Mary on the Runway. :-)

Digital Nativity

Amazing!

Baby Number 2 on the Way!!

Yep, we are having our second baby! We are so very excited! I am due July 9, 2011. Yesterday I went in to get a check up and had the chance (with Paul) to see our little growing baby on an ultrasound! The baby was wiggling and had a strong heartbeat. It was so amazing to see the arms, legs and little fingers on the baby. I am always amazed at God and how he weaves us together!! What a blessing for us! We are very excited. Zoë is excited too. She will kiss my tummy and pat it and say, "Hi baby!"

:-)

Zoë 18 months plus!

Yes, Zoë is now 18 months and I have not written anything! :-) She is healthy and growing. She is 17 and a half pounds and we are thankful for every ounce. Zoë got her ears pierced on the 16th of November and has done really well with them. She is such a funny girl. She runs around and tells people, "see, ears!" she is always excited about them. I cannot believe just how fast she is rowing!

Thought

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." ~Plato

Zoë Firsts

Well, yesterday Zoë said her own name clear as a bell. It was so great! Funny how excited we get about it. She also got her first hair cut on the 6th. I will have to post some pics ASAP. She just had a trim, but they cut off about an inch. She cried sitting in the chair at first and then did great. She is 18 months now and is such a blessing everyday. :-)

We are Selling Our Home

Here is our home! Please pray that it sells fast. :-)

Property 2405 poly dr billings mt 59102 information on RE/MAX OF BILLINGS – Remax.com

Mary Modeling

Mary got to walk the runway for the first time about a week ago! She was a part of the Portland fashion week and got to be in two fashion shows. :-) Good job Mary! Glad you had fun!

Some Fun Pics :-)

Zoë fell down two stairs last weekend at the Broadview Evangelical Church and then she picked of the scab later in the week...So, she had to wear the blue band -aid. She LOVES the flower hat and wears it whenever she can. :-) Always makes me smile. LOL!

Zoë went with me to Gainans and we got to paint a pumpkin together, play some fun games like fishing for little ducks for a prize, looking at live turkeys, getting a little wash off tattoo, and face painting. She picked out a little pumpkin to be painted on her face. Too fun!
Zoë picked out her own little pumpkin to paint! She was pretty excited! :-)

The days have been BEAUTIFUL fall days. We have been going for nice long walks almost everyday. Hunter enjoys the walks and Zoë HAD to stop and swing on the swing (of course with her daddy!!)

Yay!

Yay for Zoë! She did a half day in panties! :-)

Sayings

Here are some of Zoë's favorite words right now:

"PAWtea" = "Potty"

"PAWpee"= "Poopy"

"uck"= "Stuck"

"Ieess"= "eyes"

"CK"= "book", "blanket"

"ease" = "please"

"eSSS"= "Yes"

CRAZY!

Sooooo, super crazy today, Zoë has been using the potty for the last month and today she made it to the potty 7 times!! We were super proud of her! Way to go Zoë!

Zoë

√

Awareness Test

Amazing Race

Zoë and What She is Doing

So, here is a quick update on what Zoë has been up to lately:

1. Learning to walk backwards.

2. Beginning to use the potty!! :-)

3. Says to Paul when we were at walmart: "Where are we going?" Paul says, "To the store." Zoë responds, "I want grandma!"

4. Likes to draw and says, "Sit, please." When she wants to sit and draw. She will then say, "Color, please." and we hand her her crayons.

5. Likes to pretend read. She will sit on her little elephant pillow and pretend to read a book to herself.

6. Spins to music. So funny!

7. Climbs up and down stairs.

8. LOVES blowing bubbles and will say, "bubbles, bubbles" all the time.

9. Plays with her baby dolls all the time as well. Loves her dollhouse and is always walking around caring for her babies.

I know that there are more things, just can't seem to think of them right now. :-)

Hansen Family Rwanda Adoption Story

Please take the time to watch. This is my in-laws. They are an exciting journey and they need your prayers! Thanks!

Fun Birthday and Weekend

What a wonderful getaway Paul, Zoë and I had. We were able to spend some time in Big Sky Montana for a few days. It was nice to relax and regroup before Paul heads out to his new little job this week. We are still praying for direction and this weekend was perfect to relax and rethink where we are at right now and get on the same page with things. Zoë enjoyed the time and it even snowed! We saw a big bear right outside the window too. On my birthday we drove through Yellowstone National Park. I was sad that we didn't get to do any hiking, but maybe next year. :-)

Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a common sense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual." ~Oswald

Such a Fun Week

How fun it was this past week to get to be back teaching. Kindergarten is hilarious. I laughed and laughed the first few days with the kids. They are precious and excited to be in school for the first time. There were some tears from both parents and students, but as the week went on there were more and more routines set and so much to do. I am thankful that I am able to be a part-time teacher and have the chance to be with these kids this year. Not and accident. Zoë did well. It was a bit long for her to be without me, but I am thankful for the start of the normal week this coming week. Hope your weekend was blessed. :-)

15 Month Check up

We do want to praise the Lord for Zoë's great 15 month check up. She is perfectly healthy and does not need a specialist from Denver to come up and see her. She grew just enough. :-) She is 17 pounds and walks and talks ALL the time. She is quite busy. Here are some new words: "hot dog", "brrrrr" (when she is cold), "Wawa" (Water) , "neigh" for any animal other than a dog, duck or monkey. :-) She is a fun little girl. :-)

Some Sad News

We have some sad news to share. Paul was laid off as a pastor at Faith E. It came as a huge shock to us and we are in the process of figuring out what is next. Please pray that God will give us direction and guidance as we seek to follow Him into the next phase of this life. Pray also that we will continue to give our worries to God. Love you all. Thanks for the prayers as we journey through these deep waters.

