Jennifer Named to the A2 National Team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—USA Volleyball announced BYU opposite hitter Jennifer Hamson was selected to the 2012 U.S. Women’s National A2 Team Thursday after attending the U.S. Women’s National Team Open Tryouts in February.

The 6-foot-7 sophomore from Lindon, Utah, participated in the tryouts Feb. 10-12 in Colorado Springs, Colo. The tryouts fell during a bye week in the basketball season, allowing the dual-sport athlete to participate.

“Jennifer has a wonderful opportunity to go and compete this summer for USA Volleyball,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “This is an opportunity that doesn’t come along every year especially considering Jen’s basketball schedule. She was excited when she looked on the calendar and saw that she would be able to tryout and is even more excited learning she will get to compete this summer.”

In 2011, Hamson led the women’s volleyball team to a 21-9 record. She averaged 3.94 kills per set and ranked No. 22 in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball for points per set with 4.88. Her performance earned her All-America Honorable Mention, as well as All-Pacific Region.

Hamson recently returned from a contest against DePaul in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in which she scored a career-high 21 points. She also helped the BYU women’s basketball team to its first conference championship title in 10 years March 5 and a second-place finish in conference play.

The open tryouts included both graduated and college-eligible athletes, with graduate athletes selected for the U.S. Women’s National Team and college-eligible athletes selected for the U.S. Women’s A2 program.

Training for the 48-member U.S. Women’s A2 team begins June 26 at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio. The team will be divided into groups of 12 athletes. The 12-member squads will compete against each other in a round-robin tournament June 30 to July 4 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Following round-robin play, a semifinal and final round will be held.

Coaches for the U.S. Women’s A2 program include Northwestern’s Keylor Chan, San Diego State’s Deitre Collins-Parker, Georgia Tech’s Tanya Johnson, Cal State Northridge’s Jeff Stork and fellow West Coast Conference member Pepperdine’s Nina Matthies.

In spring competition, the BYU women’s volleyball team defeated Utah Valley in a four-set match, capturing all four sets. The team went on to defeat Utah in five sets last Friday. The Cougars dropped the first two sets, but came back strong in the final three to defeat the Utes 3-2 (16-25, 27-29, 25-18, 25-23, 15-11).

Cougar Nation has two more opportunities to see Hamson and the team, with BYU traveling to the Utes’ home court for a tournament Saturday, which begins at 9 a.m., and hosting UVU April 6 at 2 p.m. on Elaine Michaelis Court.

“Our spring has been moving along great,” Olmstead said. “We like the improvement and attention to detail the girls have right now. It’s been nice to compete a bit with local schools and see our progress. This spring is unique in that we will be participating in a foreign tour. Travelling to Brazil and Argentina will grant us extra competition time and team bonding time as well.”

Timothy Surgery March 14th

Weds Day 1

We all slept in until 8am and poor Timothy couldn't eat, but could have Gatorade until 9. Then off to Primary Childrens hospital. At 10:30 we checked in and waited. Then we went in a room were he was checked out and the IV was put in. They had to take some blood also. It didn't go smooth and he stopped bleeding in the middle and they couldn't get it to bleed and then it gushed. Timothy wasn't doing well so they put him on oxygen. That helped and then they had to clean him up and tape the IV. Then we waited some more. We talked to the anestiogist and he answered all our questions. The doctor was still in another surgery, so we were waiting for her to be done and then she came to talk to us. She was great to go over things and answer questions. Then we hugged him and had to wait for 3 hrs.

We went to get something to eat and then I went for a walk. The waiting was very hard.

We just heard that they flipped the bars and it all went well. He should be done by 5pm.

I went to the recovery room and he was doing well and in good spirits. He was on drugs, but realitivly happy. He wasn't there long and then they moved him to his hospital room.

