Bringing Home Baby Hannah

Fall Fun

2009-11-22T20:18:00.001+01:00

There are a lot of things to like about fall: the beautiful colors, the cool, crisp air, and playing in a pile of leaves. Thank you God, for the different seasons for us to enjoy. Thank you for the renewing of life each spring!

Hope you are having as much fun as Hannah!!

Ohio, here we come!

2009-11-12T21:56:00.000+01:00

Congratulations, Keith!! Keith just got appointed to go to the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. He was chosen for a Master's Degree in Cyber Operations. He will finish his first Masters in February or March 2010, then we will move to Ohio in July/August for him to start another. Fortunately, this time, the Air Force will be covering all of his expenses. Basically going to school will be his job for nearly 2 years. He will graduate in March 2012. Of course, we are all very proud of him!!

Goodbye, Fat Louis

2009-11-06T20:13:00.000+01:00

It was May 2003 when we first saw you at PetsMart. Scared and in a cage, but still rubbing your head against the bars so you could be petted. We didn't realize just how big you were until we got you home. Wow! We decided that you were big enough, so we put you on diet kibble. You didn't eat for 3 days, and would just keep looking back and forth between your bowl and us as if to say, "Really?? This is it?" You finally gave in and that Christmas when we bought you a can of cat food as a treat, you wouldn't even touch it and went back to your bowl of diet kibble.

Not that diet kibble ever did you any good. You never lost any weight despite our best efforts and always had a waddle to your walk. You had a hangy-down stomach and got mad at us when we tried to pet it. You'd bite our hands - never hard, but enough to make us know that you would really rather have your head petted and to leave your stomach alone!

You put up with those other animals, often reminding the dogs that cats, especially you, were really in charge. Never mind that they were so much bigger than you - that did not deter you from putting them in their place.

You always liked to be in the same room with us. You weren't much of a cuddler - unless it was cold, but you were never more than a foot or two away, perched on the back of the couch, laying near our feet, or just nearby. You tried not to look to obvious about it, but we noticed.

You put up with all the kids' antics and without a fuss. You would pose for pictures, get "dressed up", wrapped in blankets, cuddled with whether you liked it or not, you endlessly chased the laser beam, snuggled the catnip mouse, and you did it all without a fuss. Even when Hannah came home, you put up with her baby "soft" pats that weren't so soft.

You loved to have your had rubbed and your ears scratched. You would purr so loud! We liked it, too. You fur was so soft and thick, even softer than it looked and it looked soft!

Oh you had your problems, too. Don't get me wrong! You made such a mess with the kitty litter box that we ended up buying a special box that you had to crawl into from the top to contain your kitty mess. You had a knack for finding the clean laundry and sleeping on it! You liked to sleep in the closet and get kitty hair all over the bottoms of our pants - which of course we wouldn't notice until we were in a huge hurry and had trouble finding the lint brush. You tended to kitty puke in some of the worst places, or at the worst times. (Did you really mean to do it at the foot of my bed at 2AM so I would step in it in the dark? Ewww!)

We don't know what you were called before you came to live with us, but I wanted to name you BoJangles. Keith wouldn't have it - it wasn't "manly" enough! So, Brutus it was. You got called many things besides that: "Cat!" usually after you did something you shouldn't, "Bad Cat!" when you got up on the counters, "Fat Louis" when we had some young missionary girls come to stay with us. We had been gone and were coming home to meet them, but they beat us there. They didn't know your name, so they dubbed you Fat Louis - fitting!, and "Fat Cat" truly a term of endearment.

So, all of this to say...we are going to miss you! I hated to see you go, but it was definitely time. That mean old cancer had just gone too far, and I couldn't watch you suffer. So, goodbye, Fat Cat. Thank you for all the good times.

All Hallow's Eve

2009-10-31T21:43:00.001+01:00

Hannah is the only person home who is not sick or recovering. However, after weeks of preparation, you can't just skip Hallowe'en. Hannah got to go down the street and back, but at least she got to go out!

All dressed up and ready to go!

Cheesing it up for the camera

After the trip down the street, Hannah liked giving out the candy with Daddy.

Jeremiah getting in on the action.

We went through 13 bags of candy in just a little over an hour. It all started at 6 and we had our lights off at 7:20. Fortunately, the crowds had really started to dwindle. I dont' know how many princesses, ghosts, goblins, and puppies we served, but I would guess close to 200!

Faith Fest

2009-10-30T20:56:00.000+01:00

Our church hosted a "Faith Fest" tonight complete with food, games, and a choir concert. The theme was a hoedown, so we dressed in our best hoedown attire (or at least our version of it).

Keith and Jeremiah have been home sick, so they did not get to participate :(

Hannah and her "freckles"

Hannah and Mommy

She is getting so big! Hannah in her complete outfit.

Logistics and Hannah

2009-10-30T09:23:00.001+01:00

OK, take one little girl, 8 rolls of toilet paper, 3 bathrooms, and the job of distributing the TP to the right places and this is what you get:

Trying to stack them...I don't think this will work!

Nope!!

How about this??

Nope!!

One more try...

Success!!!

Now we will talk later about the TP being all over the floor before it is used...

Art...I think

2009-10-15T16:40:00.002+02:00

At church this morning, Hannah drew a picture of a "hand". I'm not sure if you can see the green circle palm and the white fingers, but that is what it is, so says Hannah. What I am excited about is the progress she is making in writing her name. Translation of the writing is: HanHann. She is getting there.

Adopting again...

2009-10-08T15:48:00.000+02:00

After many months of prayer and seeking God's will, Keith and I have decided to adopt again. We are going about it a little differently this time by not going with an agency, but just letting people know by word of mouth that we are looking for a baby to adopt. We set up a website http://www.lovinganewlife.blogspot.com/, posted on Facebook, and put ads in the local papers. Now, we will wait and see what God chooses to do with it.

Cubbies

2009-09-27T20:02:00.000+02:00

Hannah has been looking forward to being a Cubby for about a year now. SHe was so excited to get to start a few weeks ago. Our church does theme nights nearly every week, and tonight's theme was "Crazy Hair Night".

Hannah and Daddy. Keith is a Cubby leader and LOVES it!

Yes, Keith's hair really has a "C" cut into it! C is for Christ...is the beginning of one of their first memory verses.

Bunny kisses!

Up to now, Hannah has memorized 6 verses! Memorization comes very easy to her. We added an extra book to give her a little challenge, so she actually learns at least 2 verses a week. We are not proud...can you tell?

School work

2009-09-02T15:02:00.000+02:00

We are back into a routine and that means Hannah is back into her schoolwork. How she loves this stuff!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig!

