Life with the Hartsock's

Daddy Daughter Dance

2012-02-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

This is getting ready for our big date. Ella is 3...not even really old enough to go to the Daddy Daughter Dance, but we all acknowledge that she looks and acts like she's 5...so we bent the rules:-) Ella has an opinion on EVERYTHING. Like most mom's...our opinions usually differ. It's great exercise for me to learn to let go of things that don't really matter. Ella got to pick her hair, shoes, dress, nail polish and even Brian's tie. We actually had a great time getting ready this afternoon:-)

*Brian walked out of the closet and Ella said, "Daddy why do you always wear a red tie!" I asked her if she wanted to choose Daddy's tie (as Brian cringed) and she said YES! Brian gave her three options...she did not choose the red tie:-)

Brian came to the door to pick Ella up and brought her a beautiful corsage, made by my mom. Port answered the door, just like a big brother should...

Don't they look amazing!

I let Ella borrow one of my purses for her date, she chose a gold one to match. It was packed with her lipgloss and gum. She couldn't hardly wait!!

Pulling Teeth

2012-02-11T12:21:00.000-08:00

This week Brian and Port decided that this was the week his tooth was going to come out. They made a plan for Wednesday night...They tied a string to a football and his tooth and threw it across the room a few times...Brian got some pliers and tried to pull out his tooth...and then just a good old fashion tug...it's still there!

Thursday night he got hit in the mouth at a basketball game and one of the mom's is a dental hygienist. She told him to suck on a Popsicle and then take a big bite out of an apple...didn't work. I finally said no more, let's wait a little bit longer:-)

This is a perfect picture and description of my boys. Port is my sensitive, a little dramatic one:-) He is slightly scared, disappointed, and in some pain. Haynes is the sweetest little brother that just climbed up on the bar and cried because his brother was upset. I completely missed the picture the night before of Haynes climbing up and just hugged Port after the failed attempt. Oh how I love brothers....

This week I asked Port what he would miss most about being at Gingerbread. His response was, "playing with my brother and sister...when we go out after lunch Haynes always comes and finds me and says, 'Brother!'" Oh my...yes I immediately started crying! Praying God will prepare my kids hearts for that season. I am so thankful to be creating sweet relationships between siblings.

Perfect...just like we expected

2012-02-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

"Perfect...just like we expected!"

Today we had our 6 month check up with the urologist. They did an ultrasound of her kidneys and bladder. Then we went and met with her urologist and this is what she said...

"Perfect...just like we expected!"

She doesn't have any more problems with kidneys and that's exactly what we expected. Then she asked me to share again how Halle got her diagnosis. She said, "Every time I look at her chart before I come in I expect to come in and see a completely different baby!" She asked me if I regretted ever walking into that cardiologist's office...

good question

although i hate the diagnosis i am SO thankful for what God has done in our family over the last year. knowledge is power and we get the opportunity to press into God in ways we never dreamed of...we are constantly thankful for the ways God is showing Himself faithful to healing Halle. We are SO thankful for this first of many good reports this month!!

Super Bowl Party

2012-02-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

The Waggoner's threw a Super Bowl party this year! They did an awesome job and even set up the Wii for the kids during the game. I'm not sure who like the old Nintendo games more the kids or the adults!

Ella's new OBSESSION is the new "Loft Sessions" CD from Bethel Church. Saturday she walked around blaring the music as we ran errands, introducing everyone to "Brian." I love that she not only thinks she knows them by name, but she can sing every word to them too! She decided to listen to worship and dance in the kitchen during the Super Bowl...

I love this girl!

Works In Progress

2012-02-05T20:46:00.000-08:00

We have been so excited for our Works-In-Progress performance. We bought a new leotard and boy have we practiced our dances:-)

Ella was not even kind of excited about her hair being up in a bun...I would say her attitude was comparable to my dad's opinion of only two people getting to watch her performance:-)

Sweet Lainey came to watch these little ballerinas

Ella got a new coloring book to keep her entertained during the performance while she was waiting.

