She Cracks Us Up

This post is nothing but stories of Miss Hannah. She is cracking us up these days. I don't know where she gets it from but she constantly makes us laugh about something...So enjoy a few random stories/sayings by Hannah...and a few pictures as well :)

1. Recently we have been working on potty training. So David took her one night. That day she had on a dress with little panty covers over her diaper. I hear her say, "Go show Mommy" and then I hear the fast paced feet running through the kitchen. She gets to the living room, stops in her tracks, raises her dress to reveal her naked bottom and says proudly to me, "Tadaaa"

2. We were driving a new path to church that we've recently discovered. There are horses on one side and cows on the other. Before we get there, Hannah starts saying, "Horsie Mommy...Horsie." So this particular day we see the horses and Hannah says, "Wide horsie Mommy...Wanna wide horsie." I explaind that we can't just ride random horses. I see her mind working and all of a sudden she says, "Hum..I wide Daddy's horsie." (Interpretation: I enjoy riding on Daddy's back while he walks on his hands and knees like a horse.)

3. We have a really strange neighbor. Really strange. So we were in the back yard recently and David was throwing the ball to Hannah. The neighbor happened to be outside on his porch. Hannah stops and yells "HEY...I pway ball." Of course the strange neighbor doesn't respond. So she yells louder. "HEY...I pway ball." And when he didn't respond, she yells a third time, "HEEEEEY...I pway ball." I suppose to shut her up, he turned and waved. She was then happy with her results and began to throw the ball back to David.

4. Tonight David did a sinus rinse. It's a really crazy think that pushes water up one nostril and the water comes out the other nostril. Hannah watched him and laughed saying, "hahah Nose...bath..." I guess she thought David was giving his nose a bath...Makes sense to me, doesn't it you?

These are just a few instances. As you can tell, she definitely keeps us in stitches!

She found this hat in WalMart and insisted on wearing it this way....

She was playing with the ball while she waited on her Daddy to hook up the waterhose.

Thank you Nana for our new playclothes!

Gitty up horsie!! Hannah "widing Daddy's horsie"

Hannah updates

To those faithful few who read this blog, here are some updates of Hannah. (Sorry it took me so long Evelyn!) She's definitely 2 and trying her own personality out! Sometimes I have to try it right on out of her! :) She's strong willed and extremely independant. I like to say that she takes after her father. When she's in trouble, this is what she does. If I'm getting on to her, she cries..."I want my daddy." I say, "Daddy's at work." She then cries, "I want....." and she places a name of a youth. It tends to be whoever she saw last. So she might say, "I want Wes..." or "I want Robbie..." or "I want Ezra"....I guess they are all going to save her!!!

She's very funny and keeps us cracked up all the time. She recently was saying, "I want chicken" as we're in line at McDonald's. David orders the chicken and says, "I would like a 6 piece chicken nugget...That's all...Thank you." So in the back, we hear Hannah repeatedly declaring, "I want chicken...that's all...thank you....you're welcome....I want chicken...that's all....thank you....you're welcome." By the time we got to the window, David and I were crying laughing and of course this made Hannah's declaration grow even louder! It was very hard trying to explain to the nice cashier that we promise we were not laughing at her, but at our daughter. She just smiled as if to say "sure, and you haven't had anything to drink either!"

We are working on potty training. She gets an M&M when she makes a "deposit" into the toilet. So she likes to try a LOT!! She loves to bend over and watch the "deposit" leave her body. She is very intrigued with wiping herself with toilet paper. And she loves to wash her hands immediately afterwards so that she can receive her candy!

Here are a few pics. I've not been very good and using the camera, so I'll try to be better this month!

Hannah holding our friend Madeline. Something funny about the one holding the pacipher declaring the "other child" as the baby! It has taken us four months to get to where she likes Madeline and will let Mommy or Daddy even hold the baby. (Literally just recently and Madeline is 4 months old now)

"CHEESE". Notice the icing on her face. She'd just had a cupcake!

Ha Ha my favorite. I had to run to the church one day and she insisted on wearing these shoes and these "bracelets" which are really hair bows on a rubber band. She had to "wear shoes...see Daddy." I guess she wanted to dress up to go see Daddy. The secretaries at church CRACKED up at how she wore them around like they were nothing. We laughed and declared she'll be one of those "good shouters in church." She can already jump up and down with her high heels on!

We were at a big youth even and it was dark and LOUD and Hannah just "needed" her passy. She was a bit overwhelmed by it all! One of our youth workers asked me this week. "Are you sure she's adopted...She looks just like ya'll. I can't get over it." Maybe it's the cheeks..maybe it's her blue eyes...or maybe I forgot 9 months of my life where I was pregnant!!

Sneaky Sneaky...She loves to put on David's socks and shoes and "try" to walk!

Another pair of David's shoes...I'm thinking she has a think for shoes!

Strawberry Festival

Strawberry Festival is here. Little did I know that Plant City, Florida is famous for their strawberries. Look at your grocery store strawberries this week and see if you see Plant City, Florida strawberries anywhere. Strawberries are in season. I literally live about 5 minutes from some of the largest strawberry fields. They are even on the same road as my neighborhood. About 15 minutes down the road the Strawberry Festival is happening. It's a two week long event that looks like a State Fair and there is about anything strawberry flavored that you could ever imagine.