2009-08-27T21:41:00.000+02:00

Well, it took a week...two days of driving, a couple days of waiting in Dover, a very expensive cab ride to McGuire, a couple days of waiting...then we got to take off. However, the plane broke and we had to land in ...Dover! After another 24 hours, we got back ont he plane and have finally landed in Germany. If we do not see the inside of the airport terminal again for a very long time, it will be TOO SOON!!!

Swearing his life away...

2009-08-19T21:30:00.000+02:00

Part of David's scholarship requires him to enlist in the Air Force. Here he is swearing in...

The Oklahoma City Zoo

2009-08-18T21:18:00.000+02:00

David had ROTC stuff to do today, so PaPa, Grandma Kathy, Keith, Judy, Jeremiah, and Hannah all got to go to the zoo. Hannah has not been to a real zoo since she was just 10 months old, and of course, far too young to remember anything!

She made plenty of memories today...

A close-up look at a peahen

Watching the seals and sea lions

Giving Jeremiah a ride in the stroller

Hannah and Mommy checking out the albino peacock.

Hannah and the bear

Hannah and Grandma Kathy

Jeremiah and David (LOL)

Move in day...or is it the official move out day?

2009-08-17T17:03:00.000+02:00

David and PaPa unpacking

Jeremiah goofing around

David has flown the coop, left the nest, moved up (or at least out) and has moved into the dorm room at OU. He even got to meet his new roommate, Gregory. Life is always changing!

The rollercoaster ride we have been wating for...

2009-08-15T23:58:00.001+02:00

David has been planning this picture for weeks...no, make that months! He broke his phone in May and purposefully kept the broken phone just for this picture so he could appear to be talking on the phone when it was taken. You gotta love the ideas that teens have!

Keith, David, and Jeremiah went to Frontier City today to have some "man time" and see Family Force Five in concert. They had a blast!

Sunday...happy Sunday!

2009-08-09T22:22:00.000+02:00

Sundays are awesome! Today, we got to go back to Wilwood church to worship, then to our friends' Melanie and Travis's house for lunch. Yummy! Finally, back to Kathy's house with the rest of the family for homemade spaghetti and meatballs! At this rate, we will all weigh 200 pounds before we are done visiting...

Jeremiah with his cousins, Kobe and Joshua

Hanging out with Grandpa Bullet

2009-08-08T17:45:00.000+02:00

One of the hard things about living overseas for such a long time is that you miss out on getting to know your family, especially if you are only 3 years old. But really, it is hard for all of us. Even though we have been in the states for a full week already, we have just really not had enough time to really spend with our family.

Today we say goodbye to Grandpa Bullet and go back to Oklahoma City. It's been a visit too short already!

Of course at Grandpa Bullet's you have to have a tractor ride!!

Playing a little hide-and-seek. Of course, if the pole was a little bigger, Hannah might actually be able to hide behind it.

Tractor races with Grandpa....kidding, of course.

Now, we are back to Oklahoma City. Time to get some things taken care of for David's college days!

To the Lake!

2009-08-07T20:35:00.001+02:00

What did Jeremiah want for his birthday? Fishing! Well, not only did he get to go fishing, he got to go out on his Grandpa Bullet's boat AND have his friend Chase come for a visit! Yes, this is his friend Chase, from Germany who is in the process of moving to Missouri. How awesome is that??!!

Keith and David soaking up some rays!

Steven already has a tan, unlike those of us pale skinned folks.

Hanging out...

Grandpa Bullet teaching Hannah how to fish.

All tuckered out after a long day.

Happy Birthday, Jeremiah!

2009-08-05T14:37:00.000+02:00

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful 14 year-old on the planet!

A Day with PaPa and the Route 66 Museum

2009-08-04T22:08:00.001+02:00

I do not know how many times we have been to Clinton since the Route 66 Museum opened (obviously none in the past 4 years), but we had never visited the museum until today. It is rather nice, inexpensive, a little small, but definately worth it. The kids had fun looking at the old soda machines, early gas pumps, diner replicas, phone booths, and vehicles. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon. Not to mention...there was a visit to Sonic afterward. Oh, how I have missed Sonic!

Hannah posing as a "driver". Notice Jeremiah on his hands and knees so Hannah could have a boost!

Jeremiah and Hannah at the diner.

The kids.

Later that day, we were back at PaPa's. He had a surprise for Hannah after nap...fingerpaints!

David "helping" Hannah

Off to PaPa's

2009-08-03T18:17:00.000+02:00

Where was my camera today?? Not a single picture to show for our first day at PaPa's house. What was I thinking?

Is God amazing or what??!

2009-08-02T20:54:00.000+02:00

What an awesome day! We all got up this morning and went to Wildwood Community Church in Norman. This is where we all attended church when God first called us to adopt Hannah. We still keep in touch with many of our friends from there and were eager to see them again. However, due to our schedule, we had not let many of them know that we were arriving this Sunday.

It was so incredible to see everyone! We saw our old friends, their kids, who have grown 4 years older, and don't look a thing like what they did when we left. At least the adults haven't changed a bit, and the kids look more and more like their parents. What was even more amazing is seeing all the babies that have been adopted and born since we left. Let me just say that Wildwood's people are committed to adoption and having babies! What a blessing! It was Halli's first Sunday at church (She is a 4 month old, beautiful baby adopted by our friends the Lentzes), and we got to see Weston, adopted by the Greene's from the Ukraine just a couple of months ago. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Did I mention how AWESOME this is?? Well it gets better...

After service, we met up with some of our very best friends, the Herberts. Oh how I have missed them over the years, but the busy-ness of life keeps us from keeping in touch as we should. Anyway, we decided to go out for some Mexican food. Tarahumara's was our first choice, but we decided that it was too busy on Sunday to attempt to go there, so we decided on Los Dos Amigos. The kids piled in he cars and off we went. Fortunately, immediate seating was available; we were STARVING! (I think it is still a jet lag thing) We walked into the dining area where they have pulled two tables together and look over and saw our very good friends - the Martins - who have just moved here from GERMANY. Did I say Germany??!! Yes, indeed I did. They had just gotten to the restaurant and hadn't been waited on, so we introduced our old friends to our older friends and pulled up another table.

Now, we knew the Martins were moving to the Tinker area and were looking at Norman as a place to live. We had told them about Wildwood, but in the midst of moving, they had lost the information and had been visiting some churches looking for a church home. But how much more wonderful was this that they could come visit WITH us the next Sunday and we could introduce our friends to our church personally? Not to mention, Jasmine, the Martin's daughter and David are both going off to college in a couple of weeks, and they will have a chance to hang out before Jasmine leaves for Liberty.

Ah, old friends, older friends, and a meeting that could have only been orchestrated by God. I can bask in this all day!

