House of Babble

She's growing up

2012-01-24T13:16:00.000-06:00

This sweet girl of ours...she's growing up! She's not just getting taller and eating more food, although those things are happening too. She's really growing up. How do I know?

She's asking more questions.

No, not the silly questions that come up 217 times a day like "What's for lunch" or "can I please have another piece of cheese?" She's really asking deeper questions that show me she is really learning and trying to grasp things. "Why did King Herod want to kill baby Jesus?" "Did the wise men make a mistake when they told the king about Jesus?" "Will Molly be in heaven when she dies?" "What about my red blanket?" "When I was born did your tummy burst and I popped out?" "Where does the rain come from?" "Where is heaven?" I have to admit that I get tired sometimes of the silly questions that she asks me OVER and OVER again....but I never tire of her deeper questions that seek meaning and truth. She genuinely wants to know and understand the world in which she lives in. She wants to know more about the God that we worship. She wants to know and understand how things work and fit together.

The other day we were listening to the radio and a song came on about giving everything to God. The man sings "take my will, take my life, take my soul, I give it all to you." And from the backseat I hear Hannah ask, "Mom, why is that guy giving everything away?" And, we were then able to talk about surrendering to God. My Hannah...she's growing up!

She's developing her own space here at home.
For so much of her life, we have chosen everything for her...paint colors, furniture, where toys and books belong, clothes she will wear, etc. Now, she is getting to an age where all of those decisions (even the littlest ones!) matter to her. She wants to arrange things in her room in a certain way. She wants to get a makeshift vase and have pretty red flowers next to her bed. She wants to listen to the birds chirp on her sound machine instead of the white noise (even when it seems our house turns into a rainforest at night). She wants to pick out her clothes all by herself. Her little personality with all of its likes and dislikes is blossoming. Now, I would be lying if I said that it is all peaches and cream when she wants something done her way...it's not. Yes, we butt heads, yes, we have to say no...a lot! But, she is becomming her own little person right before our eyes. My Hannah...she's growing up!

She is learning about loving others.
Last night at the dinner table she looked me straight in eyes and expressed deep and genuine love for me. It was beautiful, really beautiful! She then went on to same the same things about her Daddy. Then she talked about how much she loved our little family. In those moments of honesty and unprompted love, I see God working on her little heart. She is learning in so many social situations that being unkind hurts and being kind brings joy. She is learning what it looks like to be a faithful friend. These lessons often hurt themselves as they are learned, but I see that the fruit is beginning to bloom. My Hannah...she's growing up!

As she grows we continue to pray with her each night that God will help her to trust in Him with all of her heart. The life verse that we chose before she was born was from Isaiah, "Only in the Lord, may it be said of me, are my righteousness and strength." May God make this true in her life as she continues to grow.

Holidays on the iPhone

2012-01-24T12:15:00.002-06:00

Since I don't carry my camera with me everywhere I go, I like to look through my iPhone to see what story my pictures tell. Here are some of the pictures I took over the holidays. We took 3 trips to see family starting in Nov when we went to California. Then in Dec. we went to Colorado and finally to Birmingham. It was quite a bit of traveling, but we had a blast. Hannah was delighted to see her cousins and grandparents and enjoyed all the play time she had! It was a joy!

After Christmas in Birmingham, at Build a Bear with her bear "Snuggie." We have never been to Build a Bear, but it was a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed it.

At Sephoria doing makeup with her cousin. Somehow Hannah came out looking bruised. Maybe its because they were using blue and purple eyeshadow as blush. Silly girls!

On Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve at Aunt Laura's house with sweet cousins in their matching pjs.

In mid December we flew with Papaw and Granny to Colorado to see my brother and his whole family. What a fun trip it was! It was short but we enjoyed every minute of it!

On the airplane flight out to Colorado.

The whole family together.

My sweet Hannah loved the snow. She enjoyed making tracks in the snow and making snowballs.

Sweet cousins!

We went to this fun little tea shop for lunch one day and then to a fun little shop after. It was a great Sat. afternoon trip.

Twister for the kids.

For Thanksgiving we went to San Francisco to see Gramma and Grandpa. We had a nice, quiet time there, which was such a blessing.

Hannah in her purple outfit from Gramma.

Hannah and I enjoyed our plane flights together. Jason was on a different flight, so we got some girl time. I have to say, flying with a four and a half year old was delightful. It was so much easier than in the past and quite enjoyable. She loves flying, especially since I let her pick whatever drink she wanted when they came by to serve drinks. A rare but special treat!

At lunch with Gramma.

At Pier 39 in the city.

Riding the carosel in the city.

Jason and I by the Golden Gate Bridge.

So, there is my iPhone recap of the holidays. We had a blast!

Joy

2012-01-12T13:59:00.001-06:00

For Christmas my sweet husband blessed me with a new camera lens. I have absolutely loved using it (though I need to learn more about it). On several occasions I have tried to use Hannah as my subject but my sweet 4 year old usually has better things to do than to smile into my new camera lens. So, these photo session usually turn into something like this...

That's OK...I then turned the camera to our sweet Molly, who in her aging condition is a bit more compliant. Isn't that such a sweet face! Molly doesn't get the blog attention like Hannah does, but this sweet pup has been such a joy to our family. Hannah loves her to pieces and she is the most faithful friend. We love our sweet Molly!

Hannah decided she could get in on the action with Molly. Our 2 sweet little ones!

These sweet faces bring me such joy! We truly are blessed and I am deeply thankful!

Up next...a holiday recap of Thanksgiving and Christmas....I am a bit behind!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T20:09:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Christmas Season

2011-12-22T13:45:00.000-06:00

We have had a lot going on this Christmas season. Between activities here in Waco, traveling to Colorado, and daily work and life we have been quite busy. However, we have really enjoyed how much this season also means to us. Hannah really seems to be understanding more about why we celebrate Christmas and it is a joy to hear her express the meaning behind Christmas and to hear her pray fervently and thank God for sending Jesus. Also, we have enjoyed time with friends and family which is always a joy.

Hannah always enjoys time spent with her Daddy.

Hannah and her best little friend, David, who are just so sweet together!

We are soaking up these days together!

Ballet Recital

2011-12-14T20:31:00.004-06:00

Our sweet ballerina had her first ballet "recital" this week. I loved it because they didn't do anything different than they do each week. They called it a "parent observation" and just did their weekly stretching and dancing. If wasn't stressful or scary for Hannah, just fun! We had some good friends come along to watch our sweet Hannah and we all enjoyed dinner afterwards. These are truly sweet days she Hannah grows into her own delightful little person. We sure are proud of this little ballerina!

Self Control

2011-11-20T20:24:00.001-06:00

Most people who spend any time with our Hannah Banana know that she LOVES, LOVES, LOVES her red blanket. It was given to her by her Gramma when she was about 6 months old. She, to this day, finds comfort, joy, and peace with her sweet red blanket. You might also know that when she holds her red blanket she immediately sucks her thumb. She began at a very early age and never stopped. We eventually just let her do it since her red blanket and sucking her thumb was her way of soothing herself to sleep and even comforthing herself when she was upset. It was actually quite cute to tell you the truth. Here were some sweet pictures of her when she was younger...

Sleeping on Mommy and Daddy's bed.

Flying in Papaw's airplane.

Hanging out in California with family.

Well, up until last month, Hannah was still sucking her thumb any and every time she held her red blanet...even at 4 1/2 years old. We then took her for her first visit to the dentist. She has a full teeth cleaning and she did great! However, the dentist told her that her teeth were quite bucked from sucking on her thumb and he even showed her how they don't touch when she bites down. He showed her how his teeth touched and how Mommy's teeth thouched when we bite down. She seemed a bit taken back by all of this talk (even though Jason and I had told her about this multiple times!). He didn't come right out and say that she should stop but he told her that eventually she would need to stop if she wanted to teeth to not get worse.

When we got in the car after the dentist visit she announced to me that she was no longer going to suck her thumb. And, I will tell you that my child has the self-control of an ox, because she has not stuck her thumb in her mouth once since then! She still LOVES her red blanket, but she just holds it close now without sucking her thumb....HALLELUJAH!

I really was so proud to see such determinition and self-control in her at this age! And, I can already tell in one month that her teeth are correcting themself some. Does this mean we can stop saving for braces...um...maybe not!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-30T18:59:00.002-06:00

Hannah's Mother's Day Out class went on a field trip to a pumpin patch last week so I joined them there. They had story time in the middle of the patch and read some cute stories about pumpkins. Then they played some games and had the kids run and find the biggest and smallest pumpkins. It was really cute and the kids loved it! All the kids then got to pick out a small pumpkin to take home. I tried to get a few pictures of Hannah as she ran to find pumpkins.

This is one of Hannah's best little frineds. They attend Mother's Day Out together 2 days a week, are in Sunday School together each week, have Wed night choir and missions together, and are in a weekly playgroup one day a week. So, they see each other A LOT, but they really seem to genuinely enjoy playing with one another. We are thankful for this little friend...he's such a sweet boy!

Hannah's Mother's Day Out class

Baylor Treat Night

2011-10-27T21:52:00.002-05:00

Baylor has a great tradition where they open up the dorms for children and grandchildren of faculty and staff to come and do a "treat night" in the dorms. This was Hannah's first year to experience halloween and to say she loved it would be an understatement. Gramma asked several weeks ago if she could buy a costume for this year for Hannah and it was perfect. Hannah asked to be a pink princess and Gramma's outfit did not dissappoint. It was over the top pink and Hannah LOVES anything over the top and pink!

Here was our sweet princess on campus.

Some of the first students that we saw were roomates that had both dressed up as princesses as well, so Hannah got her picture with them. Most of the girls (we chose the girls dorms) dressed up and gave out candy at their dorm room doors which were all decorated.

This particular hall was decorated as a candy cane lane.

We ran into some friends while we were there and enjoyed candy while we walked between dorms...why not?!

While we were in Collins Hall at Baylor I decided we had to walk by my old dorm room. Memories flooded back as we walked by room 356 where I lived for my freshman year. It was so fun to go back and see my old room. Unfortunately, the girls were not there, but it was fun to walk by none the less.

A family picture outside of the my old dorm room....love it!

It was great fun and Hannah absolutely loved it. I assume this might be a yearly activity in our house.

Give Thanks

2011-10-23T19:13:00.001-05:00

I absolutely love fall with every fiber of my being. I have been so glad this fall to find some great craft/decorating ideas for our home. I made this 'give thanks' sign for our hearth and it has been such a great reminder each and every day. I then decided that it was a good idea to have a place to actually write out the things we are thankful for. I plan on keeping these small reminders of things we are thankful for so that we can pull them out each year and see what we wrote. Hannah has really enjoyed participating and I enjoy seeing what she is thankful for. May God continue to give us small reminders of reasons to give thanks each and every day!

Pure Joy

2011-10-18T16:33:00.000-05:00

I find it pure joy to spend a cool morning in our pajamas coloring with chalk on the drive way. I think Hannah agrees.

