Hamilton Family Party of 4

Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas 2011 (Warning...LOTS of Pictures)

So, I thought a slideshow of pictures would be best for this post. There were just too many good photos this year! Jared and I hosted his side of the family on Friday and Saturday. Bryce and Sadie had SO MUCH fun with their cousins, Evan and Norah. Of course, they were all bummed when it was time to say good-bye.

When we returned home from Christmas Eve service, there was a note from our elf, Ziggy. Ziggy said goodbye to the kids (and also told them a few things to work on for the next year) and left PJs for them to wear the rest of the year and think of him. Ziggy even thought of matching PJs for Sadie's American Girl Doll. The kids had a blast putting out cookies and milk for Santa and reindeer food on the front lawn.

My parents joined us Christmas Day. The kids were so excited to see what Santa had brought them. Sadie got The Barbie movie she asked for and Bryce got A LOT of football stuff (flag football, Madden for DSi, and an NFL book).

This was such a wonderful year and full of excitement for the kids. Both of them truly understood the meaning of Christmas. What a joy it was to celebrate AND enjoy the Christmas holiday!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Kids School Parties

Before Christmas Break began, the kids had activities/programs that the parents were invited to the classrooms. Sadie is in her 3rd year at Carmel United Methodist Church Preschool. They have an interactive program where the kids go on a "Walk to Bethlehem". They sing songs and hear the story of Jesus' birth. Each year the story grows, as the kids attention span becomes better :) Sadie was so attentive during the story, and of course did not miss a beat of the songs!


Bryce's kindergarten class was decorating gingerbread houses. We had so much fun getting sticky and making a cool house! It was fun to be in his classroom and interact with his friends. Bryce is in the picture with his best friend, Connor (who he has been in class with for 4 years now)!


It has been nice to have both kids home, together, during the day. They are playing very nice together and using their imagination well! We have been spending the day in our PJs, baking, watching movies and having fun!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Christmas Greeting from The Hamilton's

We hope this post finds you and your family doing well. The Hamilton’s have had quite an eventful year and have so much to rejoice for.

We are still living in Carmel, Indiana (on the north-side of Indianapolis). We have been here for almost 6 years now and absolutely LOVE IT! We now call Indianapolis, HOME!

Jared continues to work as an IT Security Consultant. He had trials this year to overcome, medically, having 4 surgeries in a month period to correct a skin condition. We are so happy to report he is completely healed and doing great! He participated in the church softball league in the early fall and is looking at joining a basketball league for the winter. He still enjoys his fishing and began mountain biking this year. A joy in Jared’s life is our new family dog, Boiler! She is a black and tan dachshund.

Ashley is working two 12-hour night shifts, per week, in the Neonatal ICU and could not be happier to be back working with babies! The part-time schedule allows her to tend to all the kids school and extra-curricular activities. In her spare time, ha, she has managed to go back to school…completing her bachelors’ degree from Purdue University! Sometimes she is not sure if she is coming or going, if it’s night or day, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Bryce will be 6 years old in January, yikes! He is such a fun, loving, and active boy. He started kindergarten this year, going full-day five days a week and is LOVING it! Bryce is our super sports star. This year, he participated in swimming, gymnastics, baseball, flag-football, and basketball. He also learned how to ride a bike, without training wheels this year!

Sadie, our social butterfly, will turn 4 years old in January. She is taking an active roll in planning her birthday party this year, she has “specifics” that she wants for her party! She attends preschool two days a week from 9-1. She is always eager to go, mainly to see her little friends! She took swim lessons this year and really enjoyed it. She continues to do ballet and tap. This girl sways to the sound of music all day long! Sadie had 2 surgeries this year as well, earlier in the year for a new set of ear tubes and the second, just recently for sinus surgery and a fourth set of ear tubes. We had a bit of scare during surgery but happy to report ALL IS WELL!

With all the trials and chaos our family endured this year we found many things to be thankful for. We celebrated Bryce’s 5th birthday in Disney World! Jared and I were able to spend a week in Hawaii, with my brother Eric. We escaped to Brown County for 2 long weekends this year and thoroughly enjoyed just being a family! Of course, we are still die-hard Purdue football games, attending both football and basketball games.

We are so thankful to our loving family and friends (near and far) who have helped us through all our despair this year. The prayers, emails, calls, food, gifts and kind thoughts were much appreciated. We are beyond blessed!