are some pix of the fun times.:)
xoxoxox
Clair
ps.the henna artist is the very talented Rebekah Wilken

The beautiful Jenny

The lovely Kaarina and lovely Meridy eating yummy food:)

The gorgeous Candice

The lovely Patti and Heidi and Grandma Helen making flower clips:)

My really wonderful and lovely friends Shana and Reggie helping me make my baby announcements:)

Friends helping in the kitchen

making handprint hearts for my friendship quilt(finished project pix to follow)

The gorgeous and talented Annjilla getting henna-ed

my very beautiful if prego belly:) Exotic, yes?

The lady in question and her very sleepy and beyond adorable Jane:)

Gosh, all my friends are sooooo gorgeous! And wonderful and nice. How did I get so stinkin' blessed?

After my party I went over to Well Rounded Momma to bring some party food to my friends who I knew were working and had the funnest after party. I love you all so dearly and am so thankful for you and your friendship.

"Singing the Body Electric"

2009-06-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

Hey this is a really awesome and important article about c-sections in America. Please read it. We need to be aware of what is happening with birth and our bodies and our babies.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cover-birth17-2009may17,0,7665456.story

The c-section rate in NV is 40%. Most states are at atleast 30% average. This affects everyone. There has to be a reason a huge majority of women "can't deliver a baby naturally on their own without medical aid." Something is wrong, and I don't think it is the women.
This is really important.

"It's a celebration!!!"

2009-05-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

Clair is having a nesting party!
Come!
June 13*2009
1-3pm
It is going to rock.
I am making a special friendship quilt so even if you can only come for a few minutes, please come to sign my quilt.
There will be AWESOME henna art and SUPER AMAZING food!
Also, if you want to help, there will be a few last minute craft projects I am trying to get done before baby Alice comes that you can help me with.
I am sooooooo excited!
xoxoxoxoxox
Clair:)

"Isn't It Romantic"

2009-05-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

I think me and BJ's MOST FAVORITE thing about dancing together is the sweet flirting you can do. It is a kind of flirting totally unique to dancing. When you are dancing the lindy to FEVER, I mean, come on, there is a supreme oppurtunity for some serious sassy flirting. Lots of swing songs are that way too. "Banana Split for my Baby...A glass of cold water for me..." and "I'll tell YOU when" are two of my favorites.

With every dance there is a different kind of flirting. I just found out that here in Las Vegas they have started an English Country Dance Society where they dance the dances found in Jane Austen movies.:) The flirting in this kind of dancing is super fun because there is barely any touching involved. It is very subtle. Fingertips, holding hands, brushing sides...very tame sounding, but with a look and a wink, very romantic and fun.:) For all of you out there completely desensitized to romantic things, this may not sound fun or flirty, but there is power in minimalism my friends! I guess they just had their first ball, and everyone dressed up and everything. BJ, being the most macho love I know, is totally taking me next year.:) HE VOLUNTEERED to take me when I told him about it. I am sooooo excited! I married the best man EVER!(Sorry I just gotta brag a bit.:)

Here is a link to their info:

http://www.snocd.org/austen/general.html

It's Too Darn Hot

2009-05-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

It is HOT. The weather man says it is only 93 degrees, but I BEG TO DISAGREE.
It is hotter.
Jane says so too.
It was so hot we all got sick from being outside for just a wee bit. Usually we can handle the heat better, and that is why I think the weather man is a liar.
The end.

"More than words.."

2009-05-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

Ok so I made a post on cloth diapers on our other blog:

www.naturallyhealthyhamakerlove.blogspot.com

Come to find out I don't think I am very good at writing product reviews.:) I know what I like and don't like, I am just not very good at explaining it.
Anyways, for those of you who wanted a post on our experience with cloth diapering, there you go.:)

"Maybe..."

2009-05-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

We had a really awesome weekend! We got to go to a WellRoundedMomma and Baby's1stDayMidwifery client reunion. There was a SWEET ACTION fiddle band, and snacks, and friends, and relaxing in the sunshine...it was AWESOME! Thank you Sherri and April for making such a fun time! Here are some pix from the park.

Mother's Day was so lovely. My sweet babies and BJ wrote me some beautiful songs. BJ made me a super yummy heart shaped pizza for dinner. I got to have some dream time to myself, and blog time. BJ cleaned my kitchen. He is the best. My kids are the best. I am so blessed.:)

I have to end this blog post with the song BJ wrote for me last year on my birthday, and added another verse to it today for Mother's Day. I wish you could hear it, it has a really beautiful melody to it that just makes the words really meaningful.

MAYBE by Berhard J. Hamaker

Maybe everything will work out better

...if different than we expected.

Maybe all our hopes are coming true

...with progress unexpected.

Maybe all our troubles are working

...themselves out with a little help from us.

Maybe things are getting better

...bit by bit and they'll be fine soon enough.

Maybe when I get home

..this time I won't have to leave again.

Maybe we'll have ample time

...together some way, some when.

Maybe all of this waiting's worth it

...in some uncomfortable, sadistic way.

Maybe all these seeds we've been planting

..are just about to bud and flourish.

Maybe we will reap the greatest harvest

..of love, your soul to nourish.....

I think I am going to have to record him singing it. It is so beautiful to hear. The words alone really don't do it justice.

"I'm In Love With a Wonderful Guy!"

2009-05-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

So today I really REALLY wanted to scrapbook. This is logical since we have a MILLION boxes of all sorts of things to scrapbook. It is also ILLOGICAL to want to scrapbook because we have A MILLION BOXES OF THINGS TO SCRAPBOOK. So needless to say I got overwhelmed in a hurry. IF I had a file cabinet and IF I had a million file folders MAYBE I could have started by just organizing things into categories, but I didn't have any of those things. So I packed it all back up and decided to blog instead.(What I call-scrapbooking in a semi-hurry)

While I was going through stuff I found this HILARIOUS first draft of BJ and mine's wedding announcement that BJ typed.

Here's your kicks and giggles for today:)

QUOTE:
"I love Clair.
I am going to marry her and then we'll have a reception you can come to.
Bring soda or chips; we're leaving early.
If you want to talk to us, we're redoing the old-fashioned reception line concept.
It's going to be more like a drive through kind of thing where you say "regards" or some other two or three syllable phrase and its over at 7:30.
Don't do anything stupid and no arguing with the others."

I love that.
I hope you love that too.

