Monday, April 27, 2009

What a Steal

Caleb was really in need of some new shoes. We have been so fortunate to have lots of things handed down to Emma from friends, and obviously Noah and Ezra are pretty well taken care of. But, Caleb had come to the end of his shoes (he, he) and was in need of some new ones. We went and tried on some Converse (just like Daddy's), which he really liked. Then, on the clearance rack I found some Nike mid-tops and thought I would have him try them on. Once he heard me say that his cousin Levi has some sort of similar, well, that sealed the deal. Those were his favorites. I got them up to the register and they were $10!! Now, the store was having a buy one, get the second pair half off sale, which was tempting to say the least. But, after realizing that I could walk out of a shoe store for under $11, we opted to just get the one pair. Caleb says that he can run faster!! (I told Ben, it was a little sad.... this is one of the first times that our kid have really got to PICK their own shoes.)

Our New Addition

I am sure there are people around the nation who are having a heart attack right now.

Relax, people. It's a piano. I have been so excited to finally have the piano around. Hopefully it will lend itself to some fun for Emma on Fridays, but for now, I am really enjoying it. 7 years of lessons have left me with surprisingly little skill at playing, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying tinkering around from time to time. This piano has been up at my parent's old house, where my little brother and his kids live, and he very kindly allowed me to move it to our house!! (Actually, HE very kindly moved it along with hubby).

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

VOTE FOR BEN!!

Okay, I will have to explain more in a later post, but please click on this link and vote for Lisa H. (that's me) to win the free ticket for Advance '09.  It is a conference in North Carolina about the Resurgence of the Local Church.  We would really like for Ben to go, and I entered a contest to win a free ticket, and I am one of four finalists.  Click the link and vote!!  
P.S.  If you read the stories and decide to vote for someone else, I will not be mad at you in the slightest!! =)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Lessons from the kids...

Tonight during Family Devotions, we were talking to the kids about love (loving others).  

Ben:  Is there anything that God says we don't have to forgive?
Caleb:  Yes!!  When we do the right thing!

Ben:  Is love something that you feel?
Emma: No, it's something you do, like when you are kind to your friend.

Okay, then.  Just checking.

He Is Risen!

He is risen indeed!!

There is just something amazing about getting up REALLY early on the Sunday morning that we celebrate the resurrection. Despite being up way too late the night before, Ezra did his part and made sure we got up at 5:30am!! Just enough time to feed him, get everyone in cozy clothes, get hot chocolate, and head to Lake Casitas for the Sunrise Service. It was breathtaking!! And, we even got in a little playground time while we were there.
That's MY hot chocolate!!
Yes, I really was there, and made a cameo appearance in ONE photo!!
After the sunrise service, we had breakfast and read a story and remembered the resurrection story with Resurrection Eggs. Then, we headed to our church, where I missed most of the sermon since Noah hit his head (and then I bumped his head AGAIN as I carried him out of the church). It was still great to be there with our church family. And then, off to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a yummy Easter lunch with the cousins, and some of the "cross cake." It is sad to remember the pain and suffering of our Lord Jesus (hence, the cross), but it is a "Fun-fetti" cake because it is just bursting with the hope of resurrection and the salvation that Jesus accomplished!!!
Should I clean his face now, or get the camera first?
Caleb vs. The Door Knob. The door knob won.
Little Miss in her new glasses.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Ezra Update

Well, he sure knows how to get where he wants to go.  He is such a sweet, happy baby.  A little more fussy as of late, but I think an impending tooth is the culprit.  Anyway, here's some pictures:

Building...

The kids all love to build!!  Emma built a swing set for her dolls with Tinker Toys and Caleb loves building with the Magnetix set.
 
(Caleb's new hair cut as well)

 What Daddy does when I'm babysitting...


  Reading a story to my nieces Cadence and Lyric.  Now, I know I look pretty shocked... but after all, we were going on a bear hunt. =)

Cool Bags...