First field trip

2011-10-15T16:39:00.001-05:00

Hannah's Mother's Day Out class took their first field trip this past week. They went to the local fair here in Waco to see all the livestock. Hannah was excited to ride in a big yellow school bus to the fair with all her friends. I decided to join them at the fair and it was cute to see how excited Hannah was to have me there.

The kids were all fascinated by the sheep and goats.

This man talked all about his 8 ft python...YUCK! The kids were mesmerized! He even talked about how these snakes can eat a full grown sheep if they are hungry enough.

The petting zoo was a favorite for all the kids.

Hannah's MDO class and her 2 teachers.

Our sweet Hannah who enjoyed her first field trip to the zoo.

An Interview

2011-10-11T11:43:00.002-05:00

Here is a brief interview that I did with Hannah the other day. When I look back at this video it is amazing to me how big and old she seems to be. I can't believe that she is four and a half!

Enjoy our sweet Hannah.

A bully and lessons

2011-09-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Well, as a teacher, I hate to label kids as bullies, but Hannah technically has one in her class at Mother's day out. So, at 4 years old we have begun to teach Hannah a life long lesson on dealing with bullies. We all deal with them. Whether they are 4, 16, 30, or 77 you encounter them at any and every age. The important thing for us is to teach Hannah how best to deal with them. Maybe I will even learn a lesson or two in the process.
Last week at school she had a run in with this kid (not her first and probably not her last) which ended with her being shoved off a climbing toy outside. The difficulty then was the conversation about how we are called to love this child. In Hannah's mind, this kid is unlovely, unkind, selfish, and unfriendly. If I am honest though, I think some of these things about this child too. But, are we all not these things at some time or another? We are called to love this child. We are called to befriend this child. We are called to act selflessly toward this child. We are called to turn the other cheek. We are called to pray for this child and share Jesus' love with him.
Hannah talks often about this child and it is mostly to tell me about the trouble they encountered that day or how unkind he was. I take these opportunities to share with Hannah that we need to love and pray for this boy. I remind her that we need to never delight in someone else's trouble. Insert my lesson for the day here...
This morning, we picked up a good friend's son who is in Hannah's class. He and Hannah have become quite good friends (since they are in Mother's day out, Sunday school, and Wed night activities together!). As we were waiting to go in to their class, this little boy mentioned that he doesn't like playing with the class bully. He then went on to tell me that he doesn't like playing with him because he is mean to Hannah and others. After I got over the fact that it is so sweet that he looks out for my sweet Hannah, I told both him and Hannah that we needed to stop and pray for this child who so struggles at school. They both agreed and we had a sweet time of prayer together. This Mom and 2 four year olds are having to learn hard lessons about loving the unlovely.
I need this lesson as much or more than Hannah does. So, we are praying that God will help us all!

Sweet Ballerina

2011-09-19T21:16:00.001-05:00

Hannah started ballet classes last week at a local church here in Waco. I was so excited when the opportunity came available and we got a spot on the waiting list. The classes cost $5 per semester...what a steal! But, more importantly, they teach the kids about loving Jesus. We just had our second class today and Hannah seems to be loving it. She really seems to be enjoying dance and so we will see if this is something she sticks with. But, for now, we are just enjoying the opportunity for her to do something she enjoys.

I am so blessed to be a Mommy to this ballet loving girl who's heart is developing into a joyful, loving, beautiful creation!

School and homework

2011-09-01T15:17:00.000-05:00

Our sweet Hannah started 4 year old Mother's Day Out last week. She is having the time of her life there. She has seemed to love every minute of it. She goes twice a week from 9am-2:30pm. It is plenty of time for her to get time away in a learning environment while I get a bit of a mommy break too. However, I would be lying if I said that I felt great about leaving her. To be honest, I felt like I was missing my right arm for the first few days. But, at this point, Hannah needs the interaction time with other kids and teachers so this is a great deal for us.
Were was our sweet girl on her first day.

And, on the FIRST day she was assigned homework! I guess this is a sign of things to come in life. She was given a blank posterboard and was given instructions to write her name, and include pictures of family, hobbies, toys, friends, etc. So, I was determined not to make this a mommy project (which seems easy since 4 year olds are not much for poster making!) and I think we succeded. We found some pictures of our family, Hannah, and the grandparents (minus Grandpa Jim...note to self...get a picture of Gramma, Grandpa, and Hannah this Thanksgiving!!!). We couldn't find a picture of Molly, so Jason drew one. Then, with spelling help, Hannah proceeded to write all the names on the poster. She even drew a picture of our house. I was so proud of her and her first homework assignment. This will definitely be something I keep around for her to see later in life. What a treasure!

And, the ever important daily report! We talk to Hannah about the importance of loving her classmates, making new friends, treating them kindly, listening and obeying her teachers, and finding joy in learning. But, without fail, she prays fervantly that God will help her get all smiley faces. I am still thankful for the things she is learning though and thankful for our sweet Hannah!

10 years of us

2011-08-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today, Jason and I celebrate 10 years of marriage! What an amazing 10 years it has been. Here's a short photo journey of our last 10 years...
These were some engagement photos taken in San Diego in early summer 2001.

Our wedding day...August 11, 2001. What a wonderful day it was!

This is one of my favorite pictures from our wedding.

Jason and I with our first "child" Molly.

This was taken at Jason's surprise 30th birthday party here in Waco in 2005.

In our 10 years we have managed to go through 3 graduations between the 2 of us (Bachlors and Master for me and a PhD for Jason). This was taken the night before Jason's graduation in 2006.

Celebrating Dr. Whitlark!

Our family of 3 with our Hannah Banana. This was taken on May 15, 2007.

Taken at Christmas, 2007.

At Baylor's homecoming parade in November, 2009.

Our family now, 10 years later.

As you can tell by the photos, some things have changed over the years...we have gotten a bit older, had a child, added a few pounds (AHEM!), grown a gotee into a beard, finished school, gotten new jobs, bought a house, and so much more!

I am deelply thankful for Jason and the love that we have for each other.

So, HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY Jason!!! I love you so much and I can't wait to see what the next 10 years has in store for us.

I couldn't make this stuff up....

2011-08-03T15:16:00.000-05:00

Hannah was given a pair of chopsticks from a sweet couple in our lifegroup. She spent several days using the chopsticks at all of our meals. She actually got pretty good at using them. At one point, Jason mentioned to her that she should try and catch a fly with the chopsticks. He even showed her how to quickly "snap" them shut should she ever actually catch a fly. Well, 4 year olds have a super literal mind, so the very next time she saw a fly she went running for her chopsticks. Without saying anything to her, this is what I documented next.

She tried to catch the fly in midair and she quickly decided that would NEVER work. She then went to work trying to catch it against the glass door.

She actually got pretty close several times, but the fly was just to quick for her.

I went outside to watch and see what would happen next. She gave up on actually catching it with the chopsticks and instead trapped it with her hand.

Then, voila...

...she caught a fly with her chopsticks. She was pretty darn proud of herself too!

So, there you go Jason...that's what you get for showing Hannah how to catch a fly with chopsticks. Now, I want to see you actually do it.
See, I told you that I couldn't make this stuff up!

My two loves

2011-07-31T22:17:00.000-05:00

My sweet Hannah

My sweet husband

My 2 loves being silly

I sure do love these two!!

Lebanon in review

2011-07-28T21:48:00.000-05:00

Some of these photos were shared on our team blog while we were gone, but I thought I could share them here as well. I have been back for almost 2 weeks and I am still processing all that I saw and experienced. In a few words, the trip was amazing and totally unexpected in several ways. I figured that going into the middle east would have felt more like, well, the middle east. Many of my misperceptions were broken quickly as we were in Lebanon. God is alive and working there and believers were free to worship without retribution...it was beautiful to see! And, Lebanon was absolutely gorgeous!
Here was the view of the hills as we drove on the coast.

Small shops in the amazing town of Byblos.

Spices were everywhere!

At the ruins of a old castle/fort in Byblos. This is looking back toward Beirut. The coastal views were beyond amazing!

Sheila and I in downtown Beirut with the sea behind us.

The awesome boys at the orphange.

3 of my sweet friends.

Ice cream cones for snack one day...yes please!!! Here were 3 of the kindergarten boys.

One of the youth (an amazing young man!) and Brent (the one in the red hat) who lives and works at the orphange and is a Baylor grad. Brent's dad was an orphan in the orphanage and met his mom who was an MK whose parents started the orphanage. Amazing testimony of God's grace to this family. Brent was amazing and we were so glad to join him at the orphange.

At a beautiful church at the top of Mount Lebanon.

My group of 3rd grade boys. Love them!

Craft time!

This sweet one was just a little excited about his frosted cookie!

The boys presented us with plaques on our last night there with arabic scripture verses on them. Such a special gift from such a wonderful place!

We all visited the inside of a mosque in downtown Beirut, but since we (the girls) were not covered we had to use some of their robes to cover before we could go in. It was an interesting (AND HOT!!) experience. We only got to go into one small part of the mosque as women, but we got to see where they worship. It was worth the time since I had not visited the inside of a mosque before. Needless to say, I think our team thought we looked more like Jedi than anything.

The sunset on the Mediterranean after we ate dinner and put our feet in the water...it was a perfect night!!

All the boys (and Brent) in their Baylor green and gold doing the 'sic em bears! Gotta love it!

Our team in front of Pigeon Rock in downtown Beirut. This was a total tourist trap, but cool anyway.

In front of a fun shop in Byblos.

The view of the valley at night from Mount Lebanon. Seriously, this looks to me like a scene out of the nativity story. Gorgeous beyond words!

Our team (and Brent) in front of the orphanage sign. I could not have asked for a better team to spend this time with in Lebanon. I hope God allows me (and Jason and Hannah) the opportunity to go back soon.

Ask me more about Lebanon some time...I'd LOVE to share more stories about what God is doing there and my experiences. It was truly amazing!

Three Men and a little lady

2011-07-19T14:29:00.000-05:00

I am back from Lebanon after an absolutely amazing trip! I will share pictures and stories soon. But, until then, I want to say a HUGE thank you to my awesome husband for being here with Hannah while I left. They had an absolutely amazing time and I am still hearing stories of their adventures. The first weekend that I was gone, Pop came out and spent the weekend here with Jason and Hannah. Papaw joined in the fun which allowed Hannah undivided time with 3 of her favorite men. To say she enjoyed it might be an understatement. This was the second time that Hannah got all 3 of them in one place. In January of 2008 (Hannah was 8 months old), I went on a women's retreat, so you might remember this picture of "3 men and a baby" when they all came together to hang out with Hannah while I was gone.

And 3 years later, we now have "3 men and a little lady" with one delighted girl to have her Daddy, Papaw, and Pop all together.

Papaw emailed me this picture while I was in Lebanon and it totally melted my heart! While I so wished I was there, I was so glad to see a huge smile on my Hannah's face knowing how delighted she was to be sitting between such loving and amazing men in her life. God has blessed her with such an incredible and loving Daddy, and an amazing Papaw and Pop.

Thank you!

2011-07-06T20:52:00.003-05:00

I want to say a huge thank you to my sweet husband!!

