Cherished Memories

This morning Stefan got up a bit earlier than usual and came out when I was reading my Bible. I stopped short of my initial thought to send him back to bed ("it's not awake time yet...") remembering the many fond memories I have of sitting on my Dad's lap in the early hours of the morning when everyone else was still sleeping.

Thank you, Dad, for not sending me back to bed and giving me those cherished memories.

Today, I followed your lead and read, chatted, and prayed with Stefan in the early hours of the morning.

Silas Ridley

Here's a shot at three cute kids! That certainly will brighten any Monday morning! Of course, it is impossible to get all three looking at the camera at once so this is the best I have!


Our handsome little guy is, well, not so little anymore! At 3 months he weighs about 16 pounds. He is fully in 3-6 mo. or straight 6 mo. clothes. He is smiling and communicating with us so much these days. He loves his big brother and sister and always has a smile for them when they walk up to him! He eats like crazy and doesn't sleep through the night consistently yet. (He did last night though!) He is very pleasant and generally only cries when hungry or tired. He puts up with a lot of lovin' and takes it all in stride. He definitely prefers Mommy over anyone else, and I'm ok with that;).

He's a gift from God and we are immensely grateful for him.

Here are some pics. I know there are quite a few, but it was hard to choose:). Believe me, I could show you more;).

Olivia loves wiping him with his burp rag. Sometimes he appreciates it, sometimes not so much!

It's fall, which means warmer clothes. Sportin' a hoody that was Stefan's as a baby. (It is fun putting on clothes that used to be Stefan's-brings back so many memories!)

Stefan declared this to be a Chicago Bears outfit! We decided even though it says "World's Best Little Brother" we would put it on when the Bears play since it is the right colors!

How can you not smile back at this?

Chubby and happy!

Dimples and bare feet--nothin' cuter!

Thinking about winking at you, maybe?

Pensive!

Amazed at something!

At Long Last...

It has been way too long since I have updated this blog. I'm sorry. I guess I have just been busy with other things. Since we do view this blog as a sort of journal, though, I am trying to make the time to jump back into it. I will do my best to update you all on what has been going on and how we're doing since we moved to Louisville with a few random shots of an outing we took a couple of weeks ago.



Since moving here we have really been amazed at God's grace in sustaining us. While moving with a 2 1/2 week old is probably not recommended and certainly was not without its challenges, we have seen God's hand in making the transition smooth. I guess it is to be expected, but some of the things I thought would be difficult weren't, and some things I hadn't thought of have been what has challenged me.


Brian has settled into working three different part-time jobs and maintaining a class load of 9 credits. He is extremely busy and is still in the process of figuring out how to balance family, work, and school. He is so helpful at home, that my biggest fear is that we will hinder him from the time he needs to study. So far, he has been doing stellar at keeping up with all his responsibilities and I am immensely proud of him. I am always amazed at what a catch I got when I married him (Even though I can take absolutely no credit for getting together with him--but that's a whole other story...(-: ).

I am adjusting to three kids fairly well. I was told that three was a BIG adjustment by lots of moms who have "been there, done that." They weren't kidding. It has taken us awhile to get in the groove, especially when it involves going out. I am loving it, though, and can't imagine anything different.

Stefan has really stepped up to the plate and is proving to be a big helper. Sometimes his helpfulness can be dangerous....like when he was pushing Olivia in the stroller while I was holding Silas and he hit a curb. Olivia went face first on the asphalt(still buckled in) and Stefan landed on top of her and the stroller. Oh the drama. But I have learned that with three kids there is going to be drama and unpredictability. It just comes with the territory, I guess! Even though his lack of maturity means that sometimes his help can create more work for me, I still try to encourage the spirit and teach him along the way.

I have a lot more I could say, but I am going to save that for another post. And, yes, I am aware that there are no pictures of Silas in this post. Stay tuned for an entire post dedicated to him. He is so cute he deserves his own post;).

Update and Request

If you thought we had disappeared from blogland you're almost right. We will be back at it, hopefully soon, but things have been a little crazy around here!

We are adjusting to life with three children and to life in KY. So much has happened it is hard to even keep ourselves afloat let alone keep everyone updated! If you are on Facebook, my sister posted a lot of pictures so you've seen how much Silas has grown in the past 4 weeks and our new place. We will get some up on the blog asap.

I wanted to ask you to pray for my cousin and his family. Many of you have already seen this but for those of you that haven't I wanted to share it with you. It is worth your time to read this post that Amy wrote--her last post. Though we don't understand why, God has chosen to give her cancer and for her to pass at any moment from this life to an eternity with Him. Pray for Jon, Amy, and their seven children.

Thank you.

Happy Father's Day

To the man my children call Daddy,

Words cannot express the thankful heart I have for the father you are to Stefan, Olivia, and now Silas. This past week your thoughtfulness and selflessness have been magnified in my eyes. You have thought of things before I even knew I needed them. You have been doing "double duty" with Stefan and Olivia--being Mommy and Daddy at once.

Whether you were feeding me ice chips or rubbing my back while in labor, running out to get me food because I couldn't stomach the hospital food, pacing with Silas in the middle of the night so I could catch a few winks, taking the kids out so I could have some quiet to rest and they could have Daddy time, and much more, you have been absolutely amazing.

Thank you for all you do. Your wife and three children are blessed.