"Time, you needed time out of the mainstream.."-Semisonic's BRAND NEW BABY

2009-05-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

We got a brand new baby....a new blog. SOOOOO EXCITING! We have been on a path to better health, and whole foods living for a long time. We have fought the norm of American living in many ways...cloth diapering, eating awesome, weird things like quinoa, we use herbs instead of synthetic medicine as far as our knowledge lets us, etc. We are still on our journey though toward healthier living and thought it would be a great idea to share some of our naturally healthy adventures with the public. Changing your lifestyle is hard and sometimes reading the ups and downs of others efforts inspires and motivates you to keep trying. If you want to learn more about healthy nutrition, and other naturally healthy things check out our new blog:

http://naturallyhealthyhamakerlove.blogspot.com/

BJ and I are going to try to post weekly with recipes, insights, interesting facts, etc. We are just starting this blog, so it might not be super interesting yet, but we have some really awesome things we are "cooking up" to post really soon so check back often!
Healthy Journeys!
HamakerLove

"Everything is Food"-Popeye for BJ

2009-04-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, I HAVE to post about my new favorite juice combination. We have a vita-mix blender that we are OBSESSED with(hello! You can make your own natural peanut butter, juices, smoothies, rice milk, fresh flour, baby food, gosh anything!). I happen to have a knack with making yummy treats with it(knock on wood, most of the time it is delish, but every now and then...). Anyways, yesterday I wanted to make some OJ, and I thought, oooh I will mix it in the blender instead of hand mixing it(it was frozen concentrate we had left in the freezer). Then I thought, oooh shall I mix something else with it? And I though about how orange orange juice is, and how orange carrots are, and aha! I decided to invent what I call, REALLY ORANGE ORANGE JUICE.:) I put in the oj concentrate and two huge carrots and water, and blended it all together. DELISH LIKE YOU WOULDN"T BELIEVE! Granted, if you are a pulp snob you might not like it, but man it was delish to me! BJ loved it, Jane loved it. It was awesome. And so healthy for you! Carrots are one of the super foods you know.:)
Anyways, I had to share because it was THAT GOOD. It tasted like a creamsickle. I am sure it would taste better if we had used fresh oranges from CA, but we had to use what we had.
I am going to go have some more. YUM!

"look at all the little piggies...."-Beatles:)

2009-04-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hey, with all the pandemonium about the swine flu it has completely SHOCKED me that no one has mentioned nutrition as a wonderful preventative measure. Building your immunity is the best thing you can do to avoid any kind of flu. We try very hard in our family to stick to a whole foods diet, limiting meat and dairy(and other mucus causing foods that clog the immune system). I know families that do this and their kids are NEVER sick. I know switching to a whole foods diet can be overwhelming, but there are some really simple ways to start. Here is one.:)

Here is an AWESOME recipe that we use pretty much every morning that is completely whole foods yummy.:)

Frozen fruit oatmeal:
(you can use any whole grain, whole oats are just the easiest to start-you can use quick oats too, whole oats just take a few extra minutes and are healthier)

Measure out your water, and start boiling. Add any kind of frozen fruit you like. We usually like peaches, mangos, or strawberries. By the time the water is boiling and ready to put the oatmeal in the fruit is almost cooked through already. Add the oatmeal, cook for suggested time. Put in a bowl, add a little cinnamon and chopped bananas and a little milk. Enjoy! SO easy. You could add apples instead of the frozen fruit, or pretty much anything else after the oatmeal is cooked, honey and raisins, craisens, sunflower seeds, any kind of nut. Fresh fruit, etc. This recipe is so easy and SOOOO yummy. It is milder then some forms of fruity oatmeal because it is lacking preservatives and sugar, but I was surprised how sweet it was!

Food is something that is so simple, yet somehow so overwhelming! to incorporate into immunity building skills. Just start out simple. Try to buy more whole grained breads, and less white flour products. Try to limit processed foods as much as possible.(In our family we do this by mostly limiting our processed foods in the form of whole grain pastas:). Oh, one awesome thing we have done, in the process of changing our food lifestyle, is to not focus on taking out the bad foods, but upping the good foods. Making sure we add atleast one more vegetable serving at lunch and dinner.

Denny is needing some serious Mumma time, so this is a bit short and crazy, but there is a great website:

http://realfoodliving.com/

There are lots of other ways to build up your immunity. SIMPLE THINGS, things you probably do everyday. Here are some I have found helpful. Keeping a sanitary house. People forget to air out there house every now and then, and this is really important for keeping the air quality good in your house. Florence Nightingale wrote an awesome book that talks about this and other things called NOTES ON NURSING.
Also, make sure everyone gets outside once a day. Sunshine and fresh air is really important. I know it is still snowing in some places, but even five, ten minutes really helps. Make sure everyone is excersizing, even a little bit everyday. This SO includes housework, dancing with your babies, hubby, etc.:) Excersize doesn't have to be taebo, or jogging, etc. Make things you do everyday count. Just make sure you are moving!

There are sooo many things you can do to prevent illness in your family and build immunity that don't include harmful medications. Sometimes medicine IS neccesary, but I really feel that Heavenly FAther has been genius in the way he made our bodies, and they can be a lot stronger than we think they can if we give them the right nutrients and tools. In learning more and more about the body, I am just amazed at what it can do!

IF YOU HAVES ANY QUESTIONS EMAIL ME!Cheers-Clair:)

"Imagine" John Lennon

2009-04-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

I do not like political posts on family blogs as a general rule, but I read an article today that talks about a topic a lot of people talk to me about.

It is on the topic of C-sections in America.

If you are interested in learning more PLEASE read this article. It is scary what is happening to our rite to giving birth the way Heavenly Father planned our bodies to.

I don't like nay-saying articles(for either side of the debate), so hopefully my feelings that this article was pretty tame in the feelings area are accurate.:)

http://vancouverdoula.blogspot.com/2005/08/off-to-scotlandill-be-climbing-dumyat.html

"Lavender Blue" but mines purple

2009-04-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

So when we bought the house in Oct 2007 I was so excited there was lavender bushes in our backyard. Come to find out lavender is a great desert plant! Once it is established it needs very little water. Infact if you water it too much it dies.

So I have always loved laveder wands, but have never had any, so this year I made some. Which is the whole point of this post.

Here is a picture.
(Hand model showing off wands:BJ Hamaker:))

They smell really good.
They are easy to make.
When you make them your hands get really sticky with sweet smelling lavender sticky stuff.
I love lavender.
I love BJ more though.

"Families Can Be Together Forever" Because of today! Happy Easter Sabbath!