Jason,
Thank you for your willingness to have me take this trip. I can't tell you what a joy it is to have a husband who allows his wife to leave for a week. Never once have I heard you complain about me leaving or you taking a week off of work or caring for Hannah by yourself for a week. You have joyfully heard God's call as well, and I am so thankful for that. While i am the only one actually going to Lebanon this year I feel like we are fully doing this together. So thanks for joining me on this journey! I know you and Hannah (and Pop and Papaw) will have a blast while I am gone.
Enjoy this Daddy daughter time! I know your care for Hannah and the fun you two will have together will be a sweet memory for her forever. And thank you! I love you and Hannah more than I can express!
From a grateful wife,
Jennifer

Off to Lebanon

2011-06-30T15:24:00.007-05:00

In 2 days I will embark on a journey across the world to Lebanon with 6 others. I will leave my husband and my sweet Hannah behind. I will join in the amazing work that God began decades before now. I will love on some sweet children who live without their parents in an orphange. I will grow closer to my team of good friends. I will miss Jason and Hannah with every ounce of my being. I will see things and experience things that I never have before. I will miss home. I will trust in God in new ways. I will develop relationships with those we meet. I will eat delicious food. I will worship with Lebanese brothers and sisters in Christ. I will sightsee. I will blog. I will tutor kids. I will laugh. I will cry. I will take pictures. I will be awed by God's continued work. I will be thankful...very thankful!

God has called me (and my team) to this trip, at this time, in Lebanon. Yes, I realize that we are traveling to the middle east, and yes, I am OK with that. I have a peace about going and I trust God about it.
Meet my team. The 3 people to the left of me are in my lifegroup and have become like family. The 1st to my right is our Children's Minister at church and one of my dearest friends. The other couple on my right are fellow church members who I hope to get to know more on the trip. God has bound us together and I am deeply thankful for each one of these people who will be journeying with me.

We have a team blog that we will be updating hopefully daily (we will see if the internet and power cooperate) and we would love to have you follow our journey. There are already links on the blog to the orphanage, seminary, and school if you want to read more about where we will be.

The blog address is: http://www.lebanoninjuly.blogspot.com/

Please be praying for our team and for our time there. I am so blessed to be traveling with this group. It is such a solid group and I am thankful for each and every one of them! We will be mainly working at the orphange with about 25 boys age 6-18. While we are there we will be working with the boys in the mornings on their school work. The orphanage tries really hard to keep the boys on top of their studies, even in summers when they are not in formal school. In the afternoons we will be playing games, going to a waterpark, baking, and generally loving on the kids. There will be prayer and bible study time at night that we will get to join in as well. Pray for us to love well, smile often, share our hearts, pray openly, give joy, receive joy, learn, trust in God, be unified, and to share Jesus' love!

One other thing that you can pray specifically for is my time away from Hannah. The thought of being away from her for 9 days KILLS ME! And, the thought of only being able to talk to her once or possibly twice while we are there is enough to put me in tears. I know that she will have a blast here with her Daddy (and with Pop who has graciously decided to come out for a long weekend and Papaw who will come visit too) but I still will miss her terribly! Please pray for peace for me and for Hannah and Jason while I am away.

Thanks for your prayers, support, and love during this time. May God truly do more than we could ask or imagine while we are in Lebanon! Be sure to click over on our blog to read more about where we will be and check back there for updates on our time.

Rock climbing

2011-06-30T15:03:00.004-05:00

We have been wanting to try this with Hannah for a long time, but just recently we finally took her rock climbing. Baylor has a HUGE free standing rock wall that she has asked to climb many times. I have to admit that I was worried she would get scared and back out but much to my surprise she did great and had NO fear whatsoever!
She was actually coming down this point, but you can get an idea of how high she actually went before she couldn't go any higher. I thought that she might be scared to finally let go of the wall and only be held up by a rope, but I think that was actually her favorite part!

Here she was climbing next to another Baylor student. Makes me proud of my brave 4 year old!!

Sea World

2011-06-16T22:15:00.002-05:00

Last week, we took a day trip down to Sea World in San Antonio. Kelly, Hannah, and I packed up for the day and had a great (but HOT) day! This was Hannah's first time at Sea World and she really enjoyed it.

We saw 3 shows and LOVED the Azul show with beluga whales and dolphins. We also saw the Shamu show and a sea lion and walrus show. Hannah seemed to really get into the dolphin show so we actually ended up going to that one twice.

We got a chance to feed the dolphins which was a lot of fun! They came up close enough to pet and we got to throw fish into their mouths.

Hannah rode her first roller coaster that day too. Kelly and I asked her if she wanted to ride this big water ride (similar to a large log ride) and she did. She did get a little nervous when they put the big bar down over her lap, and she covered her face the whole time with my arm...but she loved it. We actually ended up going a second time since she liked it so much. I found my new roller coaster buddy...she just needs to grow a few more inches!

They had a whole kiddy area with little rides that she loved and a water park. At this point of the day, she was hot and tired. We had a great time though, and I hope to go back soon...when it cools off!!

Transformation

2011-06-07T13:48:00.005-05:00

Every day our sweet Hannah goes through a transformation. It doesn't matter if she has just woken up, gone for a bike ride, been swimming, eaten a meal, or is about to go to bed. Without fail, these small changes occur frequently throughout the day...

First, the sparkly shoes appear. Mimi bought these for Hannah last month after Hannah so sweetly looked up at Mimi in Target and told her how much she absolutely LOVED these shoes...you can imagine how long it took Mimi to decide to buy them for her. Hannah would wear these shoes day in and day out if we allowed it (despite the fact that they are about 2 sizes to big).

Second, one of many tutus appear on Hannah's hips. Thanks to our friend Beth and Gramma, we have a plethora of them for her to choose from.

Third, the pink leotard (with food stains and all) is worn.

Then, our sweet Hannah quietly turns into a beautiful ballerina.

I still have yet to figure out where she learned her ballet moves...she's actually got them down pretty well! She loves to have me put on music for her to dance to, and she loves even more for her Daddy and I to watch her do a "show" for us. She is even willing to give lessons, although she was pretty sure I was not doing the moves correctly yesterday. She's a tough teacher!

She's a girly girl to the max, and a sweet ballerina at that! It brings me such joy to see the delight in her eyes when she transforms into a little ballerina...Thank you God, for these sweet reminders of the joy of being a carefree 4 year old!

Birthday Party Pictures

2011-05-18T16:16:00.020-05:00

Here are some pictures from a little birthday party that we had for Hannah's 4th birthday. Mimi flew out for the weekend to celebrate Hannah and Jason birthday which was a huge blessing! Papaw and Granny came down with Aunt Amy and Hannah's cousins and some friends from here in Waco came over to the house for some food and fellowship. It was such a sweet time with our family and good friends! I realize when we have all these people over how blessed Jason, Hannah, and I are with our family and friends. We have a wonderful family on both sides, but we have also been blessed with an incredible Waco family who has loved us like their own. God truly has cared for us in this way beyond what we could ask or imagine.

Note: Unfortunately, blogger is giving me fits at the moment, so I cannot write captions for each photo. Suffice it to say, it was a wonderful time with some wonderful people!

36 years!

2011-05-12T14:22:00.001-05:00

Happy 36th Birthday Jason!!!

God has blessed me with an incredible husband and Hannah with an incredible Daddy! God has made you into a wonderful man and I am so thankful that you were born 36 years ago today. Today, we celebrate you and all you mean to so many people.

We love you so much and are so thankful for you!! Happy Birthday!

Happy 4th Birthday

2011-05-12T13:20:00.001-05:00

Our sweet Hannah turns 4 years old today! I cannot believe that our sweet "baby" is growing up so quickly into a little girl. Here we were 4 years ago looking quite tired, but overjoyed and full of love. Hannah, here is a letter for you on your 4th birthday...

My sweet girl,

Happy 4th birthday! We are so thankful to God for you today as we celebrate another wonderful year of you! I cannot believe how much you have grown and matured lately and honestly, I cannot even imagine my life without you. You are delightful and funny. You keep us on our toes all the time. You are strong willed and independent. You are caring and loving. You are a child of God and our delightful daughter and we love you deeply. I can't wait to see all that this next year has in store for you and our family. We are so happy to celebrate you today!

We love you,

Momma and Daddy

Today is also my Dad's birthday. I love that Hannah shares her birthday with her Papaw. This was 4 years ago today...

Dad - Happy Birthday! I am so thankful that God gave me such a loving and incredible Dad! I cannot express to you how thankful I am for you and the blessing you have been in my life! I love you so much!

We are off to party today with Mimi, friends, and family. I will share pictures later.

My mother's day gift...

2011-05-12T13:18:00.001-05:00

...was this...

...and I LOVE it!

Our backyard discovery

2011-05-12T06:00:00.001-05:00

Obviously, I am quite behind on posting lately. This actually happened about 6 weeks ago now, but I am just now getting to share it...SIGH!

We were in the backyard one day hanging out. I was picking some stuff up while Hannah was playing. I heard her talking and saying "Well, hello there. I'll take care of you. Well, hello there." I guess I figured she was talking to an invisible friend until I finally looked up and saw this...

Hannah was bent over this sweet little parakeet on the ground talking to it. Luckily, Molly had not noticed the bird yet (she's quite a pathetic hound dog!) and so after ushering Molly inside I got a good look at the bird. It was not scared of us, although it didn't want me to touch it. I can only assume it was a house pet that got out. Hannah was thrilled to find it and quickly asked me if we could keep it. I felt bad to just leave him to his own devices outside, seeing that Molly would go out there eventually and there are 2 more beagles next door. Hannah and I found a box and we caught him fairly easily. At that point though, I had no idea what to do with him. What are you to do with a lost bird?! I did call our vet (which is about 1/4 mile down the street) to see if anyone had lost a parakeet, but we had no such luck. After calling the humane society they said they would take the bird. Hannah begged to keep him next to her in the backseat. While I had visions of the bird getting out in the car and flying all over and causing a wreck...I let her keep the box in the backseat next to her under threat of serious consequences if he got out!

Hannah was quite the big girl even telling the lady at the humane society the whole story of finding the bird by herself. It was a delightful and wonderful detour to our normal morning and Hannah and I both enjoyed the learning opportunity.

Swimming lessons

2011-05-10T13:31:00.002-05:00

Hannah began swim lessons last week. She is doing them 2 days a week for the month of May. She was quite apprehensive the first day, but her teacher was wonderfully patient with her. After 2 lessons (and some peer pressure by her classmates who are great swimmers) she is like a fish! Jason and I took her to Baylor's pool on Saturday and it was all we could do to keep up with her as she dove for her ring on the bottom of the pool for the 47th time. At this point, it was well worth the money we paid!!
Her teacher is a sweet man who has a grandchild her age. Hannah has always related better to men so it was a total blessing that she got to be in the class with him.

And here was our Hannah, during her 2nd class...just chilling underwater! It took everything in me to not run over there and check on her, but she was doing so well just going underwater and coming up all on her own.

New swimsuit - $14

Swim lessons - $65

Getting your kid to learn water safety and how to swim - PRICELESS!!!