Uncle Lance and Aunt Barbara's

2009-08-01T19:13:00.000+02:00

Hannah and Joshua painting together. Water was all over the table, they painted about 10 pictures (all the same green/grey color), they had an awesome time, and it all washed out!

Jeremiah was whipping Uncle Lance on the Wii (or was it the other way around?) Depends on who is telling the story!!

Hanging out with family!

2009-07-31T23:43:00.000+02:00

Hannah and Joshua met when Hannah and Judy came to Oklahoma in Sept 2007...but that was a long time ago. Now, it only took a few minutes for them to become as thick as thieves!

While the little ones are occupied Kobe takes a minute to watch TV - alone!

David - posing in front of Circle K...there is some significance to this, but what??!!

We made it! Now, on to the important stuff!

2009-07-31T10:03:00.001+02:00

We made it in LATE last night, or was that early this morning? That last 45 minutes or so was nearly TORTURE!! Jet lag coupled with 2 very long days of driving is not a good combination. However, we are so glad we are finally here.

Our first Oklahoma breakfast...Krispy Kreme!

Watching the doughnut making - fascinating!

We do have an interesting story from yesterday afternoon. We were driving through Missouri, when Keith decided that we should call our friends, the Busseys who are moving to Whiteman AFB in Missouri. Now, best we knew they were staying in either Mcalester or Sapulpa in Oklahoma. I had to call a couple of numbers, but finally got in touch with Steven's brother who had them call us. But...they weren't in Oklahoma :( INSTEAD they were just outside of Springfield, Missouri on their way back to Oklahoma. Well, guess where we were??!! Just outside of Springfield, Missouri on our way to Oklahoma! God is so good :) We met at a roadside restaurant and had dinner in Missouri with our "Germany" friends! No coincidences with God.

Making our way across the US

2009-07-29T21:55:00.001+02:00

On the road again...but I'm ready to be done! Glad to be in the USA, but ready to be in Oklahoma! Already driving across the US is taking its toll. The kids are "DONE" being in the backseat, Keith is done driving, yet still insists on doing it all :), and the kids have already watched more TV in a day than they usually do in a week.

Keep on trekkin', we still have over 900 miles to go!!

We are off to the states!

2009-07-28T19:42:00.000+02:00

We are braving space available travel and are off to the states for a few weeks to get David settled in for school and to go visit family. We are so excited to get to go home for a while. We have a whole list of who we want to see, where we want to go, and what we want to eat! Right now, we are headed to Dover. Looks like we will have to rent a car and drive for a couple of days to get to Oklahoma. Such fun!! At least we are making it out the same day that we first tried for travel!

Waiting for our flight to leave. We are already tired and we haven't even started!

Ride 'Em Cowgirl!

2009-07-23T15:37:00.000+02:00

OK, we won't buy Hannah a pony...so she makes "ponies" out of everything. The strap on her purse are "reins" and she loops them around anything to make a pony. She thinks that if she tucks in her shirt and puts on a belt, she looks like a cowgirl. Add the hat and the boots, and "Woah!" the transformation is complete!

So You Wonder What I Do All Day?

2009-07-18T09:34:00.002+02:00

This is my normal morning routine...get Hannah breakfast, make coffee, catch up on the "news", take a leisurely shower, get dressed, then start the day. Yeah, right! However, I do occassionally get a moment to hang out on the compute for a few minutes.

Schoolwork

2009-07-14T18:19:00.002+02:00

Any of you who know Hannah knows how much she loves, loves, loves her schoolwork. Every day she asks for some kind of work to do. She wants scissor work, color work , letter work, number work or just plain schoolwork. She will color, cut, paste, write up to 15 pages a day. I have to stop her there or she will use up her entire schoolwork workbook in a day! It is amazing. Now she wants to learn how to read. Crazy little lady!!

Chalk

2009-07-13T18:22:00.002+02:00

Hannah likes to color with chalk on the back patio. Ms. Beth gave her the sidewalk chalk for her birthday, and it has provided many hours already of outside entertainment. Today, Hannah decided to make a picture of David. He is the circle with legs and other features. Then she added Mommy, Daddy, Jeremiah, Hannah and Chris (David's best friend). As you can see, we are all just floating heads. Guess we just didn't stack up!

Packing up

2009-07-11T20:17:00.000+02:00

Hannah was watching over David's packing. I don't remember getting old enough to have a college student for a son. The movers will be here tomorrow to collect his stuff. I guess there is no turning back now.

OK, I just have to tell this story...

2009-06-15T23:20:00.001+02:00

It was almost 5:30. I was just getting ready to start dinner. Hannah was already hungry and had been eating some almonds. I gave her a few, then she came back for some more. Next thing I know, Hannah is crying and Jeremiah is saying something quite hysterical.
"What?!" I yelled from my position in the kitchen. They had been arguing all day, certainly this was just a matter of who was sitting where on the couch...again!
"Hannah just put an almond up her nose!" was the reply. Now that had me hopping. I grabbed Hannah and looked up her nose...nothing. I brought her into the light...still nothing.
"Are you sure?" I questioned Jeremiah.
"I put an almond up my left nose," Hannah replied through her tears.
Being that I could not see the almond, I had to assume that it was way up there, so I figured that she could try to blow it out. I held a tissue over her nose, pinched the right side closed, covered her mouth and...nothing. No air flow at all. Try again...same thing and I still can't see it. Great.
Keith is not home yet, so I call his phone. "Are you still at work?" Kind of a silly question being that I called his work phone.
"I'm leaving now, " he replies. Hannah is still hysterical while I explain what has happened. It looks like a trip to the ER for us. (There is no urgent care or after hours clinic here.) It only takes Keith about 10 minutes to get home. I have put Hannah's shoes on, given instructions to the older boys and tried again to have her blow the almond out of her nose. Still nothing.
We pile in the car, and head for LRMC. Keith explains to Hannah why she should not put things up her nose, and I try to calm her down. I try again to get her to blow it out again...still nothing.
Once at the ER, we check in and are advised of a "very long" wait. By now it is nearly 6:30. She still can't breathe out of her left nostril and I still cannot see the almond culprit. Minutes tick by. Some patients come and go while we wait. Almonds are a very low priority. Seems stitches are too. We meet a young girl who came in about an hour after Hannah who hit her head on the bed and has a cut about an inch long. Well, at least they have each other for company. They gladly trade stories as we wait.
At about 9:30, we see some friends from church with their newborn (another victim of lack of urgent care and the fact that it takes a couple of days to get kids enrolled in the system). They just need a bilirubin level checked. After keeping us company and seeing how long the wait really is, the decide that he can wait until tomorrow and take their leave. Alone again and Hannah is really getting grumpy. The almond is still not to be found and she still cannot breathe out of her left side. We begin to wonder if we are ever going to be done. I have heard of these extractions sometimes taking hours and we have not even started.
Finally, it is our turn and 10:30 at night. We are 5 hours post almond stuffing. We make our way to the ER stretcher. "The doctor will be with you in a few minutes." I am glad to be here and not in the waiting room, but am not looking forward to what lies ahead. The lighting in here is pretty good. I have Hannah tilt her head back so I can see. Sure enough, there is an almond visible. Visible! Wait...I hurredly grab a tissue and have her blow again. Viola! An almond!
Now I feel a little silly, yet relieved at the same time. I carry the almond to the front desk, and explain to the staff what happened. The doctor comes in to check he nose and all is clear. We sign our discharge papers and are led out of the ER. At least we have cleared the room for the girl who still needs her stitches...

