Visiting Sampson

Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Palmyra, Niagara Falls, & Kirtland

6 States, 9 Days, & 2500 Miles

~ PALMYRA ~

Hill Cumorah & The Sacred Grove

My parents and I took a road trip with my 3 small kids.  This crazy idea actually turned out really well!   We first visited Sampson at his Rotation in Johnstown, PA. Then we all drove to Pittsburgh to stay at my Aunt and Uncle's house.  We had the most amazing dinner and enjoyed great company and lots of laughs.  It was so nice to see everyone.  The next day we drove to Palmyra, NY.  We first stopped at the Hill Cumorah.  I hadn't been there since I was a kid. It was amazing to be there.  The second time we went,when Sampson got there, Elder Holland and all of the Mission Presidents from the North East missions showed up and took a picture by the monument.  Elder Holland came right up to Sampson and Steele and started tickling Steele.  He was so sweet with him.  Then he shook all of our hands except Phoenix who hid under the bench.  He tried to pull her out, but she wouldn't budge.  So he just tickled her for a second and then jokingly tried to pull her out.  He was so sweet.  It's amazing to see an apostle be so loving. I felt so happy to be in his presence.  He truly is an Apostle of the Lord.

While we were there, we stayed at the Palmyra White House, which is a short walk from the Sacred Grove. Each morning I went for a walk/run through the Sacred Grove. What a spiritual place to be. It was truly amazing. I loved being there and visiting the sites, taking the tours, and then my mom and I reading all we could about everything at night.  It was awesome....but in the words of Phoenix and Eva: "Everything is Awesome!!!!"

Priesthood Restoration Site

The second day it rained all day so we decided to drive to Harmony to see the spot wear the priesthood was restored. The girls loved splashing in the puddles. Phoenix had so much water in her boots at one point that she sat down and tipped her boot upside down and a waterfall of water came out.  My mom and I searched forever in the cemetery next to the monument for the grave stone of Joseph and Emma's first baby boy.  Soaking wet, we almost gave up but found it right as we were leaving.  I love hanging out with my mom and my kids!

Peter Whitmer Farm & Book of Mormon Historic Publication Site

The day after, we went and saw where the Book of Mormon was first printed.  I had no idea how long and tedious the process of printing one book was!  I really enjoyed seeing the order of languages the Book of Mormon has been printed in.  The girls loved folding their own pages.  Then we drove over to the Whitmer Farm.  I loved seeing where the organization of the church first happened.  I can't believe how many people fit into that small room!  The video at the end of the tour was one of the coolest videos that the church has made!  The girls loved harvesting corn and gathering eggs on their computers as my mom and I listened to all the information on the screens behind the girls.  As we were leaving bees kept flying into our van and we had to drive with all the doors open for a bit to get them all out!

Niagara Falls

Next stop on the trip was Niagara Falls.  We had a minor set back when I forgot Sampson's passport.  Luckily Canada accepted him and Tim overnighted the passport and everything worked out so that we were still able to stay on the Canadian side.  Our hotel rooms had the best views of the falls! We walked the road by the falls that night and saw them all lit up.  Then we went swimming and enjoyed an amazing firework show.  Our room was actually higher than most of the fireworks! The boat ride to the falls the next day was amazing! There was so much water coming down that I felt a bit overwhelmed when we were really close to the falls. I had forgotten how big and powerful the falls were! Of course the girls weren't scared at all and loved every minute of it.  But their favorite part had to be the gift shop because they got to pick out a Canadian souvenir :) 

Steele at 8 Months

Steele is really starting to come into his own personality and I am loving every minute of it! Now that we have 3 kids, Steele and I end up alone a lot and so we end up taking a lot of pictures to keep us busy.  He loves looking right at the camera!  He is that happiest baby.  He smiles all the time and at everyone.  He loves watching his sisters.  They keep him very entertained and never pass up a chance to hug and kiss him.  I love to snuggle with him on the bed early in the morning and listen to him yell at the fan.  I love him so much.  He is truly a blessing in our family!

