Few stories...

Haynes...

This week after Haynes surgery I sent ahead and had my mom keep Port and Ella the rest of the day to try and make Haynes "rest." It was such a fun day, not doing anything but loving on my sweet boy. We played games, watched Dora, read books, etc. My mom brought the other kids by to see Haynes and bring him some treats. While he was glad to see them and receive some attention after about 15 minutes he said, "Bye guys! It's time for you to leave!" I thought he would really want to leave with Lolli but he LOVED our special day. The last few days he keeps saying, "Mommy...we need to have another day just the two of us."

Love him!

Port...

We went to a carnival last night with some friends. One of the men handing out candy was dressed really scary. I could tell that he was a little cautious, but I thought I would just sit back and see how he responded. He kinda paused and looked at the man for a minute, then he took a deep breathe and walked up to him and said "Trick or Treat please." The man kindly gave him some candy and Port walked over to me. I asked him how it went and he said, "I was kinda scared of the man when I saw him, but then I remembered Jesus is always with me. I didn't have any reason to be scared." That's right Port Robert! I love watching him learn to walk through that process without prompting from me...he is getting so big!

Ella...

Ella has started requiring that I put her to bed every night. When we go in her room she asks me to rock her in her chair, sing "Oh, how I love Jesus" to her a few times. I LOVE getting to rock my sweet baby girl for just a few minutes. I always tell her that she is my favorite little girl in the whole world. Today I said, "Don't forget that you are my favorite little girl." As I laid her down she kept saying, "I won't forget mommy. I won't forget mommy."

Making cookies

We made sugar cookies the other night. Each kids had a turn to put their choice of sprinkles on the cookies. I only got pictures of Ella...I think I might have a little baker on my hands, she did AWESOME! The boys definitely smashed the cookies beyond recognition, Ella's were "perfect", and Brian's were "perfect" too! Unfortunately I didn't really like the recipe, but it was a fun family night!

Ella and clothes?!?

This has become quite the norm when getting Ella up in the morning. She can get out of button up pj's, thermals, and nightgowns without a problem. I keep warning her I have a few more tricks up my sleeve if she doesn't stop...thanks Beth:-)

Yes, I know that she is my daughter through her personality, responses, etc. One of our main differences this week is she would really prefer to be naked at all times while I tend to love clothes:-) Honestly, one day this week every time I turned around she had taken off her clothes. Brian came home one night and kept saying where are her clothes?!?

The box

My parents got a new tv for their living room. Brian labeled the box as "deliver directly to Brian Hartsock." So late Saturday night I see my dad dropping the box off in the front yard, so Brian runs out and throws it back in his truck. We woke up the next morning with the box back in our front yard.

The kids have been delighted playing with this HUGE box. I have enjoyed getting flowers planted while they play inside, push it over, drag it across the neighborhood, etc. Who needs toys, large boxes might be the best toy ever!!!

The Week of Haynes's Foot

Sunday night I was getting Haynes out of the bath and noticed this on the bottom of his foot. I have not EVER seen this before and was pretty sure it wasn't a good sign. This is the foot that had stitches about 6 months ago, because he decided to smash a christmas light with his foot.

After visiting Dr. Stacy the next morning we quickly determined that Haynes has an infection in his foot because there are still 2 pieces of glass inside of it.

We had an appointment on Tuesday to see a foot doctor who was going to numb his foot and take out the glass...it didn't really work like that:-) This is waiting for our appointment with Daddy...everything (almost everything) is more fun when Daddy is around!

This is the x-ray of Haynes' foot. If you look in the middle of the bottom of his foot there are two small pieces of glass there, the largest being 6mm. We were super thankful that we found the glass, otherwise we would have had to make a decision without knowing the cause of the problem.

This is where it got slightly traumatic...mostly for Brian and me! After a 10-15 minute wrestling match while numbing his foot. We tried a 25-30 minute wrestling match again while the doctor and brian tried to find the glass. I think we all hit our breaking point about the same time and decided to stop trying.

Haynes is scheduled for foot surgery tomorrow morning at 7:45am. We are believing that the doctor will quickly find the 2 pieces of glass, Haynes will be completely peaceful throughout the procedure, and for a quick recovery!

*Just so you know...Haynes currently has a hole in the bottom of his foot, but you would never know it! He is running, jumping and playing just like usual. We wouldn't expect anything less from our tough little 3 year old!

Happy Birthday Uncle Jake!

(this is the only picture I took...sorry!)

Kourtney threw a fun family party for Jake on Sunday afternoon. We got to have his favorite dessert...ICE CREAM! My kids were beyond thrilled to get to spend sometime with their cousins. It was super sweet to hear Jake's kids and family encourage and bless him on his birthday. We are super thankful for Uncle Jake and excited for all God has for him this next year!

The Bobbett twins are here!!