He was eating and doing well until about 10 and he got up to go to the bathroom. He did fine until he got back to bed. He was uncomfortable and his pain was increasing. Unfortunately he couldn't have any more meds until 2 am. We did the best we could, but he throw up at 11 and 1 am. They then got permission for some brake out meds and zophran. It took awhile for him to settle down and he slept mostly from 3-5am. Then he had to go get chest x rays. The nurse was careful to have his meds first and things went better. He is eating a little now and sleeping. Today should be the hardest. I hope it goes better.

Thursday Day 2

Timothy went for a walk and sat up for 20mins. It is painful, but movement is very important.

He has to get up and work 4 times today.

Timothy's surgery went well. The Dr. was disappointed that the cosmetic effect isn't perfect, but we weren't expecting that. She reported that the chest was pressing more on the heart than they thought and after the changes, there is now room around the heart. This was the primary goal. Last night, Tresa stayed with Timothy and they had a rough (as expected) night as they worked through the pain management issues. He is resting better this morning after his first of four walks today. He is resting and watching March Madness.

Timothy new chest

Before surgery

I know I should switch the pictures, but I am glad I even got it here. Still learning how to us my iPad. I am very happy that I can do this at the hospital. Technology is great.

Friday Day 3

It was my turn to be overnight in the hospital last night. It continues to be a tough job to mange the pain, sleeping and feeding of Timothy. He is doing better. They removed his chest tubes yesterday and early this morning took him off of morphine via IV and put him on pills (very heavy duty pills, but pills all the same.) These are both important steps in getting him prepared to go home (which we hope happens on Monday.)

Our hardest job is keeping his spirits up through this tough recovery. We appreciate all of the support of family and friends and are passing it along to Timothy. Tresa will be with Timothy tonight.

Timothy continues to do well during the day and had been on 4 walks. They also tried a longer bed, but the knees wouldn't go as high as Timothy likes so we changed back. He ate well that day, but around 8 pm things were rough again.

Saturday Day 4

With Tresa on duty, last night continued the pattern of being rough.Tresa was exhausted when I relieved her just before noon today. Daytime continues to improve. Timothy had a very good day today. He issupposed to walk 4 times a day and has been on 5 walks already today(add a 6th walk, interrupting this email.) The walks are helping alot. We are, finally, all on oral meds and that is a good step also.This evening, Timothy reported a pain level of 2 (on a scale of 1-10)which is the lowest we have heard since the surgery.The funniest moment of the day occurred about mid afternoon. Hestarted feeling his chest and asking what wires were running down themiddle of his chest. A closer examination revealed that it was justhis chest. That part of him has always been so depressed and was nowpoking out a little.We appreciate all of your love and support and prayers. Timothy hashis phone now, but the room we are in has terrible service. We haveto go on walks to send/receive texts (which is good.)We are still on target to take him home on Monday.

Sunday Day 5

Timothy had already been on a walk to get X-rays and on a walk to church before I arrived. It was nice to be about to go to church at the hospital. Jennifer and Erin had also arrived around 7. It was a lot of fun to see them all interact. A 14 year old on drugs and to college students with little sleep. It was very comical at times and a great distraction for Timothy.

While David and I went to lunch some boys and their leaders from church came to visit Tim. I guess timothy was telling about the surgery and one of the leaders fainted. I guess we missed out on the big excitement of the day.

Jennifer and Erin making Timothys day a little brighter.

The visit from the teachers quorum

Erin and Jennifer's creations

Jennifer and Erin did a great job keeping Timothy company and entertaining us all. It was great to have them around and I think it really helped Timothy's spirits.

The first day in the hospital with Dad.

A get well poster from his friends in band.

Picture of the get well poster and Jennifer and Erin's art work.

Monday Day 6

The morning didn't go well and he was throwing up again and we were worried that he wouldn't be able to go home. He still wasn't off the oxygen, but it was really hard for him to sleep at the hospital. We told the doctor that we wanted to go home, so she helped us get oxygen to take home and work out all the medication. By noon he was feeling better and had eaten some food and been on a walk. I worked on getting everything into bags and picking up his medicine from the pharmacy and David worked on getting stuff ready at home and coming up in the Van to get him. We left around 2pm and were very happy to be going home.

