Halle Reese Hergenrader

As you can see, a lot has happened since I blogged last. Halle was born on August 17th 2010. She was 7 pounds even and born at 5:33pm. Everything about Halle has been fast. Labor was only 33 minutes!

We are SO glad God does not follow OUR plans. Halle has brought our family so much joy. I'm sure you'd agree, you just HAVE to smile when you look at her. We all love her so much, and each in our own ways. Daddy makes her smile by being silly. He loves to tickle her chunkiness. Hannah has become Halle's own personal chauffeur. She will just pick her up and take her anywhere. Hannah especially likes to carry her around her school friends, it makes her feel so special and mature. Halle just loves going with her big sister. Hudson loves Halle's head the most. He literally CAN'T stay away from it. It's like his own personal warm, soft, smooth, fuzzy, Blarney stone, and he is always patting, kissing, wiping, or rubbing it! That may explain her lack of hair. Halle's been a snuggler from the beginning and I love this about her. Sometimes when she wakes up at night I can just touch my hand on her face and she'll rub against it and fall back to sleep! I prefer to use my own cheek though. :) My excuse is that she's my LAST baby.

Now that I'm blogging again, you can look forward to future posts about the first 9 months of Halle's life, Hannah in kindergarten, Hudson being Boy, and Jared and I trying to keep reigns on life.

Easter Pose

I've been growing a little bitter about the four of us having to live with our parents. I have begun to feel entitled to a better living situation. Who would disagree? Is there anyone out there who would prefer to live with their children at their parent's home? It was all starting to fester and grow. I know the enemy was feeding me more and more rotten lies that helped feed the ick. I allowed a few in and then began to see it his way.
Then today, we had communion.
The message was from Psalm 57. David wrote the Psalm while hiding in a cave. King Saul wanted him dead and had him on the run. While fleeing for his life, David clung to God. He had confidence because God cares.
This was a DOUBLE WHAMMY for me.
1. David gets closer to God and grows in faith while a King seeks his life. This is my time to cling, not drift. And I've got a pillow, not a rock.
2. Taking communion was the closer. God cared so much for me He went to the cross. How can I begin to feel entitled to something better than what I have? I have a place to rest, my children have food, and God cares. I will practice contentment. And you know what they say about practice?

MEOW!!

Disney's Aristocats Kids

Hannah was in a musical! At the California Arts Academy they do musicals year round for different age groups. Hannah was just old enough to join the 5-10 year olds. She had a great time. During some of the first practices they were learning one of the songs/dances for the show. Then one day he asked them one by one to do it by themselves, they could pass if they wanted. Hannah did it! I was so proud that she had the courage. I thought for sure she would have passed.

It was so fun watching her with all the other kids cause she was so small but still did everything they did. She was part of the ensemble which means she didn't have a speaking role but she came out for several different songs and parts of the play. Sometimes she was a dog and most of the time she was a cat.

The time commitment was pretty large. She went Fridays from 4-6 and Saturdays from 11-1 for about 8 weeks. I started to question the decision to sign her up, especially when we'd be driving there and she'd say, "Mommy, why am I in so much stuff? I always have to do something." Having dress rehearsal made all the difference. She was so excited to have a costume and I think it helped her see what it was all for. She especially liked having to hide behind the curtains until her turn and even sneak to the other side.

The show was of course, the best part of it all. At the end of a song or of her part on stage she would squint her eyes and try to look for us in the audience. She would always smile at Jared and I. All of the grandpas and relatives would get the embarrassed smile, it was so cute. We are so proud of her. It was overall a great experience. We bought the DVD so we could watch it at home and maybe show clips of it at her wedding!