August

August started out amazing with a camping trip to Lake Lopez. We went with my brother and sister-in-law and family, and my parents were able to come up for one night.  We got to go sea-dooing and fishing and lots of smore making.  I love getting out to do active things with our little bunch.  It was so hot, but so fun. We would love to go back in the fall when it's a little cooler.


On our way home, Jordan got called to come to church and hear about a new calling.  So, two weeks later he was set apart as the 2nd counselor in the bishopric and ordained a High Priest.  No pictures of that, but the kids sure looked cute that day.  Our moms and some family came in for it and we had a great meal at our house after.

We started to move into our new additions...they're not finished yet, but after the electrical was done we decided to start using the space and quit bursting at the seams so much.

Amelia started 1st Grade!  I still can't believe she's old enough to be in school at all.  In the last few weeks of summer it seems as tho she grew up two inches and two years.  She's in a 1/2 combo class and is learning a ton.  Her teacher is Mrs. Rice, who she seems to really click with and I'm so glad she has her for the next two years.

I planned New Beginnings and we had a great time with all of our girls including our two new beehives. Our Young Women are awesome, I'm glad I get to work with them.

Amelia is 6! We celebrated our little beauty with her choice of Chuck-E-Cheese with family.  The kids loved it and the next day we had a great little dinner of her choice (spaghetti) complete with a Unicorn Pinata (thanks, 99 Cent Store).

Greetings and Salutations!

Howdy howdy and welcome back to the new, improved and dare I say (hopefully) consistent addition of what's happening with the Hastings.  I've grown weary of social media in almost all forms and hope to do a better job at recording our memories in this form, especially since I'm not recording pictures or reminiscing anywhere else.  Because memories are delightful...unless you've forgotten them all!  Here's a quick recap, then hopefully I'll be able to go back and add pictures to fill out each week of the year.  Which is what I would like to maintain...we'll see. 

• January-March: Jordan worked hard on Redwood Roofing Repair, our new business.  Since the fall and winter were extremely stormy (once it took J and Amelia almost three hours to get home from school due to road closures, fallen trees and weather conditions) a LOT of houses needed their roofs fixed.  This was a very big blessing, however we've had to turn away work since Jordan has and is still so busy working virtually three jobs.  He works full time for Classic Farms managing their berries, we're starting our roofing company, and we're building the two additions (finally!!!!) on the house.  So life is good.  And busy.  During this time Amelia enjoyed all things social in Kindergarten and Austin soaked up the last few months of being the baby.  The kids were so excited to see their little brother, Jordan and I debated names as usual, and I was counting down the days as these were my toughest second and third trimesters yet.

 

• March:  We were elated to meet Rockwell Jordan Hastings on March 10th.  He came two weeks early (to my joy/relief) after two nights of back labor and at least ten times up and down our hill that night.  This hill also induced Austin, so of course it is now lovingly referred to as "Baby Hill."  Jordan didn't want me to walk it most of my second and third trimesters as it would cause contractions every time.  It pretty much causes contractions for our UPS delivery man too. :)  Rockwell came out as the spitting image of baby Austin and we spent the happiest couple of days with him at the hospital.  I'm glad we did because I needed the recharge before a very difficult couple of months.  He was hospitalized for jaundice, something they referred to as "breastfeeding jaundice." It's a combination of being allergic to my milk and not getting enough milk period.  Kind of a contradiction, right?  It was the first time in all of my kids that it seemed like my milk was remotely coming in too.  Boy have I struggled with breastfeeding with all of my babes.  I should have let it affect me less with each child, but I get riled up every time and feel like a failure of a mother for not being able to give my children their basic needs. And I've tried every medication, breast pumping all day thru the night, and every voodoo supplement/magic concoction to no avail.  Amelia's pediatrician put it nicely when he said that some women's breast are just great for their husbands and not for their kids....and that's ok because God gave us formula!  Anyhow, after the jaundice debacle Rockwell was still not settling down and was acting miserable.  I knew that he could not just have a disposition like this...I felt like he was in pain.  He would wake up all night long every hour. No exaggeration here folks.  He was up every single hour on the hour.  So I would get up, feed him, change him, put him down where he would proceed to sleep for 20-30 minutes and then wake up screaming again.  We were both completely exhausted.  I noticed he kept spitting up clear liquid and realized he had a bad case of reflux.  Later at the doctors they diagnosed him with Reflux and colic and prescribed him two medicines which I was hesitant to give (even tho I was assured they were completely safe).  I just didn't feel great giving my baby what is essentially baby zantac.  However, the first night he was given medicine he relaxed and slept for five hours.  Sleep! For the first time in 7 weeks. It's an amazing thing.  Life gets a little crazy when you don't get any.  Ever since, Rockwell has been the dreamiest baby.  He is so happy and only fusses when he's hungry.  He's got quite the personality and loves to just be with us.  Man, I love that little man!

• April-May: Amelia finished up Kindergarten and we started to get into a groove with the new member of our family by May.  We continued to work hard on our house and Jordan prepped everything so that we could have stucco and drywall sub contractors come work. It's amazing to see how much goes into building a house from the ground up.  It's been such a long haul.  Jordan and I dug the foundation together two summers ago and now we're about ready to fully move in this August.  Jordan has worked so hard and has been learning a lot.  That J can do anything.  If he doesn't know how he watches youtube until he can.  Big changes happened in the Arnold side of the family in April too, as Mom and Dad decided to build a house in a community across from the new temple in Payson, UT.  They are retiring in Utah after years of me teasing them to.  I just never thought they really would do it!  So in May, my mom and I flew out to UT for five days to pick everything that would go in the house from the kitchen to the garage door.  It was a blast and I love when I get to spend one on one (plus baby) time like that with my mom.  We speak each other's language.  The big kids got to stay home and have time with my dad (Papi) and Jordan.  I'm grateful they could keep the yahoos in line so that I could do it. 

• June-August: This summer seemed like it was just a 4 day weekend and already we're back in school.  How did that happen?! And WHY?!  Bye bye freedom.  But for the short time that we weren't in school we hosted many visitors, worked like crazy on the house, and enjoyed being outside a whole lot more. Our family trip was a lightning fast camping trip to Lopez Lake with my Brother's family and it was so much fun! My parents were busy busy packing up and moving so I was able to go down for a few quick trips and help/soak in all the goodness that was my childhood home.  I'm going to seriously miss that place, and more so miss the luxury of having my parents within a three hour's drive.  They better come visit!

That sums up our year to date in a very small nutshell...Lots of projects, updates and adorable kids ahead so stay tuned!