Where's My Little Girl?

Hannah just turned four years old this week! How did this happen? It seems like yesterday we found out we were pregnant with her! She is such an amazing blessing to us. I don't think there's a day that goes by that we aren't amazed by something she does. There is nothing like a child to remind just how awesome of a God we are serving!

For Hannah's birthday party, we decided to have it the gym where she takes gymnastics! Let me sum up her previous birthday parties for you...1st birthday -- we rented out the pavilion at church for an outdoor party...it was sweltering hot, 2nd birthday -- we had a water party outside...it was sweltering hot, 3rd birthday -- we had a horse party at the barn complete with pony rides and "cowgirl" games, it was sweltering hot (and I was 8 months preggo), 4th birthday -- we had a gymnastics party inside the gym, it was AWESOME outside...not just kind of nice weather, it was absolutely gorgeouse outside! Go figure, the one year we decided against the sweltering August heat, it would be amazingly nice outside! Hannah had a blast at her party! We had 17 kids at her party...that's including the three precious babies....by far, the biggest party we've had yet! I think all the kids had fun and ran off lots of energy. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends with great kids that surround Hannah with such wonderful, Christian love! Thank you all for the outpouring of support as we try raise up our children in the ways of the Lord!

I also attempted to make cupcakes for her birthday this year. Each year I am trying to add something new to my birthday cake abilities. This year I thought of alot of great ideas for cakes, but, in the end, reality set in and I developed a more simple plan. I did try my hand at working with fondant though! After my first trial run with the fondant, I was ready to give up. However, thanks to some encouragement from my dear friend, Linda, I decided to try again. In fact, she even came over the night before the party and helped me get it all together. In the end, I think we ended with some pretty good cupcakes!!

Overall, it's so hard to believe that Hannah has grown up so much. Linda and I were looking at some of Hannah's baby pictures the other night and I just couldn't believe how much time has passed. We have nearly forgotten the struggles Hannah had as a baby...her Vandy NICU stay, her endless list of doctor visits, her surgery at five months, the constant concern over her growth and development, etc. To see her now, you would never know she ever had any medical problems at all. Once again I am reminded of what a mighty God we serve! Thanks for all of our prayer and support over these past four years...keep up that prayer as we continue to raise Hannah. We've still got the teen years to go...I don't even think we know what we're in for!!

Hannah's Big Day!

We haven't had a whole lot going on around here lately. Our biggest bit of excitement right now is Hannah starting Pre-K! She is going to the Pre-K program that is offered at her daycare. We think it's going to be a great program for her...it's amazing to think that her experience this year could shape her future so much. It's not a big change for us since we still take her to the same building everyday, but I think she feels like a big girl! The pictures are from her first day. She gets to carry a backpack everyday and doesn't have to take naps anymore...unfortunately, that means cranky Hannah in the evening! I'll keep you updated as we go along!!

As we looked at these pictures throughout the day, I couldn't help but to think of how we would keep coming back to these same pictures throughout her life. I had a flash-forward of us when Hannah graduates high school and us showing off her "first day of school" picture! Maybe this will be the picture we put in the back of her senior yearbook...you know where all the cheesy parents buy ad space and put baby pictures of their child in the yearbook! We'll have to start thinking of the perfect cheesy caption now...hmmm...what would be most embarrassing for a high school senior! Poor Hannah, she had no idea of the family she has been born into when it comes to stuff like that!!

Fourth of July Fun!!

We decided to go to Lebanon, KY to spend the July 4th weekend with the Brockman family. We had a great time spending time with family. We played cornhole and watched fireworks on Friday evening. Apparently, cornhole was a bigger hit than we realized! We had a very rough night on Friday though. Sadie woke up at about 3:30 AM (Eastern time, so 2:30 our time) and was pretty inconsolable for the rest of the night. I knew she had a fever of some sort, but didn't know just how bad at the time. David is such a great dad and remembered to pack Tylenol! A couple of hours after the Tylenol she was still burning up, so David went to Wal-Mart and got some Motrin and a thermometer. (This was a 5:00 AM...little did he know that he would go to Wal-Mart a couple more times before 8:00 AM!!) Turns out, her fever was well over 101 with the Tylenol, but went down significantly with the Motrin. We promised Hannah that we would take her to the county fair on Saturday, so after our crazy night, we prepared ourselves for a fun day at the fair. The weather was great and it seemed to be a nice day for the fair...I was even looking forward to riding some of the rickety and completely unstable carnival rides...you Moms out there know what I'm talking about! Well, apparently, the Lebanon fair doesn't open until 6:00 PM...even on Saturday! Anyone who has ever dealt with a small child who has promised to ride the carousel at the fair knows that "It's not open right now" is not a valid reason for not going to the fair. SO, in an effort to save the day, we decided to try the street fair in the next town over. It turned out the be a decent little fair. Mostly street vendors with all sorts of crafty little knick-knacks!