This is the only shot of her hair that we got...doesn't she look beautiful!

We got her a little gift of lipstick for doing such a great job!

She LOVED it of course!

Lolli and Champ kindly watched the rest of our crew while we went to the performance. Ella just barely made it in the door before insisting on taking down her hair. She did a beautiful job dancing!

Bike Rides

2012-02-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

The weather has been unusually AMAZING so we decided to try a bike ride to the park. The boys did an AWESOME job...I actually had to make them stop and wait for us! Ella did a great job, but man is she ALL girl! About half way there she said, "Mom! My back is hot!" That's code for "I'm sweating!" Don't worry she pushed through and made it there and back. It's crazy to think family bike rides are in the horizon for us and our little ones!

Grigor Family Night

2012-02-05T20:21:00.000-08:00

Our friday nights have turned into family nights around here. We invited the Grigor's to join us! We told them about the XBOX dance and they joined in....

LOVE watching Brian and Gerod!!

Almost as much as I love watching these kiddos!!

Happy Birthday Emma!

2012-02-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

All the amazing weather this winter so we headed to the park to celebrate sweet Emma Doke. The kids had the best time playing and enjoying yummy cupcakes!

Happy Birthday sweet Emma!

Halle and Champ

2012-02-05T20:15:00.000-08:00

Family Bowling Night

We are thankful for such an amazing family to laugh, cry, and celebrate with. After celebrating my Poppy's life we headed to the bowling alley for some family time. Halle just needed some cuddle time with Champ and he was glad to cuddle too!

Basketball

2012-02-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

It's basketball season around here at the Hartsock house!

Thursday nights include dance class, 2 basketball practice and dinner around 8:30.

Love this season of our life!

Halle is the best cheerleader around!

Port's playing Junior Jammers this year with an AWESOME coach!

We love watching these boys improve every week!

Halle Update

2012-02-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

Halle Beth

She's almost 1!! I can't even wrap my mind around that yet!!

Just wanted to give a little update...

Halle is no longer on ANY medication. Praise Jesus!

We are completely healed from larngomalacia, thank you Jesus!

Halle has been sleeping dramatically better, both at night and for naps.

She is truly the easiest most joyful baby you could meet!

She is talking all the time now, the kids even whined to get her to be quiet during their movie night!

She likes to say DaDa and Buba...no Mama yet:-)

She's quite the copy cat, which we are all LOVING!

We have started meeting with a physical therapist named, Mr. Bob. We have some amazing friends that recommended him to us after doing a little research. We have been meeting with him for about 1 month now and are seeing DRAMATIC difference in Halle's strength. She's sitting up, her tummy is much more tone, she is much more active and moving around more...getting closer to crawling every day! I've taken Haynes to meet Mr. Bob and the the other kids are anxious to come meet him and get their assignment on how to help Halle.

Sooner Start came to do their monthly evaluation and were AMAZED at how much progress Halle has made lately!

We are getting ready to start a month of more appointments and believing for more good reports.

Library Trip

2012-02-03T21:37:00.000-08:00

All my kids took a trip to the library, so Halle and I decided to join them!

This is Ella's class dancing during story time.

Haynes and Beau came and joined us for story time too!

Love You Most

2012-02-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago my Poppy went to be with Jesus. Through this process I have realized how thankful I am for the true patriarch my grandfather was to my family. He truly "loved the Lord with all his heart, soul, and mind." I'm so thankful that my kids LOVED their Poppy and have sweet memories with him. While we will continue to miss him so much, we are truly celebrating that He is with home with Jesus!

Little helper

2012-02-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

The grocery store is really one of my kids favorite places to go...I just LOVE it! They love visiting their Uncle Tom especially since Poppy isn't there anymore. They love checking the floral department with my mom. They love running to my dad's office to watch cartoons, spy on me through the monitor, and get blue juice and candy. They also LOVE helping me check out....

Ella's hair

2012-02-03T21:21:00.000-08:00

We were so concerned that her hair wouldn't stay for the wedding, but it lasted at least 2 days!