Legoland - Day 2

2009-06-13T20:39:00.000+02:00

Wow! What a day! God provided us such awesome weather these past 2 days. Today was bright and sunny - downright hot! At least it was good for the water rides that it was really too cool for yesterday. Betwen the two days, we managed to see and do everything at least once.

David and Jeremiah on the rope-pull ride. Notice who is doing the work and who is messing around! Just kidding, JB was just taking a break to pose.

Hannah and Jeremiah in the water at the SeaLife exhibit. OK so, it wasn't as cool as Underwater World on Guam, but hey, we are in the middle of Germany!

David being a good sport about holding Hannah's bag. Not every young man has the confidence to sport a Dora backpack!

Legoland!

2009-06-12T22:48:00.003+02:00

I feel like we are in a picture of "Where's Waldo?"

Hannah and Mommy on the airplane ride. Hannah insisted on the green airplane. Good thing we were first in line!

Can Jeremiah pull the sword from the stone? Not when it is bolted in. Hey that's cheating!!

David and Jeremiah by Einstein. Yes, everything here is REALLY built out of Legos!

Hannah! This was at the Lego factory where we got to see how Legos are made.

It was a great day. A little cool - I didn't even get to take off my sweatshirt. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, so we will see. Keith and the boys rode the Bionicle and a few of the roller coasters. They are not exactly my style, so Hannah and I saw some shows and played on the playground. We did go on one water ride, and were thoroughly drenched! Hannah went with us and once I looked over and both David and Jeremiah were hugging her to protect her from the onslaught of water. What awesome big brothers!

Mamma Hannah

2009-06-11T20:02:00.000+02:00

Hannah loves to play Mommy to her babies. We are in a hotel in Leipheim, Germany waiting to start our 2 day excursion to Legoland. Hannah packed a few toys and of course, her baby was one of them.

Aye, Aye, Cap'n!

2009-06-10T17:06:00.001+02:00

Congratulations, Keith! As my wonderful husband recently said, "I will finally have the respect I once had as a Tech Sergeant!". Let us just say that life in the military as a prior enlisted Lieutenant is interesting...

Pinning on his Captain's bars

Cutting the cake

Graduation Night

2009-06-05T23:01:00.000+02:00

There are a few moments in your life that you will never forget. Certainly one of them is graduation night. I can recall the anticipation of my name being called, moving my tassel over and finally being a high school graduate. Now, our oldest son has had the opportunity to do the same. We are so proud of him! He did a great job in high school taking 4 honors classes, 6 AP classes, and receiving an AFROTC scholarship. His Senior year he had nearly a 4.0! He did all this while obtaining his Eagle Scout Award, participating in Cross-Country and Track, playing on the praise team at church, and overall being an awesome guy. Who could ask for more. God has totally blessed him and our family!

As far as college plans, he intends to go to the University of Oklahoma and major in Computer Engineering. Lofty goals indeed!

Receiving his diploma!! (Sorry about the grainy photo - we had seats in the nosebleed section)

David and Chris (his best friend)

You know Hannah has to be in at least one picture!

The whole family

Practicing for College

2009-06-03T23:12:00.000+02:00

When the sign says, "Free". Doesn't that mean I can have it all??

Bacculaureate

2009-05-31T21:26:00.000+02:00

David coming down the aisle.

Hannah entertaining herself

David's turn to go up

Chris and David exiting after the ceremony

Happy Birthday Hannah!

2009-05-23T14:45:00.000+02:00

Hannah is three years old! It is so hard to believe that the time has just flown by. Just yesterday we brought her home and celebrated her first birthday and her first steps. Now she is a walking, talking, crazy little girl!

Here are some things that Hannah can do:
She tells you her name is "Hannah 'Lizbef Fuwan Ross"
She knows ALL of her letters
She can spell "stop"
She looks both ways before she crosses the street
She likes to climb to the top of the highest slides and slide down
She is TOTALLY left-handed
She can write her name (almost)
She can hop, skip, and jump
She can ride her bike with training wheels (steering is optional)
She can put together 24 piece puzzles easily
She carries on entire converstaions. At her 3 year checkup, the doctor asked if she said 3-4 word sentences. She replied by asking, "What is a three or four word sentence, Mommy?". I guess she passed that test.
She knows who the doctor is and that she does NOT want a shot when she goes.
She is not afraid of the dark
She likes to listen to her Chinese music when she goes to sleep
She is completely potty-trained, even at night
She knows shat she wants, how to get it and voices herself clearly to make her needs/wants known.
She bosses the boys, the dog, the cat and anyone who will listen.
She does not share very well
She likes to change her clostes - several times a day if I am not careful
She cleans up her own room and toys
She loves to use scissors and asks for her scissor homework!
She loves books and wants me to read her a story
She still likes her milk "nice and warm"
She can count to 11 and add to 5 (sometimes 6)

Here are some pictures of her birthday party, Dora the Explorer style!

Hannah blowing out the candles with Eden watching

Hannah opening presents with Ashlynn

Hannah with the camera - a self-portrait!

Opening present with Eden

Luke enjoying some rice krispie treats

After lunch, games, presents and cake, it was time to go to the playground!

Will, Ashlynn, Keith, Eden, and Hannah on the teeter-totter.

The aftermath...

Sometimes you just need a nap...

2009-04-24T15:45:00.001+02:00

Play Group

2009-04-22T17:21:00.002+02:00

This year we hosted a play group at our house every Wednesday morning. Some mornings, it was just Hannah, me, another adult, and child. Some mornings there were 21 people at my house! Either way it was a great way for young Christian women to get together, swap parenting stories, encourage each other, and let the kids play. Thanks to all the ladies who helped make this possible!

Emma and Abby sharing some flowers

Sydney and Charlie

Hannah and Aubrey

The fake cry

2009-04-20T10:15:00.000+02:00

There are some things that girls master that boys just do not see the need for. Take the fake cry for instance. Neither David nor Jeremiah ever saw the need to make themselves cry. Hannah, however, has this down to an art form!

