We found out we are having a Girl!!

We are excited that we are having a little girl. We had the routine ultrasound, but we didn't find out what the sex was. The tech put it in a envelope and I gave it to a friend and she out a bunch of balloons in a box, and 1 of them said it's a girl. I was surprised, I thought I would have another boy for sure. I have enjoyed getting ready for this baby. Going through all of Londyn's baby clothes, blankets and such.. Londyn is really excited to be getting a sister. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by. I only have 10 weeks left, it seems like yesterday I found out I was pregnant. I have been reading books on natural childbirth and listening to hypnobabies to get myself ready for a natural delivery. I have some anxiety about the whole thing, but I did it with E and it was amazing and I know I can do it again. Mind over mattter!  We had a 30 week ultrasound on friday and it was fun to see the baby, to see her profile, and to see the kids expressions. We took them with us so that they could see there really is something in my tummy! Well hopefully I will update sooner than 4 months! Until then adios!

More random pictures

Here are some more pictures of our summer..

A car show uptown Oxford.

 4th of July, Oxford style..

 A trip to Columbus to see Londyn's BFF and her family

 Londyn and her BFF Deva

 Brick, Nash, and Henry Getting in the action

 First day of school for Brick, 2nd Grade

 Londyn's first day of 4th grade

 Henry's first day of school Kindergarten

 This is the cute boy I get to spend every day with while the others are in school.

 Henry's first day of school

 E wanted me to take a picture of his hands.

We played lots of legos this summer....

And for some reason I didn't get any pictures of Jonah on his first day he will get his own post next week.

Wow has it really been 4 months

I can't believe it has been 4 months since I last updated the blog. I feel like so much has happened since then. I will try and recap the best I can. In June my sister took me to the Bahamas. It was so enjoyable, we found a great restaurant that huge portions and I think we ate there 3 or 4 times. It was so nice to be with my sister, relax and enjoy some time away from my family. The kids survived just fine, and there were no holes in walls. It was an adventure getting home, but I made it. The kids seemed happy to see me and I think it is safe to say there is no way to ease into being going for 5 days. It was good to see them and my sweet husband.. While there we had some rainy days, but it was so relaxing for me. Enjoy the pictures..

 The back side of our hotel.

 My Sister and I outside the best restaurant

 Our beach at our hotel

View from the airplane as I left...

When i left there I didn't k now if I ever had a desire to return to the Bahamas, but after I came home I realized I do want to go back again. I love the relaxing atmosphere,  I will probably never want to take my kids there because it is kind of expensive and they would want everything. But I would love to go there with William. And Of course i would love to go there with my sister, and sister in l aw Erin... Love the Bahamas...

Henry's graduation

Our sweet Henny penny graduated from preschool last night, I can't believe he will be going to kindergarten in the fall. He just seems like he is not old enough, but he is. He had a hard time doing preschool, he cried almost every time I left him, of course it was for show he stopped almost instantly. He made some great friends named Xander and Fletcher. His teacher was Londyn's, Brick's, and his. She has been teaching for 32 years and is retiring this year due to health reasons. I am so glad they had her in their life she is an amazing, kind, loving person. She was for sure made to do preschool, she had the knack.

 Henry and Mrs. Johnson

 Receiving his diploma

Henry with some of his friends!!!

Money can buy happiness

A $20.00 bill bought us some happiness the month of March. One Sunday I was sitting in church and Londyn was picking at everyone, pushing, do the normal Londyn stuff that makes you want to scream. Anyway I told her I didn't think she could go a whole month without hitting, pushing, kicking.. She said yes I can.. Anyway I was amazed she did it, that month our house was so peaceful, there was no name calling, no screaming, it was nice. Then the month came to an end, now we are back to normal and it sucks! I was happy to know that she can control her anger, it just takes money. Unfortunately it takes money for her to do it.. I tried to explain to her that our house is  more peaceful and calm when she doesn't act that way.. Well it was nice for that month.

I probably should have posted this before we heard about the rejection from the job, but I didn't. I have felt a little stressed and overwhelmed. But we are expecting our 6th baby in December. I haven't felt like I have been able to get excited about this pregnancy. I am excited, I was relieved last week when we heard a heartbeat, and saw the babies heart beating. That took so stress off of me, i was so worried that it would be like last time and would lost the baby. Maybe I can get more excited now that nothing is happening in our lives, but the daily grind.