Great job Allison!

The REAL after Party...

2012-02-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

When we got home we had a house full of people all ready for bed....

Brian decided to bring out the XBOX for some dancing.

We stayed up ALL night dancing and laughing!!

I only wish I could put the videos of this on here:-)

After Party

2012-02-03T21:17:00.000-08:00

After the wedding we decided since kids were taken care of to go out with friends!

I think all these pictures are so good!

Such a fun night with friends!

David and Shannon's Wedding

2012-02-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

Allison came to help me with Ella's hair for the wedding. A little puppy chow and Tinkerbell movie were the perfect trick. Thanks Al!

The only picture I got from the night of the sweet couple leaving!

I'm sure I have more picture somewhere, but this is the only one I can find. The kids did a GREAT job! They walked down the isle with their bells ringing loudly and then Ella burst out in the best laugh ever:-) It was truly like the Holy Spirit entered the sanctuary and released JOY! The boys looked so handsome and just look at my sweet girls.

Rehearsal for the Burget Wedding

2012-02-03T21:07:00.000-08:00

This was the rehearsal for the wedding!

The kids LOVED their bells, but my boys were confused why they didn't get to carry the actual rings. We had Brian and Alex sending the kids and Brooke and I catching them...

I LOVE Ella's giggly face!

Bridal Luncheon

2012-02-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

Ella was so excited to go to the Bridal luncheon. On our way we were talking about what we would do, eat, etc. Ella asked if she could have mac & cheese, which was totally random. I told her probably not and prepped her for what she would probably get. When we got there Shannon's sweet mom had got her a kids menu....Ella was THRILLED!

Ella with the beautiful BRIDE!

Nails with Girls

2012-02-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

Ella was the flower girl for David and Shannon's wedding. We rushed out of dance class to meet with the girls...Ella couldn't wait!

Waiting for our toes to dry

We loved getting a little girl time before the BIG DAY!

Thanks for including us in such a fun day!!

"Best Night of the Year"

2012-02-03T20:56:00.000-08:00

We got to take some friends to the Thunder game right after New Year's. We joked that it was the "Best Night of the Year" but it was a great night!

We always love time with the Lebeau's!

OU Basketball

2012-02-03T20:53:00.000-08:00

BASKETBALL...

my boys LOVE basketball right now

I think the boys loving basketball for Brian is equivalent to Ella loving dance for me

This is one of the OU games we made it to...

Legos in OKC

2012-02-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

JuJu told us about a fun exhibit in OKC with Legos.

We had a free morning and headed that way!

When we got there we ran into lots of friends...fun surprise!

Haynes loved the Thunder exhibit

Port loved making his own creation

Day of Fun!

2012-02-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

Since Port had a fun day planned, I had to find a way to make Haynes and Ella's day seem comparable:-) They've been asking to go to JumpZone for months so I surprised them and headed that way.

Halle loved it!

She hasn't been there since she was a few days old. We let her cry it out there because she had her days and nights confused and the loud fans made it bearable for everyone else:-)

These two can be best of friends and worst of enemies all within the same minute! I have to admit they did a GREAT job playing together, especially since there wasn't any other options:-) We had a great day together and they definitely look forward to their day with Daddy!

Port's Day at the Brick Plant

2012-02-03T20:36:00.000-08:00

Brian should probably write this post, but I will have to make do....

Brian had told Port that he would take him to the plant with him one day over Christmas break, Port couldn't hardly wait! He got to bring his new 3DS to play with during times that Brian couldn't entertain:-)

He got to go out on the yard and climb on all the trucks!

Spend the day with Grandad and tour the plant

Check out the fire brick!

His cousins even came down to meet them for lunch. They invited him to come back home with them, but he chose to stay with Daddy. I would say the day was a complete success!

LOVE THESE TWO...

2012-02-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

Our kids REALLY love to cuddle with us! We actually had to have a family conversation about staying in YOUR bed:-) Brian lead the discussion and while he was talking I was thinking, "they are still going to sneak into our bed!" In the next instant Haynes asked, "can we still sneak into your bed!"