2009-04-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

Before we get to the Easter pix, I just have to say that I am so grateful for Easter and what it means to our family. Because of Christ's Atonement we have the oppurtunity to repent of our sins and mistakes, and become clean inside again. And because of His resurrection we can recieve our bodies again after we die, and be with our families forever. Can you imagine being in heaven after you die and not having a body to hug your family with? How horrible! I love my Savior so much, and am so grateful for the sacrifices He made in His life for me and for all of us.
I am so grateful for a husband who believes the same things and who is working together with me to become companions that can be together forever.

And now for the pix.:)
Jane had fun seeing what the Easter Bunny left her after church today.:) She expecially loved her new barbie.:) ...And the candy.;)

And she loved the ducky Grandma Becky sent.:)

These are the flower arrangements I made for our Easter table from the flowers growing in our backyard.:)

Here are pix from the tiny Easter Egg Hunt we had in our backyard. Jane LOVED opening each egg as she found it, seeing what kind of candy was inside.:)
We also got to attend an Easter Egg Hunt at our friends, the Ballio's, house yesterday! It was sooo much fun!

Can Mumma have some?

Thank you Jane! You are soooo good at sharing!

Here are some family pix we took outside. I think we need to either train a dog to use my camera, or buy a tripod so we can have a WHOLE family picture.:)

(*Note:Jane mostly just wants to eat candy ALL THE TIME.:)

I know no one is as excited about our garden as we are, but here are some exciting things going on!

Grapes are beginning to grow!!!

Spinach is beginning to sprout! I can already taste the yummy green fruity smoothies now!

AND our first strawberry is turning pink!

"Mr. Easter Bunny"-Family Circus Movie Song:)

2009-04-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

Here is Jane's first Easter, she was about 4 months old. All eyes! Sooooo cute!

Here is Denny's first Easter, he is about 8 months. Sooooo adorable! Look at those teeth!

"Tiny Dancer"

2009-04-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

When Jane was about four months old we got her this adorable poofy pink dress to wear. She was uncomfortable in all that itchy tulle, but absolutely lovely.

So Friday night I was going through all the baby clothes, sorting, getting rid of some things, seeing what we had for boys and girls, etc. I found the poofy pink dress, but it was really stained in front, so I thought I should launder it before putting it back in storage....

...Jane found it the next day and decided that was what she wanted to wear.:)

I must say she is still gorgeous in it....in a Shirley Temple kind of way.:)

"A stick. A stone. The end of the road..."

2009-04-08T14:21:00.000-07:00

Those song lyrics have been stuck in my head since last night when we were listening to the song. Anyone who can NAME that song and who is the most famous for performing it WINS.:)

So last week we FINALLY got to go to Disneyland!!! It was a BLAST! Absolutely what we needed durring our hectic times lately.
~Right before we left we purchased a new minivan (Details to follow in a post soonish:))~

We met Grandpop Mike and Grandma Becky in CA and spent a wonderful day at Disneyland. Eating the yummiest ice creambars EVER, riding rides(Jane especially liked the Winnie-the-Pooh ride. Denny just loved looking at EVERYTHING.:)), meeting prncesses(JANE LOVED THAT PART THE MOST), dancing in a street parade(Jane actually got pulled INTO the parade by some of the cast members and loved dancing with them:), oh everything was just lovely.

Here are some pix from Disneyland(well, the ones I took on my camera, Grandma took loads more:)).

Waiting in line to see the princesses took a VERY long time, but who cares so long as we are having fun together!

Jane didn't know who Mulan was, all she knew was that there were OTHER princesses to see down the line.:) Poor Mulan.

All the princesses were so kind to Jane, and loved her, and hugged her, and made her feel really special.:)

Of course, Aurora was the favorite.:) Jane could not get enough of her and how AWESOME it was to meet her in person.:)

We have family pix of my baby sister, Elizabeth, at Disneyland trying to open the Rabbit's door from Alice in Wonderland. It was fun trying to recreate that with my Jane.:)

Grandpop and Grandma!

We love those Disneyland fireworks!

Thursday we went to the LA Zoo. It was also very awesome.:) I refuse to go to the one in Las Vegas...can we say absolute cruelty to animals!? I can't even talk about it. Anyways, the LA zoo was fun. It was a perfect way to end our too short vacation. Jane and Denny loved the animals and I loved hanging out with my sweet family in a lovely and peaceful setting.:) I got to hold hands with BJ a lot too, and that was marvelous.:) Here are some pix.

Jane loved the flamingos, Denny loved the bush.:) Oh my darling nature lovers!

My kids are pretty good at sharing, can you tell?:)

This is a mei tai in action(The carrier Jane is in). Ohmygator my husband sooooo rocks!

Denny is my HANDSOME MAN!!!!XOXOXOXO!

I took this picture WITHOUT a zoom, the giraffe was THAT close!

I'm gonna get you!

Everytime I look at this picture I am reminded of how INSANELY HOT this man I have married is. A serious INFERNO of HOTTNESS. Whoo!

So we had the loveliest time. Which is awesome because it is probably our only vacation this year besides MAYBE WA for Christmas.:)
NEXT YEAR though we have a million reunions to attend! Family camp in CA with BJ's folks, Clair's Ya-ya reunion with beloved college chums, Steininger reunion if it is in CO, Christmas in WA, and I think we are going to plan a BJ, Clair, Jane, Denny, and Alice trip to Sandiego next April. We are soooo excited! Hope you all have lovely plans to look forward to in YOUR families!
xoxoxo!
HamakerLove

"Stairway to Heaven"

2009-03-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

So yesterday BJ and I went to a church social they were callin' a Hoe Down. They had themselves this here little ol' dessert contest and this was MY entry.

The inside of my possum surprise was BLOOD RED. Totally gross AND awesome.
AND I WON A BLUE RIBBON. We went as "hicks", and called ourselves Beauford and Daisy Mae Hamaker, both first and second cousins married together because it is legal in this state.;) It was really really fun.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want...If You Try Sometimes You Find You Get What You Need"

2009-03-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

Holy cow I was stalking our friend SArah Lynn's blog and found this HI-LARIOUS post.
So you go to a search engine and type "(Your name) needs", and list the first ten things that pops up. We are going to do the first five because it is faster. And five is the best number ever. This is what "we need."