We love you. Happy Father's Day!
Johanna

Birth Announcement

Silas Ridley Hanson
June 15, 2011 - 6:52 p.m.
8 lbs. 11 oz.
20 in.

Our Easter!

Gorgeous, sweet children!

The boys!

The Girls!

Cousins!

Easter afternoon festivities!

Always up to something...

We have a drawer in the kitchen that Olivia is allowed to get into (as in open up and close, not literally get into!). It has all the plastic containers and it provides lots of entertainment. Usually she is busy putting the containers in and out of the drawer. Today, however, when I walked into the kitchen I found this...

Brian's Heading Back to the Books...

It's about time I let everyone know our plans. Most of you already know, or have heard by word of mouth, but we thought we would fill you in on the details.

We are moving! No surprise there, huh? We seem to have a trend of moving every year! This time, though, it is for very different reasons! We have been excited to see how the Lord has led and how He has made it clear what our next step is. We are really going to miss living near family. It has been wonderful having Bob and Jennie and the kids just minutes away. Stefan loves having a cousin to play with, too, which I know he is going to miss. We will also miss our church. We have grown to love our church so much and have learned so much. It will not be easy to leave.

So. Where are we going? Brian will be studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. The ultimate goal is for him to get a PhD. Obviously that means years of study and he will actually first need to get a Master of Divinity. Thanks to his current degrees he is already 1/3 of the way through the MDiv (88 total credits). All of this schooling will take several years. We have a "goal" of how long it will take, but we also realize that family needs and financial needs could extend that time.

As a wife, it is super exciting to see my husband so excited about something. If you know Brian at all, you know that he is wired to study (and he's smart too, what can I say?!). He is so looking forward to being in seminary again and pursuing further degrees. We believe that this is how Brian can most effectively use the gifts he has been given. What that will mean after remains to be seen. Remember, this whole process is going to take awhile so we don't need to know the next step quite yet.

While we are very excited about our next step, we are certainly aware that it doesn't come without its difficulties and sacrifices. Many people would call us crazy. Thankfully most of our family and friends have been incredibly supportive for which we are grateful. We love you guys!

Pray for Brian. He has a big load to carry. Being a full time student on top of working to support a family is not going to be easy.

Pray for his wife :). I am very excited for Brian, but I know that there will be days when I will want to cave in to the normal desires of having a "real" house to live in, of having a predictable salary that isn't all going towards school bills, and not having a husband that has to stay up late at night reading, writing papers, or studying. Ok, let's just be honest here. It might be possible for me to get whiny:). I'll need God's grace to remain supportive all the way through, even on the tough days with three kids!

When is this all happening? Brian will begin classes in mid-August. We plan to move sometime in the middle of July. Hopefully that will give me enough time to recover from having the baby and still have time to get settled a little before Brian begins classes.

Brian has already secured a part-time job teaching piano at the Seminary's School of the Arts. We are incredibly grateful to already have a job to walk into once we move! Once we arrive there he will be looking for another part-time job. In order to remain a full time student he really needs something with flexible hours. We have also found an apartment to rent at least for the first year we are there.

So what am I doing now? Sorting, throwing, getting rid of, etc, etc. Everything has to fit into a 3 bedroom, 980 sq. ft. apartment. I need to have most of it done before the baby arrives so I have my work cut out for me!

We appreciate your support and prayers as we embark on this journey!

Warmer Weather!

It's been great to see Stefan's fear of heights completely dissipate this year. Last year he was still in the stage where he would climb up things and then be afraid to get back down. Now we are no longer climbing up into playgrounds to retrieve a panicking child. In stead, we have to keep our eyes peeled to make sure we still have him in sight. All fear is gone, and now it's just fun---and there is no need for Mom and Dad to be around:)

I'm a firm believer that kids should and actually need to be allowed to play in dirt. So what's a little extra laundry? Oh, and the bike helmet just makes everything more fun!

"How does it taste?"

I guess she likes it!?! Oh my...

A Rather Random Peek Into Our Lives

Two cuties!

Stefan and I built this very cool tower with Tinker Toys. It even had a lever/pully thing!

Warmer days means more time outside! A wagon ride from Daddy when he got home from work.

Boxes remain a favorite toy.

Helping Mommy ice Daddy's birthday cake. Yes, this is old...

Our Little Guy

Yesterday, I had an ultrasound and we got some amazing pictures of our little guy. I'm seriously smitten. He is so stinkin' cute!

Doesn't this just make you want to kiss those cheeks?

Pure sweetness!

Yep! Those are his feet up on his head. Completely breech right now. He's got a few weeks to turn. Let's hope he does:)

How is that even comfortable?

Peeking out through his legs.

Cutest little nose ever!

And, yes, I do realize that most of the rest of the world won't think these are as cute as his Mommy does, but I had to post them. We have never gotten these kind of u/s pictures with our other children and I am loving it! I just stare at the picture and marvel that that little face is inside me right now. Wow, wow, and wow! Thank you, God, for the amazing gift of life!

Our climber

If you've been wondering why I don't post as much on the blog, or talk as much on the phone, etc, it's because I have a daughter who does things like this. And I really want her to live to tell about all her adventures.

Some things you just have to get a video of...



Oh, and the toilet bowl is seriously that girls favorite place. No videos of that, though:)

She keeps life interesting and we love it!

Playing

There are few things I love watching more than a child lost in the world of play.