Kirtland

I finally made it to Kirtland and saw the Kirtland temple!! I have been wanting to do this trip since I graduated from high school....it has taken me 10 years, but I am finally here!  It was so amazing!  I can't believe all the places we were able to see and all the stories we were able to hear.  Even though the other family in our tour was extremely irreverent, we were able to feel the power of being wear Joseph Smith was when he received so many revelations and saw so many angels. 

We were also able to take our family pictures just outside the visitor center there.  The setting was beautiful and for once we had a photo shoot that wasn't stressful and didn't end up with Sampson and I in a fight! (I am trying harder not to control everything...it really helped ;)) And the pictures turned out great. It was really sad to say goodbye to Sampson again as he headed to Cleavland for his next rotation. But I know that we are doing what we are suppose to be doing.  I am so grateful for my family.  We were meant to be together and to be their for each other through the good and the bad.  My girls are such examples to me.  They are always reminding me to pray and read scriptures because they say that we need more "scripture power" in our lives :)  I love the competitions we have to see who can sing the books of The Book of Mormon song the fastest or who can sing the Frozen songs the loudest.  I love how easy going my kids are and how willing they are to go everywhere I drag them.  I love their contagious smiles and their desire to help people be happy (even if that means making hundreds and hundreds of cards...at least they are getting really good at drawing and writing :)) I love my family so much.  I wouldn't trade them or any of my trials for anything.  They make me who I am today.

Here are some random pictures from the trip! I love my cute kids!

So Long Sweet Summer......

 Dance Recital

The girls had their dance recital this May.  Although I miss teaching dance, it was so nice to not be in charge of the recital this year :)  Phoenix did a ballet and a character dance and Eva was Minnie Mouse.  I enjoyed being in the audience this year just watching my girls!

The Front Porch

We spend so much time on this front porch!  My favorite place to be is in my rocking chair watching the girls ride their bikes, play baseball or basketball, play in the rain, or talk to the cows.  I get to enjoy a beautiful view of the mountains and watch the hummingbirds fight each other for the feeder! I love reading my book, looking at the stars, and watching the turkeys early in the morning.
It will be really hard to leave this beautiful place next year.  

 Huntsville to Texas to Rock Island

We had a fun summer full of trips to Texas, a dance concert, Huntsville Space Center, eating blueberries, hanging out with family, taking pictures, baking cookies, going to the zoo, taking selfies, riding our bikes, and going swimming! It's always hard to travel home without Sampson, but I have to say my kids are pretty comfortable on airplanes and that makes my life so much easier! Sampson had to take 2 huge tests and finish rotations for his 3rd year this summer.  His 4th year started off with him at a 2 month rotation that was about 2 hours away....that was not a fun commute for him.  We enjoyed every bit of time we got to spend together though. 

The girls love to be with their dad!  He took them hiking, swimming, fishing and teaching them to clean the fish, gathering eggs and making breakfast, and their favorite: daddy daughter night! They love eating frozen yogurt with daddy!  The summer went by way too fast, but we definitely enjoyed it!

 

 

 Phoenix's 1st Day of Kindergarten

I can't believe I have a Kindergartener!! It is so crazy how quickly kids grow up! It was a hard adjustment for Eva and I after Phoenix left.  We missed having Phoenix at home, but it is working out great! Eva loves to have 1 on 1 time with mom and she is a big helper with her baby brother.  She also loves to do homework with Phoenix every night.  Phoenix is so sweet to always let her sister tag along and make her feel a part of her life.  I love when Phoenix reads to us each night.  It is really special to see your child learn and grow.  It makes me smile. As difficult as it is to be mom sometimes, there are always moments that make everything totally worth it!

Winter to Spring

Steele's Baby Blessing

On April 12, 2014 we had 4 generations of Hitchcock's under one roof for the blessing of Timothy Steele Hitchcock: Leard (Pa Pa) is 93 years old, Tim 61, Sampson 29, and Steele 7 weeks old. We all gathered together at Nannie and Pa Pa's house.  Steele was able to wear his great great grandfather's blessing gown that was made 122 years ago.  The gown was made by Nannie's grandmother, Granny Grissom.  When Billye first offered the blessing gown I was so excited! I couldn't believe that Steele was going to be blessed in such a special family heirloom.  On the day of the blessing, Nannie explained where the dress came from to me and my parents.  She had a picture all ready for me so I could see who made the gown and who wore it.  (She always takes such care to have everything ready.  I wish I could be more like that.) The blessing was beautiful.  Words cannot describe how blessed I felt on that day. I feel such a connection to my family and all my ancestors.  I am very proud to be a Hitchcock!