I love that kid!!

These two cuddle bugs melt my heart...I'm so thankful for cuddle bugs:-)

Movie Night

2012-02-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

Lolli had these cute sleeping bags made for their Christmas gifts. We had a movie night and everyone grabbed their sleeping bag for our family night!

Christmas Eve....

2012-02-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

Norman Community had their very own Christmas Eve service with the kids acting out the Christmas story. Lolli and Champ came to watch...this is with their two angels!

The kids did a great job. The boys were shepherds and did an awesome job on their speaking part. (you can kinda see the BIG shepherd Brian keeping up with the little ones)

Ella loved her part but did face the back while saying, "GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST!"

*Our favorite part might have been when Beau, the star, came down the isle and was greeted by Shepherd Haynes with a high 5!

Next to Poppy's house...so thankful for these memories!

Ella and Izzy made the punch and didn't mind tasting it along the way either!

Next to Lolli and Champs for Christmas PJ's!

Granma did a great job...look they all fit!!

Final phase of the night is back at our house to put things together. We didn't have much work to do this year, so we decided to play the Xbox instead...

yes EVERYONE enjoyed a little dancing!

Christmas Cookies

2012-01-27T20:34:00.000-08:00

Since we did the Hartsock Christmas early this year, so on Christmas eve we made sugar cookies.

Some liked LOTS of icing...

some were VERY serious...

others REALLY liked sprinkles!

The Golden Ticket

2012-01-27T20:29:00.000-08:00

I give all credit to my sweet friend Shar for this idea, but I absolutely LOVE it!

I made some "Golden Tickets"and we coordinated our secret night with the Billingsley's. We hid them under the kids pillows before they went to bed. We let them lay in there for about 10 minutes before Brian and I came in and told them to check their beds for a golden ticket!

They were SO excited! Especially once we told them they were waiting for the "Nala Express"....the Billingsley's car:-)

Everyone was in their christmas jammies and ready to go!

Mr. Mike punched tickets in a funny accent...the next day Ella asked,

"That was Abbey's dad last night right?!?"

We hopped in the car and went to look at Christmas lights in the neighborhood. The kids were all crammed in the back having a blast!

We decided to make a snack stop at Lolli's...she never fails us!

All the kids cheered as we turned onto their street:-)

We had the best night and can't wait for next year!

This was our new tradition we added this year:-)

Haynes

2012-01-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

When we left the North Pole there was a stream of water that Port jumped over. Haynes really wanted to do the same, but I kept warning him that I didn't think he would clear it. Well...I'm sure your not surprised but he tried anyway!

He cleared the water, but lost his balance when he landed and fell on his bottom. Then he JUMPED up and ran after Port and me trying to wipe the mud on us! We laughed so hard, along with all the customers coming out of the North Pole.

*I would have expected him to cry that he fell in the water, but he found a way to make the best of the situation...love that about my little man!

Next stop... Benton Christmas Party!

2012-01-15T15:22:00.000-08:00

Our final stop for the night was the Bentons!

They threw a fun Christmas party for all our friends!

This is a shot of all the boys, some how I didn't manage to get the girls picture!

Fun night with friends!

Happy Birthday Braxton & Sutton!

2012-01-15T15:18:00.000-08:00

Braxton and Sutton had a great ice skating party this year. We let the girls have a night with Lolli and Champ while we took the boys to the party. Haynes didn't really listen well when we were getting ready and forgot socks...Dad to the rescue! Brian sacrificed his socks to Haynes...what an AWESOME daddy!

Port practiced with the cones until he got confident on the ice!

Great job Port!

Singing Happy Birthday to the Birthday BoYs!!

*They had the cutest cookie cake that looked like a football field and wore their new jerseys. Their buddy Landry came too...JuJu told Haynes who he was and I wish I would have taken a picture of his face...it looked like the little boy in Home Alone:-)

These are some SILLY

Mighty Men of God!

