Blessed

Taking a break from sharing our TN vacation to share a little bit about our day today.
In MI, all the teachers went back to school today (the kids start after labor day). Today I am thanking the Lord, that He has allowed for me to be home with my precious little girl. I know that the time goes so fast, and I'm trying to cherish every moment (even in the midst of the hard ones). I'm also continually amazed at how much children learn in their beginning years of life and how their personalities are being formed. Many still ask if I miss teaching, which I do (esp. in the fall), but I am so thankful and glad to be able to be home with Hannah every day. I miss teaching because I loved it, but can't even put a price tag on the precious moments I spend at home with her.
We spent the day today with my friend Rachel and her adorable son Joshua. If you know Hannah at all, you know how much she loves Joshua because she talks about him all the time. They are too cute together! I spent time today reflecting on how God brought Rachel and I together (our paths crossed at a library story time)...and how we each needed a friend at the time. Over the past few months our friendship has grown and we have been able to encourage & uplift oneanother as friends do. Rachel also worked in the schools before Joshua was born, so we were able to talk and share today about what it was like to leave, how we miss it at times, but how wonderful it is to be at home & and how worth it the sacrifices have been.
Thank you Lord for my precious baby, thank you for the the chance to be home with her, and thank you for friendships.
Here are some snapshots from our day (thanks Rachel...I haven't even got my pictures off my camera yet ;o)):

Enjoying a yummy brownie treat

such great friends! :)

"That they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored." Titus 2:4-5

TN vacation day 4

This was a quiet and relaxing day. In the morning, we went to the arts and crafts loop in Gatlinburg. It was fun to see our friend Jolene's best friend who own a jewelry shop there. Hannah enjoyed walking around and talking to anyone that would give her attention. She told them her name and how old she was, they were all blown away.

We spent the evening back at our condo. We enjoyed a family movie night, I don't know that we've ever really done that before. We watched the Lion King, and Hannah had popcorn for the first time (don't worry I bit the kernels out of each piece first). She loved it!

TN Vacation Day 3

On Wed. we decided to venture out and take a hike. There was one paved trail in the park that led up to a Laurel Falls. It ended up being a very wet hike. We hiked 2.5 miles up a mountain with a stroller in the rain. It wasn't too terrible once we were wet...so we tried our best to enjoy the hike. We saw the fall, which were beautiful and turned quickly around to head back down.

On our way down the mountain we met another couple that said that they had just seen a mother bear with her cubs right off the trail. They gave us a few pointers on what to do if you come in contact with a bear and sent us on our way. With hearts pounding a little, we whispered a prayer and continued, keeping close eye out for her. It was actually the perfect situation, we got to see a bear and her cubs, and she didn't bother us at all....it's really neat to see animals in their own natural habitat like that :)

We got back to the condo and rested while Hannah took her nap. By the time she got up, the sun had come out so we headed out to the pool. Hannah got to swim in a pool for the first time this vacation. She loves the water!

A super exciting part of our day today was, Hannah pooped on the potty for the first time. I was planning to begin potty training when we got home in the fall, but it kinda just happened. She's showing all the signs of being ready to begin: She knows what to do in the bathroom, and tells us when she wants her diaper changed and when she's poopy. It just kinda happened this day. I think I smelled her and decided to put her on the toliet...wouldn't you know it...she pooped! Let the potty training adventure begin!

TN Vacation Day 2

On Tuesday we arrived in Gatlinburg. We were so excited to get to see our condo and the beautiful view from the balcony.

living room

kitchen

bedroom

wonderful bathtub

the beautiful view of the mountains from our balcony

The view of Gatlinburg from our condo

We settled in, had dinner, and then went for a walk in downtown Gatlinburg.

Vacation Day 1: Creation Museum

We had such a nice time on our little family vacation. It was different traveling with a little one...but fun too. We took our time getting down to Tennessee, which worked out really well. We drove down to Grandma and Papa's house on Sunday and spent the evening and night with them. In the morning, we were off to the Creation Museum near Cincinnati (thanks to the Lucas family for sharing your guest passes with us!). We enjoyed our time at the museum. It was neat to see and we definitely want to take Hannah back when she gets older.

Hannah loved most of the dinosaurs (there was one moving one that scared her)

Our favorite part of the museum was Noah's ark. The ark model that they had built was only 1% of the size of Noah's ark.

This is a sad reality in our world. The Creation Museum did a good job of using scripture to show God's plan for the world and His perfect hand in creating it.

The outdoor gardens were beautiful!

Hannah's favorite part was the petting zoo.

We drove and spent the night in Jellico, TN that night; then finished our trip to Gatlinburg in the morning.

A quick visit from Caleb and baby Ethan...and their mom and dad too

It was so fun to get to meet baby Ethan and play with Caleb. Their family was up in our area for Mr. Andy's brothers wedding. It was so nice of them to stop by and visit with us in the midst of the busy weekend! I had fun showing Caleb around my house (the last time he was here...he was just a tiny baby). We had fun playing with blocks, trains, and just running around the house together. The moms and dads had fun talking while we played. Caleb's dad just got a new pastor job...we were excited to hear all about their new church and what God is doing in their lives.

running around with Caleb

such a great pic of all of us!

Caleb makes a great big brother

Popsicles!

Hannah loves popsicles! It's so cute to hear her say "popsicle" so I took a video on my camea, unfortunately, it's sideways again..maybe one day I'll learn :)