I feel this time is perfect for me to jump on my soapbox for a moment, so excuse me while I do just that. Keep in mind we were in Kentucky, which is known for it's ability to grow and harvest tobacco. Needless to say, I think everyone in Kentucky must smoke! It's disgusting. It bugs me to no end to see these small town families that appear to be hanging on to that last dollar to feed and clothe their families, yet they still manage to buy their cigarettes. I cannot stand to see a child look malnourished and living in impoverty, but see their parents right there with them smoking. I'm not sure how much it really costs to keep up that habit, but there was an advertisement at Wal-Mart for a carton of cigarettes for $48.95. So, at a carton per week, that's $200 per month. That's groceries!! It disgusts me beyond belief that someone could keep up that nasty, unhealthy, and costly habit while their child is going hungry!! Is it really worth it? OK, soapbox over.

Back to the story....after the fair, we went to David's grandparents house for a cookout! The food was awesome! We had all planned to have a family picture made while we were there as a surprise for the grandparents. David's grandfather is not doing well, so everyone thought it would be a great time to have a family picture made. It was raining most of the afternoon, but the rain stopped for about 20 minutes....just enough time to get all of our pictures done! I think the grandparents are excited to see how the pictures turn out!

After alternating Tylenol and Motrin all day, Sadie was still burning up, so we decided to take her to the ER. When we got there, her fever was 102.5...the highest of the day. The doctor, Walter Montgomery, which I thought was the classic small-town doctor name, confirmed that she has another ear infection. He got her started on an antibiotic before we left and sent us on our way. Her fever seemed to have broken overnight and she was playful Sunday morning. However, when we got home, it had come back with a vengeance. It was 104.5 when we got home. After another round of Tylenol and Motrin, it dropped back down to 103. Hopefully, it will break fully tonight. Regardless, we will be calling Dr. Roads in the morning!!

So, pardon the longwindedness, but that was our weekend! It was good overall!

Busy, busy, busy...

Boy, have we been busy lately! David and I were both off last week to help with vacation bible school...maybe not the ideal way to spend your vacation, but we did have a great trip through the Australian outback spreading God's word and love! My classroom was "Missions Harbor" for kindergarten missions. The decorations turned out really cute! I'll post a picture for all to see! I owe a huge thanks to David for creating the lighthouse and to Linda for helping me get it all together! The girls both had a lot of fun during the week and Hannah learned the importance of the girls beating the boys in competition with the missions offering! By the way, the girls raised the most money!!

I'm A Gonna Drive My Car

This past week has been pretty fun! We had a cookout with our LIFE Group from church on Saturday...the rain actually stopped for the day! The family that hosted the cookout just so happened to have a pink Barbie Jeep that they no longer needed. It needed a new battery and some cleaning up, but Hannah didn't care. She litterally moved tables and chairs, by herself, to pull it out and pretend she was driving. The family requested that we take the Jeep off of their hands, so we were obliged to do so! We dusted the Jeep off, put the seats down in the van (yes, Linda, I am bragging a little bit...it just has so much room!), and loaded it up. David and Hannah spent Sunday afternoon giving her new car a bath...Hannah wanted to put it in the bath tub, but settled for giving it a shower with the water hose instead! It looks practically new and with the new battery in it, it runs just like new!

So, now she has her Jeep....and we have a ding in David's car, a halfway run-over mum in the flower bed, and scratch on the Jeep from the brick on the house!  Needless to say, she's not the best driver. David gave her a quick steering lesson and we thought she had it down...she was driving great around the yard, so we took a walk and let her drive her Jeep. We made it four houses down from ours (in about 15 minutes) before we turned back for home! She just doesn't get the concept of looking where you're driving.  She prefers to watch her shadow instead!! I barely made it back home because I was laughing so hard. She drove into every neighbor's yard and all over the road! It was the laughter that I was desperately needing! So, we now know that she has her Dad's driving skills, but we also have about 13 years to work on it!! 