After skating the big boys headed back to Jake and Kourtney's for a slumber party. Port's never actually stayed over night, but we got a text from Jake saying he did GREAT!

The North Pole

2012-01-15T15:05:00.000-08:00

We headed to the North Pole one afternoon so we could get our pictures taken with Santa. This is one of our favorite traditions. The Santa tells the REAL Christmas story, they take AMAZING pictures, and they have a fun train ride too!

We thought our timing was perfect, but we were completely wrong! We got our name on the waiting list and had to wait for 1.5 hours!! We ran and got some ice cream after exploring the store for as long as possible and we made it back perfectly timed!

I forgot to upload the sweet picture of my kids, but it was a fun afternoon together!

Gingerbread Christmas Parties

2012-01-15T14:59:00.000-08:00

That's right...three Christmas parties at the same time! I guess I should get used to it and add one more! I got to see Ella's class meet Santa, but Ella was more interested in loving on Halle...she almost missed her turn:-)

I got to sing carols with Haynes class and open his stocking. He loved Halle joining his friends for singing time with the jingle bells!

I got to see Port eat some treats and open his stocking too!

I just love these kids so much!!!

Hartsock Christmas

2012-01-11T15:31:00.000-08:00

We are just missing sweet Harper!!

Halle's wearing my old nightgown!

These girls LOVED playing with their new dolls!

These two were exhausted from our FULL weekend!

I just love watching Ella and Bitty together.

Oh if they lived closer....they would be absolutely inseparable!

We love Hartsock christmas!

Liddell Christmas

2012-01-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

This year for the Liddell Christmas we decided to meet early and have church together. We all worshiped and shared how faithful God has been over the last year...it was AMAZING!

Look at all these cousins worshipping together!

Santa came by and told the story of Jesus birth

The kids had the best time playing together, but one of my favorite things was the gift from Mimi and Papa. Nancy had t-shirts made for all the kids that say...

World Changers

We have an army of World Changers in the Liddell family!

Christmas Traditions

2012-01-11T14:38:00.000-08:00

We have TONS of traditions around here...not that anyone is surprised! I am constantly trying to find new ways to include family time and focusing our attention on Jesus during a busy season. I got this fun advent wreath that we LOVED using this year. Every night we would take time to read, sing worship, and pray together...but the best part was blowing out the candles of course:-)

Christmas gifts

2012-01-11T14:35:00.000-08:00

One of our dear friends, Virginia, came in town from Austin. She bought the kids some fantastic Christmas gifts. Haynes got this little bug and a maze for him to play with. Brian made it a competition, of course, to see who's door the bug would try to get out...

It made for an AWESOME night of laughter!!!

LOVE IT!!!

Happy 60th Birthday JuJu!

2012-01-11T14:33:00.000-08:00

My mom made this entire jar full of turtles for Judi for her 60th birthday!!

We threw a surprise party for JuJu's birthday this year. We told her we were going to go to dinner, just adults, and then awkwardly got her to the Train Depot. I managed to not take a single picture, but we had some friends take pictures instead. Hopefully we will get the pictures soon and I'll post those!

The best part of the party was the sweet video of all the cousins telling JuJu why they loved her!

Happy Birthday Poppy!

2011-12-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

This year for my Poppy's birthday my dad decided instead of a big party we would have every family sign up to take Poppy out to breakfast, lunch or dinner. That would give him some more individual quality time with each of our families and would spread his birthday out over a week.

I picked Poppy up and took him to pick up Port from school. Then he decided to eat at Ihop...my kids were thrilled! My mom came and met us for lunch too. Poppy "got" to sit by Haynes and Port which allowed him to be kicked, pushed, wiped syrup on, and so much more:-)

We had a great lunch and will have to do it again soon!

Willy Wonka

2011-12-28T20:03:00.000-08:00

Kooper was in the production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Brian and I went on Saturday night to watch him for our date night.

The next day I took the kids to see him with their cousins. They had the best time watching their cousin, it was so fun!

Julie leaned over and asked Haynes if he was going to do this "acting." Haynes goes "NO!" and then looked at me and said, "You aren't going to sign me up for this?!?"