We have been so excited for Nate and Jamie's twin girls to get here. I woke up about 3 am on Saturday night from a dream that Jamie's water broke and the girls were here! I dreamed their names were Lynn and Piper. When I picked up the phone to call Jamie on Sunday morning Brian walked in and said "Jamie's at the hospital! Her water broke around 2-3 this morning!" Fun huh?!?

Kate Peace

and

Tess Joy

are healthy, beautiful, fulfillments to God's promises.

We can hardly wait to meet them!

Love you guys!

Dream week with JuJu

While I was in New York, the kids got to spend 4 days with JuJu and Grandad. Brian would come home at night, but the kids really would have preferred for Brian to be with me. Port has been counting down his week with JuJu for about 2 weeks! I can hardly explain the peace you feel about leaving your kids with someone they LOVE so much! They had the best time playing with cousins, watching movies, skipping naps, and so much more! Thanks for loving on the kids so well!

*I got home late Friday night, so Saturday morning Haynes crawled into bed with us. Brian asked Haynes who he had been missing this week. Haynes kinda looked at me and said, "Whitney?...oh yeah Mommy!"

New York with the girls

The girls in my family take a "Christmas" shopping trip each year. The last few years we have been to New York instead of Dallas. We get to shop, enjoy some fun time together, and see a few shows. Jenny and I went to "Billy Elliot" the first night and were so excited to find out a friend/former teacher of mine was in the Ensamble. C.K was amazing! It was so fun catching up with him after the show!

We went to the "Shake Shack" after "Promises Promises" one night. Jenny's favorite shake is vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup...just like my sweet husband!

My friend, Jordan, recommended a fun restaurant in Bloomingdales. Jenny and I decided to get a treat one afternoon and it was AMAZING! We sent this to Brian saying, "Orange leaf has nothing on this place!" I think my next trip to Orange Leaf will look a little more like this:-)

We had a great trip! I actually got quite a few Christmas gifts, some bigger clothes (since I'm growing as we speak), and a lot of fun memories!

It's a....

Perfect Baby!

About two weeks ago we had our 20 week appointment and got to do an ultrasound and see the baby. Everything looks great and we have a perfectly healthy baby growing in my belly. We decided to not find out the gender again since 1) it was SO fun with Ella and 2) we genuinely don't care if it's a boy or girl. I will say that when you are in the ultrasound room and she turns the screen you can't help but be a little curious. My sweet husband can hardly stand it so he will ask, "So you know right?!?" Brian actually tries to look and find out what we are having, don't worry he did it last time. Last time he was pretty confident he saw a boy, but we have a beautiful little girl! This time we both thought it was a boy, but then were informed that we were looking at the head and the arm! All that to say...we have no idea what we are having! We are beyond thankful for a healthy baby and can't wait to meet it:-)

31

So I turned 31 on Friday and felt beyond loved by my friends and family. Here are just a few highlights! My girlfriends surprised me with a breakfast and Allison's house Thursday morning. Allison made a great breakfast, coffee, and each woman brought me a sweet card encouraging me and giving me words from the Lord. It was AMAZING!

Sweet Whitney gave me 31 KitKats (which I have been loving lately). Each KitKat has a note about me on it. Not only do I look forward to eating a fun treat, but I also get to ready a sweet encouragement each time too!

My Granma sent me 31 beautiful garden roses. They smell absolutely amazing and this is one of my favorite traditions!

My sweet friend Kristin went to Italy this summer and bought me a scarf. Also my sweet boys loved me extravagantly well. They told Brian they really wanted to buy me a dress since I love dresses. Brian couldn't find one, so they chose a scarf next. They were so excited to give me my gift, but each made sure I knew that they really wanted me to have a dress. It really is SO fun being loved on by your boys!

Judi made me this BEAUTIFUL book. Shannon Ho helped her put together a book of pictures from our photo shoot last year. She also added pages of each of my kids with their scriptures that we have prayed over them since before they were born. I love all the thought and detail Judi put into this book!

I am so thankful for the extravagant way my friends and family have loved me. My sweet husband definitely wins the award. He surprised me with a painting I have loved for the last two years. I feel abundantly blessed and am so excited for what God has for me in the next year!

A Day with Ella

Ella has a new level of curiosity than I have ever experienced. I always know that if she is quiet something is going on. Her new favorite thing is to unroll all my beach towels, lay them out on the floor, and pretend to take a nap.

We were planting flowers in the front yard and Ella says, "Mommy, I need to poop." We run inside, she sings a few songs, and eventually poops (a little). I am not planning on potty training her for a while, but if she keeps this up I may not have to even bother! (I have a GREAT video of her singing while on the potty.)

Show and Tell

We decided to play "Show and Tell" during family night last week. The kids would go find a toy to fit in the oven mit and then we would have to guess what it was. Port did great (thanks to a lot of practice at Gingerbread), Haynes usually just told us his toy when he gave the hints, and it took a LONG time to guess Brian's. It was a great family night!

