Father's Day (Better Late Than Never, Right?)

Happy Father's Day to my Daddy!

Thank you for loving my "big sister" and me so much!

Love, Hannah Beth

A Week of Serving

Tony took our youth group [those who were able to go--many of the youth were unable to make it] on a missions trip a couple of weeks ago. Here is a picture of the whole group.

I was sad to have to miss the trip, but so thankful to have Hannah Beth to stay at home with.

The group drove 20 straight hours down to North Carolina to serve alongside 3 different ministries: homeless, elderly, and orphans.

My sister Natalie went in my place as the female chaperone :)

The group spent a couple days working hard in a rescue mission thrift store, sorting through and organizing all the donations that the mission receives; they then use the proceeds to provide meals and housing for the homeless.

Some fun activities -- hiking & Chick-Fil-A

The group sweated and braved the heat, doing various jobs at a boarding school (where orphans and unprivileged children attend) such as cleaning gutters.

Here is the missions team working at a Christian Village for the elderly, washing their vehicles and gathering up shingles.

Mowing lawns...

Gardening... (my sister on the right)

The girls on the team



Natalie and Tony's grandma, who lives in the area and visited with the team a couple of times.



The group also served by helping a lady from our previous church move into a new house.

Tony and one of the other male leaders, Gerald

From what I hear, there was a whole lot of fun mixed in with all that hard work! They ended the week by relaxing at a pool party at the home of some of our good friends, Nick and Pam.

And then some MORE Chick-Fil-A (can you tell it's one of my husband's favorites and he really misses it now that we've moved?!)....

A meal at Golden Corral...

and a day at the beautiful Wrightsville Beach (a few had never seen the ocean before!)

The missions team was able to spend lots of time with Gary and Melinda, the pastor and his wife of our previous church in NC. Their church partnered with our youth group for the week and the girls stayed in their home. They are such giving, hospitable, godly people. 

Some of the group on the way home...they left NC Sunday morning at about 7:30 am EST and arrived back in IA at around 12:30 am Monday CST. The missions trip was such a great success--the Lord answered so many prayers and even the simplest of logistics went so very well-- I'm so proud of how hard they worked! A great learning experience and opportunity to serve for everyone involved -- leaders and youth alike.     "...Whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."  (1 Peter 4:11)

While Tony was in the area, he was able to take some time to go to the cemetery and check on Alethia Joy's gravestone. I was thankful that he was able to do that, and I'm looking forward to being back in NC this summer to see many friends, family, and to also visit the resting place of our little Alli.

Hannah Beth playing with her treehouse - 40 weeks old

A little video we took a couple weeks ago of Hannah Beth playing with her "new" (awesome garage sale find!) treehouse toy.

9 months

Hannah Beth at 9 months old: (I wrote this near her 9 month birthday, but now that I'm finally getting it posted, she's 9 1/2 months already)

Weight: 17 lbs, 1 1/4 oz.  (25% on growth chart)

Length: 27 inches   (25% on growth chart)

Clothes: 9 months, some 12 months

Diapers: size 3, but we've also started using one-size cloth diapers (mostly Bum Genius but we're also trying a couple other kinds. :)

• New foods you've tried this month: cottage cheese, graham crackers, egg yolks, animal crackers, jello, grapes, watermelon, canteloupe, cheese, and waffles. 2 of your favorite foods are graham crackers and yogurt. You don't seem to love breakfast too much, but you usually eat well for lunch, snacktime, and supper. Your favorite part is feeding yourself little finger foods.
• You still nurse about 4 times a day, about every 4-5 hours. Even though we've given you a sippy cup since before 6 months old, you're still not a huge fan of it. We recently bought a different kind that is smaller and has handles on the sides so hopefully you'll do better with that one.
• Sleeping patterns: you almost always go down for naps and bed very well; you like your paci, "lovey," and sleep sack.
• You're drooling tons--still have just the bottom 2 teeth. The other ones are taking their time coming in.


• Sadly, on your 9 month birthday we found out you had a [double] ear infection. At least it was your first one...thankful you've been so healthy for so long. They said it was in the early stages though so Mommy's glad we went to the dr. when we did!
• Around 8 months, you were army crawling, alternating between scooting on your tummy and rolling to get around (sometimes doing push-ups by positioning yourself on your hands and toes). By 8 1/2 months, you started really crawling on your hands and knees and by 9 months, you're getting around very quickly and smoothly.
• You love to shake your arms up and down; we're not always sure if you're trying to clap or doing the sign language for "more" -- either way, it's super cute.
• You love peek-a-boo and "Pop Goes the Weasel" and you start bouncing your little body whenever you hear any music.

