Saturday, January 30, 2010

WE HAVE A TOOTH!!

Yes, you read that correctly! Hannah finally has a tooth coming in! This is really exciting in our house as we have been anxiously waiting for it ever since I noticed two small bumps on her gums over a week ago. I know that you are not supposed to compare children, but it is hard when you look back at your records. Grace had a few teeth by 11 months, but Hannah is just starting!
Our little Hannah JOY is usually so happy, but she has been a little fussy with these teeth coming in. She is a tough cookie, though -- just like her mommy! :)
I'll post pictures when I it is finally showing -- if she lets me! She is going to be so cute with teeth!

Family Happenings

Since I didn't post any pictures in my last post, I will make up for it and let you see what the Lightners have been up to!


Here is Hannah getting ready to go out in the snow... yes, she is eating. When is she NOT eating?



Grace loves playing "Chase". Could this be because of my maiden name? She asks to play all the time. In this picture she has stopped running long enough for me to take her picture; she is just being silly.
Our Blue-eyed girl....


Me and the girls!


We just had to get a daddy picture, too!

It's been too long!

I am so sorry that it has been this long since I have posted something.... too much is going on! For those of you who don't know, we are moving -- and not just moving... we are moving to IOWA! Now why would anyone want to move there? I am not sure, but we are following the Lord and the doors He has opened for our family. Danny will be a pastor at First Federated Church (www.firstfederated.org) in Des Moines. This is a terrific opportunity for Danny and our whole family!

God has done some amazing things....

1. We were told that houses are usually on the market for 111 days before they are sold. Our house was only on the market for 4... yes! Four Days! AND we had 2 offers to choose from! We are amazed!

2. We can doubt the decisions we make when we hear from others their disapproval. Some of our friends and teens have not too excited about our move, but when I shared this news at MOPS, one of the Moms came running up to me at the end. She was thrilled that we are going there. She is from the area and was blown away that my husband was going to be a pastor at THAT church. It was a great confirmation to us that this is a HUGE thing for our family.

3. The church we are going to has given us a budget to use to move our family to IA! We are trying to use it in the best way possible... I can't imagine trying to have to pay for all of that!

4. We have had some awesome friends and family volunteer to help however they can. I had to take them up on the offer already to crash at their home during naps when we couldn't be at home. I know that we will be using more of them as the time gets closer.

We are so blessed. The list could go on and on... of the love gift at friends gave, encouraging notes of support, listening ears of friends who have given Godly advice, etc. Since I am a list person, I made a list this week of all of the things that we will have to do before we leave for IA in SIX weeks...there were about 20 things. BUT we have an awesome God who has never abandoned us and continues to strengthen us! PRAISE THE LORD!!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

My gift

By the way, for my birthday and Christmas, Danny got my a new camera! I JUST LOVE IT! It was something really special that we decided to do and it was lllloooooonnnnnngggg overdue. It is so hard to capture the moments that happen with the girls on our old digital camera. I know that I missed too many moments because of our camera speed. I am thrilled to have this nice new one. It is a Nikon 3000 with two lenses and it takes GREAT pictures. I have noticed a tremendous difference. I can even tell with the few pictures that I just uploaded to this blog. Now I will hopefully have nice pictures like my sisters-in-law...no, I need to get there help if I want to get to that level! Maybe a lesson or two, girls?

THANK YOU, DANNY, for this great camera!!!!!

Other pictures from VA

Here are some of the pictures that I wanted to post of our time in VA, but I couldn't fit them in....







Crayola Factory

When we left VA on Tuesday we headed to Easton, PA, where we spent the night. We got up on Wednesday morning, ate breakfast, gave Hannah a quick nap, and drove over to the Crayola Factory. Ever since I started LBC and drove by the signs for it on my way to and from NH, I have wanted to stop and go in the Factory. WE FINALLY DID!! I KNOW that I was more excited than the rest of the gang. I have to admit, there is nothing like Crayola markers and crayons! I will not buy anything but them!

Basically, there were exhibits after exhibits showcasing the Crayola products: from painting to sidewalk chalk to melted crayons to model magic to markers, etc. It was a blast. Grace loved creating so many projects. They even had a drying machine so you could take home your creations without having to wait for them to air dry!
It was a blast...we spent over two hours between there and the water exhibit that they had upstairs. We would definitely recommend it for any kids who like crafts.
Then we loaded the girls in the car and headed for home... it was a long ride... not distance-wise, we just wanted to be there! We hit a little traffic, but we were relieved when we pulled into the driveway... we had a great trip with many miles and many more memories!

Christmas in PA and VA

The Lightner's Christmas was very different than in the years past. We were the ones that travelled and we travelled A LOT! We didn't have ANY ONE stay at our house!!!! NOT EVEN A SINGLE CHASE! We drove to PA on Monday night and spent time with Danny's family and friends from LBC until Saturday.

Grace LOVES spending time with Aunty Amy. She was all excited to recite Bible verses to her, sing her songs, color with her and read TONS of books. Kenny and Amy are both VERY energetic when it comes to reading, so an ordinary book comes alive when they are reading. Did you know that Uncle Kenny is now "Uncle Taties"? You will have to ask Grace about that!



Hannah was a happy traveler. She loved exploring new things. It was hard to keep her away from the Christmas tree and decorations, but we tried.. for the first few days. (Yes, that is an ornament in her hand!) On Christmas morning she was THRILLED with all of the wrapping paper!



Here I am with two of my favorite gifts: Grace and Hannah (Danny was taking the picture with our NEW camera!!!!)!



On Saturday morning we headed to VA to see the Gordons, Vigues and Chases. It was so great to be there. I had never been to the Gordon Estate... it is beautiful and is the perfect place for all of the family gatherings. There is much more space for everyone than at the Lightner house!

We enjoyed a lot of good food... none of which had cabbage in it, but a lot had chocolate! Grace once again was charmed by her Grampa... he read and read to her. She asked a lot of questions and just liked snuggling with him! HOW CUTE!


It was great to see my girls with their grandparents, great grandparents, my cousins and the rest of the gang. Hannah and Bella were so much fun to compare. They are just about the same size.... I hope they will be great friends.

Thanks again everyone for hosting us over Christmas. We had a great time.... there are too many details to try and tell even some of them! We were sad to leave, but were glad to be home when we finally got there!