Easter

2009-04-12T22:22:00.001+02:00

I love Easter and the fact that we celebrae Jesus rising from the dead - conquering death and sin! How awesome is HE! I love Easter Sunday worship. It really makes me feel renewed.

We also enjoy some of the other Easter traditions, even when they are just different ways of having fun.

"For me?" "Is this for me?"

Can I eat all of that?

Ready for church. I didn't catch that Jeremiah made a face until we were all home and changed and Hannah was down for a nap.

After church, we had our friends, the Busseys over for Easter dinner and a little fun!

Sydney Easter egg hunting

Hannah finding some eggs, too.

Rock band - Daddies and daughters!

Now, where were the mommies? Making dinner, of course!

It was a great day of fun and fellowship...I love Easter!

Playground fun

2009-04-04T22:38:00.000+02:00

Living next door to a playground can have its benefits. We do not have to buy a swing set, we don't have to walk to the park, there is always a clean potty, and when Hannah has friends over, there is always a place to go.

Photos courtesy of Jeremiah.

Loving on his sister

2009-03-29T10:41:00.001+02:00

David...loving on his sister!

Being Cute

2009-03-28T22:43:00.000+01:00

Cuteness abounds!

Messing Around

2009-03-28T18:13:00.000+01:00

Some picture are worth a thousand words...some have no words at all!

Winning the Patriot Pen Essay Contest

2009-03-21T22:55:00.000+01:00

Not very often would one expect Jeremiah to win an essay contest. As an auditory learner, he has difficulty putting thoughts into words. Yet, he placed second in the Patriot Pen Essay Contest for his middle school! What an amazing young man! Here is his essay:

Why American Veterans should be Honored

Honor is a gift that we can give every day but we chose not too. Some people deserve it and others do not. Like in the Vietnam War, we never gave the veterans any honor when they came back. We should have given them honor but we were to mad at them for fighting. I think that we should not have dishonored the people who fought because the deserved better for the hardships they faced.
War, poverty, and death, these are what American veterans have seen. They should be honored. Not spat on like they are some dogs nipping at your heels. That is how the soldiers got treated when they came back from Vietnam. Why was Vietnam different? WII had more deaths than Vietnam. Today, military members are getting better respect, when they come back, than in Vietnam and we are doing the same thing we did in Vietnam. In Vietnam most of them were forced to fight while in the other wars they had the choice to fight or we were attacked first. WWI we were attacked and in WWII we were bombed.
We can give honor through love and support. Some veterans need medical supplies or clothes. When they get to the hospital all they have is on their backs. You can also remember holidays and birthdays. That makes them happy because they know that they are still in your hearts. Still some veterans need help with finding peace because they have flash backs of the past and go into convulsions. Also some never got better. I believe that veterans can get honor from fellow soldiers. I also believe that soldiers need respect to fight because without it they feel no importance. I bet that many veterans still need help and respect and we need to help them.

Jeremiah receiving his award

Playing on the Playground

2009-03-21T17:05:00.000+01:00

David playing with Hannah on the playground.

We are so blessed to have such wonderful young men in our family. Almost every day one of them offers to take Hannah outside and play on the playground with her. It gets her outside and gives me a break! What an awesome family!

Jeremiah's Musica Nova Concert

2009-03-19T22:36:00.002+01:00

Jeremiah's choir at school had a concert tonight. His singing is really getting better and the choir is actually quite good. Next year, he will be in the high school choir and may get to actually sing before a different audience besides a group of parents! The pictures are only so-so...the lighting in the auditorium is not conducive to good picture taking!

The middle school choir...Jeremiah is on the front row, right.

Singing!

Hannah entertaining herself while the band plays.

After her brother left the stage, she kinda lost interest!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T21:26:00.003+01:00

We had a little fun with St. Patrick's Day. Obviouosly we are not Irish or Catholic...but hey, it is just fun! Although you cannot really tell in the picture, Hannah is weraing her green jingle bell earrings. They jingle when she shakes her head, so all day long she was shaking her and and singing "Jingle Bells". Not exactly Irish!

Here she is in all her splendor!

Later she changed (on her own, of course) to go outside. Quite the fashion statement!

Little girls (and boys) are definately a blessing from God! She is such a charmer, and yet so devious at the same time. However, each evening, she is the first to say her prayers for all that she knows. They are sometimes quite lengthy depending on who all she feels led to pray for, and everyone reading this can rest assured that at sometime she has prayed for you!

Oh, Hannah!

2009-03-03T10:56:00.002+01:00

The guitar...it haunts me! Kidding aside, it is one of Hannah's favorite toys. We have to put it away when her friends come to visit because she just cannot seem to share it! I believe in teaching our kids to share, but there is only so much you can expect from a 2-year-old. She shares most everything else really well, so we are not dwelling on the guitar.

Here she is this morning, dressed a mere 10 seconds before she picked up the guitar to sing to me. Yes, she is left handed, and we had to re-string the guitar to be a left-handed guitar.

Hannah and Jeremiah

2009-02-28T22:50:00.000+01:00

Jeremiah and Hannah have a very unique relationship. One minute they fight like cats and dogs (Who would have thought that a 13 year old and a 2 year old would have anything to fight about?), and the next they are playing together. Hannah knows just which buttons to push to set her brother off, and I swear that sometimes he antagonizes her. I know, say it ain't so...but it is.

Here are some pictures of them hanging out. Jeremiah took them while they were playing "handyman".

Snow Princess

2009-02-16T11:32:00.003+01:00

Bunny Tracks!!

Hannah helping to shovel snow

Shoveling goes so much faster when Hannah helps Daddy. You know he couldn't do it on his own!

Starting the snow man

Two Snow Princesses in the same picture

Hannah, Mommy and the Snow Princess

What a beautiful day God has blessed us with today. We got snow yesterday and then last night, got even more. It was a beautiful winter wonderland. The bunny had come in the night, so we put more food out for it. It is a mostly tame, domestic bunny, but lives wild behind our house. With all the snow, there is not much for it to eat.

We decided to go out and build a snow man. Mostly due to our inexprience...it didn't look very manly, so about halfway through, it changed into a Snow Princess, much to Hannah's delight.

Too Cute for Trouble!

2009-02-14T23:33:00.000+01:00

Hannah took David's glasses - which, of course, she should be in trouble for! Instead he grabbed the camera...

But for good measure, he threatened to hang her upside down if she did it again! What a threat!

I hope that everyone's Valentine's Day is special.

Budding Rock Star

2009-02-03T20:19:00.003+01:00

There are just not enough words to introduce this video.

Can I just say that my daughter is multi-talented??

