Christmas gift from Hannah

Hannah felt bad that she didn't get Mommy & Daddy anything for Christmas so after eating breakfast Christmas morning. She opened her mouth and gave us her present on our dining room rug. :o( After cleaning the rug and doing a load of laundry we continued to open presents. Hannah felt sick again at Grandma & Grandad's house but the next day she felt better. Except Mommy felt worse. She must've taken what Hannah had and kept it for a few days. If you got the stomach bug for Christmas too we'd suggest returning it immediately. That's not a gift you want to keep around.

Needless to say we are ready for the New Year! We are hoping to celebrate quietly tonight. We will see if that really happens or not.

We'll post some pictures and maybe a video or two soon. Thanks for checking back and Happy New Year!

18 month appointment!

Hannah had her 18 month appointment on Tuesday. She did very well handling her last set of shots for a few years. Hannah's Dr. was impressed with her growth. She's in the 95% for height and 90% for weight. She said Hannah's the size of an average 2 year old. She also said that Hannah may be experiencing the "terrible twos" earlier. If Hannah remains healthy then she doesn't have to go back to the Dr. for 6 months!! Yeah!!

The Dolphins Won!!

Jon got 2 free club level tickets to the Miami Dolphins vs. Baltimore Ravens game yesterday. We went and had a great time! Our seats were awesome! We really enjoyed getting some time together and definitely enjoyed the Dolphins victory!! This was our view from our seats!

Barkley 2001-2007

Today was an extremely difficult day. Jon took Barkley to a specialist this morning hoping to find out what was wrong with him. We thought he was having an inner ear issue but the specialist told us that it was something far worse than that. We were given a few options; take him in for further tests, start treatment for the possible problem or have Barkley put to sleep. After a long day of talking, crying and spending time with him, we decided the best thing to do was put him to sleep. We didn't consider the first two options because neither of them gave a cure for Barkley's illness, just a temporary cure. Since Barkley couldn't walk, eat, drink or go to the bathroom on his own today, we had to make the hardest decision we've ever had to make. Thank you all for your love and prayers. Barkley will be truly missed but our memories with him will last a lifetime!



Love,

Jon, Renee and Hannah

Adorable store!

Just have to share: I just found a cute and inexpensive Baby's consignment store in Palm Beach! Yes, Palm Beach has a store where items can cost $3 or $4! Wow!! I was lucky to have won a $100 gift certificate at Jon's school auction for $35. I thought I'd only find a few items, well, I was wrong. I bought 16 things, which really made it just over $2 an item!! Praise God! What a great way to spend my first Saturday off! If you want to go its right between Testa's and the gas station, down the walkway Via Testa. It's called ABC- A Baby's Consignment. Let me know and I'll go with you!!

Thanksgiving- Were you thankful?

We were! We took a toddler all from Palm Beach Gardens to south of Atlanta and didn't have any issues! Hannah did great in the car although it took us over 10 hours each way! Hannah may have been good because her Uncle Shaun was with us or it might've been that she got to walk every time we stopped. We all loved seeing family and still hate how long the time is in between visits. But that's the secret of great families, it doesn't matter the distance... you're always welcome!

Too cute wearing Grandpa (Pa Pa's) hat!

We ate dinner at The Varsity in downtown Atlanta.

Hannah running around outside in her little light hoody sweater before Grandpa & Nana bought her a real sweater. Hannah didn't seem to enjoy the cold but certainly loved running around everywhere! Gramps and Nana trying to get Hannah to smile for a picture! They really loved seeing her.

Public or Private

Ok, we've decided to again keep our blog public for now as many of you don't understand how to see it if it's private. The whole point of doing a blog is for others to read it so please check in often. We'll try to update often. Thanks for reading and share comments whenever you can. Thanks!

New Hiding Spot!

The Joys of Life

Renee went to the hospital on Saturday to meet Wendy's baby girl...

Treasure Stein!

Hannah enjoys reading books at her new make shift "desk"- Thanks to Granddad we have a chair for Hannah's room. Hannah will sit there and read for 20+ minutes all on her own!! Thanks Granddad!