Yay Zoë!

Yep, Zoë not only walks all over, but today she learned to get up from sitting, to a standing position so she could walk around. :-) Yay!! Good job Zoë!

Zoë

Photo Shoot #3

Photo Shoot #2

Tutu on the train! :-)

Photo Shoot #1

So, we had a photo shoot the other night with Bethany, Mary, Kaley, Paul, me and Zoë. Kaley took the photos and did a great job. :-) It was very fun. I will be placing some of the pictures up periodically on here. They are so fun! Thanks Kaley!

Super Summer 2010

"There are five gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and your life. Most people will only ever read the fifth." ~Joseph Barkley at Super Summer 2010

Some Words

Well, Zoë spoke two words on Sunday that I was hoping she wouldn't learn so soon. After a week of camp, which was amazing, she picked up the word, "NO"! Yep, and now she is using quite a bit. At least she doesn't yell it... she just softly says no and shakes her head from side to side. The other word you ask? Well, it is a name, mine to be exact. I was shocked to hear clear as a bell, "Abbie" when I was grabbing something in the kitchen. She then proceeded to scoot over to me and hold up her hands. I thought it was an accident and not the real thing until in the car she kept saying, "Abbie, Abbie, Abbie, Abbie" while waiting for me to look at her in the mirror. Long gone are the days of the simple "Yes, mommy." :-) LOL

Great Books.

OK Moms. I am on the lookout for your favorite books for your children. There are so many out there and I wanted to know what books you enjoy reading to your children. Please share! :-) I love books for children and I wanted to know some favorites out there that I may not know about. I will post a few of mine later on this week. Hopefully I get some responses because I know summer is a busy time! :-)

Florida

Zoë's "duck face"

Zoë sticking out her tongue. :-)

Here we are as a family at the largest working light house on the east coast.

Zoë playing with the sand by the Atlantic Ocean

Here daddy.... you can do it! :-)

Zoë took 2 Steps!!

Yes, Zoë took her two firsts steps today! YAY!! She was holding a fake hotdog (which I think she thought was my finger) and let go of the coffee table and took two full steps to my mom who was sitting on the floor near her. We were SOOOO excited! Yay Zoë!

Happy Father's Day Paul!

This is posted a bit early but I needed to say: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY PAUL!! You are a great Dad and we love you!! (Zoë loves you too!!)

Tantrums

Well, A lot has happened in the last few weeks. Zoë picked up quite a bit of sign language all at once. I didn't think that we were doing very much of it... but I guess we must have been, lol. She now seems to sign all the time and pick new things up. She seems to always want to eat. :-) She LOVES her dolly and will make it cry and then hand it to me to console, ask for it back and then pat its back and snuggle the baby. :-) She took her doll to bed with her tonight. So precious.

שָׁלוֹם (Shalom)

שָׁלוֹם (Shalom)

Things Zoë is doing at a Year

Here are some things that Zoë is doing:

-blowing kisses to EVERYONE (while trying to make the smacking sound)

-trying to give kisses to EVERYONE, LOL

-Holds up one finger to show that she is one

-Points to her tooth to show you she has a tooth when asked where her tooth is. :-)

-Says, "DOG" and then pants or barks

-Says. "OOH, OOH, OHH" for the word Monkey

-Continues to point and direct you to what she wants

-pretends to drink out of her toy cup and eat a toy piece of food, and then tries to share it with you. She then concludes the whole situation with a, "MMMMM, MMMM!"

- LOVES being walked around and around while you are holding her hands.

-Pulls herself up on things.

-Scoots around on her bottom, (does not crawl) She pushes her feet forward and then drags her bottom behind, it is hilarious! She learned this a week before her birthday.

-uses sign language for the word "more"

- says, "MMMMMM, MMMMM" when she wants to eat.

-says, "NANA" for a banana.

-she helps me while I am dressing her, likes trying to put on her socks and put things over her head.

- Babbles like CRAZY! She seems to always be talking (UM, yes, I think she gets that from me and not Paul, LOL)

-She will pile her blanket up into a ball and then lay her head down to pretend that she is going "night-night"

-She scoots to her dollhouse and plays with the people. She especially likes Grandma and Grandpa's dollhouse and will play with the little car. She makes the "vroom, vroom" sounds with her lips spitting while she pushes the car. It is so cute!