Bluebonnets

2011-04-21T13:37:00.005-05:00

Kelly and I took Hannah out a few weekends ago for our annual bluebonnet pictures. Now that Hannah is getting older she is so much easier to photograph. She enjoyed the time in the field and I enjoyed some great photos of my sweet girl!

I love that in this HUGE field of bluebonnets Hannah can spot the tiny little ladybug on a flower. That captured her attention and like she does will all ladybugs now, she just had to catch it.

And as quickly as it was caught, it was off again!

I love the sweet memories that were made this fun day!

Imagination

2011-03-28T19:35:00.003-06:00

I love to watch child development first hand with Hannah each day. These days her imagination has absolutely come alive. She loves to "talk" for her horses Doof, Duflouchy, and Zizzy (and yes, her animal names are all quite creative). I love to watch her get lost in the world of her horses and dogs. Sometimes, it can be quite comical and a bit eye opening to hear how to she talks to her horses. It can sound earily similar to conversations I have had with her.

I have to admit my weakness with this stage though. While I love to watch her active imagination, I have to say that I really struggle with engaging with her in this. I can last for a few minutes of being Doof and carrying on some sort of conversation over the water trough with Zizzy, but it's sad to say that my imagination (or lack thereof) really struggles to keep this up. Is that because I don't use my imagination much anymore? Maybe. Am I just getting older? Possibly. Sometimes I really feel bad that I can't engage more in this, but that is just the honest truth of where I am now in parenting.

I have found it interesting to see how different stages of child development bring out different stages of parenting. Jason is actually much better at the imaginative stage. He can get right in it with Hannah and he seems to have much more patience and endurance for this. Isn't God so good to bring 2 people together who can compliment what even seems like such a small part of our lives as a family?!

Anyway, I got a short video of Hannah's beloved red blanket "talking" to me. Oh my sweet Hannah, you are truly delightful!

A great week

2011-03-20T08:50:00.000-06:00

I am seriously behind in posting this, but here are some pictures from when Mimi and Pop visited us last week. They drove out during our spring break and spent a few days with us, which was great. We enjoyed the zoo, the children's museum, celebrating Mimi's birthday, playing games, and great fellowship. Jason and I even got a date night which was wonderful. Hannah was entirely to excited to have us leave her alone with Mimi and Pop and was asking us for days if we could go ahead and leave already...where is the love?!
Anyway, we had a great time with them and were sad to see them leave!
I got a BIG cupcake pan for Christmas and finally was able to make it for Mimi's birthday. It makes a massive cupcake which is really just a smallish cake. It sure was cute though!

Our sweet girl with the new glasses that Mimi and Pop brought her and her dog Kujo. I will give you 1 guess as to who named that dog for her...

This is what we saw the day we went to the Waco zoo. If you have ever visited us and gone to the zoo you know that we actually have a great little zoo. We hear and see this on most days when we visit the zoo. So, enoy our "friendly" little lion. I know we all did!

Why not?

2011-03-03T20:34:00.006-06:00

I admit that one thing that I am not naturally good at is giving up some control to our almost 4 year old. What I mean is that I want to watch what she is doing and immediately fix/change/teach her how to do it "correctly." Thankfully, God is slowly teaching me to give up some of that control and let Hannah try things even if she fails at it the first time (or multiple times). Honestly, it is not easy. It would be faster and easier for me to simply do it myself, but I am learning that she LOVES to try and do most anything these days and I need to give her those opportunities. It is a slow process, but I take delight in seeing her succeed and seeing her enjoy the new learning opportunities.

Hannah has a wonderful Sunday School teacher who has taught for many years and writes curriculum for Lifeway. Her teacher is amazing at letting the kids do things that I didn't think kids would be doing at this age (hammering nails, using a screwdriver, cutting fruit with sharp knives, skewering fruit, all kinds of cooking, etc). She teaches them to try new things and feel confident in trying. It really is cool to watch. It is also a great example to me of all the things that she is capable of doing but that I am not allowing her to do.

So, I have been working lately at letting go of my control and trying to let her do new things. She is great at making coffee in our one cup coffee machine (she even adds my special creamer), she is a great help in cooking, she loves to dress herself (in interesting outfits!), she loves to sweep the floors (read: she pushes the dust everywhere!), and tonight she cut her Daddy's hair for the first time. And why not? Daddy needed his hair cut and it was a great opportunity for Hannah to try something new. As you can see in the video below, she took to it quickly!

Silly Daddy!

So, I am continuing to pray that God will allow me to be patient in giving Hannah these learning opportunities which she absolutely loves!

My little Punky Brewster

2011-02-23T21:09:00.002-06:00

Hannah has developed her own sense of style lately...and it seems to have taken on a "Punky Brewster" theme. I love it!

California Fun

2011-02-13T22:12:00.002-06:00

Hannah and I have been in California for a week now. We are helping Gramma who had surgery last week. Gramma is doing great and is recovering well.
I have taken a few pictures to keep up with the week. Our fun has included parks, a children's museum, baking, playing with cousins, playing with (read:torturing) the cat and dog, and enjoying Gramma and Grandpa.

There is a great new park about 1/2 mile from Gramma and Grandpa's house. We have gone no less than 3 times already. It is great! They have this HUGE climbing structure which we figured out quickly is actually a merry-go-round. This thing is awesome! It makes me wish I was a kid again.

Beginning Reading

2011-02-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hannah has actually quite surprised me lately by her reading. I bought these great books called "BOB books" which are perfect for emergent readers. She loves them! It also helps that I have a BOB book app now on my iPhone which helps her sound out words too. Anyway, she and I worked on this book the other day and we surprised Jason when he got home by having her read it to him. Obviously, it is a super easy book, but she seems to be understanding more about reading each day.

A "Real" Snow day

2011-02-06T06:00:00.002-06:00

We had a beautiful snow day on Friday of this week. I say it was "real" because earlier in the week school was called off for a snowless snow day. Yes, because we live in Waco and people have no idea how to drive in the snow, they called school off because there was a threat of snow. But, come Friday, we had about 3 inches of snow and a "real" snow day! Baylor cancelled classes so Jason got to enjoy the day with us too. It was beautiful outside and Hannah was so excited to play in the snow. In fact, she came down the stairs that morning and said "Mom, thanks for sending the snow for me to play in." I am touched that she thought I sent it just for her...sweet thing.

Molly enjoyed the snow too.

She's a dancing machine

2011-02-04T20:34:00.004-06:00

Hannah is becomming quite the dancer these days. In fact, she was busting these moves in the library the other day with no less than 5 people watching her and smiling ear to ear. I have to admit that I love to watch her enjoy life so much that she spontaneously begins to dance, in the library of all places. I also love that she is quite unconcerned with what others think of her. No shame, self-doubt, or fear, just joy in life. Oh, how I wish that this 30 year old mom could live with such abandon of the things in this life that weigh us down so much. The joy that a 3 year has in such things is delightful to watch! Enjoy!

A weekend to remember

2011-01-18T14:39:00.002-06:00

I had the joy of returning to Colorado this past weekend to stay with my brother and sister-in-law. One of my very best friends flew in and met me there and we all had a wonderful weekend together. I am so very blessed to have such incredible, Godly, and wonderful family and friends! This weekend was one of sharing our hearts, hearing God's promises for one another, and recounting God's faithfulness. Of course, it was also full of baking, 4-wheeling, Jillian Michaels workouts (AAH!), building legos with the kids, and girl time. I was so refreshed by the conversation, laughter, jokes, late night talks, and beautiful scenery.
We woke up to this..
Drove up the mountain to see this....

And were greeted by this at night...

The scenery was beautiful, but what I enjoyed the most was time with my family and an incredible friend! What a joy!

A funny side note...Jason was so sweet to suggest months ago that I do this without Hannah so the 2 of them stayed here for the weekend. Hannah was beyond excited for me to leave so she could have her Daddy all to herself (where is the love?!?!). On Friday, as they prepared to take me to the airport, Hannah said "Daddy, since Mama is leaving, you are going to do my chores this weekend!"

Floor reveal

2011-01-12T20:25:00.004-06:00

Since I mentioned our floors, I thought I would put some before and after pictures on the blog. We love the new floors by the way, but the process of staining concrete is about 95% prep work and about 5% new work. It was certainly interesting to watch.
Here are all the floors after old flooring was ripped up.
Dining room:
Living room:

Master bedroom:

Kitchen:

This was after they cleaned and sanded the floors. Notice the plastic up the walls about 2 feet? They put that on there because part of their process was the run a scrubbing machine over the floor with water and a soy based cleaner. It was a mess to say the least!

Kitchen:

Dining room:

Living room:

Master Bedroom:

And finally, after 4 long days of work by 2 men, we have these beautiful stained concrete floors!

Dining room:

Master bedroom:

Living room:

Kitchen:

View from the front door:

We love the floors! However, if you come and stay with us in the winter, bring slippers! It is mighty cold if you walk on them barefoot. I am sure it will feel great in the Texas summers, but for now, we don't dare walk barefoot.

It's been awhile...

2011-01-07T21:12:00.005-06:00

It certainly has been awhile. We have been quite displaced for the past 2 weeks. We had a broken hot water pipe which left us without hot water for over a week during Christmas. And 2 days after we got that fixed we had movers move us out of our downstairs so that we could have the floors completely redone. Now, we are finally back in our house after being away while they worked, but we are still without furniture downstairs. Monday will hopefully come quickly and we will be back to some normalcy around here.
It certainly does remind me though that some are without water permanently and without furniture. It is in these times of discomfort and annoyance that I am reminded to be so very thankful for the days of hot water that we do have!

In our desperation to keep a 3 and a half year old occupied amidst a bit of chaos around here, we sometimes had to resort to desperate measures. In this case...Daddy got his toenails painted blue. He still acts a bit shocked when he takes his socks off as they are still blue after being painted about a week ago! He sure is a good sport!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours

2010-12-25T20:51:00.002-06:00

We enjoyed a delightful day here celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the first time in our 9.5 years of marriage that we have spent Christmas here in Waco as our little family. I didn't quite know how it would feel not being with grandparents and extended family, but it was actually really nice. We got up, read a Christmas book (How God Got The World Ready for Jesus) which I highly recommend, and then did stockings and gifts as a family. It was a true blessing. I am so thankful for days like this that remind me of the gift of Jesus.
Our "just woke up" picture this morning.

Hannah got her first bike this year and she officially loves it. We got out briefly in the 39 degree weather to ride it, and we plan to take it to Papaw and Granny's house tomorrow so she can ride it even more.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours. May you know the peace that comes with celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!

The joy of family

2010-12-23T12:55:00.006-06:00

We got back on Tuesday from a wonderful trip to Colorado. We chose to drive out there and we quite enjoyed our family time on the way there and back. We had 10 adults and 5 children meet us there and it was great! We had a wonderful time at my brother and sister-in-laws house playing, laughing, and enjoying God's beautiful creation in Colorado.
This is the view from the backyard looking over to Pikes Peak. Maybe next time we go out there we can venture over to the Peak.