BJ needs:
-to get real stoned
-a sports psychologist
-go back under water and carry the rock some place deeper this time.
- to talk a lot its a way to relieve his stress and make him confident
- Hawkeye to break him before he can know how to put himself back together

Clair needs:
-a booking agent.
-no encouragement.
-to be approved by groups immediately or she feels left out.
-more Italian places.
-to be dug up again - fun!(I quoted that exactly)

Jane needs:
-YOU!
-a break
-a home
-to be nailed to a railroad tie and left for the buzzards.
-Your Help On January 19th

Denny needs:
-to get on with it and let Izzy love Alex
-a new crew
-to throw a Republicrook out of Congress
-Your Vote
-to get a better handle on the whole experiance and he'll prove to be better then the twink in the #18.

Alice needs:
-more work
-a new true love
-a room next year!!
-counselling (It has been quite 'turbulent' lately, so counselling might just be the thing I need) (Again, quoted axactly)
-to learn to become a Permanent Fairy

I tag everyone who reads this because it is such a funny idea. You will laugh your pants off.

"On the Road Again"

2009-03-11T13:27:00.001-07:00

Change is in the air, I can feel it! We have been living in Henderson, NV since September 2005. That is the longest me and BJ have lived anywhere together.:)(We moved 4 times the first year we were married.) We have made so many friends, but they are mostly young, like us;), and with the young couple comes change...often...too often. With graduations and so forth in the air for some of our friends, "where do you want to end up" is a question that comes up a lot. We too do not want to stay in NV forever. Sooooo it reminded me of this great website called:

www.findyourspot.com

You take this fun quiz and it makes a list of places that you could be happy living in.:) We always get a lot of CA, WA, and OR hits. Though when I took it again today there were several cities in the South(which surprised me) and several in Virginia. The South has definitely been in the air lately(that sounds weird, but it is true:). We have no idea where we will end up. All our family is on the West Coast mostly. BJ also needs to be near a University with a Japanese program, since that is where he wants his career to be.:)

Anwyays, if you want to find out some interesting things about yourself take the quiz. AND THEN you should leave a comment with a few of your top picks. Just because I am curious.:)

"Life is a Highway...."

2009-03-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

FRIENDS!
We just got our taxes done, and our tax return was VERY generous. We are soooo feeling blessed because we really needed it to be generous as we are trying madly to pay off all debt, and baby bills(midwife, doula, third car seat, etc...). We also have grown out of our car with this third darling baby coming so we are now looking for a minivan.

THE POINT I AM TRYING TO MAKE:
We have about $5000.00 to buy a minivan, if anyone hears of a minivan going for that or less PLEASE EMAIL US! Or leave a comment on this post.:)

Our tax return probably won't be here until the end of March. We are soooo excited!
Thanks for your help chums!

"for the longest time"

2009-02-21T10:51:00.000-08:00

Hey all I am finally posting some pix. I realize that I haven't done so since before Thanksgiving really, so there are quite a few. I will try not to put too many.:)

December 2008 Highllights!

Jane turned two!

..And had a marvelous party with a few friends.:)

Snow in Henderson?(Which was really cool because it hapened a few days before Jane's Birthday. When she was about to be born I was talking to her Grandpa Reed and wondering when she was ever going to come. And he said,"She is waiting for the snow." And I was like, "Hello?! We live in Las Vegas, it is NOT going to snow." BUt then it did. Just a little bit, but enough for the missionaries in our complex to build a snowman!)

(These peas are still thriving and producing peas believe it or not!)

Christmas!

(I have to note that the pink Miss Piggy shown here is a bopper toy I had as a child and she liked that more than the new toys for most of the morning! Go figure.:)

Christmas presents we had fun making for our families this year.

January and February Highlights

In January Clair had her 26th birthday and everyone was very sick, but happy to be together.

(Yeah, for those of you who have been to our cottage, we are camping out in the living room.:)

(During our very sick birthday weekend, Denny discovered the outside world via the sliding glass door. He was fascinated.)

We found out that Alice was indeed the angel to join our family...
(see post below:)..We also started a tradition last year with Denny's pregnancy(was it REALLY just last year?!?!) that after we go to the big ultrasound where we find out who is coming we go to the store afterwards and order a cake with all our names on it(including the new baby if we know their name, which we have so far:) and "YAY FAMILY!" written on the middle of it. And then we have a little celebration when the cake is ready celebrating our growing family.

Clair crafted A TON...

(I don't hae pix of all the things I have been making, but here is a headband I made for Jane in like 10 minutes:)...I also finished a "date purse" for me, started a fancy tie purse for me Mum, got serious about finishing our Christmas stockings(THEY ARE FABULOUS! And lots of hard work.:) I have also finished some other smaller projects and have started seeking out Baby Alice's blessing dress, bonnet patterns, etc. I really want to try ribbon embroidery this time(For Jane's dress I learned how to smock:)

February Jane got a new bed...

...we had a slight family crisis(which is now much calmer), and grandma and grandpa came to visit as a result. Jane has decided Grandpa Mike is her most favorite. Denny consoled the grandma.:)
(I guess all the pix we took are on Grandma's camera.:( )

While my parents were here we also decided to take advantage of the extra help and finally finish working on our bathroom(we haven't had the use of it since last July, it is hard finding time and energy lately). THAT project seemed to take on a life of its own as we found a huge mess behind the tiles, and now it looks like it will be a bit longer as we try to find time on the weekends to finish it. OI.

(This isn't even the entire horror of what was behind the tiles, but you get the idea)

Valentine's was VERY low key as we were stressed out over the family thing, but me and BJ did get to go out thanks to our really AWESOME friend Jenni(who babysat) and we got to go try partner yoga WHICH WE LOVED!!!! AND HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO EVERY MARRIED COUPLE EVER! LOVED IT LOVE IT LOVED IT! It was so fun to communicate with eachother through a new medium. Good couple therapy. We also convinced the instructer to have this class regularly and advertize it as a new parent labor prep class. It is really good prep for couples in learning how to communicate during labor.
Anyways, we really loved it and HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.:) Espcially if you don't think you are interested. Be brave and fun, try something new!

***If you are in Henderson, they are going to start having a class once a month at Well Rounded Momma here is the link for info:

http://www.wellroundedmomma.com/Workshops.html

You gotta go down the page quite a ways. It is every 2nd Thursday.:) WE will SO be there.:)

In February we also decided it was time to be more rigorous with getting Clair in a healthier state so we bought a vita-mix.:) Now we are juicing all sorts of things. My favorite is that I can hide vegetables(which are the least appetizing sounding when I am pregnant) in my fruit smoothies and it tastes great! Jane loves them too and it is a fun way to get her to ingest some of the vegetables she has a harder time with because of texture issues like hard carrots and spinach.