New position at Renee's work

Many of you may know that Renee's part-time position may be ending soon. This has caused much grief in not knowing what will happen. Last night an offer was made to Renee if she could work 25-30 hours. The position would be handling all the 1-year warranties on the homes within The Ritz-Carlton, Jupiter. The person who had the position before worked for the Construction company and has decided to take another job. The advantages of this position far outweigh the disadvantages. The only stubling block would be who could watch Hannah and when. Within a day God has shown us many options which tells us that taking this position is His will for Renee. The job would start December 1st. Since it requires up to 30 hours Renee may be able to obtain heath benefits through the company again, a SIGNIFICANT PRAISE REPORT. Since there are a few things still up in the air please continue to pray for God's guidance as we seek to find the best solution for all of us.

Another goose egg!

This morning has been a little challenging. Hannah has been a little cranky all morning and didn't want to do anything on her own. Just after getting under Mommy's skin Hannah fell on the tile and banged her forehead! She now has a major goose egg. She still wasn't very happy even after icing it and watching her Praise Baby. Mommy thought she wanted a time out in her crib but Hannah wanted a nap. I guess she doesn't want lunch yet...Poor Hannah, she was so tired that she got hurt. :o(

Trick or Treat!!

We took Hannah to the new Greenwise Publix grocery store to trick-or-treat. Each department had an employee dressed in a costume handing out a healthy treat. Hannah got healthy juice, organic milk, an apple and several other special treats. She loved the extra attention too! Her is our little bunny!!

Redeeming Love -by Francine Rivers

An amazing book! I've been told for years about this book and how good it is. It took my dental hygienist to let me borrow her book for me to read it. Wow! I start last Tuesday and just finished yesterday while in a doctor's office. I couldn't put it down. The book talks about God's unconditional love for us and how he can redeem us even out of the worst situations. I highly recommend this to anyone wanting a good read. You can find more about the author and her books at http://www.francinerivers.com.

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

Say Pumpkin Patch Pictures five times fast!!! That's hard to do right? We went to the Pumpkin Patch tonight and had a great time. Hannah wanted to ride in the wagon more than run around. Strange, huh? She acted like a princess being chauffeured around.

Why worry?

A verse has been getting my attention this week: Matthew 6:25 & 27a: 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" 27a "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

We "worried" about a few things this week and I know of others that have worried this week also. God tells us in Matthew basically not to waste time but to trust in him. He is always faithful. Psalm 37:25 "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread."

Thank God we've never had to beg for bread!!!

We just watched Evan Almighty, http://www.evanalmighty.com/; last night. If you haven't seen it yet, rent it today! It's really good. It's funny how a movie can show you how important it is to trust in God. Why worry? Why not just obey Him? Let us know what you thought about the movie if you saw it.

God Bless and have a worry-free day!

Sunday Funday!

We call Sundays - Sunday Funday because it is the one day of the week that we can all be together as a family as Renee works Saturdays and Jon works during the week. Today we went over to the Stein's house to have some fun before their baby girl arrives. Wendy has 3 more weeks to go!

Star, Thor and Hannah - she use to look big but not next to them!

Mommy-to-be Wendy Stein and Renee

Daddy had fun with Hannah's hair tonight.

Can you believe it's that long!

The overflow of the heart...

Matthew 12:14: "...For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

If that isn't the definition of a blog I'm not sure what is. We definitely want to tell you about what is closest to our heart so we usually talk about Hannah and what she's up to. Well, today I feel I must talk about sleep or the lack of it. :o)

Why am I on the computer just after 7am if I'm talking about getting more sleep? It might be the coffee that Jon brought me this morning in bed or it might be the fact that sleep isn't all we need to feel rested.

After Jon left for school this morning I wanted to spend a few minutes in The Word before my busy day of mothering. Trust me, I don't normally do this in the early AM. I usually don't even hear Jon leave. But today I want to share a few passages that hit me this morning:

Matthew 7:33-34: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness...Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest."

Apparently I don't need to go back to sleep. There it was right in front of me. The equation is this: Seek God first = more rest! Praise God! I hope you find rest in Him today!

Girls just want to have fun!

Gabby and Hannah love playing with each other.

Gabby is now 20 months & Hannah is 16 months old!

Barkley is better! and more updates...