Phoenix's First Haircut

Phoenix has always wanted to grow her hair out to drag on the floor like Rapunzel.  After Sampson had shown Phoenix a video of a little girl who had donated her hair, Phoenix decided she wanted to do the same thing. I was a little emotional as the hair dresser cut off 10 inches, but was quickly comforted at the reassuring smile of my little Phoenix.  She never ceases to amaze me!

Watch the awesome video Kenny made here: Phoenix's Gift

My Mom & Dad's 

Sweet Rides

As much as I love cruising in the Raptor, there is nothing quite like the feeling you get when you drive the Camaro.  Every time I am home I have to find some excuse to go drive alone just so I can feel the rush from flooring it! One day I will have my own :)

Winter in the Country

The cold never keeps us from having fun.  I loved watching Jefe and Sampson launch themselves and the kids on the four wheeler across the ice.  Luckily the 4 wheeler didn't flip and the ice didn't break while any of the kids were riding! The girls enjoyed making many snow angels and shooting the milk jug.  The cow picture is a reminder to me that I should never try to break the ice for the cows to drink when I am 7 months pregnant especially when the cows think I have food for them and they surround the car so I can't get back to the girls....hahaha the things I think I can do while I am pregnant :)

Life from My Phone: January-February

Sampson did his first craft ever with the girls, Eva drew me pregnant, Eva with her valentines whistle (and of course she is in a leotard!).  I found Eva with her head on the couch watching her movie when I woke up from my nap....funniest position ever! The girls and I decorated Sampson's car for Valentines, Phoenix had her Valentine's party and she went on her first field trip to see Beauty and the Beast the play.

February

I finished making Steele's bedding and quilt, we went to the Aquarium in Chattanooga, we had many, many, many snow days, and the girls earned a reward trip to Chuck E Cheese...their favorite place ever!

March

Phoenix ran in her first 5K and won! (I still can't believe she finished the whole thing even though she fell and skinned her knee at one point), we drank green milk for St. Patrick's day and the girls helped daddy pick out a green outfit for Steele.  The girls "slept" with Steele in their room.  I decided to go with Eva on the 1 mile walk while Sampson went with Phoenix in the race.  Having had a c-section 4 weeks prior, I only planned on walking bc I had to push Steele, but had to run to keep up with Eva.  She kept telling me to hurry bc I was going to slow...haha!   Now that I wake up early, I have enjoyed many beautiful sunrises.  I absolutely love where we are living!  And last but not least, my first week back to church with Steele.  The girls are wearing dresses that Houston and I wore when we were little girls.  They look so beautiful in them! So excited my mom saved them for me :)

April down in Texas

The kids and I flew down to Texas over conference weekend so that the rest of my family could meet Steele and I didn't miss sharing time in Primary.  The girls loved the warm weather.  We went to the Zoo, had a yoga lesson, watched Ripley jump over the fence, went to Old MacDonald's Farm where we rode horses, fed animals, and put lots of hay in our hair.  Butch took the girls on motorcycle rides.  Phoenix was happy but wasn't impressed with the speed...she wanted to go faster :) Phoenix also got her haircut and Steele did what he does best, sleep.  The girls love being in Texas especially when they are playing with Brooke and Derek!

Pre-Easter

My mom flew back with us to Tennessee.  A trip to the mall to get a nail fixed turned into an Easter extravaganza.  We got our nails done, saw the Easter bunny, got candy filled eggs, and won a gift card and tickets to the Creative Museum.  Phoenix also had her first shopping trip where she wanted to decide what she wore instead of me just picking clothes out for her! The girls got to be in a picture with Pa Pa, paint, hang out with Steele, and dance at a restaurant with a live band!