Daddy's Girl

We don't go a day without LOTS of laughs from this sweet girl lately. She is really LOVING her daddy. She loves having him get her ready for bed each night, this is one of her new nightgowns. (She has started undressing, taking off her diapers, or both in the mornings...Oh dear!!!)

The boys LOVE jumping on the trampoline and playing games with Daddy. Ella usually INSISTS on joining in, but this night there happened to be bugs on the trampoline. She was TERRIFIED! She wouldn't touch the trampoline and wouldn't stop screaming...and man does she have some lungs!!

Yep...that's a picture of the bugs! They were tiny, little, black bugs:-)

Weekend with Lolli & Champ

Brian and I got to spend the weekend in Dallas celebrating Deluca and Laura's wedding. While we were gone our kids enjoyed a fun-filled weekend with Lolli and Champ. We probably received at least 50 pictures while we were gone...these are some of our favorites!

Painting Pumpkins

Soccer Games-Port was an all-star!

Movie Nights...isn't he adorable?!?

I LOVE this picture!

I think she's not only beautiful, but this captures her fun personality too!

Thanks Lolli and Champ for loving on the kids SO well and thanks for all the great pictures!

Coloring

Monday afternoon it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We decided to do a little project...We found our prayer journals, crayons and markers, and headed outside. I had the kids find five different things in the backyard that the Lord was showing them and draw a picture of it. The boys had a blast and literally spent about 2 hours outside coloring. We turned on some worship and just truly soaked in God's beauty!

Port is really getting great at coloring, so it's so fun seeing his beautiful pictures! These boys are truly best friends and it is so fun watching them play together.

Blessed Beyond Words...

I absolutely love staying at home with my kids. Don't get me wrong there are challenging days, but today was one of those days that makes it all worth it. My kids were just SO much fun today! It's so refreshing when you see fruit in your kids and truly feel blessed beyond words. My boys started their day by getting ready, making beds, and cleaning up all by themselves. Port gave his breakfast to Ella because she was hungry...I was following with hers but he "saw a need and met it." The kids walked into BSF like pros (truly it's the little things that make the difference around here), Haynes didn't flip out, and Port walked Ella to her class in the mean time. We spent the afternoon at the park and just enjoyed each other.

Thank you Jesus for such fun, refreshing days!

I am truly thankful for the little things:-)

Baby Alice is here!

Alice Elizabeth Doke

October 5th, 2010

7 lbs 3 oz

19 inches

Since Megan was busy having her sweet baby girl, we got to do carpool with Emma. Ella had shots that morning, so Whitney watched her when I went to pick the kids up from school. Emma jumped in Ella's chair like it was hers, we loved it!

We decided we should stop and get a treat after their day of playing hard! My boys were super excited to get to introduce Classic 50's gummy bear slushes to Emma. Thanks for letting us share your special day with you!

Congratulations to the Doke family! We are so excited for your family!

Haynes Trip to the Zoo

Brian was suppose to take Haynes to the zoo for his first field trip, but something came up at work last minute so he couldn't. We were super thankful that Lolli could step in and be a GREAT replacement! I heard that Haynes made sure everyone knew that he was saving a seat on the bus for his Lolli!

All the kids brought a bag of popcorn to snack on around the zoo, it was a hit!!

All the kids were checking out the baby Hippo

Haynes riding the elephant

My mom is GREAT at sending pictures of our kids! This was the last picture Haynes asked Lolli to send of his smile. I think everyone had a great time and loved having Lolli on the trip.

Funny Kids!

Haynes is really loving this headband and insists that he is going to wear it to his soccer games for now on. He makes me laugh more every day!

Ella loves her shoes, she wears them all over the house. Funny story...

Ella was waking up in the middle of the night a few weeks ago. I asked her one morning why she was waking up and she said, "Jesus is talking to me" I asked her what Jesus was saying and she said, "He's asking 'Where's your paci?'" What?!?

Yesterday we went to Ella's 2 year appointment. After a finger prick, measurements, and a few shots, Dr. Stacey said, "She's perfect, but needs to get rid of her paci." When we got in the car I told her that we were going to have to get rid of her paci. Ella looked at me and said, "But I love it!" Oh my...

Ella's Cookies for Music School

We took cookies to Ella's Music school class on Monday to celebrate her birthday...since we don't really like to celebrate:-) Lolli had left over dough from her birthday and offered to make them since we had a late night party when we got home from Dallas. They were a hit! Happy Birthday Ella Rose!

Poker Night

The Pro Table

The Intermediate Table

The Beginners lead by Kristin

We had a Poker Party Sunday night for our House Church. Everyone played and we even had 3 girls in the final group. It was a great party and we can't wait to do it again. Maybe next time Brian won't win....