Baylor Treat Night

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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....

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!