• The ceiling fan intrigues you.
• You've figured out where the video game controllers and mommy and daddy's books are kept...when we say "Hannah Beth, or Hannah Elizabeth," in a certain tone of voice, you turn around and look back at us...you can tell when you're getting into something you shouldn't! But it doesn't always stop you...ha

• You still love having books read to you; some of your favorites are the ones that make crinkly noises, or the ones with flaps and baby faces.
• You like to play with laundry baskets and you've tried to grab the leaves from our plant and touch the outlets (after which we quickly baby-proofed things much better)
• You often play with toys and books in your crib after you wake up from your nap.
• You like getting out and riding in the car and you LOVE being outside; we've been on lots of walks and are happy to have a park only 8 blocks away. The baby swing always makes you calm and content.
• During your 9th month, we went on our first family vacation to Branson, MO! It was so much fun.

• You love to talk and squeal and make noise....sounds like "dadada," "bababa," and "yayaya" are your favorites. You often try to "sing along" in church. Mommy has been putting you down for a nap in the infant nursery during the 2nd church meeting and you usually sleep for 45 minutes or so...you definitely still need that morning nap!
• You usually do well when other people watch/hold you - like in childcare at the gym, church nursery, or just random people at church holding you. Everywhere we go, people comment on how smiley you are and what big blue eyes you have! 
• You are our little sweetheart. We are loving watching all the new things you do and how you're learning about life everyday. We pray that as you learn about life, you will also learn about God and His love for you. Daddy also prays that you will grow up to remember that "people are more important than things." We sure do love you, Sweet One!

Trip to Branson

We spent last week on vacation in Branson, MO with my parents and younger brother and sister. It was such a great time...just not long enough!
Monday: We left at about 8:30 am and drove all day; arrived there at about 6:30 p.m., just in time for supper. It was very stormy that evening and the power in our resort ended up turning off just as we were finishing our supper. It didn't come back on for 1 1/2 hours! So we sat in our living room, listening and watching the rain and lightning, chatting, singing, and having a sweet little prayer time. It was my dad's idea to bring up prayer requests and pray together as a family...it was such a special time.

Here's our sweet little bookworm on the roadtrip. This is one of her favorite books-with all the baby faces in it.

Tuesday: We explored the waterfalls, paths, and creek behind our "Westgate" Resort. We were basically smack-dab in the middle of the woods, and it was so pretty there. Tony and my brother Nathan went at least a couple other times to explore more and they found some other waterfalls and paths. I was a little nervous about walking through a slippery creek and treking through muddy, slightly-steep trails carrying Hannah Beth in the Bjorn, but it worked out fine and she loved it! She is quite the little nature girl; she loves being outside. For meals, we had breakfast on our own and lunch at Rocky's Italian restaurant and cooked supper.

Lunch at Rocky's

That evening we set out for Tablerock Lake, having no idea the crazy amount of flooding that had taken place there. It was more flooded than it has been in many many years. You can see the sidewalk and picnic table/shelter that was almost up to the roof in water. The guys saw this as a swimming opportunity and dove [well, not really--more like waded] right in!

Hannah Beth loved all the quality "Grandpa and Grandma" time!

Watching the geese swim in the lake

We concluded our day by going miniature golfing while my parents stayed back with Hannah Beth who was sleeping. It's a family tradition to go mini-golfing on every vacation. And it's pretty much a tradition for me to always lose...but oh well...at least Natalie and I both got holes-in-one :)

Wednesday: We enjoyed some delicious "San Francisco Oven" pizza for lunch, took Hannah Beth swimming for the first time (she LOVED it--I wasn't too surprised since she loves bath time), had a homemade spaghetti dinner, and went to the Kirby VanBurch magic show that night (no pictures allowed). Such a fun day!

Thursday--Our last full day there; We left Hannah Beth with the guys while we gals went to the outlet mall. Got some GREAT deals, especially at the Carter's outlet. Love that store, wish we had one closer...although that might be dangerous for my wallet. The guys were still hungry for pizza, so they ordered Chicago-style and we ladies made our own lunch when we got back from shopping. That night we made dinner again in our resort kitchen, Zesty Chicken and Pasta.

Hannah Beth enjoyed storytime with Grandma, and we even let her hang out in the hot tub (for about 10 seconds and then I climbed in with her to make sure she didn't hit her head).

In this picture she's wondering, "Where's the water, Mom?" On Tuesday night I gave her a bath in the big hot tub (without the jets of course...you'll have to wait until you're older, sweet girl!) WITH the water that time.

Friday: We had to be out of the resort by 11 am, so we got packed up and were out of there a littl e before 11. We were happy to stop in northern MO at my aunt, uncle and cousins' house for a visit and an overnight stay. That night we had a delicious dinner of grilled hamburgers and many other side dishes and played a rousing game on "Imaginiff" with all the fam.

Saturday: On the road again, home. Sad to see our vacation end. Thankful for a safe and wonderful time.