Crumbling down

William had an opportunity to interview again with BYU-I for a temporary Faculty position. It was a 1-3 year gig. He really was hesitant about applying again because they didn't offer him the other position a year ago, but with lots of pushing for me he did it. He made it to the top 2 this time, then we had to wait 6 gloriously long weeks, that were filled with excitement, apprehension, wonder, and comfort.. I didn't know if we would get it or not. I hoped we would get it, so we could have some more stability in our lives, but we didn't know for sure. Yesterday was the day, the day we would hear. Henry had his preschool graduation, we made it through that, and then the call came, we knew by that time they had chosen the other person. It was closing time at BYU-I and we just knew. Of course they said they offered the position to the other person, of course we weren't suprised, why would we get it. We have been so used to rejection, why would this be any different? We held it together till we got home, had scripture study and prayer and then William and I lost it. I didn't know not getting this job would affect us so much. Was it because they rejected us the first time, was it because we still had some more enduring to go through? I don't know but I do know at that moment and for the next 12 hours it felt like our world came crashing down. We slept horribly, woke up to a dreary morning, and it felt like we were literally picking up pieces of our life and putting it back together. Elder Uchdorf talked about how we are to be grateful in all circumstances.. How in the world could we be grateful for this, yet anther rejection? I kept thinking about that last night, I was most definitely for the Carmelitas i had made, that we were still breathing etc. Maybe we dodged a bullet by not getting the job..Who knows? We might never know, but it sucked that we didn't have to choice to accept or deny the job. So once again  my amazing, handsome, husband got a second place medal when he very well deserved first. He likes to think the person who got it needed it more that us, I just think they suck and they don't know what my husband is capable of. So for now we will continue to pick up our pieces of our life and try to be grateful we wont be moving this summer.

Happy Birthday Baby E!

And now on the 27th we celebrated Eli's birthday. I cannot believe that he is 2, wow how fast time has flied by. Granted it has been a very stressful year and a half. Baby E has probably been our most independent baby. He talks a lot more than the rest of the kids did at this age. He has a fascination with Tractors. He sleeps, talks, tractors. First thing he saws when he wakes up is Opa, tractor. I decided to make him a baby blanket with John Deere tractors on it. I came home with the fabric saturday night and he instantly took it from me, wanted to be wrapped in the fabric and held. Such a simple kid. He loves to destroy lego's, cleanliness of the house, loves to play with cars and tractors. His favorite food is his bottle, with milk, yeah I know we need to wean him from it, but I am finally feeling like I can do it. He is constantly pushing chairs to where he needs them to either get something he wants or to climb on a counter to destroy something. He Loves being held! He is starting to develop a cute personality. He cries when his Opa and Oma drive away. A couple of weeks ago I went over to my parents to hang out with my sister and my parents. I took E along because he Loves his Opa and Oma. Anyway when I left to come home he fell asleep in the car, and when he woke up we were home and all he said was Nooooooo Opa when he saw our house and not there's. He is growing up so fast. He blows kisses to people, and says a very deep goodbye. Happy birthday E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Henry!

Yes February is the month of birthdays for our family . On the 24th we celebrated Henry's birthday. He is know as little bit, even though he isn't little. He is our night owl and late sleeper. He is doing a little better at going to bed earlier. He loves Power Rangers, the color red, cheese pizza, and shirts with hoods. He still sleeps in our room, on a toddler bed next to where I sleep. I believe he needs to be within arms reach of me at all times... Every time I take him to preschool he cries. Kindergarten should be fun this year. I can't believe that he is 5. He is our one kid we never found out what we were having, I was convinced it was a girl, and I was sure surprised when he came out all boy. When he is mad he jumps up and down and shakes his hips. It is really cute. We got a Wii U for Christmas, and I thought out of all the kids he would never use it, boy was I wrong. The kid is addicted to it, I am pretty sure if the game pad reached to our room he would sneak it it and play it all night long! He has kind of phased out of signing I love you to us, he still says it every now and then. He is a very tender hearted kid. And he is probably the most like Londyn when it comes to temper, he tends to punch and hit like her. So when they get into a fight it is an all our brawl. He is such a joy to have around! For his birthday we took him and a friend to ChuckECheese. They had a great time. Happy 5th birthday Henry!!!!!! A side story on the cake, On Sunday I went to take something to a friend, and they had just celebrated her granddaughter's 1st birthday and they had an extra cake and she gave it to me. I brought it home not thinking anything about it, but when Henry saw it he dubbed it as his birthday cake. It was pink and purple.. He is definitely easy to please.

Happy Birthday Brick!!