BJ and I are still in school. It takes a lot of time but we are both learning lots. It will be lovely when this part of BJ's schooling is done. HOpefully by the end of this year. Mine is a three year program so it will take longer.

I also got to give a huge proud shout out to my sibs on my side. They are all making some great choices in their lives and I am soooo proud of them! Angela is graduated and in her chosen profession(preschool teacher), and living independently in her own apartment with some close friends. Joe is in school pursuing art(I can't wait to see more of his work!) and volunteering with a the Seattle International Films place. Steven is pursuing Physics at college and his professors are very excited about helping him get ahead in his field. Catherine is working hard and getting good grades pursuing a college education in History and Library Sciences. Tami is still faithful to her passion for animals and is pursuing a career as a Vet Tech and playing jazz with a Tacoma band. Elizabeth is the only one not graduated, or in college, and is working hard being a high school teenager, enjoying drama and working at the Pacific Science Center downtown Seattle. I am so proud of these guys!
I love learning so much and I am so proud of them for continuing their educations.

(Ps.It was so lovely visiting with Grandpa and Grandma Steininger from Ohio over Chrsitmas!)

Well, that pretty much catches us up I think. Denny just got three teeth all at once last week(it was such a relief because he has been teething hard core for the last four and a half months). Which brings his teeth total up to 6. He also has started crawling like crazy! You can not take your eyes off him for a second! He is still mumma's little prince and is the sweetest most peaceful guy. Jane has been making sure the world knows she is TWO! Either totally an angel, or very...um....TWO. If you know what I mean. She is still so gorgeous though and so sweet mostly, and so understanding of things you would not expect a two year old to understand! She is my faithful support and such a huge help to me when Dad isn't there to help:). We love our kids so much! Can you tell?:)

Well, I guess that is mostly it. I am excited for some things coming up in the near future, you will have to just check back and see what's in store for the HamakerLove crew!
XOXOX!!!
BJ, Clair, Jane, Denny, and Baby Alice

"Friday's my favorite day!"

2009-02-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

IS IT FRIDAY YET??!?!?!?!?!??!?!

"while my guitar gently weeps"

2009-02-06T20:45:00.000-08:00

Clair is tired. And tired of people being negative about things they are uninformed about. Truth is so important and it gets so hard to have the spirit when pride enters the picture. I am not perfect either. But I am tired. And spiritually worn out. Please friends, be open to the spirit and be open to truths of all kinds. Truth comes from Heavenly Father, not from people. But we can only receive truth if we are open to the spirit, and humble.

Clair is tired.

"I'm Only Sleeping"

2009-02-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

OHMYGATOR. This is the sweetest thing EVER. And Crazy.
There might be an advertisement before the video plays. It is soooo worth the wait. Oh yeah, and make sure your music button is ON.:)

"From me to you"...Cont.

2009-02-03T17:45:00.000-08:00

Hey! I finished my gifts for the people who participated in the craft thingy(see post below). I need all my out of towner friends who are receiving something from me to email me their addresses. ASAP!

Here are some cool things the Baillios made me(they are the ones who started this whole lovely crafting chain post frenzy dealio).

Some yummy personalized teas and cool crayons. Awesome!

ps.I know I am WAY behind on pix, but I keep getting sidetracked by craft projects! I finished like three projects already this week and it is only Tuesday! PIX ARE COMING...just think of it like the movie CARS. It was showing trailers for like two years before it finally came out in theaters. My pix are WAY more worth the wait.:)
xoxoxo
Clair

"She's a very extraordinary sort of girl"- I LOVE Gilbert o'Sullivan

2009-01-29T18:20:00.000-08:00

We had our ultrasound today to see our baby and make sure it is all healthy.
Our baby was super healthy, and when determining the sex, this is what the technician saw.....

Look out world! Here comes Alice Michaela Hamaker!
We are oh so pumped.:)

ps.I still have another person who needs to post on the craft post down below!
pps.Sorry I haven't posted pix for awhile, as soon as I know the five people to make crafts for (SEE BELOW) I will get on top of a million pix waiting to download into my computer from my sweet action camera.:)
ppps.I LOVE Gilbert O'Sullivan. He wrote the song CLAIR, that I was named for. He also wrote the above song lyric in the title of this post. Here are the complete lyrics. GO listen to it on Youtube it rocks. He also wrote the original emo sound. Try and listen to "Alone Again Naturally" and tell me it isn't true.

Lyrics to A Very Extraordinary Sort Of Girl :
She could take a leaf upon a tree and turn it into gold
Just as she could take a piece of rope which on its own will fold
You see, she's a very extraordinary sort of girl

She can take a stone and eat it just as if it were a cake
You could be surprised to see the sort of things that she can bake
You see, she's a very extraordinary sort of girl

Who is just the same as you and me
In every way with quality she's perfect
But if you take her out
Remember she can break your heart in two
But she'll put it back, glue it together, make it look brand new
You see, she's a very extraordinary sort of female, woman
You know the type
[ A Very Extraordinary Sort Of Girl Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

"From me to you" Beattles rock dude

2009-01-27T21:45:00.000-08:00

Lucky You!!

Annjilla Baillio has a really fun sort of giveaway/tag going on. So, I'm playing along. Check it out!
Lucky you!
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It'll be done this year. {might be a little while}

4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!

5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first

5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

*Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!*

"I'm comin' out of the shower, I am a singer"

2009-01-16T21:27:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have noticed that all of our post titles are song titles or lyrics, it is good to note that the above song title is a song I have commisioned BJ to write about people "coming out of the shower" because they are singers. I think that is HILARIOUSLY HILARIOUS. It makes me laugh every time. It would be a real belty broadway piece, or maybe a conglomerate of a bunch of different types of music sung in the shower.:)

Anyways, tomorrow at 2 I have a singing recital. I AM NERVOUS! I always get nervous before I perform on stage. It is really awful. I rehearse TERRIBLY as a general rule and then perform quite good I must say. I blame it on the fact that in high school when I was Sandy in GREASE and Kim in BYE BYE BIRDIE, we never had real rehersals. The first all-cast rehersal we had for BYE BYE BIRDIE was opening night...I kid you not. Anyways, I get THROW UP NERVOUS, but as soon as I get started on stage, weather permitting, I ussually do well. Anyways, I am nervous about tomorrow especially since I have been battling a cold and one song in particular is high enough in my register that the area where I am congested prevents me from singing the song very well. Maybe there will be a miracle and I will be magicly turned into a daisy for the day. Daisies are such nice flowers and don't have to sing infront of people. I must admit that after I perform I ussually get this huge high and want to do it again right then. I am so shameful. I think I am afraid that I actually might have some little talent. I am such a shy ham, it is ridiculous. Anyways, anyone thinking about me tomorrow, please blow a kiss in my general direction and hope I break a leg (or turn into a daisy).

