WOW! It has been a while

To be honest I kind of forgot I had a blog. The past nine months or so have been a little crazy, and I just forgot about blogging. So much has happened since I last wrote I am not even sure where to begin. Jacob is now 18 months old. He is very energetic and sometimes very hard to keep up with. He loves to run around the house, play with his sisters, color, read books, go swimming, and pretty much anything else that allows him to release his energy. The girls are both on summer break! Ella finished out her school year on the "A" honor roll and we are so proud of her. Emily finished with all E's:) They are both looking forward to the new school year, but have had a blast already this summer. They went on vacation with their grandparents up to Virginia and then spent some time with them down in Orlando.

Our biggest news is that we added a new addition to our family. Katherine (Kate) Ann Rich Hansen was born a week ago weighing in at 5lbs 13 0z, 18 inches long. We are so thrilled to have her home and praise the Lord that she is healthy! Everyone seems to be adjusting well. Jacob is not quite sure what to think of her, but enjoys kissing her and patting her back. The girls are such a big help with Jacob while I tend to Kate! I am not sure what I will do when they return to school. Kate is perfect in every way and we are so happy! Hopefully it will not take me another nine months to update again.

Jacob is nine months

Well Jacob turned 9 months old back on October 20th but he just had his doctors appointment the other day where we got all of his stats updated. So Jacob is officially 17lbs (10th percentile) AND 25 inches long (25th percentile). He has 7 teeth, yes I said 7. Five of them came in in the same week. He is pulling up on the furniture, crawling around everywhere, talking a lot and very loudly. He is still a great sleeper and eater. He is really into his yogurt right now and gets very excited at the sight of the container it comes in. He is incredibly friendly with anyone that looks at him and can win you over in a second with his smile. He loves to be read to and talked to, he loves to hear the guitar and piano and he enjoys playing them himself. He likes to play with his blocks and like any man has to hold the TV remote :) We are having so much fun watching him grow and change, but cannot believe that in just a few short months he will be turning 1. We are grateful to the Lord for all of our children and feel so blessed.

Jacob also had his first haircut a few weeks ago. It was getting so long on top and looked a little like a comb over. He was so cute, but now he looks like a little man.

Before

during(look @ how long it is)


after

Catching up!

This has been such a busy month! It has been so long since I posted, but wanted to share a few things from the last several weeks. On September 12 we celebrated Emily's 6th birthday. For her gift she wanted me to take her shopping so she could pick out what she wanted. That was a lot of fun and would you believe she did not get one toy. We spent the whole time at Target looking for clothes and accessories.

Here she is with a few friends

Blowing out the candles

Opening a few gifts

The day after Emily's birthday, we had another reason to celebrate. Ella was baptized! On May 11th Ella actually asked Christ into her heart and to be her Savior, but was just baptized on September 13th. Every year our church does a beach baptism, which is where she was washed clean! Here are some pictures.

Reading her testimony

This was the big moment (it was actually pretty rough)

Also, Jacob turned 8 months old on September 20th. We do not go back to the doctor until he is 9 months, but he is scooting all over the place, sitting up, and his newest thing is clapping. He loves to clap and he really likes it when people clap with him. He is still such an easy baby, very social and a joy to have around. Such a cutie!

Here's my boy!

I also want to wish my mother in law a very Happy Birthday! I will not report her real age, but she does not look a day over 25:) Hopefully we will be able to celebrate with her soon!

ABC's

The A B C's of God!

Awesome, amazing, accessible, Alpha, all - knowing, all - powerful
Brilliant, beautiful
Creator, compassionate
Dependable
Eternal, everywhere
Faithful, Father, forgiving
Good, gracious, guide
Holy
Infinite,invisible, impartial, incomprehensible
Jesus, just, jealous
Kind
Lord of Lords, lovingkindness, light, love, long-suffering, Leader
Merciful
Near
Omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, omega
Perfect, personal, Prince of Peace, preserver
Quotable, quiet
Righteous, restorer
Self-sufficient, supply
Transcendent, truth
Unending love
Victorious
Wise, wondrous
Xciting ( I know that does not work, I am just drawing a blank)
Yahwah
Zealous

Please fell free to leave comments with on your favorite adjectives describing the Lord! Happy Labor Day!

First day of school

The girls started school yesterday. Ella is in second grade and Emily is in Kindergarten. Its hard to believe they are both in school now. They had a great time making new friends and catching up with old ones. The homework started right away for them. They both looked adorable in their pink and brown outfits. Emily has the same teacher that Ella had in Kindergarten. There is a picture below of each of them sitting on the same carpet on their first day of Kindergarten.

august 2009

august 2007 Ella's first day of kindergarten

Weekend in Alabama

We spent last weekend in Birmingham, Alabama for my younger cousin Chris's wedding. He married a sweet, beautiful girl named Amber. My girls were flower girls in the wedding. They were, of course, very beautiful. We had a great time seeing family and spending time together.


On Friday, Jacob turned 7 months old. He has been sitting up on his own, crawling around like an army man, babbling like crazy, saying dada, smiling and laughing a lot, enjoying pretty much any food he is given, sucking his thumb and just being a complete joy to have around. I say it every month, but it is just going by so fast.


On our way home from Birmingham, we stopped in Auburn and visited the University. It is a beautiful town and college campus. We enjoyed our time frolicking around the campus. We stopped at the bookstore to purchase some auburn paraphernalia, we have not switched teams though, still a Gator household. Over all it was a wonderful vacation and a great way to wrap up summer time.

8 years!

Today, with a few more wrinkles, gray hair, and an added few pounds Nels and I celebrate eight years of wedded bliss. Its hard to believe that we are already at 8, it really has flown by and it has been wonderful. In the last eight years we have moved 4 times, had 3 beautiful children, lost(until we meet face to face in Heaven) 2 precious babes, been to Hawaii, Zambia, Senegal, a cruise and various other locations, rode our bikes 160 miles in 2 days, and many many many more exciting adventures. We met 11 years ago and started dating 9 years ago. We love being outdoors, camping, hiking, boating, surfing, fishing, playing with the kids. We have lots of fun together, most of which is spent laughing. Our cup runs over and we are blessed beyond belief. Love you babe! Looking forward to many more incredible years together.