"BASED BY A TRUE STORY. . ."

Ayden came in this morning and said, "I had a dream last night, mommy, that was based by a true story." He then proceeded to tell me the "true" story of the people who shrank and lived in a drawer and then they grew big again. I looked at Kevin who was already looking at me in disbelief and I said, "THAT is a blog spot waiting to happen."

There ya go. Thanks for sharing Ayden!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KNOX












WE MISS YOU

PAJAMA RUN ANYONE?

What is a "pajama run"? you ask. Well, you put your kids to bed, say their prayers and then let them think they are going to go to sleep. Then after a few minutes, you go in and yell, "Pajama Run!" They scramble around looking for their shoes and then you all pile in the car and head out for ice cream, or some other fun night-time treat.

My sister, Esther, came to visit this week and she wanted to share in the fun of a pajama run with her Texas nieces and nephews, but she wanted to do it "Oklahoma Style", meaning instead of ice cream, they go to Starbucks for a cold, decaffeinated shake-like treat. I think it's called a frappucino. What a treat for our kiddos! They had such a good time with their Aunt Esther and cousin, Jonathan. Here are a few pictures from our late-night adventure. Thank you Aunt Esther. Thank you for spending your fall break with us. We love you!

Here they are just before heading into Starbucks (If you click on the picture, you should be able to see it a little better). . .


A little closer up. . .


Aunt Esther and Micah


Ayden


Austin


Asa


Cousin Jonathan


Anna-Kate


Add


Micah


Christopher


Addison, Christopher & Joshua


Group shot


Buds-Ayden & Christopher


Thanks again Aunt Esther & Jonathan (& James) for coming to see us. We love you and we'll miss you.

Another fun Saturday morning at the soccer fields. . .

Six of our seven players had games this morning. While watching Austin and Joshua play, the kids had fun playing in the back of dad/Uncle Kevin's truck. Here are Ayden and Micah, who both played well today. I couldn't keep track of all the goals in Ayden's game. The other team scored, then we scored. It just kept going back and forth. Ayden said he got a goal too, but I missed it. I was trying to watch his game and Austin's at the same time. Micah's team won and he had 2 goals. Wahoo Wahoo!!


Cara Beth is such a cutie petutie.


Asa and I (or do I say, "Asa and me"?)


Joshua and Austin played an all-girls team. There are only 2 all-girl teams in their age division, so they get to play the boys. The boys won today. Joshua had 2 goals. Way to go Joshua! Here is one of them. If you click on it, you can see it better.


After his 2 goals, he played keeper. Here he is manning his post.


Austin played a good game too. He had some shots on goal. I missed much of his game as I was watching Ayden play on another field. Here he is dribbling the ball.


Anna-Kate's team got a win today. She played some in the beginning, but was having leg cramps so then she sat out. Here's the only action shot of her today.


After half-time, coach put her in as keeper, which I thought was very considerate of him, seeing as she still got to play. All the action was happening at the other end of the field, so she didn't have to run, and her coach gave her a big high five when she came off the field. Although the action was occurring on the other side of the field, you can see that Anna-Katie didn't have much trouble finding ways to pass the time. . .









And a smile for the camera too!

Backyard Fun

Austin asked me to post. I don't really have thoughts that I can post today, so here are some pictures for you to enjoy. Marian is the photographer. Thanks Mar.

Ayden getting ready to go down the slide.


My friend, Ashlee with Cara Beth.


Cara Beth atop the slide.


Austin joins the fun.


Asa, just a swingin'


Gracie Mae, Ashlee's (and Matt's) daughter.

ASK AYDEN ABOUT HIS FIRST SOCCER GAME





Today, Ayden had his first soccer game. Last night, he had what I might call a melt down. He had a tough time going to sleep and when I asked him what was wrong, he just started crying. Finally, he said he was afraid of playing soccer. He still wanted to go to practice, but he was scared to play in the game. All of that changed when he got on the field today. In his league, they play 3 on 3. His team is made up of 2 boys and 4 girls. Only 4 of the 6 players showed up this morning, so I thought we might be in trouble. Ayden was the only boy there and the 3 other girls were taking turns having melt downs of their own. They each had several moments of crying and running off the field to daddy or mommy. Meanwhile, Ayden was off controlling the ball and putting it in the goal. He was afraid for about the first 5 seconds. After that, he charged the ball and took control. He scored 3 goals! We couldn't believe it. We were all so proud of him. The final score, although they don't keep score at his age, was 3-3. Way to go Ayden!


In other soccer news, Austin and Joshua's team tied 1-1. Austin had several shots on goal and made one. Wahoo! Joshua played offense and defense and he was great at taking control and leading his team. Here's Austin's goal. He's #6 (in blue).


Joshua dribbling the ball.