We had (almost) enough snow to sled. Thankfully, the kids (and us adults) didn't know any different and we just gave a good hard push to get down the hill. It was a blast!
My brother pulled out his toys, which included an atv and a bow and arrow, and we all had a good time with them. I love that adults still can get giddy over the joy and fun of these things. I have to admit that riding an atv and successfully shooting an arrow into the target will never get old. Oh the joys of adulthood!

My brother and Jason decided to light up the fire pit and everyone quickly gravitated to it, especially the kids.

There is something so intriguing about watching fire. These 4 huddled together to watch the fire in awe.

All the kids got plenty of time with and love from their great-grandmother. It was a joy to have her join us in Colorado.

I am so thankful for family! God is so faithful in providing us times of joy and refreshment with those we love so much!

Motorcycle fun

2010-12-13T14:38:00.002-06:00

Every year, a local motorcycle club comes thundering up to our church to pick up toys for our city's low income and homeless kids. While picking up the toys all of our kids get to sit on the motorcycles and meet all the leather clad drivers...it's pretty cool! This year, Hannah was more interested in sitting on one than last year.

While I love this sweet boy that is on the front of this motorcycle, I have to say that seeing my Hannah flirting from the back of the motorcycle driven by a boy who looks all too comfortable at the wheel makes me just a bit nervous. Let's just say that I should not see this scene for at least another 25 years!!! Moving right along...

Thanksgiving recap

2010-12-05T14:29:00.000-06:00

I am a bit behind on putting my pictures up from Thanksgiving, but we had a great time with family. Hannah and I had a roadtrip to Alabama with a fun stop at a hotel on the way. Hannah was super excited to stay at a hotel and just curled right up in her own bed when we got there. We ended up having a picnic on the bed for dinner and enjoyed a girls night out!
Hannah was super excited to get to Mimi and Pop's house and she got to have breakfast out one day with Pop which is something she always looks forward to.

I got to go to Atlanta and spend the night at one of my favorite nephew's house. This was the joyful face I got to play with!

Once all the cousins were together, they had a blast (minus the poor scratch on Bryce's face which was given to him by my sweet child...AHEM!). I can't believe how much these kids have grown up lately. It was really sweet to see how much they loved playing with each other. But, I have to admit that 5 kids under the age of 3.5 is a bit chaotic at times!

All the parents. We got a special night out one night with babysitting from Mimi and Pop. It was really great. I love the laughs that we can all share together.

We took the kids to Chick-fil-a one day and Bryce and Hannah loved seeing the cow.

Aunt Laura and sweet baby Whit.

Sweet Dawson. This little one steals my heart everytime I am around him! Besides the fact that he looks a LOT like my Jason.

Uncle Jason and sweet Kate.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I truly am thankful for this sweet family that I have been blessed to be apart of!

To my wife

2010-11-26T06:32:00.000-06:00

Today is a special day for Jennifer. I just wanted to interrupt her regular blogging presence to tell her that I love her. I love her more deeply today than when we were first married 9 years ago. She has been my faithful friend and my constant encourager and has always pointed me to hope in God and our Lord Jesus Christ in our marriage. If anyone knows the pressures that doctoral studies and pursuing tenure at a major university puts on marriage and family, then you would marvel at God's grace as I do in the steadfast enduring love that Jennifer has shown me. I am also continuously amazed at how wonderful and God-fearing Jennifer is as a mother. Jennifer, I love you and count myself deeply blessed by God to be your husband. I hope today is full of joy for you as we celebrate your life and God's amazing grace.

My heart is full

2010-11-19T20:55:00.002-06:00

I can't tell you what a joy this little one been to me lately. My heart truly is overflowing with love for her. Now, don't read into that statement that we are without behavior or discipline issues. Afterall, we are all sinners in need of forgiveness and God's grace. But, I just find such a joy in being around her. God has truly blessed Jason and I with a daughter that is funny, caring, loving, smart, and strongwilled (AHEM!). I am truly thankful to be her mommy and for her to be my daughter.

After dinner craft

2010-11-15T06:00:00.002-06:00

The cost of 4 bags of beans - $4.00
The cost of glue - $0.98

Spending an evening with family and friends making pictures out of beans - PRICELESS!

I think after dinner crafts might have to become a more frequent occurance around here!

Striped cutie

2010-11-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

I love cooler weather so our cutie can wear these adorable tights with her brown boots!

Bring on fall/winter...I love it!

Rewind

2010-11-11T19:45:00.002-06:00

These pictures were taken Halloween weekend when Gramma was out to visit. They were so cute though, I had to share them. At the carnival we went to, they were selling these homemade tutus with bows, so Gramma bought one for Hannah. She loved it! This was the photoshoot that occured when we got home to try the tutu on.

Our last week

2010-11-03T19:55:00.004-06:00

Hannah and I have had a full week. Gramma came to visit last Thursday and stayed the weekend with us while Jason was out of town. We had a great time with her while she was here. On Sat. night we went to a local school carnival at "Aunt" Kelly's school. It was just down the road from our house and Hannah loved it.

Hannah with Gramma and Kelly.

This bottom picture is an action shot of Hannah throwing a pie. What, you might ask, is she throwing a pie at?
Well, "Aunt" Kelly of course! Since Kelly teaches P.E. at the school she was signed up for a 30 min slot in the pie throwing booth. I had to think LONG AND HARD about whether or not we would participate in actually throwing a pie at her. But, since it all goes to benefit the school, it clearly was done for the kids...right! YAH, we love you Kelly! I just hated to have to throw a pie or two at you. *Wink, wink*

Hannah spied the horses immediately when we parked the car. She was determined to ride them too. The hilarious thing was that these horses are from the ranch we went to for Hannah's birthday. Which means, guess what horse was there taking children for horse rides???? The one who threw Jason off!!!! Oh, yes, the infamous Lilly was there giving sweet children rides on her back! Thankfully, Hannah rode a little pony, which made this Mom feel better about the whole situation.

Here is the infamous Lilly! Looks dangerous doesn't she! I am sure Jason wishes she looked more like a bull so his story could go that much further. Read the full story of that day here.

2010-10-27T15:40:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share some sweet pictures of our Hannah.

Weekend away

2010-10-20T13:19:00.007-05:00

Last weekend, Hannah and I had a girls weekend away from home. We first went to Grandmother's house where we spent the night. Hannah loves her great-grandmother and we enjoyed many laughs and delicious blueberry pancakes for breakfast. My Grandmother has a beautiful little canal behind her house that is gorgeous to walk along. Hannah took some bread to feed the ducks, but we didn't find any...so she just opened the bag and ate the bread herself. Silly kid!

Searching for the elusive ducks....

My sweet, beautiful Hannah! After Grandmother's house we headed up to Papaw and Granny's house to spend the night.

We got to ride this great little train at the local park, which was a new experience for Hannah. She enjoyed the ride but had a VERY firm grip on her Papaw's hand the whole time. Let's just say she is a bit cautious the first time she does some new things.

She and Papaw enjoyed some hay bale jumping together.

Hannah and Ganny enjoyed a meal and a special moment together at the kids table. Granny is such a good sport to always join the kids at the kids table.

Hannah also got to play with her cousins Ava and Ella. She and Ava are only 3 months apart and get along so well. It is such a joy to know that they just pick up right where they left off last time. So, we had a great weekend all around! I sure do love my family and my sweet time with Hannah.

For now, I think I figured out the problem with blogger. FYI, don't post your pictures in the size right out of your camera...you will eat up space quickly and run into the problem I now have. So, resize your pictures to about 60% of the full size before you upload them and you will save yourself the headache I now have.

Blogging question

2010-10-17T20:58:00.002-05:00

I have plenty of posts to share with you....but I am unable to upload pictures right now. AAARRRGGG!!! Which brings me to my question for you all.

Has anyone been told by blogger that you have reached your limit with pictures? I was told that I have to purchase more space from picasa web (which is blogger/google's web photo service) in order to continue posting pictures.
Has anyone else had this happen? Anyone have any other ideas for me?

I promise to figure this out soon.

Fall fun

2010-10-09T15:42:00.005-05:00

We went to a local farm today and had a blast! The weather is absolutely gorgeous today which made it that much better. This particular farm is about 20 minutes away from our house but we had never been there before. Hannah loved it.

They had rubber duck races with these long troughs and water pumps. There were about 15 of them and the kids could race their ducks to the end.
Hannah was very excited about this cow train. She rode the last one in the back and loved the VERY bumpy ride. Me, not so much!

Hanah was chillin out on the hay ride.

They also had bounce houses, a corn maze (which we didn't venture into) and other things. I was so pleased that it was not expensive to get in and they sold food that was seriously cheap. It was a nice change to feel like you were not ripped off to enjoy this place. I can't wait for next year when we can go back.

Belly Pen

2010-10-05T20:30:00.002-05:00

The other day Hannah and I were working on making a birthday card for a birthday we were going to. When I grabbed a black marker for her to use, she quickly told me that we had to use a different marker because that one was "the belly pen." After some laughter on my part, I had to tell her that the pen was indeed a regular pen even though she associated it with being a "belly pen." The reason why she called it that was entirely Jason's fault. One day, he got the smart idea to let her write on his belly. So, now that black pen will forever be known as "the belly pen."

Hannah's blank canvas on the before shot.
Jason doesn't have any "mom" tattoos, but this is pretty close. So, Mimi, you are now inked on Jason...at least until the marker washes off.

Hannah said this was a drawing of herself.

The finished product thanks to the "belly pen" and a willing 3 year old artist.

Invigorated

2010-10-02T20:53:00.003-05:00

Fall is finally here! I am LOVING the fact that it is cooling off significantly here and we are enjoying open windows and lots of time outdoors. In so many ways, the fall weather has left me feeling invigorated. I don't know what it is about changing seasons, but it has done my heart good. I love decorating for the fall and feeling the cool breezes in the morning. All of these things have left me feeling refreshed. I feel renewed to tackle parenting (which has been better lately since behavior has improved) and to get out and do more things outside. The TX heat is so awful here that we spend much of the summer indoors...bummer! So, it has been great to get outside again. I think Hannah can tell the difference too. The change in attitude in me and the renewal she gets from being outdoors.

I am so thankful to God for this time of renewal that has come from the changing seasons. Man, I love the fall!

While we won't be swimming much outdoors anymore I thought these pictures of Hannah were cute.

We have spent a lot of time on the swings in the backyard. Hannah is getting the hang of using her legs to swing herself. It is a slow learning process, but we are working on it.

We also had a week full of grandparents, which was awesome! My grandmother (Hannah's great-grandmother) came down on Friday to see us. It was a great visit and Hannah loved showing Grandmother all of her toys and basically talked her ear off. Thanks for visiting grandmother, it was wonderful!

We also got to see Papaw and Granny twice this week which was awesome! Since they live 2.5 hours away, seeing them twice in one week is a treat for us. Hannah, of course, enjoyed seeing them as well and had much to share with them. Thanks for visiting Papaw and Granny, we loved seeing you!

So, all in all, this season has been delightful! God is so good!

