My lovely sister, Brandyn, gave birth to her two adorable children this past Tuesday (June 5, 2012). She and her husband, Shawn, named their little boy Elias and their little girl Amelia. I sadly was not able to be presently shortly after the birth, but thanks to my dear family I have been able to get heads up on the events and photos of the babies.

This is Amelia stretched out while sleeping. I have to say that she is very cute. She was born at 5 lbs 15oz.

This is Amelia bundled up and sucking on her hand. I think there is something about the picture that makes her hand look large and gremlin like. The earlier photo shows her hands looking much more proportional to the rest of her body. 

 

 

Three days after birth Amelia stopped breathing. Shawn breathed for her a few times until she started breathing on her own again. They took her to the emergency room and she seemed to be doing alright. They decided to put her in the NICU for monitoring. Here she is under UV light so she can get some vitamin D.

Little Elias also had some breathing difficulties, but at a different stage. Elias came of the womb blue, but started breathing on his own. He didn't act normally at first, so they put him in the NICU under cool down for 3 days. The cooler temperatures would prevent any or any more brain damage. Elias was born at 5lbs 7oz. Elias is such a cute little guy, but this picture saddens me. The specialist feel Elias will be very well, and since he has come out of cool down their has been little to prove otherwise (well at least far as I know).

Here is Shawn with Elias. How sweet to have Daddy near.

Family History: Samuel W. Hopkins

So today I decided to do a little family history. I am pretty lucky that I had a great-uncle that did a lot of genealogy already. Today I happened to be looking at the approximate arrival of some of my ancestors to what would later be called The United States. I compared some of my ancestors names with names on the Mayflower, but none of them matched up. However, there was a Hopkins on the Mayflower and my great-great-grandmother was a Hopkins (Emma Grant Hopkins). Unfortunately the information I have on the Hopkins stops at her father (Samuel Wilson Hopkins).  In a desperate plea to find the connection between the Hopkins on the Mayflower and my Samuel W. Hopkins, I put "Samuel Wilson Hopkins" into the google search bar. The information I found was completely surprising.  According to the forum (http://www.pibburns.com/samhopki.htm):

• Samuel and Nancy moved to Warren County, Missouri in 1858. During the Civil War, Samuel served as a lieutenant in the Union army. Samuel's brother Charles, who lived on a neighboring farm in Missouri, fought in the Confederate Army. The U. S. Civil War was quite literally "brother against brother." Before going away to war, Samuel and Charles built a house in town near the railroad depot. They placed a partition in the middle, and their wives (who were sisters) lived on each side with their children. After returning from war service, Samuel and Charles never again discussed the war.

Wild Wild Stuff. I do not know how true this story is, but I'll take it as an oral tradition.

This is a picture of Samuel's and Nancy's children. My great-great-grandmother is on the far right (Emma Grant Hopkins). She appears to be a very fashionable lady, but I really would not know.

Balloon

Saturday (October 8, 2011) morning Aaron and I woke up to 40 degree weather and about 1/2" of water in our leak bucket. There is a leak around the sunlight in the bathroom and it had been raining all night. Even though I was freezing (not literally), I threw on my running clothes and went outside. I have been running around the Albuquerque Academy. I like running on the gravel, but I do not like the whiffs of car exhaust. Anyway, on Saturday I was rounding around the corner at the intersection of Wyoming and Academy, and started running up Academy towards the mountains. It was then that I saw one of the most beautiful scenes I have seen in Albuquerque. Snow was frosting the Sandia Mountains and a pillow of clouds rested on the top. However, it was the solitary hot air balloon contrasted against the alpine scenery that made me feel like I was no longer in New Mexico and more like Switzerland. I took these pictures after returning home and grabbing my camera. It seems that hanging out at the Hoffmantown Church parking lot was the best place to be.

I have yet to convince Aaron to get me a hot air balloon for Christmas.

Classics: Singing Sisters

This is a video of my mother and her three sisters. My mother is the second from the left. I believe it was tradition for them to line up in order of age and they will still do it today when they perform together (not that they have done anything very recent). Here the oldest is on the right and the youngest is on the left.

I was informed today that my mother and Diana (the youngest sister) knew the choreography and had to quickly teach it to the oldest two (Linda and Anita) shortly before this performance. So if you are wondering why some seem to be more on step than the others.... well there is the reason.

I have been blessed with several great woman in my life, this list includes my sweat, loving, amazing, and sometimes crazy aunts. Love you all.

America's Next Top Model

At the end of the school year (May) my department has an award ceremony and faculty roast. A few friends and I participated by putting this video together for Mark Person. Mark is my adviser and teaches the hydrological modeling class. He loved this movie! We were worried about how he was going to take it, but we were very happy when we saw how much he liked it. He actually started tearing up.

Open Mic Night at Sophia's Kitchen (Socorro)

The Friday before my big move I sang at Sophia's Kitchen. Gary Axen (the guitar player in the video) was pestering me to perform at an open mic night and I finally gave in. Gary is a professor in my
department at New Mexico Tech. I sang three songs that night: Be My Somebody (Norah Jones), Man of the Hour (Norah Jones), and Muddy Waters (can't remember who wrote it).

You may notice the paintings in the back ground. They were painted by a woman named Ramona. She is a lady that works several odd jobs around town (drives buses, builds buildings for EMRTC to blow up, and make tamales during the holidays) to make money, including teaching painting in acrylic. I took a class with her this past spring.

Catch Up

Much has happened since my last post. Here are a few bullet points:

• I got the Job!!!
• Defended My Thesis (August 26, 2011)!
• Moved to Albuquerque (September 3, 2011).
• Started attending the Cherry Hills Ward, only the second ward I have ever been a member of (September 4, 2011).
• Started My Job (September 8, 2011).
• Started singing with The Institute choir (September 24, 2011).
• Used a weed wacker for the first time and found it to be lots of fun (October 1, 2011)!
• Thesis revisions still in progress .... (present).