New Address!!

OK...this blog is linked to an old, out of date email account. To follow our new family blog please go to:

http://markjennhh.blogspot.com

Thanks!!

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING

http://www.ktxs.com/news/29309844/detail.html

God never ceases to amaze me. I have experienced heartbreak, trials, and tribulations. I have also experienced miracles, pure love, and everlasting joy. I have two miracles sleeping under my roof tonight, and I have another miracle sleeping in Lubbock, TX tonight. The one sleeping in Lubbock is my sweet husband. I have thanked God for his life 1001 times a day this week. Copy and past the link above into your browser to see the story about his accident and desire to raise awareness for cyclists.

BACK TO SCHOOL BABIES

Well, all I can say about the past month is "fast and furious". I look up every night, it's 10:30, and my list isn't even half way done. Such is life though.

The girls are all settled in to their school routine. They love their teachers and are of course learning a lot. H Bug is on the big kid side at RBS, and Hopey is still in the Caterpillar room.

Hopey is a cute little monster child in her class. She barreled over two babies having tummy time on the mat the other day when she saw me at the door. She is crawling, pulling up, and walking with the truck at home. She doesn't like to take naps at school, but that's okay...as long as she's happy. She usually crashes on the way home and sleeps 2 1/2-3 hours. Kinda crazy that the only day this little one gets two naps is on Saturdays. She takes them though and both are usually 2-2 1/2 hours long. She is the sweetest baby. I could stare at her delicate little face for the rest of my life. She also has this cute little crooked smile and squeal she has mastered. TOO CUTE! I officially put away the baby swing on Saturday. She has taken almost every nap in that swing since she was 3 months old. Her little chubby buns were making the swing seat sweep the floor (it was a travel swing). The first day she only napped for 45 minutes and has progressed back to her 3 hours today. So 5 days of getting used to this napping in the bed thing is pretty good. She's still nursing 3-4 times a day (I'm in countdown mode...3 more months), and eats baby food and finger foods. I only made it to 10 months with Haelyn because I found out I was pregnant with Hope, but I think we're gonna make it to a year. I'd like to anyway...I think Hope would too! I mean, I AM producing as much as a dairy cow so why not?? Right?? I would like to have her weaned over Christmas break because we are going to NYC, and I really really don't want to travel with my lover Medela. Plus, that will make life much easier for my Mom. She can just give her milk and not worry with warming and all that jazz. I cannot believe this sweet baby girl is days away from being 9 months old.

H Bug is having a blast at school too. She mentions school almost everyday, and tells us the names of her friends when we ask. She has good reports on her Parent-o-grams. Sometimes she doesn't eat much while she's there, but that's okay...we just have a big snack! She too crashes about an hour after we get home. One day I even found her asleep on her changing pad on the floor. Silly girl. She has started to show big interest in the potty (until this week). She had 5 successful days of pooping in the big potty, but decided this week she doesn't want to use the big potty. That's okay...we'll get more serious about it in a few months. I'm just glad she understands the process and isn't afraid of the flush. Her language is just amazing...both her receptive language and her verbal language is growing on a daily basis. It's amazing to watch this process as a Mommy. I watched it as a teacher, but it's different when it's your own flesh. She can also be a little stinker, and has had to sit in "time out" a few times at home. She usually has to sit there when she needs to cool off after an all out fit, but it works for now and she only sits there for 1-2 minutes. I need to pull out my "Sugar Chair" from when I was teaching so she can sit there until she finds her sweet self! She falls more in love with Hopey everyday, and asks for her after naps and in the mornings. It's fun to watch them follow each other around the house to play.

As for me...I'm working like crazy AND getting to hang with my girls. It's the best ever. This semester I am doing a placement in a Head Start classroom working in my sweet friend Martha's class. I am so excited to hang out with some four year olds once a week. I need to keep myself honest and the best way to do that is to hang out with the kids I "profess" about. I'm going to Dallas to present at a Physical Science conference in November. I will also pick up another course in the Spring. It's a special topics Special Ed course and I'm really really excited to use some of my expertise in behavior management, assessment, etc.