"With a willow willow waley"

2009-01-11T16:11:00.000-08:00

I just have to say my birthday super rocked, and I have to give a super shout out to BJ, HERBS, and Hoops and Yoyo. In that order. Also, my kids are a most serious source of joy lately. I absolutely adore their little crazy, sunshiney selves.

"Happy Birthday to [me]"

2009-01-10T00:34:00.001-08:00

I have been tagged by the awesome Lady Baillio for randomness!

List 16 Random Things About Yourself. Anything Random You Can Come Up With. If I Tag You and You Don't Want to Participate...Don't Worry. No Hard Feelings!

1.It is my birthday today and I am sick sick SICK. But my stock of herbs are in ready stead and my lover is off to Walgreens to get me, what he calls, a fool proof way to clear up sinus pressure...a hot water bottle.

2.I love green lately. Green as in the color. I really like green CLOTHES. Oh yes. It is so the new blue.

3.My favorite number is five. I am five feet tall. There are five letters in my first name. If I had kept all my names when I got married I would have five names(Clair Annette Reed Steininger Hamaker-soooooo ridiculously long!)There are lots of other reasons, but you get the idea.

4.BJ and I are currently obsessed with reading the HOBBIT together. I had never read it and his Poppa read it lots to him when he was little, but he doesn't remember a lot of it. We are way more than half way through. The last book we read together was GRACIE:A LOVE STORY, by George Burns. BEST BOOK EVER!

5.The last book I read myself and fell in love with was called THE SOUL OF A HORSE by Joe Camp, the dude who did the Benji movies, and Where THE BLIND HORSE SINGS. I LOVE THESE BOOKS MILLIONS!

6.I think we are having a boy this time again and that he will come out either with a knife between his teeth or a sword in his hand. If we are having a girl, heaven help her sweetie. Xena warrior princess incarnate.

7. I miss my college roommate Mel and wish I could take a fulltime job traveling the world to find her the perfect dude. She is one of the best people I know and should be blessed with the best dude and lots of kids to put books under their pillows. The dudes in the world are seriously slacking, and it makes me upset.

8.I love my friends in Henderson so much that I can't think about selling our house in the near future anymore.

9.I have three vices...chocolate, pizza and Agatha Christie murder mysteries.

10.I have a serious need for an artistic outlet. I need to be creating things or planning things allatime.

11.I would rather have ten kids than a career anyday. Yeah it is crazy, but can you think of anything that brings more joy than kids!? Yeah you are busy, but you could be busy doing anything. Career, hobby, etc. Each of my children bring their own special unique joy. Jane is my sunshine joy. And Denny is my Peaceful joy. I want all the joy there is!

12.I love BJ.

13.BJ just got home and I am glad.

14.Did I mention yet that I am seriously congested? Haha. I reread the one about Mel and the books and I almost died. Seriously, I couldn't breathe from laughing. Ask her about the books sometime. Its funny.

15.I got my family herbalist certification completed a month ago.:)

16. 16 was one of the worst years of my growing up(17 was millions better thanks to the Doel Boys and DBG). I can't believe that was a decade ago! Oh wait though, tha tis the year I met BJ. Ok 16 you are soooo redeemed.

Well...I don't know how random that was. I just wrote down whatever came into my foggy head.:)

Happy Birthday to me! Everybody enjoy my day. It is in the rules.
love
BJ's girl

ps.I tag anyone who wants to be random after they read this.

"Morning comes, morning goes and it's me against the sun.."

2008-11-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

Hey all! Sorry I haven't kept this blog up very current. We have been sooo busy these last few months switching to cloth diapers(LOVE THEM!!!!), Jane started potty training on her own, Halloween came and went, BJ is in school, I am in school. Crazy times! The side bar on this blog might also tell you how crazy busy we are if you look close enough.;)
Hope you are all well!
WE LOVE YOU ALL!
Love,
the Crazy Hamakers!

ps.Congrats to Uncle Tom and Aunt Kacie on their baby and also to Brett and Bree Lee and MOnica and Tyler and Nathan on their babies, and to Chelsa and Brandon, Sara and Stanford, Andrea and co, and Kraig and Shirley and co. on their upcoming babies! YAY BABIES!!!! (AND congrats to Tyson and Danielle, and Celeste and her sweetie on their upcoming weddings! I love life.)

Enjoy the pix! Sorry they don't all have titles, I super ran out of time....

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidociuos"

2008-10-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

Jane is learning new words everyday!
Here are all the words or phrases she can say:

Mumma
Daddy
Fishie
Snack
Cheese
Please
Thank you
Denny
Baby
Hair
Ear
Nose
Mouth
Teeth
Cookie
Bye Bye
Shoes
Hands
Feet
Foot
Shoes on
Come
Come on guys
Cat
Dog
Bird
Walk
Outside
Go walk
Go outside
Bottle
Water
Diaper
Play
Hello
Hi
Wow
Whoa
Uh-oh
Away(meaning:let's throw that away, or put it away)
Peach
Banana
Stop

Those are all the ones I can think of for now.:) Isn't she clever?

"Natural Woman"

2008-09-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

BE FOREWARNED HOMEBIRTH AHEAD.:) NO worries though, NO revealing pix, and NO really graphic details.:)

Ok, so I have a super huge fear of sounding totally lame when I write a story so I have procrastinated writing down my homebirth experience for others to read. But I have been asked enough times to write it down that I am just going to bite the bullet and do my best. :)
Here goes:

Lots of people have asked me to tell them about my homebirth experience and I kind of never know how to respond to that. What specifically do they want to know? So if I don't answer everyone's questions please email me. :)

So when I was pregnant with Jane, BJ and I decided to change our care provider at 36 weeks because we felt really, REALLY unsupported by our OB regarding natural birth. For those of you who don't live in Nevada, Nevada is really anti-natural birth, the c-section rate is phenomonily high and so is the episiotomy rate. So we found April Kermani CNM(Certified Nurse Midwife) who is AMAZING! We always tell her we are her biggest fans. :) At the time she was delivering babies in the hospital working under an OB, meaning she delivered the babies, but if there was an emergency the OB would step in. During labor in the hospital I was supported by my midwife for natural birth but aside from that I hated the hospital. I had one really wonderful nurse, but there were many things that bothered me about unnescesary hospital protocol, like giving my baby a hearing test at 2AM because it was the scheduled time after Jane was born. For real, that could wait until the next day. Anyway, when I got pregnant with Denny I felt like even though I hated the hospital, homebirth at the time felt really extreme so I planned another hospital birth with April....