*All that being said...my kids haven't stopped singing and dancing to the oompa-loompa song:-)

Gymnastics Christmas Performance

2011-12-28T19:57:00.000-08:00

Ella was so excited about her new sparkly leotard!

She did a great job! We got a lot of video of their performance, but not many pictures....

Here's the photo of Haynes:-)

They both did a great job and loved all the attention and affection they got from our family!

Christmas Parade

2011-12-28T14:57:00.000-08:00

This year the Christmas Parade had BEAUTIFUL weather! We met some friends at the parade and actually made it for the whole thing!

Halle had a great time too! I realized that morning that Halle didn't have any hats...that's been taken care of now:-)

Fun Fridays!

2011-12-28T14:53:00.000-08:00

This week was maybe one of my favorite fun fridays! We made the cutest snow globes...but I forgot to take pictures:-) Then Allison made little wreaths with Haynes because he was SO insistent!

The kids had the best time playing and the boys even entertained the girls by playing dress up together:-)

Owie LOVED some Halle time too!

Arthur's Christmas

2011-12-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

Port had to have some warts removed, which was suppose to be pretty traumatic. Thankfully the dermatologist we met with put "beetle juice" on his spots and they are slowly disappearing...almost pain free! I'd promised that I had some surprises for him that day, because I thought they were going to burn them off individually so that's how we go to the movies. I called Angie and they brought their family to meet us. We were the only people in the theater, so the adults sat in one row and all the kids sat behind us!

The movie was absolutely adorable and I recommend it to everyone...really sweet message! At one point Arthur says, "Santa is the best!" Port LOUDLY says, "No he's not! Jesus is the best!" All the rest of the kids agree and add in...God too:-)

Ella didn't make it through the whole movie...if you can't tell. Brian carried her out and I don't think she woke up once!

The Nutcracker

2011-12-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

We decided that Ella was old enough to go see the Nutcracker. When I was a little girl, every year my mom would take me to see the Nutcracker with my cousins. We would get dressed up and go eat somewhere fancy before the ballet. This year OU's ballet had some of my old dancer's in the performance so we thought that would be the perfect show.

My mom came with us too!

Emma, Millie, and Ella

These three were SO excited!

We took them to dinner at Victoria's and then headed to Rupel Jones Theater.

We weren't sure how long they would last, but they actually made it through the whole performance. We did have a few treats to help:-) The girls absolutely LOVED it! On our way to drop everyone off the girls just giggled and laughed in the back seat...it was amazing!

Ella hasn't stopped talking about "the Crack" as she refers to it!!

Christmas Shopping in Dallas

2011-12-27T14:30:00.000-08:00

Brian and I headed to Dallas Friday afternoon to do all of our Christmas shopping. We left all of our kids with my parents and came back Sunday morning. This is one of my favorite pictures my mom sent us! My kids enjoyed a weekend of crafts, cooking, and being loved on by Lolli and Champ.

Brian got to fit in a quick meeting with David Watson, and I finished all of our Christmas shopping!

I love getting away with my husband!!

Friend of the Week

2011-12-27T14:27:00.000-08:00

Port kept a secret for TWO weeks! I was dropping him off at school on Monday and he said, "Mom will you walk me in? I'm "friend of the week" this week!" He had known since before Thanksgiving and decided to keep it a secret since I like secrets so much:-) Friday was the big day, so I took him to breakfast to celebrate.

*Friend of the week means that on Friday all the kids in the Kindie class draw a picture of Port and write down what they like about him. At the end of the day Port gets to stand in the front of the class while his teacher reads everything everyone wrote about him. For my little guy, who LOVES words of affirmation, it was truly his dream come true!

These two boys are by far my favorite!

I think Dax was as excited as Port was for his big day!

(Isn't that just like a best friend)

Here are some of the things kids said about Port:

-He plays fair

-He loves his family

-He has pretty eyes

-He is good at helping the teachers

-He is cute (a few of these...)

Mr & Mrs Burget!!!