-She plays with her little pretend kitchen by placing objects in the oven and then taking them out and pretending to eat them.

-looks at someone and waves (side to side) and says "Hello" in a sing-song voice. (I think that I must do this too, because I have caught my self saying "hello" with the voice fluctuations.)

Hmmmmm, She seems to be doing so much these days!! I know that this isn't probably half of what she is doing!

We visited the doctor and she is healthy except she is very small. Please be praying that she continues to grow between now and her 15 month check up. The doctor was a little concerned and told us that she needs to be growing or she will need to see a specialist to make sure nothing is wrong. Please pray that she continues to grow and be healthy. She was 15lbs. 12oz.

27 inches. Thank you for your prayers!

Lot's Going On!

Wow! It has almost been a month since I have even posted anything and Zoë has been doing a LOT! Zoë and I traveled to Oregon at the beginning of this month to celebrate the graduation of my sister Bethany. I am so proud of her! Congratulations Bee!! :-) It was a fun trip in that we got to do a lot as a family, a sad trip in that I had to leave my two sisters behind and a quick trip as it always seems to go fast. Zoë turned one year at exactly 9:15 p.m. the evening of the 7th. We were driving home from OR. We did not even end up celebrating her birthday until the 13th. Zoë seemed to enjoy everyone that was able to come. Even Nona and Grandpa Dave were able to Skype with us while Zoë looked at her cake. LOL. She was a little scared of it! (It was a darling Noah's Ark done by Natalie Zigweid). I will have to post pictures.

Investing in God's Kingdom

So, I have been challenged this week by really looking at finances and how we should be not only tithing but also looking for tangible ways of investing in God's kingdom. If you are looking for a way to invest in God's kingdom I have a college student you can invest in. He is a student in Missoula who has been growing in the LORD and is excited to be going to ECHO with Campus Crusade for Christ. He is the first Christian in his family so he is in need of support for his summer mission. He is one brave boy!! He is using this as a way to witness to his family and friends of the change that has taken place in his life. If you are interested in investing in him write to me or call me and I can give you the info (checks can be written to Campus Crusade for Christ and get a hold of me and I can tell you where to send it.) Also, prayer is MUCH needed. If you want to know how to specifically pray let me know and I can give you the info. How cool would it be if we could bless a boy in his walk with Christ as his non-Christan family watches? What a blessing it would be! I am so excited of what God is doing in this boy's life. What a miracle!!

Old Time Radio Programs

Here is a site that plays old time radio programs. Let me know if you like it. :-)

Such an interesting/ funny post about us and God...enjoy

When we apply our human standards to God's, it’s like dogs applying canine standards to us. Our conclusions will invariably come up short. (click here)

Red Lodge- Wild Bill Lake

Here is Zoë's first time up at Wild Bill Lake. The day was warm and gorgeous! I am glad that we were able to go! :-)

Beautiful, Refreshing Day

It is days like today, warm and lovely, that I thank God he has created the seasons. I am SO thankful for spring when it comes. I am also thankful for the dreary winter becuase it makes spring so much sweeter when it comes. Maybe that is why we experience pain at times. To allow the times of joy to be so sweet, that we can do nothing else but praise God and be grateful for what He has given us in this life.

Zoë News

Well, we found out what Zoë has, it is some sort of allergic reaction. The name of her condition is erythema. It can be caused from an allergic reaction or from a virus. It affects her blood vessels. So, she will have a little red face for a few months. We are thankful that it will heal. Now we just need to figure out what she is allergic to that causes her hives.

Zoë is 11 months!

Ok... wow, time is going too fast. Zoë turned 11 months yesterday!! Crazy! Here are some of the things that she is or is not doing:
*says "uh oh"
*"pretend" talks a lot
*sings along with a song by humming and going, "ahhh"
*tries different foods
*smacks her lips when she wants more food
* cruises better along a coffee table
* she just rolled over and over yesterday, back and forth
* walks with you holding her hand
*plays with toys, two at a time
*snuggles
*gives kisses on demand
*picks up her food with her fingers
*points to what she wants and demands
*wants to be picked up and taken where she wants to go. (I think this may be why she does not crawl yet.) :-)

Sweet Blessings

Here we are with the girls we are caring for. It has been such a blessing having them in our home. How awesome to know that God is working all around the world. :-)

We fear that God might actually be enough--and we don't want that--because if He is, all our pet pursuits will be invalidated. ~thoughts of Abram Hagstrom

Special Prayer Request

Please Pray for Sudan. Please click and read what is going on.

Pictures from Oregon last summer

This is the front porch of my grandparents house. Isn't it beautiful? My grandma Gloria is amazing with flowers. I enjoy staying here so much! I have wonderful memories of this house.
This is looking out at their garden.
This is the field where they have their cows and the little house is the nut house where they shell and package the nuts they grow.
This is the orchard. Lots of games of kick the can. :-)
This is is part of the flower garden.
Fresh picked berries from the garden! Yummy!
Here is my grandpa Ron with Zoë.