Flashback Friday

After posting a couple of Hannah's baby pictures in honor of her second birthday I couldn't resist posting a few more. :-)

Isn't her dark hair and cute little lips adorable??

Eavesdropping

Today I heard Isaac and Hannah talking.

Isaac: "Do you want that baby to die?" (her doll)
Hannah: "NNNOOOOO!!"
Isaac: "She'll go to heaven and get to see God. She'll have a better body with sparkles on her face"

I couldn't help but laugh - sparkles on her face??? Hmmm not sure what that means. I can't remember talking about this with him recently so it is cute to hear his take on what happens when you die.

Maybe the sparkles on our face are a reflection of God's glory when we are finally in His awesome presence! How exciting it will be to be face to face with God and reflect Him with "sparkles on our face" Of course we don't have to wait to be in His physical presence to reflect Him! May we all strive to show Him in all that we do, may we be an example of Him to others, may we always have HIS "sparkles on our face"

2 Years Ago . . .

2 years ago this morning I looked like this

We gave the baby one more outward squeeze and looked forward to meeting him/her face to face 2 years ago this evening (at 7:40 to be exact) the big belly was gone (well not exactly gone) and Hannah Grace was born

Does she look anything like she did back then? I can see glimpses of her when I look at her newborn pictures.

She talks up a storm, is extremely stubborn, loves to make us laugh, loves to snuggle, is reserved in new situations but warms up quickly, loves to sing and is a JOY to us all!

Some of her current phrases: (which she says very clearly)
"I love (sounds more like wub) you"
"that's gross"
"that's cute"

"yeah, sure"

"that's a nice house"
"Lord, you are more precious than silver" (she sings this alot!)
"I want some cheese please"
"QUIET" (she has been known to yell this on occasion!)
"I have it please"
"I tooted"
"I stinky"
"I not a nana, I Hannah" (when anyone calls her Hannah Banana)

"that's so nice"

The list goes on and on and if she isn't coming up with her own things she is a little parrot. Whenever we are praying she bows her little head but repeats random words throughout the prayer. It is very adorable.

We all are looking forward to what this new year will bring with her!

11 Years Ago

It seems amazing that we have been married for 11 years already!! It has flown by and been a great journey. I am grateful to God for leading us through the highs and lows and always bringing us closer together.

In honor of the occasion Madison was dying to see my wedding dress. She wanted me to put it on and I told her I didn't know if it would still fit me. She said, "well that would be good cuz it would mean you have grown" I love her innocence! She will soon find out that at a certain age growing is no longer a celebration :-) As I suspected I couldn't zip it all the way up :-) She still wanted to take a picture of me but I told her she could put it on and she was beaming!! She loved having it on - it was very cute to see her interest in our wedding, my dress and her love for wearing beautiful things!

Home Sweet Home

After 15 days in MN and ND the kids and I have safely returned to MT. We are so glad to be home and especially happy to be with Brock again! He was with us for the first half of the trip and we were missing him like crazy for the second half :-)
We didn't waste any time getting out to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us here. It was a beautiful day for a hike!

As we returned from our hike I had Brock pull over so I could take this picture. It was so beautiful how you could see the fields, hills, mountains and sky all in a row. It is so nice and green here, it is so pretty. Actually my entire drive back from MN was beautiful. There has been so much snow and rain that everything was so green.

Milestone for Ruby

One night as Ruby was getting ready for bed she noticed a loose tooth. She was thrilled and wanted it pulled out immediately. Brock told her to keep wiggling it for the night and he would check it the next day to see if it was ready.

Lunch time rolled around and Ruby couldn't wait for Brock to check the status of her tooth. I have never seen a kid so anxious for the loss of their first tooth! Brock came out with this huge wrench and Ruby never even flinched. It was so funny - she was not deterred for a second! She opened her mouth wide as Brock waited for her to say, "umm never mind I can wait" She never did - she sat patiently :-)

Now that she couldn't be scared out of it Brock got serious and tried to yank it out. Ruby is waiting expectantly as he grabs a hold of it and then her raised eyebrows ask, "did you get it" Unfortunately, he pulled and it didn't come out! Just what you don't want to do :-) Ruby was not upset at all, she was ready for another try. Abby was very cute - she was so supportive and encouraging. She was very proud of Ruby and told her over and over how brave she was. It was a very good example of a big sister :-)