Turning a corner

2010-09-26T20:37:00.002-05:00

It has been almost a week and a half since my last post, and we seem to be doing *a bit* better in the discipline/behavior department. I just know this is going to take some time. It got worse before it got any better, but we seem to be on the right path. I have had some really good conversations this past week with people I really look up to in parenting, and the encouragement I have received has been wonderful. So, I am thankful to God for all of these things.
On top of all of this, Hannah has some sort of little mouth virus which she caught from some friends at church. She has not really been sick in months, so this has been fairly miserable for her. So, once you throw that on top of the behavior/discipline stuff, then you can come to understand how I have spent my last week.
Anyway, I have to post some pictures of our sweet Hannah soon. She has learned how to swing all by herself by using her legs and body...it's actually pretty comical, but it saves me from having to push her endlessly on the swing.

A singular focus

2010-09-17T15:22:00.004-05:00

I just realized that I have not posted in over a week! Between work (my part-time 12 hours a week), multiple house repairs, and family life I have not had time to do much else the past week. Other than these things our singular focus this past week has been dealing with behavior and heart issues in Hannah. In our family, the twos were not terrible at all, but the threes, they have been REALLY TOUGH!!! I have been shocked by all the stops that Hannah will pull out to get her way. So, it has been trying to say the least. So, most of our days are spent explaining, disciplining, reexplaining, praying, talking, more disciplining, and while I am by myself...pulling my hair out! Not really, but I have thought about it.
Anyway, I know this is a phase, but it is a hard one that I would love to get through soon! Some of the issue is mine. I need to know when to pick battles. I realize they don't all need to be battles, but it is hard when the attitude of a three year old comes in. I also realize there is my pride involved. It is one thing when Hannah acts up here at home for us, but when she acts up at church for others, it cuts me deep. I need to realize that is just my pride that wants my child to be perceived a certain way by others. So, yes, I pray that God would let those things die in me so I can focus on the real heart issues that Hannah is dealing with.
Most of our days are good, but man-oh-man, when it is bad, it is BAD!!! So, we are slowly (and patiently, by God's grace) learning to discipline Hannah so that she realizes the reasons behind the discipline.
So, that has been our last week (or really month). I'm praying that it eases up soon....any hope for that?!?!

Spaghetti Night

2010-09-08T06:13:00.002-05:00

We had speghetti night a while back and after spilling one to many noodles on her shirt, I asked Hannah to remove her shirt for the rest of dinner. I guess I should have asked her to do this from the beginning because this was a delightful way for her to finish her dinner. In fact, she then requested that both Jason and I do the same. As you can tell, Jason happily obliged. However, I can assure you, I did not.

These 2 are so fun together!

Playhouse project

2010-09-06T14:56:00.003-05:00

I found an awesome idea in a family fun magazine a few weeks ago. It was for a fabric playhouse. I jumped at the idea and Hannah has had a blast with it. I actually had enough left over fabric to make it, so the cost was free!!! It was a hodgepodge of colors though...thankfully, Hannah didn't care in the slightest.
We set out to cutting the fabric to cover the top of the table and down all 4 sides.

We chose to use our dining room table since it is our biggest one. It is counter height which was perfect for this project. It allows Hannah to have plenty of room to play under it.

I sewed the fabric to exactly cover the top of the table and down all 4 sides. I plan on sewing some ties about half way down the fabric sides so I can tie them together while it is on the table.

We cut a window that can be rolled up and tied into place.

And of course (according to Hannah) every house needs a door. So, we cut a door that can also be tied into place.

And voila, we have ourselves a great little playhouse that can be used and then put up when necessary. Hannah has loved taking her babies in it and making phone calls to "Mama's house" to see if she can come over and visit. And, of course, the answer is a resounding "YES!"

A much needed family fun night

2010-08-31T15:06:00.005-05:00

As some of you may know, we have had a hard few weeks around our house. I felt like we needed a night away as a family of 3. So, last Saturday we did something that we don't normally do. We drove to Dallas for the night and took Hannah to Medieval Times. It was just what we needed. It was really nice to do something out of the ordinary and enjoy time with just us. We had a blast too. Both Jason and I have been to Medieval Times before but since we had Hannah with us this time, it made it that much more special. Hannah was a bit overwhelmed at first with all the people and with the opening sword fight. But, once the horses came out, she was captivated the rest of the time.

She LOVED being able to eat with just her fingers too. They serve you a full dinner of soup, chicken, ribs, bread, potatoes, and dessert with no utensils. That might have been her favorite part...well, that and the pepsi that they gave her.

Depending on where you sit in the arena, you cheer for a certain color knight. Ours was the blue knight. If your knight wins competitions, they throw flowers out into the crowd. Our Hannah was thrown a flower and she loved it.

Jason on the other hand had a different opinion about a knight throwing his daughter a flower! I love this picture of the 2 of them though...classic!

Anyway, this night away was a great time for us as a family. While Medieval Times (or any other place for that matter) does not provide us the grace and peace which come from God alone in hard times, I am thankful for these sweet memories that are made as a family.

Getting the hang of it

2010-08-26T19:58:00.003-05:00

Hannah is quickly getting the hang of writing letters. Since I stay at home with her and do not teach in a school right now, it is a joy to spend time teaching her things like writing letters. It sure does this teacher's heart good!

One of the first words that she was able to put together was hat. We worked on that for awhile and attempted to change the "t" to an "n" so she could then spell Hannah.

We finally got the "n" down, but she has NO interest in spelling her own name.
So, for now, we we will just stick with having fun with letters.

It is so cool to me to watch kids as they learn. This will truly never get old!!!

2010-08-25T12:24:00.003-05:00

The other night at dinner, Hannah got some food on her clothes. She insisted that she go upstairs and change clothes...all by herself. She has actually gotten really good at getting clothes out and putting them on correctly, so it didn't seem like a problem to us. Well, little did we know what she was about to put on and parade around in downstairs.

She came down in what should be worn as a halter top. However, she couldn't figure out how to put it over her head, so she improvised and showed up like this...

HELLO TARZAN!!! All I have to say is that if I ever see her wearing an outfit like this past the age of 4 (I'm really thinking 14-18 years old!) I might keel over with a heart attack. But, not before I tell her (in kind words of course) to change clothes and burn said outfit.

We quickly remidied the outfit situation and put it on correctly. Oh man, I don't know what I will do with the teen years!

I'm flattered (or something)

2010-08-20T20:19:00.002-05:00

Hannah drew this lovely picture of me yesterday. She showed me how in the picture I had glasses, eyebrows, and my tongue sticking out. Well, I guess I am flattered! It's lovely coming from my sweet 3 year old (even if I look a bit like an ogre)!

This is one of the true blessings of being a mom...the sheer joy and pride I feel in a small picture that my child drew of me. I am thankful to God today!

Happy Anniversary!!!

2010-08-11T11:43:00.001-05:00

This picture was taken 9 years ago today!!!

Happy Anniversary Jason! I love you so much and I am so thankful for all that God has blessed me with in you!

It was only a matter of time...

2010-08-05T19:04:00.002-05:00

This week Hannah has pulled out 2 phrases that I was hoping not to hear from her (at least not at 3 years old!). In one week she has said "shut up" and "crap." I handled these swiftly so thankfully these phrases have not come up since. Man oh man, where has my "only say sweet things" child gone? The scary thing is that most movies we watch with Hannah (kids movies, mind you) say "shut up" multiple times in the movie. I guess we have become desentized to these things. I have to admit that I certainly have been...well, at least until my 3 year old said them.
I actually feel kind of bad for the situation. She hears these phrases in movies and in every day life (OK, OK, I admit that I say "crap" pretty often, but I TRY not to say it around her). But when she says it she gets in trouble. It is hard to explain to a 3 year old why these phrases are in movies but unacceptable for her to say. It's as much of a message that needs to be preached to me as her, since I shouldn't say them either.
I guess parenting is all about learning too. Sometimes, these lessons sting though!

Things certainly have changed

2010-08-01T19:00:00.005-05:00

I know that I am not entirely old enough to talk about "how different things were when I was young" but I sometimes catch myself thinking about it. Yesterday Jason started working with Hannah on how to use the computer. I was kind of shocked that at 3 years old she figured out pretty quickly how to use the mouse. I can remember not really having to use the computer for school until high school, and our 3 year old will likely know how to do basic computer functions by the end of this year. Scary!

Anyway, here is Hannah in her computer training with Jason.

Imitation

2010-07-28T11:22:00.003-05:00

I sure hope imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or else I must look ridiculious when I read magazines. Surely I don't just lick my fingers for nothing!

Man, this kid cracks me up!

Fun with friends

2010-07-22T12:44:00.002-05:00

While on our trip to Birmingham, we got to spend about 24 hours with some wonderful friends of ours. This was a special treat for us since we don't get to see them very often. Jason went to college with Joey and Brooke (Broke as Hannah calls her) and I got to know them when Jason and I started dating. They are a wonderful family that I sure wish we lived closer to! We enjoyed great fellowship, much laughter, incredible food, and a great time together. Joey and Brooke have 2 kids that are older than Hannah, but Hannah adores them both. Andrew and Alora were sweet to let Hannah play with their toys and include her. We were able to go to a kiddie carnival one night which all 3 of them enjoyed.

Besides a bit of a height difference, Jason and Joey really do look like long lost brothers. I am so thankful for the friendship they share!
The kids rode the swings at the carnival which was a first for Hannah. To be honest, I was going to ride them with Hannah in my lap (which others were doing too). So, Hannah got all excited and ready to go when they told me I couldn't go with her but that she could go by herself. So, I asked her if she still wanted to go and she did. So, I cinched in her tightly and prayed she would like it. Thankfully, she loved it! Alora was so sweet and sat next to Hannah on the ride. Doesn't she just look tiny in that big seat?

This was Hannah's first taste of sugar heaven, AKA cotton candy, and she loved it too. Thompsons - we love you guys and had a blast hanging out with you! Let's do it again soon!

Phone chatting

2010-07-19T08:47:00.001-05:00

Hannah has always enjoyed chatting on a phone, real or not. But, lately, the conversations haven taken on new life and have become quite humerous. In fact, as she has listened to me talk on the phone lately, she has quickly memorized our phone number. My one question is...is this what I sound like on the phone?!?!

Oh Lord help us when this girl gets her own phone!!!!

Working out

2010-07-17T19:57:00.005-05:00

Hannah pulled out my post pregnancy workout video the other day and went to town...it was hilarious!!!

Enjoy!

A true girly girl

2010-07-14T21:01:00.003-05:00

We were so blessed yesterday to receive a wonderful package in the mail with some very special outfits for Hannah. Our friend Beth made these wonderful tutus for Hannah. Long story short, she LOVES them! She would have worn them all to bed (layered on top of one another) and out of the house today if I would have let her. However, we settled on wearing pj's to bed and the shirt/tutu combination out and about today. I can't tell you how many times she has changed and changed again since receiving them. There are just enough combinations for her to feel great joy in mixing and matching. I have to say that Hannah is a girly girl to the max! She carried a purse all around Birmingham last week and this week has moved on to tutus. I love it! Thank you Beth for these wonderful treasures for Hannah! Beth even sent a matching bracelet to match the outfits...so thoughtful!!!

Hannah is delighted to be able to twirl in these tutus. She ran out to see Jason when he got home yesterday and joyfully exclaimed "Daddy, look at me, I can twirl!!!"

