Hannah's first Halloween--day 1

Last year at this time I was dreading the upcoming Halloween season as I knew I could've been 7 months pregnant, handing out candy to cute little kids and dreaming about the next Halloween bringing my own around and instead we were submitting our profile over and over again without being chosen. It was very depressing for me.

And yet, this Halloween, I was bringing my sweet little girl around in her cute costume....my little girl who is the same age as my baby/babies would have been had I been 7 months pregnant at this time last year.

Ironic, huh? :)

Her Halloween has already started. Last night we went to my mom and dad's with Hannah's cousins as my parents were going to be out of town for Halloween.


Here she is before putting on her costume. She is so darling!!


Mommy and Hannah in her costume. Hannah's really not that into it.


Daddy, Mommy and Hannah


Hannah. Can you guess what she is? If you guessed banana, that's right. :)


The four cousins, Tyler, Peyton, Jamie and Hannah


I LOVE this picture of Jamie giving Hannah a kiss!


And then Hannah is touching Jamie. I just love it!!

A special little boy

We’ve all had people in our lives who have made a special impact in our lives in some way, whether it be a big or small impact.

For me, recently that has been a little boy named V. (I will be using letters rather than names to protect their identity).

I have known V’s mother, H, since 1996 when we were both working at a gas station her family owned. We got to be good friends then but as the years went by, lost touch and then got back in touch through Face.book.

I remember back in November right when we found out we were getting Hannah, I had ran into H’s mom. I was so excited to tell her our news and she was so excited to tell me that H was expecting and she was going to be a grandma again in the summer. I remember thinking how neat it was that both of us could share such wonderful news.

Fast forward to the spring of 2012 and I was on Face.book when an update came up on H’s page with a link to a caring bridge website. I clicked on it and read the story and tears fell from my eyes. H and her husband had found out her little boy had anencephaly and that he would not live long after birth.

For months I followed their story, their trips to the doctor, their ultrasound pictures, the information they shared about anencephaly and how their sweet boy, V, would be able to donate his organs to other babies in need.

With each post I read and each picture I saw, I gave Hannah an extra kiss and hug and told her how much I love her.

I remember being in awe of little V, H and her husband. I admired their strength so much. I knew others who had the unfortunate experience of saying good-bye to their sweet babies far too soon but this story affected me so much. I think it was because I had known H for so long and because I now had a sweet daughter and I couldn’t imagine having to say good-bye to her.

I finally understood the love of a child like never before.

As the time neared for V to be born, I found myself thinking about the family constantly and praying for them. I couldn’t imagine what they were going through.

Hannah turned 6 months on June 20. V was born on June 21. He beat the odds and lived 5 precious days. I prayed constantly for them during those days. At night when I was up with Hannah, I prayed. I honestly couldn’t fathom how it was even remotely fair that I got to hold my daughter while H was preparing to say good-bye to her son.

When V passed away, I cried many tears. And yet I was in awe and had so much admiration for H and her husband as they continued to praise the 5 days they had with V and also that V was able to provide organs to 2 little babies. I was amazed at their strength.

As the days went on and I heard about everything H was doing to bring awareness about babies with anencephaly and the support she was giving to others going through similar situations, my admiration has grown even more.

I have to say that infertility has helped me cherish Hannah so much. I don’t take every day for granted and I spend every minute I can with her. But since knowing V, it’s taken it to a whole new level. I know how blessed I am not only to have my daughter but to have a healthy daughter.

I know how blessed I am to have those sleepless nights and even though I get so tired some nights from waking up for the 6th time that night and Hannah not wanting the bottle or being rocked and just screams, I know how blessed I am just to have her and instead of getting frustrated, I think of V and I give my little girl kisses and squeeze her a little tighter.

I know how blessed I am to have her in my arms, just to hold her, even more so now than ever before.

Hannah’s birthday is on the 20th and every month on her day, I think of V. I know he would’ve been just 6 months behind Hannah. And every 20th and 21st, I give my little girl extra kisses and hugs, tell her how much I love her and praise God that I have a healthy daughter I can hold whenever I want.

All because of a little boy named V.

Thank you for giving me that gift V. You are forever in our hearts and souls and we can’t wait to meet you.

My stalker

She has to make sure I'm actually working. :)

Spending some time with the family

Wearing polka dot shirts with Peyton


Hanging out with Auntie Danielle and Peyton

10 months ALREADY?1?1

Where I've been

Wow---it's been almost 2 weeks since I've blogged. :(

Unfortunately it's because we came down with the pukies here. :( Starting last Thursday night, the 11th, Hannah started with it and vomiting all night. She was sick off and on all weekend when we were away with the family but seemed to get better with the exception of diarrhea....which isn't fun obviously.

Then Sunday night, it was my turn. :( I got it and was up vomiting all night. By Wednesday I was feeling better but then guess who got it?

Yep, poor Mark got it.

Usually when he starts vomiting because of his gastroparesis (a diabetic stomach issue) he ends up in the hospital. Amazingly, he started feeling better Thursday night and was eating! Amazing! I think Hannah gives him extra strength with those special kisses, hugs and smiles. That and prayer. We had a lot of people praying for him.

Now we're all on the mend. Hannah and I are pretty much 100% while Mark is just really tired and achy but his stomach is good. Yay!

I'll be back with more pictures and posts. :) Hannah sure is growing. Tomorrow she'll be 10 months already! Time just flies!!

Hannah's first leaf pile

It's so much fun to do so many firsts with Hannah. I love to get them all on pictures and video. It is so cute and I can't wait to show her. :)

We have trees surrounding our house and we get a TON of leaves in the fall. I was so excited to go out and rake some leaves into a pile for her...her first leaf pile!

She wasn't too impressed. I was hoping for a better reaction but really she just didn't care for it.

But it was still fun taking pictures. :)

Hannah's toes

Hannah has the absolute cutest toes ever :)

I've always wanted to paint her toes but I always thought she was way too fiesty for it so I never have.

Then her baby-sitters wanted to do it and as long as they were willing to put up with her constant moving, I told them to go for it. :)

Here they are getting ready for the battle:


And the painting begins:


I had to help hold her down a little but really she did amazingly well considering.


Here she is with her baby-sitters after getting her nails painted! She isn't all that excited about it....


And here are her finished toenails. It's a little dark but it really hard trying to get a picture of them. :)

My dad's letter

Recently my dad wrote a letter into our local paper. I am so proud of him and I wanted to share what he wrote. Pro-life has always been important to me but since adopting our precious Hannah, I’m extremely passionate about it.

Here is what my dad wrote:


Protect the unborn

The United States of America was established with the words, “One Nation Under God.” My question is, “Where is God in our nation today?”

Since 1973 and the outcome of Roe Vs. Wade, the devastating results has led to the killing of nearly six million of our unborn. These are human beings who cannot speak for themselves. Is this one of the reasons why our great country has been on the decline?

In Proverbs 6:16 it says “These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him.” One of these evil acts is “Hands that shed innocent blood” (v. 17). What else would you call abortion?

Over the years, the big questions have been, “When does life begin? Does it happen at conception?” The Bible is very clear when it takes place. It begins at conception!

In Psalm 139:16 it states “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they were all written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; and I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, before the Christ Child was born, and said, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). When did the Lord become God incarnate? It took place at conception. It did not happen at one, two or six months later in the womb.

The unborn are innocent. They cannot speak for themselves. How do we speak for them? We do so by going to the polls and voting pro-life.