 Easter

Eva loves going to Phoenix's school parties.  Phoenix had an Easter breakfast and hunted for Easter eggs afterwards.  Eva can't wait to go to preschool!  The girls are starting to like Super Hero's.  It's probably because I let them watch a little bit of the second Thor movie, because I love Chris Hemsworth! If you ask the girls who their favorite super hero is, their answer is Thor.  And if you ask them why, they will say it's because he is handsome! They are so right...wonder where they heard that from??  The girls got to take a picture with Spiderman at a store and build, kayak, search for dinosaurs, rock climb, cook, paint, and play instruments at the creative museum (from the free tickets).  They loved having Kat Kat there with them to help them do everything, especially when they pretended to be bee's and climb the to the top of the tower.  Easter was full of Egg hunts, dyeing eggs, making sugar cookies, and eating candy.  We had lots of Fun!

Baby Steele Came Early...

Timothy Steele Hitchcock

February 20, 2014

6:00 am

6 lbs. 11 oz

19 3/4"

My official due date was March 17th.  Steele decided to make his debut into this world almost 4 weeks early.  During this pregnancy, Steele had been a mover.  It seemed as if he never slept and was constantly kicking or hitting me.  On Wednesday I had realized I hadn't felt the baby move in more than 24 hours.  Sampson and I decided we needed to go to the hospital to be checked out.  I am so glad that I was in tune with my body enough to notice his movements and lack of movement.  Early the next morning the doctor performed an emergency c-section.  Once they got Steele out, it was clear that something was wrong.  He was extremely pale and was having problems breathing.  The hospital I delivered at did not have a NICU so a transport team was called in to take Steele to a children's hospital in Nashville.  I was in my recovery room for a few hours before I got to see my baby for a few minutes before the transport team took him away.  They had started a blood transfusion and needed to get him to Nashville as soon as possible.  It was an emotional day and very weird to be recovering from a c-section without my baby. I was blessed the next day to be released so that I could go be with my baby.  I spent the next week down in Nashville watching Steele recover and get stronger and trying to recover myself.  I am so thankful for all of the nurses that took care of him while he was there and for all the love and support we got from family and friends.  I could have never made it through that week without my parents.  They are such a support system to me.  I am so grateful for all that they have done for me and my family and I love them so much! 

Newborn Pictures

Phoenix's 5th Birthday

I can't believe I have a 5 year old.  Time seems to go by way too fast these days.  Phoenix is currently obsessed with Frozen.  If she wears two braids she is Anna for the day and if she wears one braid she is Elsa.  On her birthday she wanted to wear her Elsa dress and wear Elsa hair.  The other "Elsa" (Eva) made frozen marshmallows for Phoenix's preschool class.  It was so fun to eat lunch with Phoenix and see her interact with all of her friends.  Sampson was even able to get done with his rotation early that day to eat lunch with us. Lunch is always fun with Phoenix because the boys are already fighting over her.  One boy is constantly trying to "casually" put his arm around her or hold her hand.  Another boy gave her a special rock because he doesn't sit by her anymore and he misses her.  The funny thing is, Phoenix is oblivious to everything.  She is just in her own little world constantly singing "Let it go" which only makes the boys like her more :) After lunch, Eva went back with Phoenix to her class where Phoenix did the penguin dance for us....funniest dance ever!  After school Phoenix wanted to fly her kite with daddy.  They spent the afternoon flying "Mushoo" and pretending to be boys to fight the "Imies", as Eva calls them, or the Huns from Mulan.  That night Sampson's family came over for birthday dinner and cake.  Phoenix's birthday dinner consisted of macaroni and cheese with hotdogs and blue Koolaid.  Not sure if the adults liked the dinner, but Phoenix loved it!  Phoenix was very lucky to have so many people that love her and give or send her presents.  She was so excited to open each one.  The party closed with a performance from "Elsa" during a disco party (thanks to Sampson's phone and Phoenix's sparkly jacket).  Phoenix loved her Frozen party.

The Holidays

Faddis Family Pictures 2013

Christmas in Texas

My dad and Houston came up to Rock Island for a few days to hunt coyotes on our property and then drive us back to Texas.  I was so grateful to have help getting us down there because Sampson wasn't sure with his new rotation that he was going to be able to come down.  Once we got to Texas, we went to see Santa and the girls mailed their letters to the North Pole.  We also went to see Frozen again...that movie has forever changed my girls.  They sing and act like Elsa and Anna CONSTANTLY!!  They can't seem to get enough.  They also went to dance camp with Brooke.  Eva was so excited because last year she was too little to go.  She kept reminding us that she is 3 now and she that she is really big now.  She is so eager to grow up and I just want her to stay little forever.