Kids galore

2010-07-12T19:54:00.004-05:00

We are back from our whirlwind tour of Alabama. We had a blast with all our family, friends, and cousins. There were 8 adults and 5 kids (all under the age of 3) that we enjoyed for the week. Here are some shots from our time.
This is sweet baby Whit who was born in May. He was adorable and oh so fun to hold!!! We were delighted to meet him this week.
Sweet baby Dawson is not much of a baby anymore. This little guy melts my heart! I guess when he is 18 and I am still calling him baby Dawson, he might not appreciate it, but for now, it works!

Isn't he just the cutest?!

Sweet Bryce is such a big boy now and a joy to be around. He is all boy which is good for Hannah and Kate since they need to learn to tone down the girlyness (and drama!) sometimes. Although, I have to say that Bryce was caught holding a purse on a few occasions...maybe they all rub off on one another!

Cousin Kate and Hannah really enjoyed playing this week too. The girls loved to play like they were shopping at a store complete with fake credit cards and 1 dollar bills.

These 3 really were cute. These are the times when I am so thankful for cousins! It truly is a blessing from God to see the joy these kids take in one another!

Uncle Michael went from being the hunter....

...to the hunted!

We are home now and still tired from a wonderful week!

Out and about

2010-07-08T14:30:00.002-05:00

I realize that I have not posted in a long time! We left last weekend for a summer trip to Birmingham and we are still here. We have had a great time with family and Hannah has had a blast with her cousins! We are about to be out numbered with kids, since currently there are 5 cousins under the age of 3. Hannah, Bryce, and Kate have absolutely loved being with each other this week. We, thankfully, are past the age and stage of fighting over toys (mostly) so they just enjoyed playing peacefully with one another.

Jason and I got the rare treat of going away for a night last night and it was glorious! This was only our second night away from Hannah, but it was refreshing and wonderful for us. Hannah stayed with Mimi and Pop and enjoyed more in 24 hours than we normally do in a week! She might not want to go back to Waco when we are ready to leave! Thanks Mimi and Pop for giving us this opportunity!

I have many pictures to post, so I will try to get them up soon. Until then, we are enjoying the time here!

2010-06-28T10:20:00.002-05:00

Here is a fun family photo snapped at lunch the other day.

And here are a few quick stories from the past few weeks...

One night we went out for a family dinner at Chili's here on Baylor's campus. As we were getting ready to leave, I went to the bathroom while Jason was with Hannah. As I was in the bathroom I heard the fire alarm go off, which was VERY LOUD by the way. Immediately, I was concerned. As I walked out of the bathroom I see Jason talking sternly to Hannah, and I just knew that the inevitable had happened. Hannah had pulled the fire alarm on the wall! Jason didn't have time to stop her before she just pulled on the BIG RED handle. The noise was horribly loud! I took Hannah outside and talked to her about what happened and why it was wrong of her. I made her go back in and apologize to the manager. Unfortunately all the customers (which thankfully was only about 4 tables) had to leave the restaurant while it was taken care of. It also scared Hannah bad enough that it was a consequence in itself. Oh the joys of a 3 year old!!!

We had a church staff pool party and BBQ a few weekends ago. Hannah and the other kids really enjoyed swimming together. We have had Hannah swimming in a floaty bathing suit for awhile now and she does great all by herself. At the end of the night we were packing up and getting ready to leave. I had taken Hannah's floaty suit off and she just had her regular suit on. She went with me down to the pool to get our stuff together and she was talking with another kid who was still swimming in the pool. I turned around and she was standing on the first step in the pool. From across the pool, I yelled for her NOT to get in and I ran over to her. She stood there for a moment and then jumped in and immediately sank right to the bottom. Thankfully the husband of the couple who own the house (who happens to be a very reputable surgeon here in town) was standing right by and he reached in and began to pull her out. By that time I had jumped in to grab her. It was horrible to see her at the bottom of the pool with her big eyes just looking up at us wondering what just happened. Besides the fact that she disobeyed my instructions, it scared her really bad! I cannot teach her to swim fast enough!

Anyway, we have had plenty of natural consequences (and scary moments) lately in our house.

New Tastes

2010-06-22T21:37:00.002-05:00

I have learned in the last week that one of the faults of mine in cooking for Hannah is that I don't often introduce foods to her that I don't care for myself. I should learn to branch out more, but it sure is hard to branch out of food ruts. Anyway, one of the foods that I don't serve much (or at all) is tomatoes. Now, I am not totally opposed to eating them on sandwiches or burgers, but I do not care for tomatoes by themselfs. So, up to this point, Hannah has only had the opportunity to eat straight tomatoes 1 or 2 times.
Last week, we went to a couples house from our lifegroup and they served fresh cherry tomatoes from their garden. After Hannah showed some interest in them at the dinner table, they took her outside and let her pick a basketfull of them. Would you believe that my child ate them like candy!? We ended up bringing a big bag of them home and she popped them like grapes.

She was delighted by this new food that she apparently loves. It was a good reminder for me too, that I need to branch out and allow her to try things that I might not care for. I guess she is not the only one that learns new things each day!

Great reading

2010-06-18T13:30:00.001-05:00

So, while I was on the plane this past weekend on the way to California and back, I had a lot of time to read, think, and pray. It was truly wonderful time that I had to myself. I only took one book with me, "Don't make me count to three" by Ginger Plowman. I have read it before, but felt like I could benefit from reading it again. It was wonderful! The subtitle of the book is "A mom's look at heart oriented discipline" and this is just what I was needing a refresher on.

I was so encouraged to read the first chapter on "the high calling of motherhood." A few things that stuck out to me were -
"I got to read a couple of great classics today. Out loud. Move over Dickens, we have the works of Dr. Seuss. I was also able to dust, organize, clean, counsel, and cook. I kissed away the boo-boos and washed away the tears. I praised, rebuked, encouraged, hugged, and tested my patience, all before noon. Yes, my greatest accomplishment today was nurturing the precious children that God has entrusted to my care. Now, let's talk about my greatest challenge today...and every day. It is raising these precious children in the ways of the Lord. God does have an important job for me, and it does require much skill. It is my calling, my priority, my struggle, and my goal. I will rise to the occasion and accept the task at hand. I will love, nurture, and train my children the way that God has called me to do."

There are many days when I finish the day and wonder what I actually accomplished. The house is still messy, my to do list seems longer, and I felt like I didn't do much worthwhile. But, when I read these above words, I am reminded of the calling of being a mother and how incredibly much I do accomplish when I am just with Hannah. Loving her, teaching her, correcting her, and just playing with her. It was such a refreshing reminder from God.

I also read this-
"Train with this thought continually before your eyes: The soul of your child is the first thing to be considered. In every step that you take about them, in every plan and scheme and arrangement that concerns them, do not leave out that mighty question, 'How will this affect their souls?' Our ultimate goal in everything should be to point them to Christ."

WOW! I was overwhelmed when I read this. What an incredible and tremendous task that is. The refreshing thing about this is that I am only able to do this with God. I pray that this would be the first thing that I consider in all my dealings with Hannah. I was reminded anew about how very important parenting is by this one quote.
So, I am thankful to God for these sweet reminders this past weekend. I came back refreshed and renewed for the great task of parenting my sweet Hannah.

San Diego Fun

2010-06-17T12:57:00.002-05:00

Here are some fun pictures from my weekend in sunny San Diego. I have to admit that after living through the Texas summers for so long, I actually got chilly in San Diego! It was unreal! The days were about 63 degrees, which is a full 30+ degrees cooler than it is here now. Anyway, the beaches were gorgeous! This is a beach that we used to go to all the time in Del Mar when we were growing up.

And this....was the view from the house where we celebrated Alair's graduation. It had a full 180 degree view of the ocean from the living room and patio. It was beautiful!

But, the BEST part of all was celebrating the graduation of one of my best friends! This is a picture of my mom, me, Alair, and her mom. Alair and I have known each other since middle school. We were daily prayer partners for years in high school and college. We used to call each other each day before school and pray...it was wonderful to say the least! Alair is an amazing, Godly, and caring friend that I am so very thankful for! She graduated with her marriage and family therapy degree from Bethel Seminary and I am so proud of her!

So, we had a blast celebrating with her and her family this past weekend.

Alair, I love you friend, and congrats on your graduation!

Our cutie

2010-06-16T13:23:00.002-05:00

Sorry it has taken so long to post lately. We have had continual internet problems for about 2 weeks now. Hopefully we are up and running now. I had a wonderful weekend in California and was quite refreshed when I returned. I couldn't have been any happier to get back to cutie though! I just love her to pieces! I will share more about my trip and some great reading I did on the plane, but until then, here are some sweet pics of our Hannah.
Hannah loves skirts! I think she would wear them all the time if she could. She especially loves these fun, flowy kinds. Thanks for the outfit Gramma...as you can see Hannah loves it!

Off to cooler climates

2010-06-10T22:00:00.002-05:00

I am off for a weekend in San Diego...by myself! Yes, I am leaving my sweet Hannah home with Jason while I suffer for the weekend. I checked the weather and it is a high of 66 tomorrow and a low of 63. It's going to be rough, let me tell you!
I am attending the graduation of one of my best friends, Alair. She is graduating with her marriage and family therapy degree and I am so proud of her! My mom is meeting me in San Diego, so we get to have a mother daughter/girls weekend to celebrate.
I don't know what I will do with myself on an airplane without a 3 year old. Maybe catch up on some sleep, read a magazine, or better yet....do nothing! While I will miss Hannah and Jason terribly, I think this time will be very beneficial for me at the moment.
So, I am off to the beach....YEEHAW!

Gym time

2010-06-09T12:52:00.003-05:00

I have noticed lately that disobedience and exercise are linked pretty closely in Hannah. Not that this is the only thing linked to her disobedience (she, like the rest of us, struggle with sin regardelss of physical exercise)...but I can definitely see a connection. When she gets good outdoor time and sufficient exercise during the day, she is much less likely to struggle with outright disobedience than on the days when we are couped up inside without much of an outlet for getting her energy out. We have been trying to take a walk at the beginning of each day and then doing some sort of physical activity to burn off her energy during the day. I can definitely see how at this age, it is crucial for her to have this time. So, in my quest to get her some good physical exercise each day, I came upon a really cool opportunity last week. We have several gymnastics places here in town, but last week I found out that one of them does an open gym once a month. We went last Friday and it was awesome! It only costs $5 and the kids have free reign of the entire gym and all the equipment in it. Hannah loved it. Obviously some of the stuff was too big for her to use, but they had an entire preschool area with appropriate equipment for kids her size.
They have these really long trampolines for running and tumbling on, which were a blast. And if you think that I didn't try them...well, AHEM, let's just say they were just as fun for me!

Since they also do cheerleading at this gym all the floors are really springy so the kids just bounce as they run.

Here was part of the preschool area with a whole climbing structure and mini trampolines, bars, balance beams, a climbing wall, and so on.

This little zip line had to be Hannah's favorite thing. She got really good at pushing off of gliding and then dropping down and landing on 2 feet.