Sydney's Princess Birthday Party

2009-02-03T16:36:00.004+01:00

Sydney and Hannah are absolutely best of friends and yet fight like sisters! They can't wait to see each other, then fight over who has what or who bit who. You gotta love it! They do love each other, though. Absolutely.

Princess Hannah

Princess Sydney - three years old

Princess Ella Rose

Princess Eden

Sister Princesses Lilah and Aubrey

The Princesses enjoying their cake and "tea"

You are in Time Out!

2009-01-26T17:04:00.000+01:00

Why do you obey Mommy? Because I love Jesus. That what Hannah says, anyway. Teaching obedience to a 2 year old, no matter how smart, can be a challenge. Being obedient, as a two year old is even harder. Here is my sweet Hannah...in time out!

Bubbles

2009-01-11T22:08:00.002+01:00

Kids and baths...you gotta love them!

I'm sure Jeremiah took this photo. He loves taking pictures of Hannah...well, anything, really. i always know when David has been taking pictures, because he usually includes a shot or two of his own foot. Now, what is that all about??

Super Hannah

2009-01-07T13:14:00.000+01:00

Take one little girl, a pink blanket, and a big bother to tie said blanket around her shoulders...and what do you have? Super Hannah!!

Hide-and-Seek

2008-12-29T17:20:00.002+01:00

Hannah likes to play hide-and-seek so much that sometimes she just hides and yells, "Come find me!". She is not very good at being quiet and some of her hiding places are better than others, but someday, we may actually have to spend some time looking for her. In the meantime...can you find Hannah?

And, yes, ladies...that is all of her closet space. The door to the left contains some shelves. I look forward to having American closets again!

Christmas!!

2008-12-25T22:50:00.003+01:00

Merry Christmas, everyone! We had a wonderful morning...thinking of our family, praising God for the gift of His son, Jesus, and of course, opening gifts. Hannah got up and the first ting that she saw was her new kitchen. "For me?!!", "For me??!!", "For me??!!" It was all she could say. Little did she know that there was more to come!

David down the stairs to see what is under the tree. Little did he know that the stockings were hidden and he and Jeremiah would have to go on an early morning scavenger hunt to find them. Aren't I the funny one?

For me??!!

How many necklaces and bracelets can I wear?? All of them, of course - plus a knife in each hand!

All while I stick my tongue out! Am I talented, or what?

Hannah helping Mommy. Once you get her started, there is no stopping...unless it is for EggNog French toast - our Christmas morning tradition!

One of Keith's favorite Christian bands

I know what to do with this! We will have to restring the guitar for our left-handed guitar player!

Our two newest ROCK STARS!

Thank you, God for sending your Son, Jesus, to be born on this earth and live as a man. Thank you that He kept His life completely pure and free from any sin so that we were saved when He died on the cross for us!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T22:46:00.000+01:00

A Christmas tradition in our house is to open a couple of gifts Christmas Eve. Usually, there are pajamas (a big surprise) and a children's Christmas book. This year, Hannah got to join in on the fun opening gifts.

Could that be a book in that paper??

All my babies!

One of these days, I will actually get Keith to smile for a picture!

Just another day...clowning around!

2008-12-23T18:37:00.001+01:00

Hannah got in trouble. We told her to go to her room and sit on her bed. A few minutes later, this is what we found...

Jeremiah loves to take pictures of himself!

Hannah can make that face, too.

Hannah and Bruno

Hannah LOVES riding on David's shoulders - as he RUNS through the house!

Notice the mom having a heart attack every time they round the corner is not pictured...

Oh yeah, don't forget to wish the birthday boy a happy 17th!

Birthday Party!!

2008-12-21T23:30:00.000+01:00

We love birthday parties! David is (almost) 17! He had a group of frineds over to celebrate - I mean, really, when do the boys not have friends over, anyway? But, celebrate we did! Cake, ice cream, presents - the works!

Isn't this a cowgirl birthday party?

Everything seemed pretty normal...

Until David was suddenly attacked - by a pink cowgirl hat!

Wonder where that came from??

Later, David and his best friend, Chris clowning around

Squadron Christmas Party

2008-12-13T20:52:00.003+01:00

Keith and I trade off Scout activities...so today he had the boys out selling Christmas trees at our fundraiser and I had the pleasure of taking Hannah to his new squadron's Christmas party for the kids. It was tons of fun and nice meeting the new people that he works with. Hannah had fun until some big guy in a red suit showed up. Then...

Hannah's first glimpse of Santa

She was not real thrilled with going to see this man. I kept her off to the side until all the other kids were finished. I made sure that she noticed that Santa was giving out candy. So...

Lured by the idea of candy...

She finally made it onto his lap. Now we did not discuss asking Santa for presents. I mean, we don't really do a lot of Santa at Christmas - that is not what it is about. But, Santa is a fun game to play, but anyway, I didn't tell her that Santa was going to ask what she wanted for Christmas. When he finally asked the question, she answered the one thing that she was really there for, "Candy!". He piled it on! I think she had almost as much candy then as she got at Hallowe'en!

The right way to eat an Oreo

2008-12-09T23:48:00.000+01:00

Are kids born knowing how to do this?

Snow!!

2008-11-22T20:12:00.000+01:00

Snow already??!! It is not even Thanksgiving, yet. Oh well, when life gives you snow...make snow angels! I did not even have to ask the boys to take Hannah outside to play - they are so helpful! I did have to make hot chocolate and do several loads of laundry - but what a small price to pay!

Snow!!

A self-portrait, I am sure.

Making snow angels.

All Hallow's Eve

2008-10-31T21:51:00.002+01:00

Hallowe'en again. I have to admit that we reused Hannah's ladybug costume from last year. It's not like she actually got to go out in it last Hallowe'en; I think she only wore it for about 30 minutes.

This year she went to our church's Fall Festival - and made out like a bandit. The boys joined in on the fun and worked a few booths. It is such a blessing to have children who enjoy serving others!

Hannah in all her glory!

Aaaaaaayyy! The Fonz is here!

And if you get lost, Tracker Jeremiah is here to help!

Notice that Hannah is in all the pictures. Keeping her out of a picture is like trying to keep from getting wet in the rain!

Book-lover

2008-10-16T18:22:00.003+02:00

Hannah loves books a lot. She usually takes three or four of them to bed or nap with her, and sometimes sleeps with stacks of them on her bed. I have to go into her room after she falls asleep and remove the books so that she has a place to sleep.

Jeremiah

2008-10-07T20:19:00.000+02:00

Jeremiah...a man of many talents!

Bandaids!

2008-09-27T18:13:00.002+02:00

Hannah was a little too quiet. It took me a little while to find her...hiding behind her door...and playing with "ban-aids", with every bandaid in the box aptly placed over each mysterious "boo-boo" all over her legs. Hopefully we will not actually need a band-aid until I can get to the store again.