Our sweet Brick or Brickly Diego, Brickle Pickle, recently nicknamed Florida because he wears shorts all winter long turned 7 on the the 23 rd of February. It seems like when my kids turn a year older it takes me at least 3-4 months to get used to saying their new age. Maybe I can do better this year. So Brick is 7, he is probably our most athletic kid in the family. He LOVES basketball, he just finished playing with the league here in Oxford. He did pretty good. He is fast on his toes and makes others chase him down. He is in 1st grade and doing really well. He still has a hard time leaving us sometimes, but it helps that he has a great teacher. His favorite color is shiny gold, he loves basketballs, playing mindcraft, playing catch, and really anything that involves running, even picking fights with his sister Londyn! He is such a tender hearted boy, we love our Bricky so much! Happy 7th birthday Brick! We also did a suprise birthday party for brick, he was so suprised. it was a lot of fun!

Life is Precious

Our Christmas was a good one, New Years Eve was a blast with some friends, New Years day was not the best day for many Hokanson's.  William and I just got done Sherlock, and he answered a call and all I could hear were sobs, and him saying Hokan, No. It was his sister Melinda, telling us that our nephew Hokan had passed away. He was such a bright, intellectual and a talented Young Man. In instances like this you realize how precious life is, you realize family is important, you rely on prayers, kindness, and generosity of others. We decided at that moment that we needed to be out in Idaho with Family to help everyone through this hard time. Granted I drug my feet a little, telling William that he should just go, that we didn't have the money for all of us to go. I am not one to do things spontaneous or drive cross country with 5 kids in the winter. Needless to say not even 12 hours later we were packed and heading to Idaho. We went to my parents first, then on to my cousin Spencers house in Kansas, On Saturday we headed to Denver and stayed with friends for 2 nights. It was bittersweet returning to a place we thought would be our home when William was done with school. Good to see friends, even though the circumstances were not the greatest. On Monday  we made the last haul to Rupert, Idaho. I am not going to lie many prayers were said on the road from Denver to Rock Springs, WY. There were times that we couldn't see 10 feet in front of us, mainly because of the wind was causing snow drifts. Thankfully I have a husband who knows how to drive in these conditions, and prayers by many were heard. We were so grateful to make it to the hotel and see family!The day after the funeral we headed to Rexburd for 2 nights to rest up for our drive home. It was good to see William's family, to be there for them, and for them to be there for us. We finally made it home Sunday night around 9:30. So over the course of 10 days we traveled from Ohio to Idaho, stayed in 6 different places ( not more than 2 nights at one place), amazingly we all stayed healthy, and you know I would do it all again to be there for family! We were blessed by the generosity of many people! Thanks to everyone who helped us get out to Idaho and Back! The week we got home was a rough one for us, William and I were exhausted mentally, physically and spiritually. We had a couple of recover days, William had an interview for a government job in Alaska, and then the sickness hit. First three kids, then over the course of a week all 5 kids had gotten sick. William and I are still healthy as of now. I felt it was a tender mercy that we had a couple recover days before sickness hit.  Needless to say, I have learned to love my family a little more, tell and show people how much they mean to me, and to never take anything for granted.. Life is precious! I am grateful for the atonement and for the knowledge I have that Families can be Together forever!

Christmas 2013

It has been a while since I have updated the blog, then again it has been a crazy month for us here in Ohio.  We were truly blessed this Christmas by the generosity of others. It was a particular hard week, and I remember a good friend calling and saying that some people have gotten some gifts for our kids, not only 20 minutes later a different friend texted me and asked if I could come outside for a minute, she was in our driveway. I went out, already teary from my last conversation, and sat in her car and talked for a few minutes. She said that some people wanted to make our Christmas a little brighter, so she gave me an envelope. She made me promise we would do something fun, and not pay bills. I gladly accepted that!! I thanked her, went inside, still amazed by tender mercies and how without a doubt prayers are answered by those willing to accept the promptings. I came inside and opened the envelope and cried, Londyn asked why I was crying and I told her that someone gave us some money, and she said then why are you crying? I told her they were tears of joy! I counted the money and couldn't believe it, but it was literally 10 times what we had paid in tithing just two weeks before. I am amazed how things in our life can feel like such utter chaos, but yet feel so calm at the same time. I am grateful for peace, comfort, and the knowledge that Our Savior does know us, he does answer our prayers, and he is there to help us when we think we can't handle anymore.  I truly am grateful for the past year , yes it has been hard, yes it feels like it has been a million years, but I think it has been worth it. Our peace and comfort we are granted daily outweighs any anxiety we might have about our future.  Enjoy some pictures of our kids, in their new Christmas Jammies. Merry Christmas on January 24, 2013 Love the Hokanson's