Barkley is better after a full week of recovering. We are still giving him his ear drops as we believe he isn't 100% but is definitely getting there. Please continue to pray for his complete recovery.

Hannah is growing every day and enjoying life! She loves play time in her "playground" in the garage, her kitchen downstairs and her room upstairs. She also loves to read and just goes into her room on her own to read. She is also very excited about knowing all of her body parts. She can tell you where her toes, knees, hands, eyes, ears, hair, head, mouth, teeth and belly-button are! Her favorite words are still Dada and Bubble but she also loves saying Hello and Bye-Bye. Please continue to pray for Hannah as her adventurous spirit tends to get hurt several times a day. Mommy and Daddy are always on edge!

Jon is in the middle of playoffs with Flag Football. His team is doing great and are all ready to win the championship! At the most his season will be 2 more weeks. Please pray for Jon as he seeks energy and strength to continue a few more weeks.

Renee is still working part-time in Residential Services for the Ritz-Carlton, Jupiter. However they are interviewing for a 3rd full-time coordinator soon which might mean that Renee will have to work in another department. Please pray that whatever outcome happens that it will be an easy adjustment for Renee and that she won't have to take a paycut or work more hours.

Tomorrow is Sunday and we are very ready to enjoy a day of rest as a whole, healthy, family. Praise the Lord for the Sabbath! We will find rest in him!

Barkley Improving

Today has been a little better for Barkley. He has a little more spirit. He barked so much when Jon got home today that he almost jumped out of his "make shift" cage. He still doesn't have much energy compared to normal but he does seem to have a little more balance. You can still tell he's shaky and has trouble walking straight but it seems like a small improvement from the last few days.

Here are two websites with information about the condition the vet said Barkley has:

http://www.vara.org/VestibularSyndrome.htm

http://www.vetspecialists.co.uk/06_Animal_Welfare/Neurology_Facts/Vestibular_Syndrome.html

Update on Barkley

Jon took Barkley to the vet today as he couldn't stand up at all last night and hadn't eaten all day. After spending several hours at the vet Jon was told that there is a bacteria in Barkley's ears that may have caused him to experience vertigo which would make him off balanced. Barkley's bloodwork came back perfect and this is the only thing they found. Barkley has to have ear drops put in both ears twice a day and has to have his ears cleaned out with a special solution twice a week. The vet also suggested Dramamine to eliminate any dissyness he may be experiencing. The hard part is that he can't be active in any way. Jon has to pick him up and take him outside to go to the bathroom. Hannah can tell something isn't right either. She keeps saying "Barka, Barka". If Barkley doesn't get better in a day or two the vet suggested seeing a neurologist; she would have this specialist come to the vet especially to see him. We'll keep you posted on how he is doing. Keep us all in your prayers as we have had an exhausting day.

Ouch!

A few days ago Barkley fell down a few stairs; then he did it again. Ever since then he's been walking really bad. He's leaning to the right and has fallen while he's walking. We've called the Vet and they asked if he was whimpering, he isn't. They asked if he is still eating or has any change of personality. He's still has the same sweet spirit but he looks really bad when he walks. We made an appointment for Tuesday morning to take him in. We hope that he'll be better in a couple of days but its hard to say. It's really sad to watch him. It takes him awhile to stand up and lay down.

Just tonight we were walking back in the house and Hannah was behind me and in front of Jon, just walking. She slipped and banged her forehead on the tile. Now she had another blue bruise on her forehead in the same place as last time. We tried to ice it but she screamed so bad. We tried off & on for about 25 minutes but she never got use to it. This happened right before her bed time. So she's just now getting to sleep at 8:45pm.

Poor Barkley and Hannah! Please keep them both in your prayers. Thank you!

New Toy!

We went bike riding along Military Trail last Thursday and stopped by to window shop in a thrift store, The Second Collection, not far from our house. We spotted this toy in the window and wasn't sure what it was as it wasn't put together. After googling "Kangaroo Climber" on the internet & reading raving reviews we decided we had to get this for Hannah. It had a price tag of $25 on it but the lady gave it to us at $20! What a steal! We actually have Nana to thank for this gift as she conveniently sent us $25 dollars last week. Who would've thought that it pays to shop at thrift stores! Hannah loves it so much! She even had her friend Gabby over yesterday to play with it. Gabby loved it so much too that she cried when it was time to go.