Jeremiah's Birthday Party

2008-08-23T17:53:00.000+02:00

Jeremiah's birthday party was a bit delayed for our move on to base housing. Moving is "nicht so guet", but living on base will certainly have its benefits. For Keith, it means faster DSL. For David and Jeremiah, it means a much shorter commute to school and closer proximity to their friends. For me, it means a park next door, and not having to drive to base to pick the kids up from their extra-curricular activities, saving me MANY hours a week!

Well now, back to this here party...and now 2 teenagers in the house!

Jeremiah and his friends...playing video games, of course!

Sleeping beauties...

The "Wake-Up Monster" has arrived!!

It was a lot of fun - probably one of Jeremiah's best with all his friends in attendance. Welcome to teenagerhood, Jeremiah!

???

2008-07-30T00:42:00.000+02:00

Sometimes you just have to wonder...

When you have teens in the house, you never quite know what all the pictures are for!

Independence Day

2008-07-04T23:28:00.000+02:00

One of the challenges living overseas is celebrating American holidays in American style. I mean, what do the Germans really care about our independence from the British? They are cordial about it, but for them, it really means nothing. so, the bases here really try to offer something to make us feel a little more at home. This year, Keith's squadron took the celebration a little further with a cookout, bouncy castle, ball games, movies and even outdoor RockBand! It was a lot of fun and nice to be able to enjoy the fireworks without having to look for a parking place!

Hannah in the bouncy castle

Soccer, anyone?

A perfect view to watch the fireworks!

RockBand, anyone?

Jeremiah raising the roof!

Rothenberg

2008-06-28T21:58:00.002+02:00

Rothenberg is one of Germany's most popular walled cities from the Middle Ages. It is a little touristy, but not too much. We went with our church group and our next-door-neighbors and had a really great time. A historic detail is that during WW2, Rothenberg was saved from total destruction by the American Secretary of War. The town was occupied by the Natzis and the Secretary of War ordered that it be taken without artillery fire to save the historic portions of the city.

David in the City Square

Jeremiah, David, and Hannah on the fountain in the city square

I said "Smile!", not "Pick the flowers!"

Our family and our neighbors on the stone "steps" under the wall to the city

Hannah and Mommy in the garden

David and Jeremiah in the stockades!

Puppy Love

2008-06-27T15:12:00.000+02:00

Bruno loves Hannah and Hannah loves Bruno!

Two Song Artists in the Making?

2008-06-24T14:55:00.004+02:00

Hannah practicing for a lead singer position!

Actually, she is trying to help Jeremiah sing in Rock Band...or is she trying to eat the microphone? Hmmm, we can't tell!

Wet Fun in the Sun!

2008-06-21T18:51:00.001+02:00

Here in Germany, there are not a lot of days where it is warm enough to go outside and play in the water. Today was really no exception, but "too cool" to us must mean "warm enough" to Hannah. She loves to wear her swimsuit, even if she is not going "wimming". Today was no exception...and when she caught Daddy outside refilling the dog's water bucket, she let herself outside to get a little bit wet!

First a little wet by the spray...

...then one foot in...

...now try the other foot...

...OK, a leg...

...now both feet...

...oooh! Cold!

Good thing the dogs are not thirsty right now. Even better that Daddy got finished cleaning out the dish BEFORE Hannah got in!

Naps are not Sacred

2008-06-16T17:06:00.001+02:00

Poor Jeremiah, trying to take a nap. Wake up, Bubba!!

Certainly you were not trying to sleep!

Fine, if you will not get up and play with me, I will play with your computer!

Father's Day

2008-06-15T13:54:00.000+02:00

Keith is such a great father and husband. We are so blessed that we have a godly head of our household. Hannah certainly loves her Daddy!

A Day in the Life of Hannah

2008-06-11T20:42:00.000+02:00

Life is good...and Hannah loves yogurt!

She eats it all by herself...without making a mess (almost)!

Outside to pick some flowers; hope the neighbor doesn't catch us!

(Kidding, they are in our garden.)

A quick game of basketball, or was that just holding the ball??

Finally inside for some homework.

Now take a look at that Algebra test...a 91! What a smarty...mind you it is Jeremiah's, but who is telling?

David Going to the Prom

2008-05-31T18:30:00.003+02:00

Hannah just can't stay out of a picture. Here David is all dressed up for prom and we didn't get a single picture without her in it. Good thing her brother really loves her!

Isn't he growing up to be a handsome young man? Boy, does the time fly by. It seems just last week, we were trying to drag HIM out of all the pictures!

Birthday party!

2008-05-31T17:09:00.004+02:00

Hannah's and her friend Charlie's birthdays are only a day apart. Since we are good frineds, we decided to have a joint birthday party. It sure was a lot of fun.

Here is Hannah and Daddy enjoying some pizza together.

David, Chris (David's best friend), and Cherie (David's girlfriend) join in on the festivities!

Hannah is in LOVE with Chris. If she sees him , she goes running up, arms wide and just waits to be picked up. She can spot him from clear across a room. No one else gets her attention like he does.

Hannah's best friend, Sydney playing with the balloons.

Hannah can whack-a-mole with the best of them!

Hannah and Mommy opening presents. I bet by her 3rd birthday she has this present opening down to an art form, but for now, she still needs a little help.

Below, Hannah is still tearing into presents, but Jeremiah and Chase (Jeremiah's best friend) are trying to get one figured out behind her. Hmmm, you might think that by 11 and 12, they wouldn't be so interested in the baby bowling set...but as you can see, it holds their attention for a while!

CAKE!!! Yum, yum!

Lorraine American Cemetery

2008-05-23T22:33:00.000+02:00

Keith, Hannah, and I took a trip to the Lorraine-American Cemetery in France today. the weather was beautiful adn it was nice to pay a tribute to some of the fallen servicemembers.
Sometimes it amazes me how quickly we forget how many servicemembers have passed in the line of duty.
Keith and Hannah taking a look at the very tall flagpole.

You can't find me!

Happy birthday, baby girl!!!

2008-05-20T20:02:00.000+02:00

Happy Birthday, Hannah!! Notice the scrape to her left eye...that's what happens when you are running with your hands in your pockets! Now which little girl that we all know would do something like that?

"I'm 2!"

Reading a birthday card with Mommy.

"Wah-i-fy" Could mean butterfly or flower. From Hannah, the words sound identical, but she knows the difference.

Hannah got this beautiful doll from her Grandma Kathy. Once she opened it, she didn't want to put it down.

Showing off her new Dora trike complete with lights and noises (what were we thinking??!!)

David, Hannah, and Jeremiah. We couldn't get Hannah to stop saying "I'm 2, I'm 2."