Addison's team struggled today, and since he was playing keeper the first half, I struggled too. It's difficult to see your baby out there having a tough time. It wasn't much fun for coach dad either. Here's Add in the goal.


On a happier note, Micah had a hat trick also and his teammate, Caleb P., got a goal too. That was fun all the way around. Here's one of Micah's goals. He's in blue.


Anna-Kate and Christopher didn't have games today, so I think that about covers it. Today was what my sister, Jenna, would call a Diamond Day. Here are a few more pics from the day.


Ayden and Asa played soccer on the sideline. Asa kept saying, "Mom, watch me! Say, 'Go Asa!'"


Cara Beth had fun too!


Here's one of my favorite's from the day.

8 Random things about Austin. . .

Austin was tagged by his Aunt Sarah over at her blog. (I tried to link it Sarah, but couldn't figure it out.) I looked for a picture of him with his Aunt Sarah, but to no avail. So, here he is with one of his favorite people, Ms. Hart. We miss you Ms. Hart.

Here are Austin's random facts. . .

1. I sort of want to be a scientist.

2. I like to play Guitar Hero.

3. I like to drink Coca Cola. (He is only allowed to drink 2 glasses of it on Sundays.)

4. I am afraid to fly in an airplane, even though I have done it before. (When he was younger, he wanted to be a pilot.)

5. I love to eat rolls (especially Sister Shubert ones).

6. I play basketball and soccer and I would like to give baseball a try.

7. I wish we had a zoo here. Every other place we have lived has had a zoo and we always went together as a family. I miss that.

8. Cracker Barrel is my favorite restaurant.

Some random twin moments. . .


I reposted the "identical" picture because the only other one I could find was taken almost a year ago, plus, I like this one. ;)

I was discussing more random things with friends tonight and I realized Marian and I have several "twin" moments that are worth sharing. So, here ya go. . .

1. Once I was walking through a clothing store just after Kevin and I had moved here. A lady approached me like she knew me. I knew it was coming, but before I could explain, she questioned me, "Marian? Right?" Well, she was asking not because she knew Marian had a twin, but because she had only met Marian a couple of times and wasn't sure she had the name right. I responded, "Weelll, actually, I'm Hannah." I was going to go on but she interrupted, "No. Marian." She was sure now she had the name right. I then had to explain that I was Marian's twin sister, Hannah, and that we looked pretty identical. Then a look of clarity came over her face and she said "Oh, you really are identical."

2. I was sleeping away in the back of our Chevy Sprint on our way home (VA Beach at the time) from college (King, Bristol, TN), when Marian yelled, "Hannah, gimme your license." I sleepily handed it over and began to wake up when I realized she was handing my driver's license to the state trooper who had just pulled her over for speeding. She didn't have hers on her at that moment (suuurre she didn't!), so she gave him mine. As it turns out, it was the 3rd driving violation I had earned in a 6 month period of time, so I got to attend a special driving seminar designed for such offenders. While I was trying to complain to my mother about it, she slyly said, "Just think what it cost Jesus to pay for your sin?" I didn't whine to her about it ever again. Now, I'm whining to you. :)

3. The way people tell us apart. Marian has a mole on her chin--Marian Mole--M.M.
I have 2 moles side-by-side on my neck--Hannah Hickey--H.H. Thank you Mr. Miles (our elementary school gym teacher)!

4. The first time I met Council Mills is certainly worth mentioning. For those of you who don't know, Marian is married to Wade. Wade is the pastor of our church. Council is an elder (or is it a deacon?) in our church. Anyway, Wade and Marian had lived here for about 5 or 6 months when we visited for the first time. We walked into church Sunday morning--I walked in first with some of our kids and Kevin was a few paces behind with the other children--I was greeted by some very friendly faces (Council and Peggy). I stuck my hand out to say hello. Council said he was thinking, "Now something's different. What is it?" I said, "My name is Hannah. This. . .(I was looking around to see if he had made it in). . .is my husband, Kevin" who had now entered and had put his free hand out to shake Council's. Council said he thought, "Now that's different!"