We brought Timothy home this afternoon. He must be feeling well,

because he immediately set about rearranging his room (apparently, our
arrangements weren't up to his standard!) The very early morning was
rough, but all agree that he is ready and will do better at home now.
The parents are ready for him to be home so that we both can get
better sleep and see each other occasionally.

We expect him to be on the "good" drugs for a week or two. He is
ready for visitors or cards or surprises. I'll reply individually to
some of your specific questions.

We really appreciate all of your concern, support and prayers. We are
grateful that it has gone well and are glad to see Tim in good

spirits. David

Netdocuments Christmas Party/Blessings

In October David had talked to me about our families health concerns and about the probability of him losing his job. That is just what a women wants to hear on her anniversary. I don't do well with disaster, so he was trying to give me a heads up. At that time, I couldn't take on anything else and put it in Lords hands. Which was best for me. I tend to over worry. I decided that is wasn't good for my health to worry about what ifs. I decided it is better to deal with the problem when and if it comes.

What people at his company didn't understand, was how bad the situation was and how close they all came to losing their jobs. At the Christmas party they commented on our blessing as a company and how everything seamed to fall into place.

David is a very hard worker and has been very involved. The company is very lucky to have him. It was also one of those tender mercies from our Heavenly Father that I am very thankful for. I felt truly blessed to have a job and a great husband.

Christmas Dec 20th -26th

Talent show

Christmas

The pile of presents

Elena

Mary

Anna Grace

Timothy and his gingerbread house.

Elisa

Sara

Chris & Kate

Heather

We had a wonderful Christmas break and a nice visit with Chris and Kates family. We don't get to see them very much and it is always nice to see them.

Tuesday night as a family we had the opportunity to participate in the sub for Santa's. We would pick a package call the people to deliver it to and then go and deliver it to the people. It has always been a lot of fun and a great way to help out in the community. Chris & Kate arrived late that night, so they missed out on the service project.

Wednesday Chris and Kate bought a bunch of stuff to make necklaces and showed us how to make them. My family needed a little help finishing them, but we had a real good time together. We played games and visited and a great time was had by all.

Thursday was a hang out day and that night we went to watch Jennifer play. Jennifer had another solid game. She was 5-6 from the field, 10pt, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal, 1 foul and 3 turnovers. She had a double double and only played 15 minutes. It was fun for the family to see her play and always nice when they win. They played Nevada and won 84-53.

Friday Chris's family went skiing and were very brave and took Timothy, Sara and Heather.

It was a great day and everyone had a good time. Especially Kate who skied hard and loved every minute of it.

Saturday was very busy and a lot of fun. We all went to the Movies and when we came back, Santa had come. It was a little of a shock to some, when they saw the pile of presents. They weren't sure if they should get everyone else or check out what they got first. But Timothy was very helpful when he saw it and just yelled to everyone and then checked out what was in his stocking. Then we all gathered and one at a time we opened presents. Then that night we had our traditional Shrimp Dinner. It was a very enjoyable day with great food and family.

Sunday Chris's family went to Church with us and David, Sara, Heather sang with the choir. It was a short program and a lot of musical numbers. Kate's mom made a great Italian dinner, which was different, but a nice change. Then that evening we acted out the Nativity and had the talent show. Everyone participated. You could preform a talent or read a Christmas story.

Chris & Kate bought us a new bball hoop for Christmas. It was very kind of them and we have really enjoyed it. Thanks Chris and Kate for your kindness.

Thanksgiving

On Tuesday Matt and Dana arrived at our house. I needed to run kids around so David went with Alan and Sara and hiked to the falls up battle creek canyon. It was a beautiful day and they had a great time.

Then that night Alan had a game and a group of us went and watched the game. Alan did good, but the team lost.

Wednesday Timothy had a game and those that didn't make it to Alan's game went to Timothy's game. He played a little at the end and shot twice and make one. He is just a freshman, so he is still learning a lot, but seems to have a good time. That afternoon before Jennifer's game Robby Bosco the quarterback of the 1984? championship team, gave us a tour of the legacy building. It was very nice to have a private tour and we all had a great time. Some people even got pictures of him and he even signed a football for Matt's family.