2011-12-27T14:02:00.000-08:00

We had a shower to celebrate one of our favorite couples...

The Burgets!!

It was so fun celebrating them at their favorite time of year!

This was, by far, their favorite shower gift!

Only a few more days!!!

Andy Allegator

2011-12-27T13:59:00.000-08:00

While Jake and Kourtney were in Ghana visiting Harper, we all went to Andy Allegator's to play while Kooper was in drama practice. The kids had the BEST time as always!

Thanks for a fun night Grandad and JuJu!

Christmas Pajamas

2011-12-27T13:56:00.000-08:00

This year we did our December 1st celebration a little early because we were throwing a shower. The kids were just fine with it! We had our traditional breakfast for dinner and all the kids did the dishes! Then on to pj's and the Polar Express! We had to pause the movie so we could get a little help decorating the tree. It was a great family night and one of my favorite traditions!

World Champions...

2011-12-27T13:49:00.000-08:00

When we pulled out our christmas decorations my boys were thrilled to find this little game. Brian decided to start a "World Championship" game with them. Between the three of them they had to catch the ball without dropping it 25x's. They worked on it for about 30 minutes and I wasn't sure they would get it, but they did!! They were so thrilled to be the "WORLD CHAMPIONS!"

Then Brian announced that the Russians called and beat their record, so they had to try to beat the record again...this went on for DAYS! So if my boys tell you they are "World Champions" then this is what they are referring to:-)

Meeting Anniston Joy

2011-12-27T13:41:00.000-08:00

Ella and Anniston

Haynes and Anniston

Port and Anniston

*Our kids couldn't wait to meet sweet Anniston, but between Thanksgiving and family time it took a few days! They were beyond thrilled when we surprised them with a drive by...we were in and out quick so the "hartsock tornado" didn't do too much damage:-)

Yuck!

2011-12-26T22:01:00.002-08:00

My kids are pretty convinced that Halle's baby food is gross! Haynes made the mistake of saying "Yuck!" to the baby food one night while we were at Johnnies. Most of the meal, Brian tried to sneak a bite into his mouth...

Port agreed to try it and decided it was actually pretty good.

Her baby food is actually a combination of fruit and vegetables.

Somehow we finally got a bite into Haynes mouth and he gagged so badly we thought he was going to throw up ALL over the table. He eventually spit it on the table while saying, "that's pretty good!" We laughed so hard, even the employees were laughing with us! This sweet kid has the highest gag reflex I've ever seen...oh how he makes us laugh!

Boys Day/Girls Day

2011-12-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

Brian took the boys to the last OU football game. I dressed them in all their winter wear and Brian thought I was trying to make them look crazy...until they came home and said they were dressed perfect! My boys LOVE dates with their daddy!

While the boys were gone, we decided to have our first "girls play date." Allison brought Millie and Annie over to play while we got to hang out. It was one of my favorite play dates:-)

Ella came down saying, "We are taking a shower!" Allison and I RAN upstairs to find the girls playing in the shower...without the water:-) I sure do love these mighty women of God!!

Hot Tub!

2011-12-26T21:55:00.000-08:00

Brian surprised the kids with some hot tub time! We knew the boys would love it, but Ella pretty much takes a cold bath because she doesn't like hot water:-)

It took a little bit, but we all enjoyed a little family time in the hot tub!

2011-12-26T21:51:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving night we open Christmas pj's at my parents house.

Check out these cute kids!

Halle Beth-

9 months

Ella Rose-

3 years

Haynes Cole-

4 1/2 years

*He insisted on putting the star on the top of the tree!

Port Robert-

6 years

*He LOVES these pj's:-)

Turkey Trott

2011-12-26T21:43:00.000-08:00

We had amazing weather for Thanksgiving this year. All the Hartsock's met for a little "Turkey Trott" before lunch. We decided we can't wait until we live next door and can just walk out our front door to join in on the race!

Preslee let Ella borrow her bike...

Ella was thrilled!!

These are the winners...