5. This one's a little wordy, but hear me out. It has a good ending. For about a year and a half, I worked out regularly, at Gold's Gym, with a friend of mine, Katharine. She and I went during the wee hours of the morning, from 5:00 to 6:30 am. There aren't many people who get up that early to exercise, so after a while, Katharine and I knew the regulars. Now, when I say "knew", I mean we knew their faces. There was one man in particular who we sometimes talked and wondered about. We wondered if he was a professional runner, or maybe a triathlete. He was super-fit and lean and he would go from a spinning class straight to the treadmills. When our paths crossed, as they sometimes did, we would acknowledge one another with the respectful nod. Never before had I spoken to him, until one morning when Katharine left a little earlier than I did. As I was leaving, he stopped me and asked me where my friend was. I told him she had wimped out earlier on me ;) Then began our conversation. I asked him if he ran marathons or did triathlons. He said he did. We spoke for a little. I told him I had always wanted to run a marathon. He encouraged me and said I should stick with it and that I could do it. He told me his name. I told him mine. The conversation was less than 5 minutes. Remember now that I had seen him almost everyday for a year and never even given him more than a smile and the nod. On this day, I told Marian about my conversation with "triathlon dude" as Katharine and I had named him. I think I had been encouraged that he encouraged me and thought I could do this great thing. People who have known me well have laughed at me for mentioning this to them, so I thought it was cool that someone I didn't even know thought I could do it. Anyway, I described him to Marian just as she was heading out the door to take Christopher to soccer practice. Scene change--Marian at the soccer fields. A man approaches her and says, "Hey, I didn't know you lived around here." She had no idea who he was but was trying to place him. She responded with something like, "Yeah, we live over by the golf course." She said they talked for a bit and then he walked away and she said he kind of looked at her funny. As he was walking away, she noticed he was wearing a running T-shirt and then she quickly remembered her conversation with me. So then she went over to him and said, "I think you think I'm someone else." He said, "You're not Hannah." She said, "No, I'm Marian, Hannah's twin sister." He replied, "Wow! Wow!" As it turned out, his son was on Christopher's soccer team. We ended up meeting him and his whole family. And that's one of my favorite stories. When I told Rachel A., she said, "That's the kind of story that makes me wish I had a twin." Yep, I'm glad I have a twin. I love you Marian.

PB & CH CH

OK, yesterday, I tried the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip sandwich--thanks to Kierstyn who bought the ch. chips for me. I liked it so much I had another one today. Hey Peggy, don't knock it 'til you try it. Thanks for the idea Rachel. ;)

The number 1 reason I love my church. . .

I should have included my pastors in my many reasons for loving Westminster. Wade, Jon, Ryan and John F. love the LORD and it is evident in their speech, actions and in their lives. When they preach, they preach God's word and present it in truth and love. They don't claim to be inerrent, but they claim God's word to be. What a blessing to be a part of God's body with such Godly leadership!

OK, Kierstyn tagged me. . .
or maybe I should say that Micah tagged me. Anyway, I'm supposed to list 8 random things about me. So, here goes. . .

1. I was a cheerleader from 3rd grade through college and served as my squad's captain my senior year at King. My record number of backhandsprings in a row across the floor was 8.

2. I got a tattoo on my 30th birthday with one of my good friends from college. Here's a shout out to Dara! I have told my children that when they turn 30, they may get one too.

3. When I was born, my legs were deformed. It was one way in which my father could tell Marian and I apart. When I began walking the doctors prescribed braces for my legs. My parents watched me try to maneuver in them for a day and they said it broke their hearts. They prayed and felt like God told them He would heal me through my infant baptism. I never wore the braces again. They had me baptized and made me wear my shoes on the wrong feet for a while. They knew God had healed me one day when my mom walked into the living room and asked my dad if he had seen Marian. He replied, "She just walked down the hall." When mom went to check, she found me at the end of the hall and yelled back to tell dad that it was me. He said that he thought it was Marian because of how well I had walked.

4. My dad called Marian and me "babe" while we were growing up because he couldn't tell us apart. We tease him now by saying that he can tell our husbands apart.

5. The first time I saw Kevin, I felt that I would marry him.

6. My first pregnancy was a tubal pregnancy and it exploded in my right tube. Kevin says he was anxiously awaiting throughout the surgery to hear how it was going and when the doctor came out, he was walking down the hall, shaking his head and looking down. Kevin then was expecting the worst. The doc told him, "We couldn't save the tube." Kev replied that he didn't care about the tube, he just wanted to know how his wife was. Doc said something like, "Oh she's fine, but she only has one tube. Prepare yourself. Quite likely, you may never have children."

7. I have begun training for a marathon 4 different times. Each time I stopped because I got pregnant.

8. Besides cheerleading, growing up I was a member of a jump rope team in elementary school, played 3rd base for the Docs in little league softball, swam backstroke, butterfly and IM (Individual Medley) for the local swim team and played one year of volleyball at Andrew Jackson Junior High. (Go Raiders!) Our High School's name was/is Nitro High School and our biggest football rival was/is Poca High School. Their mascot is a dot--I kid you not--a big red dot. They are the Poca Dots. Ahhh, West Virginia. I do love it!!

If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged. Hee hee.

The other day I posted pictures of Cara Beth, because she's such a cutie and I love her so. Well, I love these 3 boys too. Joshua, Christopher and Micah, I'm so glad I get to be your aunt. You continually bless me with your spunk and spirit. What delightful nephews you are!