Happy Birthday Bethany!

Some of you might remember this post from January of this year. Well, beautiful Bethany went to be with Jesus on March 10, 2010, and today we are celebrating her birthday by eating her favorite thing: chocolate cake!

Here is the post from her parents:

Bethany Grace Hagerman would have been 4 years old on October 30th. She was an amazing girl with a beautiful spirit. She fought cancer and will always be our hero. One fun fact about Bethany is that she absolutely LOVED CHOCOLATE CAKE!!! As a matter of fact, there were many days when all that Bethany would eat was chocolate cake and nothing else. It was one of her favorite things in the world. So, to honor our little angel, we invite everyone to eat a slice of chocolate cake for Bethany!!! Eat chocolate cake with a smile on your face, knowing that Bethany is having the BIGGEST AND BEST birthday party in Heaven!!! Thanks so much!!

my brave boy

Today Isaac had to get an unplanned pulpotomy at the dentist. It was a rough day emotionally for mom, but Isaac did AMAZING. He was chilled and relaxed and didn't have a worry in the world.... that is until we talked to the receptionist afterward:

Receptionist: It will be very easy for him to bite his lip and cheek because he is so numb, so try to keep him for biting down.

(I looked down and Isaac had one tear running down his cheek)
Me: What's wrong buddy? Are you in pain?
Isaac: No, I'm just sad.

Me: Why?

Isaac: The lady told me not to bite and that means I can never eat again.

Thank you.

Today I have been thinking a lot about the people outside of my family that pour into my kids' lives. I am talking about preschool teachers, nursery workers, children's ministry volunteers, etc, etc, etc. These are people that are investing in the lives of my children because they see value in it and are willing to volunteer countless hours, even though I basically get the ultimate pay-off. Thank you to all those who have come early to set up a Sunday school room, have stayed late to clean up messes they didn't make and held kids they didn't birth. You will probably never know in full the impact you are making on not only my children, but myself as well. You are greatly appreciated!

Thanks Con!

 It has been so much having Connie here to visit. I stole these pictures off of her camera to recap everything we've been up to. Thanks Con for always being a good friend and for always loving on my kids!

 

A fast body-contact game played by men with clubs in their hands and knives laced to their feet.

Ok, so we call it "Hockey" but it's really just "Learn to Skate".... but make no mistake, he will be crashing into the boards on purpose in no time.

Walking to the arena. ..

 Daddy getting Isaac ready...

 

Zoey enjoying the bleachers...

 The boys...

 

 Mommy's last hug and picture before sending her first born son out on the hard, cold ice. (Notice his enthusiastic grin)

 Stepping out onto the ice...

 Making his way across the arena. It was a pretty proud moment.

 Skating without the cone!

He did great.. and he LOVED it! Today was all about falling and getting back up, and by the time his practice was over, he could do both very well. Yay Isaac!

my daughter dressed herself today...

can we eat our candy now?

Today we took a little trip down the street to a local park for a family fun day. We waited in line. We pushed thru the rain. We even went thru a smokehouse put on by the local fire department. (Highlight of the afternoon: watching my 59 year old mother crawl out of the house on her hands and knees to show the kids what to do in case of a fire... hilarious!) We learned that Zoey is afraid of clowns, Isaac won't eat any candy that is pink and Elijah can get any stranger to talk to us. Such a fun day!

Her Wedding Day...

 Today we celebrated Brian and Mary Ann's wedding day! It was in a beautiful barn at 3 Cedars Farm and was so classy and creative... just like Mary Ann! My most favorite part of the day is when they sang Amazing Grace and I saw tears running down Mary Ann's face... you could see how much of a testimony today was for her.

 

  

She was GORGEOUS! (and her smile was this big all day!)

 

 

 

 There was no hot water, so I ended up warming Elijah's bottle in a cup of coffee. I had so many moms come by our table and crack up laughing.

 Some of the Bowie 5th girls reunited!

rub.a.dub.dub

Here are each of our kids right after their first bath.

Any idea which one is Isaac, which one is Zoey and which one is Elijah?

I'm so glad I saved this towel over the years!

Our Field Trip

Today I was able to go with Isaac on his class field trip. It was so much fun getting to know the other parents and seeing him with all of his friends. Isaac's favorite part of the day was climbing the trees to get the apples and my favorite part was when he grabbed my hand to walk to the hayride.

Pumpkin Heads

You can see here that I have strong feelings about carving pumpkins.

I feel the same way this year as well!

my favorite pose

yes, that's the book for me

After I got the kids ready for church this morning, I went to get myself and Elijah ready as well. I walked back in to see the kids spending time with their Bibles. It was a good morning!