Then we all went to Jennifer's game. BYU played Wisconsin and won 77-59 and Jennifer had 10 points, 3 blocks, and 3 rebounds. She was only in 19 mins and played great.

We wanted to try and do something active each day, so thurs we went for a walk on the Lindon trails. It was fun and a good opportunity for the adults to talk and the kids to get out. At noon most of us participated in a service project at the community center. They served a turkey dinner to people in need. It is always great to serve and everyone had a great time. Then during the day Timothy organized a ping pong tournament and a video game tournament for all those that wanted to participate. It was great fun and a riot to watch. Some where in there we had a great turkey dinner. Everyone helped cook and the foo was great. Dana's family had to leave that evening, but we really enjoyed the time we all had together.

Friday

Some people stayed up late or got up early to do some black Friday shopping. It wasn't my thing, but those that went had fun. Later that do those who were 12 and up went and did baptisms for dead. It is always nice to be in the Temple and even better to do it with family. It was a great day. That night some of us went to see the lights in SLC. It was cold, but beautiful and a fun time with cousins.

Sat

Lisa needed to do some shopping so I went with her to visit and we had a great time.

Then later that afternoon we went to watch Jennifer play Eastern Washington and won 77-58. Jennifer was the leading scorer with 13 pts, 4 blocks and 6 rebounds. She was 9-11 from the free throw line and played 17 mins. Had another solid game.

David's Birthday November 12th 2011

Sara wrapped this present and it had tons of tape on it. She had a lot of fun and Dad had to use scissors to open it. Great fun had by all.

This was the shirt that my mother made him.

Me, Jennifer, Erin and David's presents.

The balloons that he got from his siblings. A lot of fun.

Dinner out with the family

David's birthday is at a very busy time of year. I wanted to do something special, but i wasn't sure what. So I talked to Jennifer and we decided not to go really big and do something small with the family. We did want to have as many people as possible remember his birthday, so I had Erin send out an reminder to have everyone write something to him on his birthday. I couldn't do it, because he has access to my computer, and email. If I did it, I was sure he would find out. He did have a lot of people text or send him emails on his birthday. The best was that his siblings got together and gave him 50 black balloons and a gift certificate to his favorite restaurant.

While we were running around getting things done, someone came to our door with 50 balloons. I wasn't even there and he called me and asked me if I was behind it. I wasn't of course, but I did get a big laugh out of it. I don't think he was excited about it as I was.

He didn't want a lot for his birthdays, we helped him with some chores he wanted done and went out to dinner with him. Then we came home and had presents and a dessert of his choice. It wasn't anything big, but I think he felt loved and was with those he loved. We love him very much and he is good to us. He is a great husband, father and a friend to the community. I hope his day was wonderful.

Alan's Eagle November 13th 2011

The Eagle display at Alan's Eagle November 13th 2011.

I asked Alan to choose his favorite scripture and I was really impressed with his choice. I don't think it is easy to pick a scripture, but his one was perfect. If he follows this scripture in life, he will do well .

Refreshments with his friends.

Bob Hamson, David Hamson and Alan Hamson. All Eagle Scouts.

Gloria Hamson, Alan Hamson and Bob Hamson.

Photo with Mom and Dad.

The Family

David, Timothy, Alan, Tresa, Sara, Jennifer and Heather with Grandma and Grandpa Hamson

Gloria, David and Bob Hamson

At the Eagle Court of Honor we had a display for Alan.

I thought it turned out pretty good.

This was the photo that we used for his Eagle announcement.

He had his court of honor with Sam Larson and it turned out great. His grandpa was there to participate in the ceremony and David was very proud to have an Eagle scout.

We are so proud of Alan and his accomplishments in scouts. He did his eagle awhile ago, but just finished his paper work. We are so happy that he didn't give up and got it done. He is really talented in basketball and also very good example for our family.