Happy Hannah!

Hannah had a great time with her Uncle Jon, Aunt Jennie, Uncle Chris, Mommy & Daddy at Typhoon Lagoon! She was having so much fun that she slept for only 45 minutes the whole day!

Bubbles!!

There's just something about bubbles that kids love! And dogs too! Hannah loves bubbles and says bubble all the time. Barkley loves to catch them in his mouth. Here's our attempt at taping this wonderful time today.

What makes you happy?

For Hannah the answer is almost anything. She is such a happy girl. She is saying more and more each day. Her favorite word is still "dada." She loves pointing out "Dada" in every picture that she sees. She'll even sit on the stairs and point at his picture. So cute!

Hannah likes to sing too. She has her own song. It goes like this, "do do Daa, do do Daa." She just keeps singing that over and over again.

Yesterday she did something adorable. Mommy went to put some music on but Hannah wanted to watch her video. So she went to the entertainment closet and got her video out. She shut the door and then handed it to Mommy all while saying something. It was shocking but adorable! She is growing up so fast!

We are so blessed by her. God is so good! We thank Him all the time for her life as she is such a blessing to us.

Family Support!

There's nothing like family! Hannah finally got to meet her great Uncle Wes and great Aunt Janice on Thursday. They live in Chattanooga and are busy loving their granddaughters, Renee's cousins 3 girls (20 months, and 2 seven month olds)! Renee's parents drove them down so it was nice to have a day with everyone. They just loved Hannah! We went out to eat and went shopping. Hannah was treated to a shopping spree at Toys R Us! We are so blessed to have a loving, supportive family.

The same day our family came to visit Hannah got a present in the mail from Nana. It was a poodle purse! Hannah just loves purses so this was such a cute present. The purse barks like a puddle and has a strap that can convert to a lease too.

Walking on the beach!

Hannah tried to walk on the beach last night. It didn't go like we imagined. We envisioned her walking and playing. Instead she cried and didn't want to touch the sand. We did get a few pictures but as you see she doesn't seem happy. We hope to get her more and more use to the sand and beach. The best part of the evening was seeing the rainbow that ended in the ocean! It was beautiful!

Last day of childcare

We did our last day of childcare at Christ Fellowship today. It went well and Hannah didn't get hurt this time! Yeah! There was only 9 kids but it makes it more difficult when a couple of them are potty training! That's an experience I'm ready to wait for! The reward will be worth the hard work but it doesn't seem easy. One girl actually went to the bathroom on the bathroom floor because she wasn't sitting back far enough on the potty. That wasn't fun. Oh well, that was an adventure.

15 month appointment!

Hannah had her 15 month appointment today. We decided to go to the Library to story time before hand. Hannah loved how there were several other kids there. She just danced around when it was music time. How did we not know about this wonderful free event before! Hannah and Mommy are certainly going back!Back to her appointment details. Hannah weighs 25 lbs and 3oz, which is only in the 80%. She's 32 1/4", which is in the 93rd percentile! The Dr. said that she looked good even though she had just bumped her head in the waiting room.The Dr. said that she can stay on the flouride suppliment until she's 2 years old. She said transitioning to 1 nap at this age is very common and fine. She said we can certainly use orajel on her gums as she noticed that Hannah may be getting 3 more molars really soon. The Dr. said that she wouldn't recommend any type of lifevest for swimming as kids can then depend on them and jump in the water without them. She said that she is at a great age to take her to swimming lessons. Any time between now and 2 would be good for Hannah as they teach them how to roll over in the water and go to the side of the pool. Hannah finished the appointment with 2 shots. So she started and ended the appointment screaming and crying. At least she was awarded a fun lunch out with Mommy afterwards.

Hannah's 1st Molar

Hannah just got her 1st molar yesterday. She was cranky on Saturday and Sunday. We figured she was teething as she has several spots swallon on her gums. We weren't sure which one of the teeth she'd get first. This molar is much larger than the other teeth as it broke through the gums in at least 3 places. She didn't want us to look in her mouth too long but what we saw looked painful. Hannah now has 6 teeth. She goes to the Pediatrician tomorrow for her 15 month checkup.