My Little Lambchop

When Hannah was about Sadie's age, someone gave us a "Lambchop" puppet. Hannah loved that thing, so we decided to introduce Sadie to Lambchop. It's so funny how much babies love puppets!! Here are some pictures and, hopefully, a video of Sadie playing with Lambchop!!

Sharing kisses with Lambchop!

While I'm Waiting

It's seems like we are always talking about what we want out of life....our next vacation, our next house, our next car, everything. We are always waiting on the next big thing in our lives. Sometimes, we know what's coming, but we can't do anything but wait. We have friends that are going through the adoption process and I can't even imagine that wait. We have other friends who just completed the adoption of their precious little girl. The amazing part is that they have both kept their focus on the Lord. It would be so easy to become distracted by worry, desire, and despair, but they are such strong people of faith and have trusted in the Lord to provide for them and fill their hearts' desire. I keep hearing this song by John Waller called "While I'm Waiting" and it just made me think about how I'm waiting for my own desires. I am placing the lyrics at the bottom of this post and I'll try to post the song...if I can figure out how to do that.  The song talks about praising and worshipping while waiting for the Lord. It's so easy to become consumed by our desires that we forget to thank, praise, and serve the One that gives it to us all. This song really made me think...hopefully, it will bless you as much as it has me!

While I'm Waiting

I'm waiting 
I'm waiting on You, Lord 
And I am hopeful 
I'm waiting on You, Lord 
Though it is painful 
But patiently, I will wait 

I will move ahead, bold and confident 
Taking every step in obedience 
While I'm waiting 
I will serve You 
While I'm waiting 
I will worship 
While I'm waiting 
I will not faint 
I'll be running the race 
Even while I wait 

I'm waiting 
I'm waiting on You, Lord 
And I am peaceful 
I'm waiting on You, Lord 
Though it's not easy 
But faithfully, I will wait 
Yes, I will wait 
I will serve You while I'm waiting 
I will worship while I'm waiting 
I will serve You while I'm waiting 
I will worship while I'm waiting 
I will serve you while I'm waiting 
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Hopefully, this will work. If you want to hear the song, click on the link below....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWI-iZsIKIk

Picture Update!

So, I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures on here! If you see any on here, then you'll know I was successful! 

The bottom two pictures are from Easter...we tried to do pictures of the girls in their matching Easter dresses. As you can see, it didn't go as well as planned. The second picture pretty much sums up the entire effort. 

The top picture is just a cute one of Sadie. She is usually a super sweet and happy baby when she wakes up, so I got David to take this picture one morning!! 

Just for Linda

So, I was reminded this weekend that I have a blog. I didn't think anyone had found it, so I wasn't really into updating it. Well, I found out that we had been discovered...I guess I better try at this thing! We don't have any major news, but here's a quick update of us.

The girls are just growing. Hannah is not our little girl anymore, she is our little lady...and a sassy one at that. Sadie is growing so much everyday. We have battled three ear infections our the past couple of months, but we're all better now. Sadie just rolls all over and loves watching her big sister play. She is really starting to take to cereal and veggies...no fruit, yet. That's coming soon!

I guess our biggest bit of excitement over the past couple of months has been our cars! We paid off my car in February! That was a first for us. Since having Sadie, I have really had my eye on a minivan. I never thought I would want one, but they really make sense. I figure if I'm going to drive a minivan, it's gotta be a good one. I have been secretly..or maybe not so secretly...researching them for the past few months. I decided that the Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna would be the van for us. We've been saving and decided that if we found the right one at the right price, we would get it. Well, we found it! We are now the proud OWNERS of a 2005 Honda Odyssey. It's used, but it's new to us!!

Since I'm at work right now, I guess I should cut this thing short! At least I updated, though!! I'll try to post some pictures soon, too!!

Trying something new....

I've decided that we're behind the times in this blogging business, so I am going to try my hand at it. I hope to keep our blog updated with the craziness that is our family's life!! We don't have any new or exciting news (right now, at least), but we hope that you will enjoy reading about our day-to-day happenings!