Then we found out that April was no longer doing hospital births and was only doing home births, or births at a birthing home in Las Vegas. At first home birth felt so extreme that we decided to use the OB April previously had worked under, but after the first two visits I really didn't like the way things were going, same as before, hospital birth with not a lot of support in the natural field. So I decided maybe I could do a birthing-home birth with April. So we went to check out the birthing home, but it was on the other side of town. I realized that, if there was a complication, the hospital that I liked was WAY closer to my house than this birthing home, and really there weren't many differences between birthing at the birthing home and birthing at HOME. So I prayed MILLIONS and felt REALLY, REALLY good about homebirth. Every birth experience is so different and I very much encourage Mums to pray about how and where they should birth. It is a very individual choice.:)

So my pregnancy went wonderfully. Having a midwife instead of an OB was marvelous, I was much more in control and informed about my choices about EVERYTHING: tests I wanted or didn't want; what the risks were with a multitude of things; I didn't have internal exams all the time (near my due date I didn't have one until I was 40 weeks, and that was just 'cause I was curious). We decided to hire a doula, which is a labor coach, which was an AMAZING idea, not only because of how it affected my labor experience, but also because through Sherry (my doula :) ). I met a ton of new friends who were very educated about natural birth and cloth diapers and millions of other things. :) BJ and I also took a birthing class again (with Jane we took Hypnobirthing). This time it was a 6 week course our doula gave, covering everything from conception to post partum. We got super informed about what labor really is and isn't. I totally believe that birth is a natural process and can be an absolute life-changing experience.

So here comes the labor part... :)
So everyone thought I was going to go early. I had only gained about 15 pounds total and I was super, super healthy and had a TON of early labor. I had taken some herbal supplements that I had been recommended and had researched, and I know they helped my body get prepared for labor. So 40 weeks came, 41 weeks came and still no Aiden. Two days before I turned 42 weeks I saw April and she checked me, I was 3cm dilated and about 80% effaced. She did some cervical massage to try and get things going. This was Tuesday July 29th at around 5pm, I think. At around 6pm I start noticing the cramps, but I had had so much early labor I was wary to think this was it. Around 7pm I started to count the contractions, and even though they were already just three minutes apart I was still wary (with Jane I had early labor where my contractions were a minute apart and it wasn't actual labor... oy). At 8 they were counting at a minute apart. Around 9 I call my sister and tell her they are a minute apart, but I don't think I should call Sherry yet because it was probably just early labor, but the contractions WERE getting stronger so maybe I should call her. She said, uh YEAH! So I call Sherry, but tell her I want to wait a bit longer to make sure they aren't going to stop. Around 10pm I call Sherry and she gets to my house around 10:30. She is certified as a monatrice which means she can do an internal exam and check to see how I am progressing. I am still at a 3cm and 80% effaced, but the baby is REALLY low. Jane was asleep by then in her room so me and Sherry and BJ sat in the living room and chatted in between contractions. At this point I was still able to easily breathe through the contractions. Around midnight, I think, Sherry filled up the birthing tub and I got in. It felt REALLY good. The hot water made the contractions seem less strong, and made me way more comfortable. As the night progressed the contractions continued to get stronger. BJ got in the tub for a bit and held me through the contractions. The thing about birthing tubs is that their magic wears off after awhile because your body gets used to it, so after awhile I decided to get out and labor while walking around, on the floor, whatever felt comfortable.

It was wonderful having Sherry there because it took the pressure off of me and BJ to know what to do. It allowed me to focus because I knew Sherry would help me if I needed anything and, in some magic way, because of that I relaxed and somehow my body did know what to do on its own. It is hard to explain. And it made it so BJ became my super support. He walked the halls with me as I leaned on him. He got me water when I needed it. We became super focused together, it was an incredibly bonding experience, something that we didn't feel at the hospital with me tied down to the bed with monitors and iv's and so forth. I was in charge and it felt great!

About 2:30, I think, April came and so did her wonderful assistant, Kim. I continued to labor, it was getting a bit harder because I was getting tired from the continued deep focusing through the ever stronger contractions and because of the very late hour. I hopped in the very hot shower a few times and that felt AMAZING. SOOOO GOOD.:)

Around 3:30 April checked me again and I was only at a 5, and I think almost 100% effaced. No one could believe it. From these very experienced women, they all thought I was in transition because I was showing all the signs and I wanted to push. When I heard I was only at a 5 I got really discouraged. I tried not to because I knew that didn't mean a lot, timewise. I was just really, really tired. Little did I know that in an hour I would progress to a 10 and at 4:30am my water broke as I was pushing, and at 4:45 am my little prince, Aiden Matthew Hamaker was born. I labored on the floor because I couldn't picture me laboring on the bed or in the birthing tub for the actual birth. I wanted to birth on the birthing stool but my toosh was too small. :) So I ended up on the floor of my living room leaning back against BJ. (Don't eek out, people! My carpet was covered with a shower curtain, etc.) Denny came out in pretty much just a few pushes. One of the nice things about going natural is that by the time it is time to push it feels REALLY good to push. Denny came out and I guess since it had been an intense experience for him too, he came out and fell right asleep. April gave him a little oxygen because he was so quiet, and he was just fine. No spanking my baby to make him cry, no roughing him up, no taking him away right away to measure him or poke him or whatever. I held him until my placenta was delivered and then I was ready for a shower! Please don't think I am a horrible mother for "deserting" my baby so soon after birth, but I knew I would enjoy him so much better if I was clean. :)

As tired as I had been right before he came, I was SUPER awake after he came. My shower was so lovely and then I came into the bedroom, BJ was almost asleep, April and Kim were checking Denny out, measuring him and weighing him (Sherry went home around now). He didn't get any shots just then (actually he hasn't had any shots still, not till next week when he turns 2 months). He didn't have any jaundice. After he nursed for a bit, April and Kim tucked us into bed and left. It was WONDERFUL! No nurses checking our blood pressure every thirty minutes. No husband sleeping so far away on a couch. I had just gone through a super intense bonding experience with my eternal companion, I wanted him with ME. :) Denny fell asleep in his co-sleeper and we all took a well needed rest.

