Meet Hannah Joy!!!

With great JOY

we welcomed

Hannah Joy

into our family

on

December 17th

She was born at 9:55 am, weighing in at 7 lbs, 10 oz and was 20 inches long.

We are all in love with her!

Thank you for sharing in our joy!

Little Update

I know it has been forever since I have written. Thank you for your prayer over us as we await our baby girl. We are down to 10 days before my due date. Amazing! All has been well in our home. I have been busy getting baby's things organized. We have been so blessed with gifts and hand me down's. I have also been busy with schooling the other children. Usually we take off from Thanksgiving until the New Year and then we jump back in. During that time we do individual study, hitting the library regularly and some fun family activities. This year we have done our regular school routine throughout the holidays so that when baby arrives we can take a break and get into a new routine while everyone adjusts to her and her to them! We are all excited about her arrival. We will be sure to announce when she comes and what her name will be...we still don't know! Oh well, we still have at least 10 days. ;)

It's a Girl!

I know I have been negligent in updating you all. We found out last week that our precious baby is a girl. She weighed in at 8 ounces so she is right on target. It is hard to believe we are halfway through this pregnancy. God be praised for this incredible gift!

I would post another ultrasound picture but they are downstairs and you all will forgive me for not hauling myself down there since well, I am pregnant and all. ;)

The day we found out the baby's gender, Peter and I wanted to be creative in how we told the kids. On the way home we purchased each child a pink heart balloons, strawberry milk and pink frosted donut (okay, we got a dozen of those). The kids loved the surprise and everyone is excited to meet this sweet baby girl. I look forward to when Peter and the children will be able to feel her move. It has been amazing to feel her little feet kicking every once in a while.

Goodnight all!

Crustaceans.

We absolutely love homeschooling. Today, we studied crustaceans and followed up our study with a trip to the local seafood store. We chose the store that had the live lobster tank. Peter bought two lobsters and several pounds of shrimp. We brought them home and cooked them up. The kids loved every step. Peter and the children shared the two lobsters and named the different parts as they "dissected" them. What a fun night we had! On a side note, yesterday was 16 years for Peter and I. The time continues to fly by. We have had head colds for several days, so I guess tonights dinner was part of our celebration. I love you Peter! I love you kids!

Amazed.

It has been nearly 16 years since our journey began. June 1st marks our anniversary, the following October marks our "when we started trying," and now, at 9 weeks...now marks our "stand amazed."

Baby.

Joy.

Life is busy.

Life is busy.

Children running.
Momma teaching.
Daddy working.
All are laughing, loving, learning.

Bills are coming.
House still dirty.
Rain is falling.
Time for a movie.

Wiping noses.
Feeding faces.
You're still hungry?
Time for a cookie.

Sick and tired.
Energy abounds.
Now your head hurts?
Time for some medicine.

It will end soon.
You'll feel better.
Need a snuggle?
Time for some reading.

Tired faces.
Fevered bodies.
Sneezing, coughing.
Time for some sleep now.

A teenager?!

It's official!
We now have a teenager in the house.
Happy Birthday Ashley!
We love you so much...

Her door on birthday morning!

A morning birthday greeting from Daddy!

Lunch at a restaurant of her choice--PF Changs!

Happy Birthday our dear girl!
Where has the time gone?
We love you.
We love that you LOVE our LORD!
We love that you are seeking to have a serving heart!
We love that you are making good choices!
We love that you want to honor us!

WE LOVE YOU.
xo, Dad and Mom

Birthday Boys!

This wonderful boy had a birthday yesterday!
He is now four.
When asked about turning four he replied,
"Now I can drive a car aaannnndddd I can do whatever I want!"

Happy Birthday Isaiah! We love you all the way to the moon and back again.
We are so happy to be your Daddy and Mommy!
xoxo

AND
The guy on the right turned AHEM on the same day.

Happy Birthday Peter!
We missed celebrating with you.
We all love you and are grateful for you in our lives.
xoxo

Bill Collection by Ben Lansing

Bill Collection [added: January 25, 2011]

Service.

This is the view from my kitchen window.
These are my neighbors steps.
This is my 6 year old son shoveling her steps.
Service.
I love it.

My Hero.

Yes! We have water!

One day it will be humorous...
Peter is home today so we are preparing the house for MLS photos which will be taken Monday at 1pm. We were supposed to touch up paint, clean out the closet, shampoo the carpets, however, our well pump died. Peter spent the entire day outside pulling the pump and running to purchase a new one. He also dropped off 8 bags for Goodwill and 8 boxes for storage. In the meantime, I cleaned out our closet. Both sides. Big job. Took 3 hours. I even found a Christmas gift we forgot to give the kids. I called the kids, who were home, in to the closet to show them and we all enjoyed a yard long Twizzler. While Peter was gone I sanded and painted our patched walls. It was the perfect color. Then I turned around to see that the color was actually completely wrong. I spot painted the entire Dining Room the wrong color! Peter came home and decided to put the well pump in so that we would have water tonight. They sold him the wrong one. We have a two wire system and they, after Peter explained what he needed, sold him a three wire system. The Sabbath has begun and Peter has declared us Amish for the next 24 hours. We have been without water since 10am. It is time to relax, enjoy our family and focus on the goodness of our Lord. We celebrate a Saturday sundown Sabbath to Sunday sundown. Tomorrow night we will install a new well pump and paint the Dining Room. Never mind the carpets! We will have to figure out how to fit in a normal house cleaning as well. I am sure I will be surprised at how the Lord multiplies our time. Off to eat hot Taco Soup, which I threw in the crockpot before the well died. The dishes will not get done. I have an almost 13 year old who will be grateful for that. Sabbath Shalom!

Kid Quote

Quote of the night:

As Daniel is trying to shoot bear that are charging him 2 at a time, he throws the gun to Peter and yells, "Save me Daddy!!!" Daddy once again becomes a hero. What a stud.