Hannah will be having a "real" birthday party at the end of the month with her friend Charlie, who turned 2 yesterday. For now, here are some new things Hannah can do:
Hannah can count to 3, skips 4, then goes straight to 5 and 6.
She can navigate the stairs alone (scary - yes!)
She writes, colors, eats, and gets things with her left hand - almost ALWAYS!
She likes to help out with Mommy's make up - especially lipstick "wips".
She tells the dogs where to go and what to do! In her defense - she also likes to give them treats.
She can screech at the top of your lungs and you think that your eardrums will burst before she is done.
She cleans up her own toys.
She says "Hannah" for herself instead of "Nah-Nuh".
She pretends to talk on the phone ALL the time. You think she is training for later??
She can take off all of her clothes, and put on her shirt and shoes by herself.
She has 18 teeth - yes 18! She has her 6 year molars on the bottom. Yikes!
She says, "Watch me!" and does something funny.
She says, "I go bye-bye." all the time, then after about 5 minutes in the car, she says, "Go home."
She tries to feed and diaper all her baby dolls.
She tries to sing songs like "Jesus Loves Me" and the theme song to "My Friends Tigger and Pooh".
She likes to pretend that she is going to drive the car. Of course, this is usually while I am trying to hurry and get her buckled in because we are running late for something!
She drinks out of a regular cup without spilling.
She doesn't wear a bib.
She can unscrew bottle caps.
She likes to eat junk food. Oh, the pleasures of raising 2 generations of children at the same time!
She likes to read, and takes a book to bed with her after we say prayers.
She likes to eat ice and says "cold".

We are so incredibly blessed!

Dress up shoes

2008-05-07T23:27:00.000+02:00

Hannah got a pair of dress up shoes from a frined of hers that outgrew them. She tries to wear them all the time - I think this baby girl really loves shoes!

I bent down to get a better picture...and so did Hannah!

Silly girl!

2008-05-06T18:18:00.002+02:00

Hannah has learned to stick her tongue out. Now that in itself is not a bad thing - I mean there are several reasons that you might want to stick out your tongue such as licking ice cream, or catching snowflakes on your tongue. However I have a feeling that she is not really trying to do something "fun" as much as she has seen how much disapproval this gets from Mommy. Then again, maybe that is fun...

Hannah's orphanage sisters: Kambry, Mia-riel, and Adrianna are all turnig 2 this month also, so Hannh thought it would be nice to "sign" the cards herself. Happy birthday!! Notice the pen in her LEFT hand...could she be a SOUTHPAW??!!

Big girl bed!

2008-05-04T21:11:00.000+02:00

We decided that Hannah needed to move to a big girl bed for her second birthday. However, I got a little bored one day at home, and decided to put it together a little early. Well, since it was together, we decided to go ahead and try her out in it. She did great! Here she is napping for the very first time in her new toddler bed!

Hannah and her baby

2008-04-14T21:02:00.000+02:00

Hannah and her baby snuggled up in Hannah's crib. She received this baby for her first Christmas, even before we knew who Hannah was. It is amazing how fast our little one is growing up!

Frogger!

2008-04-08T22:47:00.002+02:00

Hannah loves her bath! She also loves her frog towel, given to her by our friends, the Burnfields in Norman. She requests it even more than her princess towel and her bunny towel. She gets all wrapped up in it, and says "Ribbit, ribbit, I 'rog" and then hops a few times for good measure.

Notice how the pile of clean laundry on my bed is photoshopped out of this picture. I sure wish it got put away that easily!!

Looks like she is up to something...plotting her next move!

A year ago today...

2008-04-02T14:32:00.001+02:00

One year ago today, God placed in our arms the perfect baby girl! Here are a few photo reminders of that day:

Our first glimpse!

She's ours!

Jeremiah's first time holding Hannah.

David's turn.

We cannot say just how blessed we are! We are a perfect family!

Frohe Ostern!

2008-03-23T21:52:00.004+01:00

Happy Easter!!

Hannah had a lovely day with her new Easter dress and her bunny basket filled with tiny eggs. She got up this morning to discover these treasures along with a Dora video and a new set of Dora dishes. this little girl LOVES Dora. Did I say that she LOVES Dora? I really mean it. I am certain that Hannah has Dora radar. She can pick out Dora from a hundred yards away.

Anyway, we got up this morning and opened our Easter candy - which Hannah promptly ate her fill of, then wouldn't eat a real breakfast (even out of her new Dora bowl)! Then we got dressed, took some pictures and went to church. Church was awesome as we got to celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and conquered death so that we could live eternally in heaven. He is so amazing!

After we got home, I would love to tell you that we had a really cool Easter egg hunt for Hannah,

but would you have guessed that it was snowing outside? You

got it...we haven't hardly had any snow at all this winter, but then spring came and it has been

snowing ever since! Unfortunately, it was melting almost as fast as it was snowing, but everything looked nice and white all day. Too wet for an Easter egg hunt, though. That's OK, though, because she got to enjoy hanging out with us instead. And, we got to watch the new Dora video this afternoon.

Now the precious girl has settled down for the night, but not before she got to talk to her grandparents on the phone. She may not say much on the phone, but she is all grins and laughs!

I hope that you had as blessed of a day as we did.

I gotta hat!

2008-02-28T20:28:00.000+01:00

Hannah stole David's ROTC hat...

What were we thinking?

2008-02-24T18:13:00.003+01:00

Yep, I am not sure what we were thinking, but Hannah was certainly having a good time!

Cowgirl boots!

2008-02-15T17:36:00.002+01:00

Hannah has a pink pair of cowgirl boots. But, did you know that these boots are made to be worn 24/7? I mean seriously, they are the last thing that she takes off at night and the first thing that she puts on in the morning. We do take them off to take a bath, but she usually tries to put them back on before bed if she can.

Of course being bright, shiny, pink, they get a lot of attention when we go out. People often say, "Wow, what cute shoes you have." To which Hannah replies, "Boots." Yes, my little girl knows what she likes and these boots are it!

She does like some other things as well...like hand lotion. Here she is with not one, but 2 bottles. How much lotion can she use in a day? Well, it depends on how quickly I catch her with it. She can open those bottles and lotion herself well very quickly.

And finally, here she is goofing around with Jeremiah. You gotta love those smiles!!

Helping Jeremiah with his Homework

2008-02-14T21:22:00.001+01:00

Hannah likes to help. She likes to draw. She likes to push buttons. She like to talk on the telephone. So...here she is doing all these things as poor Jeremiah tries to get his homework done.

All Dressed Up

2008-01-20T22:19:00.000+01:00

Sunday morning at home before church.
Think I can ride my trike side saddle?