These are the cool bags that Daddy got for the kids to collect things on our Nature Walks or Hikes.  Funny thing, these pictures are all the way back from when I had pneumonia... I kept wondering why I was having trouble on that hike, and finally had to ask to turn around and be done for the day.  Hmmm....
  And oh yes, our friend Lizard too!

Friday, April 03, 2009

Blogging...

One of the hard things about blogging is that if you happen to get behind (as I know I am), it can be almost overwhelming to "get back on the horse" (so to speak). So, here is my attempt to catch you up on the major things.

After recovering from pneumonia, I have since had really bad mouth/tooth pain. I have had one root canal, but since I am still having some pretty bad pain, I am thinking that means that more than one tooth was involved. Also, the root canal revealed that my tooth had four roots instead of three, and it was infected so I am on antibiotics again. I was getting nervous about taking Tylenol so regularly, but the pain was such that I was having a lot of trouble being a kind person. I was able to find a homeopathic remedy, which is working fine for me, although I did take one Tylenol last night to get me some sleep. The root canal (procedure + crown) ends up being about $1400... and you wonder why I don't really want to go there??? =) God has faithfully provided for us, although I must say I am terrified to go back in and have them say I have to go through it (including the money) again!!

Emma had her first eye exam. She and Caleb observed my exam first. She is doing well, but will need some little glasses for reading and schoolwork. I was pretty sure that this would be the case, although I did think her eyes were a little worse off than what I had originally thought. Not too bad, though, and she may even outgrow it.

Caleb got a buzz again. His hair was just getting too long, and he kept asking. I was determined to grow his hair out, but after seeing how miserable he was with it (even after trying hair gel), I acquiesced and gave him "Daddy's hair cut." Hopefully pictures will follow soon.

Noah is talking so much! We did not go ahead with speech therapy testing, we decided to wait. He knows all of his letters, and their sounds (he does have a hard time saying "R" and "kwa for Q"). He can put together a 35 piece puzzle all by himself. We might possibly be starting to potty train, but the jury is still out on that. I am not in a hurry on that one, but every night when the kids go potty, he asks to go potty, and I figure... well, we can sort of test the waters and see if mamma is up for what it will require of me!

Ezra is getting big and mobile. He finds a way to get where he needs to go, in order to get what he wants to get. No crawling, or anything like that. Just some pretty tricky rolling and stuff. He hasn't been sleeping well lately, so we are wondering if perhaps a tooth might be on it's way. Time will tell. He is a wonderful baby though, so happy and easy-going.

Ben is finally scheduled for a consult on his knee, that has needed surgery for about two years. This will be his fourth knee surgery. But, it has only recently been giving him some trouble, so it will be good to get that taken care of.

Our PC crashed, (we have a MacBook, which is great), but some of the kids' schoolwork software isn't Mac compatible, and the Mac Book wasn't really intended to be our "main" computer. So, I went to find a replacement, and alas, I have another laptop, this one a Gateway PC. It is working out quite nicely. I grew up on PC, so I am comfortable here, but I must say that the Mac Book has certainly done its work in convincing me how awesome Macs are. =)

We finished The Horse and His Boy (the third in the Narnia series), and are on to Prince Caspian. Shortly thereafter, or perhaps during the day, we will be reading The Princess and the Goblin. I am reading it now just to make sure it is all okay for the kiddos. Emma has discovered the Little House chapter books, so she has been enjoying those for quiet time (they are shorter books, about 65 pages (ish) in the same style as the Little House series). I am not quite sure how I feel about the "Magic Treehouse" books as of yet, but I LOVE the non-fiction research guides that go along with the series. Caleb loved reading the research guide on Knights and Castles, and was talking about things that look like a "mace" for weeks. He did read the fiction Magic Treehouse book called The Knight at Dawn (in a couple of hours) and seemed to enjoy it well enough.

So, I think that pretty much catches you up on life in the Hester house. It's been crazy, but oh so wonderful and good.