My favorite things about homebirth were mostly right after the birth. I loved being in charge during the birth (as much as was safe, of course). I could eat what I wanted, drink what I wanted. I could move where ever I wanted. After the birth there was no fighting with nurses about hearing tests at 2am, no waiting until I could check out to go home, I WAS home. :) It was so peaceful afterwards. I loved it.

April is a super qualified midwife with both hospital experience (she even worked at a hospital with a NICU) and home birth experience. She knows the difference between an emergency and a safe birth experience. We trust her millions. Homebirth is a wonderful experience for a million reasons, but it is not for everyone. I recommend continually learning more and more about your options when you are pregnant and look to many resources.

Hope this satifies everyone's curiousity. Sorry I am not a very good written-on-paper story teller. I am a more of a tell-you-in-person type storyteller. Email me if you have any more questions!

Love!
This Happy Homebirthin' Mumma:)

PS. I wasn't going to add this, but thought maybe I should. I think the biggest blessing for me with this birth, and why I think Heavenly Father was such a fan of this idea for me personally, were the things I learned about myself during homebirth. I have been struggling with poor health for the last three years, and kind of gotten to a point where BJ does pretty much everything. I am tired all the time and it is hard for me to get anything done during the day. I knew BJ was going to be starting school again right after Denny was born and I would have to start doing A LOT more. I was really nervous about it, REALLY stressed that I wouldn't have the energy and be well enough to do it. It is really frustrating and demoralizing to not have the energy or ability to fullfill your responsibilities and to take care of your family like you want to. I felt very weak. During my pregnancy with Denny there were many times where I said " I could NEVER do ..." Homebirth, cloth diapers, etc. In every case at some point Heavenly Father made me feel good about it and I would change my mind and find that I COULD do whatever it was. After the labor in particular I had an amazing self realization. I was strong where I had thought I was weak. I had just done something that millions of women think is impossible. It was hard at times, but it was very doable, and I DID IT. I think Heavenly Father knew that I personally needed to know I am strong, and can do anything TRULY with the Lord's help and support. Not every woman needs that knowledge, or needs homebirth to realize that, but for me it was a revelation and something I haven't felt for a long time. :) Just thought I would add that. :)

"Let's give them something to talk about"

2008-09-08T17:03:00.001-07:00

PS.I have had some requests of posting my homebirth experience on this blog, I wonder if it would be better to email whoever wants to hear it. I don't know that everyone wants to hear about homebirth? Comment on this for me folks.
Love!
Clair!

PPS.For MEL...please forgive the grammar mistakes. Love you!

"These are the times of love and meaning..."-Jamie Cullum

2008-09-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

So I have had some people ask about our recent trip to WA. As my Mum would say, "AS BJ would say, IT WAS A PIECE OF ACTION." You gotta hear my Mum say it.:) So I have learned the art of downloading a mass amount of pictures so I could share with you the loveliness of our vacation. It took A LOT of effort. Who needs a computer class to learn the ways of computers? Just take up blogging! Anyways, between me and Mum we took over two hundred pix(Oh yeah, my new Canon rebel rocks!), so I will try to keep this blog as short as possible.:).

Our vacation started Thursday night as Denny took his first flight in an airplane to WA with his crazy family. Jane was the craziest, luckily no one sat in our row.:) Well, except us of course, anyways.... We got to WA late at night and went straight to bed because Friday we went CAMPING!!!! Whoohoo! Actually we just went for the day, but it was beautiful!!! We went to a church campsite in Belfair, WA. Here are some pix!

Here is me and my sweetheart on our first date after Denny without any babies.:)

Last year Jane hated the canoes, this year she loved it!

Jane loves her GrandPop!

I love BJ.:) He loves me too.:)

Jane and Dad enjoying the lake.

My Brother Jon showing off his muscles.:) Really just showing off...just kidding Jon!

All of us but my Mum!

My gorgeous sister Elizabeth(she's gonna be 16 in a few weeks!)

Jane makes this face a lot.:)

BJ and Kirstin

Jon is actually in the middle of some sort of indian ritual here.;)

Denny and GrandPop

The many faces of Denny

Back at my folks' house:
Denny and Grandpa Ray

Jane eating grapes

My sister Angela being coy:)

Saturday we went to the Dahlia Farm and to Seattle. It was soooo much fun!

THE DAHLIA FARM

Obi wan?

Still workin' on the pirana(sp?)...

OH MY LOVELY SEATTLE!

Mum's artistic nature coming out:)

Feeding the Seagulls at Ivar's at the Piers..serious rite of passage in our family:)

Auntie Elizabeth actually fed the Seagulls from her own teeth!

Jon and Elizabeth show off their new shades..sooo cool.:)

Chucks...what can I say...still in love.:)

Home again with Uncle Jon and Jane:)

Sunday we blessed Denny durring Mum and Pop's sacrament meeting. BJ, Pop, BJ's Dad, my brother Jon, my good friend Joel Kearns, my friend Brother Collier, and Bishop Swanson were all in the circle.(I hope I didn't forget anyone.:) BJ gave a beautiful blessing to our handsome Aiden Matthew. It was wonderful seeing so many old friends! Especially Joel and his gorgeous wife(congrats on your son coming in January!), and my great friend Corine(who has the most beautiful new baby girl!).

We tried for a family pic, but it was WAY past Jane's nap. Here are the peaceful members of the BJ Hamaker family.:)

My handsome son Aiden

Me, Denny and Corine and her baby girl Elliana:)

Tami and Grandma Darlene hanging out on a beautiful Sunday:)

Monday we headed up to Edmunds to see my Dad and his awesome family

I am so lame at ALWAYS remembering to take pictures, so I only have a few.

Dad and his grandkids:)..and me:)

Tuesday we headed back to the airport and came home. Our trip was very lovely. Thank you family for being wonderful!

I had to add this last picture for those who live in Henderson, and have never seen anything like this before....a flower growing spontaneously in a crack in the pavement. WOW. WA rocks.

"Atlast My Love Has Come Along"

2008-09-07T17:42:00.001-07:00

"Walkin' On Sunshine!"

2008-09-07T17:18:00.001-07:00

"We are family!"

2008-09-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

I love family. I especially love MY little family. They are pretty much the coolest that I know of. I mostly want to keep them to myself, but since I have to share them, I started a blog so everyone can know what the crazy BJ Hamaker's are up to. Ta Da! I have started this blog. It took forever I know. I hope everyone still emails me though. It is super lame when people start blogging and then nobody writes personal emails anymore.:)