Ruby decided she wanted Brock to tie it to a door and jerk the door. He got her all tied up and Abby wanted to shut the door. They had seen it on tv and were sure it would work. Once she was all set up Ruby had second thoughts for the first time. She decided she wanted to have it pulled out instead. As Brock was getting her untied he instead jerked the door and her tooth flew out! We were all surprised! Her tooth was still attached to the floss and the door :-) She was sooooo excited! She ran to the mirror to see the NEW LOOK!!

Now it is time to share the good news with mommy! She couldn't wait to call her and tell her all about it :-)

A Creature of Habit

Hannah is very routine oriented. She loves order and remembers the order things should be (according to her at least). The last few days have been tough for her. We have been in MN packing up the last of our stuff and visiting alot. She is grasping for ORDER and finding it hard to get. Like Hannah, I am anxiuos to get back to the routines of life. We have been away from Brock for a week and we miss him. We leave MN today and make the long, meandering journey home (making two stops along the way - one in MN and another in ND)
Hannah was being extra sweet yesterday (hard to come by the last few days so I made sure to capture it!). We were at Madison's riding lesson and it was beautiful outside. She enjoyed running all over the place :-)

Pointing to Madison riding Rogue

Sweet little Hannah (well . . . . usually sweet)

flashback friday

February 2004 enjoying the day in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

We have been apart from Brock for 5 days and are missing him so he is the topic of my flashback :-)

Madison was 4 and Isaac was 4 months old. I didn't have any good ones of Isaac so instead of his sweet little face you get to see his nice little bald spot :-) I am not sure what that huge thing is they are looking at - any thoughts??

Madison and Brock wandering around the museum.

Time for a little break

Day at the Museum

Abby and Hannah hanging out at the display all about treehouses

Isaac and Hannah really loved the tinker toy table.They were entertained here for quite some time.

Isaac was very proud of the helicopter he built

This baby dinosaur was so cool because it moved like it was breathing. I have been there several times in the past but never noticed this. When the kids told me the baby was breathing I didn't believe them. Sure enough - it was!

Isaac's face is so cute on this one. He is in awe and shock over the "breathing" dinosaur.

Day at the Museum Part 2

Madison and Abby had fun doing the dinosaur puzzles while Isaac and Ruby watched a video about a dinosaur dig

Posing in the playroom

Isaac and Ruby dressed up like dinosaurs. Although Isaac looks like the sweet dinosaur and Ruby the vicious one, it was all an act. As soon as the picture was done Isaac changed his tune and started chasing Ruby all over the place.

Now it is Madison and Abby's turn to be dinosaurs. Looks like our sweet dinosaur Isaac is back! Ruby has decided being a different kind of dinosaur is more her style!

Posing by Big Mike on the way out. It was a fun day at the dinosaur museum!!

Awana Fun

The kids love going to Awana. It is amazing to see all the verses they can learn and remember later. Isaac really surprised us because we didn't expect him to have such a good memory. He does his verses no problem and even remembers where they are found. He will probably be a numbers kid because he always remembers the chapter and verse number but needs to work harder at remembering which book it is in. It is cute. Madison finished off the year memorizing John 14:1-6 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The kids on their way to Awana for crazy hair night. With two extra girls I had to get an early start with all their hair :-)

Having a BLAST in MN

We are enjoying a visit "home". Although we are busy clearing out the house completely, there is always time for friends! :-)

At Val and Sheldon's for some chocolate sauce and ice cream :-)

L to R: Greta, Madison, Hannah, me, Brock, Sheldon, Val and Isaac

At a local coffee show for some "girl" time - Madison, Greta, Val, Barb and Rachel

My little Posers!!

Some cute pictures I got of the kids while visiting the museum

Ruby, Abby, Isaac, Madison and Hannah

Isaac and Ruby got along soooo good! They never fought the entire time they were staying with us. It was nice to see how well they did together. Madison and Abby did great too but I was expecting that. Back in the day they were like oil and water, fighting constantly, but thankfully that is long gone. Whheewww!!