Mark is crazy busy with work, traveling, and finishing up his MBA. He will be done with the MBA in May, and is very happy about that! He is also training for a FULL IRONMAN. That event will be one big family trip to Houston. We are looking forward to seeing the great things God will do with our Daddy's body! He is pretty incredible.

We sometimes get caught up in the crazy"ness" of our daily lives, but there are moments that remind us to SLOW DOWN. Like when we are rocking/singing our girls to bed, reading books, playing outside, going to the farmer's market, teaching Sunday school, cooking dinner as a family, having dinner with friends, etc. Honestly...it's those moments that make our crazy world go round...they keep us grounded and make us take a moment to just be.

OFF THE GRID

Don't worry folks, I have about 3 posts in the works. We have just been a little crazy getting back into the swing of school and work. The girls are having a blast at school. We have ALL had to adjust our bed time schedule...we are TIRED at the end of the day. Sweet Hope has decided that she only needs a 10-30 minute nap at school so she has been coming home and taking 2 1/2 - 3 hour naps in the afternoons and then going down for bed no problem. What a mess. Anyway, stay tuned and I will catch you up on our trip to Great Wolf Lodge, the first day of school 2011, and birthday bashes!

CHALLENGE

http://thegypsymama.com/2011/08/how-to-weed-out-the-lie-that-you-are-not-beautiful/

For most, it is a challenge to think of ways you are beautiful.

A sweet friend of mine sent me this link a few days ago and it echoed in my heart. A heart that cares for two baby girls. I want nothing more than for them to have self-worth, confidence, and faith. You find those things in many facets of your life. I think those are the three things that move you and guide you. Sometimes others can negatively or positively imprint on your value. I want my girls to rise above the negative, take heart in the positive, and have unwavering self-worth, confidence, and faith.

I want them to see a Mommy who radiates beauty. Not the superficial I need to always look 20 beauty, but the beauty that only comes from our Creator.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14.

Isn't that REAL beauty.

So, I accept the challenge of writing down ways I am beautiful. Hopefully, one day I can read this to the girls and have them do the same thing.

Beauty for me is...
growing life in my own body
my still apparent mid-line
my smile
the way I can feel my eyes light up when I look into the eyes of my girls
my heart for giving
my brown hair
my eyes
telling others about Jesus
being fun and laughing
un-manicured hands
the care I put into my home
teaching the least of these
knowing that my skin color doesn't matter
wanting my girls to be cultured
loving my husband
my freckly shoulders
scratching my dogs' ears
giving my girls a bath
smelling beautiful
keeping my body healthy
acting with grace and class
forming healthy mentor relationships with my students
being short
my crooked teeth
being an introvert
doing anything for my friends
holding my babies

Now...I challenge YOU!

NO MOOD TO COOK

I'm not sure if all of you know, but Mark travels quite a bit with his new job. I won't reveal his travel schedule just in case there are creepers reading this blog. In case you are a creeper...we have quite the set of watch dogs and neighbors/friends that check on us A LOT!

Anyway, today was not such a glamorous day for us.We did a lot and had fun...mostly! We started off the day with two needy babies needing one on one time bright and early. This is usually possible when Daddy is around. He hangs with H Bug in the mornings while I hang with Hopey in the mornings. Mostly because Hopey is still nursing. I'm sure one day they will want to switch things up here and again. Well, after we got all of that settled with a little help from our trusty friend Dora the Explorer all was good.

A couple of hours later, while Hope took her nap, H Bug and I went outside to water the poor pitiful plants. BOO DROUGHT. After that, I went to pick up dog poo in the backyard while H Bug played on her swing and slide. If you know my daughter she is the kind of kid who needs a good forewarning before moving to the next activity. Especially if she is engaged...and she usually is...she has a great attention span. So, I told her "when Mommy is done picking up the poo poo we will fill the dog bowls with water, go inside, get a popsicle (homemade with REAL fruit), and you can eat it in the big tub while Mommy takes a shower". She obliged and transitioned well until I tried to put her in the big tub WITHOUT her baby doll. Oh holy night, was she mad about that??!! Don't mess with a girl and her baby doll (three snaps in a Z formation). While I showered she cried and cried and ate her popsicle and cried and ate her popsicle and cried. Then, when I got out she stopped. Of course she did. So dramatic. Now that she got that little moment out of her system we were able to get dressed without tears. H Bug decided to help me get Hopey ready by spraying a lot of water on her head and trying to make the little curl/mohawk. It didn't work, and Hope actually looked like a mop head but she was laughing away and letting H Bug "do her magic". After all girls are ready and bag is packed...it's time to put the dogs in the crate. Well, Mr. Rudy (our first born) decides he wants to hide out to give me a run for my money. Just what I needed. I had H Bug looking under beds and in the closets, all the while she is SCREAMING "RU REE...WHERE'D HE GO, COME ON RU REE". Finally, big chubby Rudy comes sauntering in and gets in the crate! When H Bug was locking the crate she was shaking her finger and telling him "no no no RuRee, come on to Mama". She might need to take her own advice here and again.