 

Luckily Sampson was able to drive down and get there on Christmas Eve and enjoy Hin's Garden and Christmas Vacation (The Faddis Family tradition).  Eva became a little daddy's girl and wouldn't leave his side the entire time he was there.  It was so cute.  When the girls went to bed on Christmas Eve, Kenny made reindeer sounds in the attic and the girls went nuts thinking that Santa was up on the roof with their presents.  We told them that Santa wouldn't come in until they were asleep.  I am pretty sure that is the fastest they have ever gone to sleep.  Christmas was great and so much fun to have everyone there together.  It has been a long time since we have all been together and it was great!  

Chuck E. Cheese

To celebrate Brooke and Eva's birthday we all went to Chuck E. Cheese.  As an adult you would think this place is for kids, but for my family it means 2+ hours of pure intensity.  Dad, Kenny, Houston, and I took turns setting the record for the basketball game.  We all wanted to be the one that held the record...I don't think anyone else got to play that game the entire time we were there.  We are a slightly competitive in our family :) We also had competitions at Skeeball and Sampson and Kenny disappeared for about 30 minutes as they were conquering the world by shooting one alien at a time.  The girls loved every minute of it, especially when Chuck E. came out.  Derek, on the other hand wasn't too excited to see him.  The girls looked so cute in the new outfits Pitty had given them for Christmas!

Bowling and Trip to the Houston Temple

We all went bowling together. I hadn't bowled in a long time and bowling when your pregnant isn't as much fun.  I just wish I could bend over!  It was fun to watch the girls though.  They are so cute.  This was the first time Eva had ever been bowling.  She loved it.  She carried her ball up to the ramp by herself every time.  As soon as she let it go she would run back to her seat before the ball even reach the pins.  And her shoes were too big for her so she almost tripped every time. She bowled for about an hour and half straight before she got really tired.  She is so funny.  Phoenix and Brooke had their rotation down to a science.  I think they ended up bowling more games then we did.  

We also had a picnic at the temple.  They loved walking on the temple grounds. We talked about how families can be together for ever after they are sealed in the temple.  Then a bride came out to take pictures and Eva and Phoenix proceeded to tell me that after they get married in the temple to a boy, all their babies will come out of their tummy (the currently think they are pregnant with me:).  At least they are understanding the order of things haha 

New Year's Eve

Nate and Houston got sparklers for the girls...their favorite!!  Phoenix was dancing and spelling her name in the air while Eva kept trying to light the grass on fire.  We went through a lot of sparklers.  Meanwhile, Kenny, Nate, Houston, and my dad kept throwing these adult poppers on the road so that when the cars ran over them if sounded like their tires popped.  Most cars kept driving, but a few stopped and got out to look around all the cars parked by our house for some punk teenagers.  If they only new they were all adults doing it...hahaha. 

 New Years Day at the Houston Zoo

Every time we are in town our goal has been to go to the zoo and we just can't seem to get there.  This time we actually made it happen!  It has been a long time since I went to the zoo.  The last time I was there, Houston and I were in high school and we got kicked out for feeding goldfish to the monkeys.  We tried to be on better behavior this time :) The day was perfect: weather was great and Luke even came! (he always hates going anywhere with crowds :)  I think my favorite part was when the girls fed the giraffes.  They weren't afraid at all.  The only person who screamed was my mom (of course) because she thought one was trying to get her.

Fall/Winter in Rock Island

Here are a lot of random pictures from my phone.  

What's Happening: Eva turned 3, Eva started gymnastics and got the star card her first day,  Phoenix dressed up and Rapunzel for Halloween, the girls played dress up, and a picture of Phoenix's "rope" hair.

What's Happening: We set up our Christmas tree and train, the girls danced in the window at dance class, they visited Gingy at Opry Mills, sat on Santa Jefe at church party, went to a Christmas concert in a cave, Houston and my were shooting guns and black birds in the bamboo, and Eva ate purple pancakes on a purple plate with a purple fork in her purple leotard!