Well some dear church members recently brought us some strawberries. I decided I could let them waste, or I could make something! So I canned Strawberry Freezer Jam. YUM...it's a family tradition. You place it on a piece of toast or on a hot biscuit! There's nothing better. I decided to take pictures of my first ever "canning" session. (Althought I just used jars and didn't 'truly' can them...just froze them!)

Step 1. The strawberries minus their stems...

Step 2. Crush the strawberries. My little helper insisted on pushing the button on the food processor. She would eat a strawberry and then push the button. Take another break, eat a strawberry and then push the button, etc etc.

Step 3. The crushed strawberries are divided into "recipes". I had three recipes out of my strawberries.

The final product. 16 jelly jars ad 2 quart jars full of freezer jam!!!!!!

Their Perspective

I recently learned a lesson from Hannah. I tend to learn something new from her every day. Many of the days, it tends to be a lesson in patience. (We're potty training, attempting to get rid of "passy", trying to leave "Emmy" behind some, she's 2, etc, etc, etc). Should you need a lesson in patience, I'll be happy to let you borrow Hannah for the day...:) But my lesson...It actually turned into a spiritual lesson for me. She was standing at the refrigerator door clearing asking for something. Except it wasn't so clear to me what she was asking for. Normally I have no problems deciphering what it is she needs. But this particular day I couldn't figure it out. I pointed to Dora Yogurt. "No mommy". I pointed to cheese. "No mommy." I pointed to Crystal light which she calls 'drink.' "No mommy." I pointed to pickles. "No mommy." I then started pointing to anything: sour cream, butter (which she would eat by the handfuls if I would let her), and anything else in my refrigerator. It was clear that Hannah was becoming frustrated with me and honestly I felt bad becuase I could NOT figure out what she wanted. Then it hit me, let me get on her level and see what it is. So I got on my knees and placed my head right beside her head so that we were cheek to cheek. I then turned my head just like hers and looked in the refrigerator. Well how about that. From where she was standing, she was looking through the glass shelves and seeing the bottom of the 2nd shelf. So on the 2nd shelf in the back of the refrigerator was a container of chocolate pudding. She saw it through the bottom of the shelf. When I was on her level, it was as clear as day to me as well. So I quickly jumped up and said, "Do you want pudding Hannah?" She excitedly declared "yeah mommy, yeah, yeah. PWEASE?" Well who would deny the child chocolate pudding after all that work?

This lesson later hit me as I was reflecting on some of our students in our youth group. We have a group of students that are bussed in every week. I would love to tell you that they are met at the door with open arms. But that is not always the case if I'm being honest with you. They are loud, they are rough and they do NOT know how to act in church (or at least the way most of us THINK they should act). Some of our youth leaders have grown weary in being "the bad cop." Thus they have become tired of having to sit with them and constantly stay on them. So, I felt like it became my job. I began sitting with them on Wednesday nights. It's certainly exhausting. It's a constant reminder that they have to listen when others are talking, that they have to obey the rules that are laid out before them. You have to love with tough love and in the same breath, embrace them and love on them as well. Each week we give them a food item and a drink out of our cafe. It's a constant reminder that they can't be demanding to our youth workers who are giving them the food. It is like parenting all night long to 20-30 students. It all came together for me this Wednesday night. I had text David during service. (We had a special group ministering that night and yes, I was disobeying and text David.) The kids were acting up and I couldn't handle them by myself. He unfortunately didn't get my text, because he never came to my rescue. It came time for the alter call and as soon as the guest speaker said, "anyone need to come pray about these areas", one of "those students" literally walked as fast as she could to the altar. She happens to be one of the leaders. They all listen to what she says. So I sat there for a while. Then the Lord reminded me of my lesson with Hannah. When I got down on Hannah's level to look in the fridge, I was able to see the "prize." I sensed the Lord calling me to get down on their level tonight and He would allow me to see the "prize." So I walked up and asked LeLe what she needed prayer for. This is what she said, "I'm tired of running, I'm tired of running." I happened to have known that a couple of weeks ago she ran away for 5 days. Her dad didn't know where she was and had eventually had to call the police. For the first time since we've been with this youth group, my heart broke for this child. Tears streamed down her face and she could barely look me in the eyes. I embraced her and prayed with her. Eventually I felt the Lord prompt me to bring David over to where we were praying. I told her that David was going to embrace her and I wanted her to imagine that this was God embracing her and loving on her. When David put his arms around this child, this extremely tough leader of the pack, began to weep. Her walls began to crumble.

Will this completly change this entire group? It may, it may not. It may take years before we truly know what happened in LeLe's life Wednesday night. All I know is that I learned when we get down on their level and we put our cheek up to their cheek and we look at life through their eyes, the whole perspective changes. Life all of a sudden looks a little different.

I pray I never loose this perspective. I pray I always remember to place my cheek by their cheek so that my eyes can see what they see! I want to know their perspective. It's not a lesson simply about our students who arrive by bus. It's about those that we encounter daily.