Dogs crated, babies buckled and we were off to pick up lunch for our sweet friends Kristy and Laney. Laney and H Bug had a great time playing while the Mama's caught up. I got to hold sweet Tate for about 1 minute, but he is a mama's boy so I handed him over. Hope preferred to climb on top of the mini trampoline and put most of Tate's toys in her mouth...she is just trying to boost his immune system. She figures if they are going to be in the same class at RBS they might as well share germs. I also learned that Hope is fearless...she is go go go and she may just beat up all the kids in her class at school. I told Mark if we get dirty looks from parents it's his fault...he's the freakish athlete of the family and she can only get this "go go go accomplish all things physical in record time" spirit from him.

After our fun play date we came home and napped. ALL OF US!

When the girls woke up we went to get a few groceries. I was trying so hard to get in and out of WalMart in 30 minutes. It's possible for me, but with the girls it takes a bit longer to load and unload. I let Hope ride in the front part (first time) and H Bug in the big part. All was good. H even helped me put all the groceries on the belt. Just as I was about to swipe my first item, I remembered that my wallet was in the console IN THE CAR. Here I was with two babies in a cart, all the groceries on the belt, and NO WALLET. So, I put all the groceries back in the cart, asked the lady at the front if I could leave the groceries with her, took H and h out and put them in another empty cart, and went to get my wallet. While I was running with the girls in the new empty cart H Bug was saying, "wee mama les go". Sweet girl has so much fun even in the midst of her mother having a sweat and panic attack. We got the wallet and went back inside. Thank goodness there was no one at the register where I was and we got all checked out. We were in a huge hurry so that we could go up to ACU and do Facetime with Mark. That's another story. Yes, we have an iPad2, a MacBook Pro, and an iPhone4, but no we can't do Facetime from home. It's our network connection or something. Any suggestions??

We had fun Facetiming with Daddy, but I was not in the mood to go home and cook so...here you have it. We ATE OUT! We ate at Rosas. I got two bean burritos and shared with the girls. H Bug ate only the beans and cheese out of hers. I gave Hope some applesauce and tortilla. We had fun playing with the honey and spilling ice water. H Bug waved at all of the passers by who probably thought I had lost my ever loving mind bringing a 7 month old and a 2 year old out to eat by myself. It really was a fun little date. I have become braver to venture out on my own with both girls.

This is what I want to look back on and say, "man that was hard...but look where we are and what we've done"!! For all of you Mommies with just one little one...relish in the moments where you don't feel like a pin ball in a pin ball machine! :)

"HOPEY SIT LAP MAMA?"

This last picture is of H Bug calling Hopey to crawl under the table. She was patting her legs and saying "come on Hopey, go go go".


Haelyn thought it would be a great idea to love on her sister after she had shots. She really felt sorry for her and kept asking to see her "boo boo's". She would make a sad face and say, "okay baby?" to Hope. It was precious. I just love that she is really starting to show some moral reasoning and development. She is really such a social little girl, but her ability to feel sad and happy for others or with others is starting to develop. She is also starting to show some jealousy at times, but we knew that would come. Good thing it's coming at a time when I can set Hope down to roam and explore while I read H Bug a book or do a puzzle with her. Hope is usually squirming to get away or be set down anyway, so it's no problem for her to give big sister a little one on one. I just love these two creatures! As I watched them play side by side in the bath tonight, I had a moment of pure excitement. They don't even know the fun they will have together!!! I am no fool to think it will always be rainbows and sunshine, but let me have my moment!! :)