Anyway, I plan to attend the once a month open gyms with Hannah since we had such a good experience there. I love finding new and exciting opportunities like this to get out and get some good exercise for both of us. And while I know that this doesn't help with all the discipline problems we encounter, I am thankful to God that I have found that it does help some.

For your viewing pleasure

2010-05-29T09:04:00.007-05:00

I have made a few videos of some fun conversations with Hannah lately. Yes, she happens to be sitting on the potty in them...some of the best conversations happen there (go figure!). Anyway, she is singing a favorite song in the first one and just chatting in the second one.

Enjoy our sweet Hannah!

2010-05-28T14:44:00.003-05:00

I know other kids who have had really funny things to say from an early age. That has not been our Hannah. She was really quiet for a long time and we wondered if the girl would ever talk. Now, it seems, she cannot stop talking and has some pretty funny things to say. She was always and still is very observant. She will watch people and listen intently to what they are saying before she busts out with something funny. I love that about her. I love how intentional she is about her words and her actions. I pray that the Lord will use this gift in her life so she can minister to others and glorify God with her words and actions.
So, she has really come into her own lately with talking. She is VERY animated when she tells stories. If you are around her at all, you will notice this quickly! She keeps our adult friends engaged in conversations becuase they just love how animated she is. I love it too!
Anyway, here are some funny things she has said lately.

"I want to wear a skirt today so I can twirl around and dance like the Baylor kids."

As we pass a McDonalds in the car she says "I'm really, REALLY thirsty! I think I need a milkshake."

Hannah asked Jason to get her something in the backseat that he couldn't reach so he told her that we were almost home and he would get it when we got home. She seemed exasperated and said "Daddy, I don't understand what you are saying!"

As Jason got on his bike to ride to work she said "Have fun at work today Daddy. Don't burn yourself!"

Man, I love this kid and all the great things she says!

Oh dear!

2010-05-25T12:01:00.002-05:00

Well, let's just say that at the end of our night last night...ALL of this hair was left over. And no, that is not our new pet guinea pig (althought Hannah would like that!). One of Jason's colleagues shaved his head yesterday and Jason was convinced that he needed to do the same. After some bets between the 2 of us (and a phone call to Kelly....AHEM!) this is what we did last night. Hair grows back right!?!?!
Here was Jason before "the 'do."

I considered leaving Jason like this, but decided it would probably not be well received. Plus, I have to be seen with him in public, so I kept going.

And, here is what Jason's new summer 'do looks like. He says that it is easier to run and bike to work without the small animal on his head. I guess that is probably true.

So, what do you think about the new summer 'do? Do you like it before or after?

New technology

2010-05-21T10:43:00.002-05:00

We bought this learning computer for Hannah over a year ago. It is great and she loves it. It does letters and sounds as well as games. We keep it in the car for her to play with. On this particular day, she just looked so grown working on her "laptop." I just cannot even imagine the types of technology that she will have that we never had as kids.
Anyway, yesterday, while we were in the car, she told me that she was going to check her faceblog! Oh dear!

3 year stats

2010-05-17T15:48:00.003-05:00

We took Hannah to the doctor for her 3 year old check up today. The doctor said that she looked great and here are her 3 year old stats:

Weight: 34 lbs. (85%)
Height: 38 1/2 inches (89%)
Head: 20 in.

She had to get one shot that she was behind on, and she was NOT happy about it. Now that she is older it is heartbreaking when she says between sobbing "what just happened? What is hurting me? Why did she do that?" Thankfully, the nurse pulled out a sucker and all was right with the world again.

I need to start writing down some funny things that Hannah says so that I don't forget them. So, I will try and put them on the blog frequently.
While I was getting Hannah out of the bathtub she said "I got to hurry up and dry off so I don't melt."

A unique birthday experience

2010-05-15T20:14:00.007-05:00

So, thankfully it didn't rain today and we were able to go out and ride the horses with Hannah. Papaw and Granny made the trip down to join us for the fun, which was great. Hannah enjoyed meeting the horses and petting their noses before we began riding.

There were 2 horses (Lilly who was 6 years old and Prince who was 27) and Hannah and I rode the older (and much calmer) Prince. Hannah got on him by herself first and was lead around the corral.

She and I then rode together on Prince for a bit while Jason got situated on the other horse. I should mention that the other horse was acting quite frisky from the moment we arrived and so we decided that Jason should ride that horse instead of Hannah and I (in hindsight, it was a great decision).
So, Jason finally got situated long enough for the horse to start walking around the ring...when it threw him off!!!! YES, you read that right. Right after this picture, with all of us watching, the horse jumped up and threw him off. And, thankfully the man (Alan) had ahold of of the horse's reins since we are all pretty sure the horse was ticked off enough at Jason to want to trample him on the ground. All that to say, Jason was done with horse riding at that point.
On another note, the man (Alan) works at Baylor in the risk managment department. We all got a good laugh out of the fact that this man put Jason on this horse and spends his life calculating the risks for Baylor...you can see how the jokes escalated!

Jason did take another shot at riding the much older and docile horse after Hannah and I did, but as you can see from this picture, he could only just say "WOH" every time the horse did anything but walk.

After Hannah saw Jason thrown from the horse, she got nervous and didn't really want to ride anymore. She just wanted to get off and be with her daddy. Anyway, it was a bittersweet trip since Jason didn't quite have a great time. Poor guy turned 35 today and got thrown off of a horse! Not quite the birthday experience he was looking for. Thankfully, besides being sore and having some burns on his hand he seems to be fine.
Happy 35th birthday Jason...sorry your birthday experience was being thrown off of a horse! Let's take round 2 tomorrow and calculate our risks by just going out to dinner!

Another Happy Birthday

2010-05-15T06:27:00.001-05:00

Today is my sweet husband's 35th birthday!!!

Jason,
Happy birthday! I am so thankful for you today and for the wonderful years the Lord has given us together. You have accomplished so much in your 35 years of life and I am thankful to God for all the giftings He has given you. You are a wonderful husband and father that I cannot say enough about. Thank you for the joy and laughter that you bring to my life. I cannot wait for the next 35 years that I can spend with you.
I love you dearly!

I just love this sweet picture of Jason when he was young! Too cute!

Birthday update

2010-05-14T14:42:00.002-05:00

Our birthday girl is having a blast today! A friend at church passed down this shirt so Hannah got to finally wear it today (it says "Birthday Girl" on it). She loved jumping party this morning and 3 of her friends from church joined us there. They all ran themselves silly there and wore themselves out.
We took Hannah to a local pizza place for lunch where she got her beloved soda....she LOVED every sip of it! It was pretty cute to watch. She chose a Dr. Pepper. She is a girl after her my own heart.

I still can't believe that my baby is 3! I can still call her my baby right?!?! (Sorry about the belly shot, but I love this picture of the 2 of us!)

One of her friends gave her a fruit by the foot this morning, so why not have one after a soda!?!

I was quite shocked, but after a full cup of soda, she still took a 2.5 hour nap this afternoon. She just woke up actually. I guess all that running around at Jumping Party took something out of her. Anyway, it has been a great day so far!

Happy Birthday Hannah and Papaw

2010-05-14T05:46:00.001-05:00

Today, we celebrate the third birthday of our sweet Hannah. She is more delightful to me than I ever could have imagined. She is funny, loving, goofy, animated, strong willed, and independent. All of these things and more make me love her so dearly. I am so very thankful to God for every moment that I have with her!

Hannah,
Happy 3rd Birthday! Your Daddy and I love you so much! We are so thankful for you and cannot imagine life without you. You bring so much joy and laughter to our lives. We are deeply thankful to God for all that He has given us in you. You are a blessing from God and today we celebrate another year of your life. We love you!!!

I clearly remember this day and moment! May 14, 2007 at 1:23pm our sweet Hannah was born. We were overwhelmed with delight and joy!

Today, Hannah also shares her birthday with her Papaw. What a fun day that they celebrate together. My dad is one of the most patient and loving men that I have ever known and I cannot say enough about how thankful I am for him as well! God truly blessed with with an amazing dad! I am so honored to celebrate the birth of these two amazing people today! Happy Birthday Dad, we love you so much!

Hannah has only requested 2 things on her birthday...cake and soda. So, Jason and I are going to take her to Jumping Party for some play time this morning and then we will indulge her craving at lunch by giving her a soda and cake (with something of substance hopefully too). Oh yes, please pray for the aftermath of this decision too! She has never had her own cup of soda, just sips of ours, so she has been looking forward to this day for some time. I'll let you know how it goes....
And, in other exciting news, we are taking her horseback riding tomorrow morning! I cannot tell you how excited she is about this. Actually, I have to admit that I might be more excited than she is about it. We have 2 horses reserved that we will have for an hour. Now, here's to praying that we don't get rained out...try explaining that to a 3 year old!!! I will make sure to take pictures and share about our experiences after it. What a fun weekend we have planned to celebrate this sweet little one!

Our building project

2010-05-12T06:18:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, we undertook a building project at the house. We decided to rip down and replace the 8 ft section of fence between our house and the house next to ours. The old section of fence and the gate were basically falling down. You could only open the gate from the outside and it was rickety at best.
So, with our little helper, we ripped it down.

We pretty quickly put up the new fence, but the gate took a bit more time.

And this is how we occupied our "little helper" while we did most of the work.

And here was the completed fence and gate (without stain).

Hannah was pretty proud of her work....even though her work really just consisted of sprinkling water on the new fence.

We took a few days to stain the fence and put an iron piece on it for decoration.

The only downside to this new fence was that it caused our alleriges to go CRAZY!! We chose to build the fence out of cedar wood which both Jason and I are allergic to. After putting the wood in our car and working with it all weekend, we were both having horrible allergic reactions. At least we have a new fence to show for it!

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T18:55:00.003-05:00

Our family would like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all moms!

Tree climber

2010-05-06T06:31:00.000-05:00

Hannah has become quite the little tree climber lately. She loves to be flung up into trees and she tries to climb around in them (at least until I get nervous and get her down). We went to a great park in town last week with playgroup and there were the most wonderful climbing trees there. Hannah had a blast!

At one point all 3 kids got up into the tree and sat there just enjoying one another. So cute!

Welcome to the world

2010-05-05T07:28:00.002-05:00

Hannah's cousin Whit was born yesterday. He is adorable and doing great. Welcome to the world sweet Whit, we can't wait to see you next month! Congrats Laura and Jason!

Andrew Whitlark ("Whit") Brantley was 6lbs 12pz and 20.75in. What a cutie!

Thank you

2010-05-04T06:24:00.000-05:00

Thank you sweet HEB checker lady for talking so sweetly to Hannah and giving her a balloon. Thank you for taking the time to actually have a conversation with her and not talking in baby talk to her. Thank you for your kindness to my sweet Hannah!

Thank you for making this sweet girl's day!

Campus Fun

2010-05-02T21:13:00.002-05:00

Hannah loves playing on Baylor's campus and I love that she has such an awesome place to play around. She is in a huge climbing phase and it provides endless fun for her as she runs around and climbs on everything.
She walks around campus like she owns the place...it's pretty cute!

We'll see Hannah, one day you might call this place home.