Braxton-1st

Sutton-2nd

Port-3rd

Preslee-5th

Stinky Feet!

2011-12-26T21:38:00.000-08:00

Haynes came home from JuJu's and we looked in his shoes and they were filled with black! It was so gross Brian threw Haynes in the bath immediately! We were all laughing about how gross his feet were and so it turned into a family dare...

We played farkle and Port and I lost! We had to stick our nose in the shoes and smell them. I went first and pretended to pass out:-) Everyone followed...

Needless to say, we have retired the green shoes, much to Haynes disappointment:-)

Grandad and JuJu's

2011-12-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

Grandad had all the kids captivated by reading books to them!

These girls are about 2 weeks apart...

I can only imagine that they will love each other as much as Ella and Bitty do!

JuJu watched my kids while I was at the hospital all day with the Bauers. I called to check on them and Blake answered the phone. He said he'd laid down Jade, Ella, and Elizabeth in the same bed for a nap...surprisingly they all slept!

We love time with family!

Anniston Joy

2011-12-26T21:28:00.000-08:00

The day before Thanksgiving sweet Aniston Joy was born!

She is such a fulfillment of God's promises that He has spoken over her.

She's absolutely beautiful!

Sweet Parents

Kristin and Anniston

We LOVE this little girl so much already!

Halle Beth

2011-12-26T21:24:00.000-08:00

We just LOVE this sweet girl more every day!

My mom sent this to me after she gave Halle a bath.

Halle is doing GREAT!

She is one of the happiest babies you will ever meet. She is getting STRONGER every single day. She is great at using her hands and can almost sit on her own. Her little legs are so strong that she LOVES to rock her carrier anytime we sit her down. She says "Hi!"

She is eating and sleeping well...Praise God!

Thanksgiving at Gingerbread

2011-12-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

All three of my kiddos had their Thanksgiving parties on the same day and the same time! (Looking back I should have had some help with attending all these parties!)

Check out theses two best friends, sucking on their shirts together?!?

Port was so proud and saved me a plate so I could eat with him!

Ella is so quiet and sweet in her class...

I'm just waiting for her silly personality to show up a little more:-)

*I did hear from the Gingerbread staff that no one has ever had 3 kids in Gingerbread at one time:-)

Happy Birthday Lainey!

2011-12-26T21:05:00.000-08:00

Lainey and Esperanza had a fun skating birthday party! Brian got there a little late and couldn't understand why parents weren't skating...so he grabbed some skates!

I LOVE that about my husband!!

Ella might be 3, but she LOVES playing with the big girls. Millie is one of her best friends and "Samora" is another of her favorites! (Port can't stand it when she calls Samara...Samora)

Happy Birthday sweet girls!

One of my favorite moments...maybe of the month...

Bryan Ray made a fun music mix for the party, they had the fun lights on, and Ella just couldn't understand why people weren't dancing. She kicked off her skates and strutted out to the middle of the skating rink and danced the rest of the night.

I LOVE HER:-)

Josh and Jenny...the best!

2011-12-08T20:53:00.001-08:00

Uncle Josh...

this isn't his favorite thing to do but anything for Halle!

With no furniture in my parents living room, it made for a perfect basketball court!

Hang with my kids for very long and you will have to play games!

Ella LOVES Jenny!

Jenny is always so kind to play with Ella.

Next up a stop in the hot tub!

Let the bubble fight begin!

Thanksgiving Desserts

2011-12-08T20:43:00.001-08:00

My family always has a dessert contest at Thanksgiving. Saturday afternoon we made 4 different desserts, because EVERYONE had to participate! It was actually SO fun, but I did spend a LOT of time in the kitchen that day. These are Haynes Turkey Cookies...we found them on Pinterest and he couldn't wait to make them. I love this shot of his handwriting next to it!

Port chose to make a cherry pie...pretty awesome crust huh?!?

Ella made Strawberry Pie Cookies that I didn't manage to get a picture of...oops!

They were super cute too!

My kids love a competition and had no problem begging for a few votes. They loved getting medals and a trophy!

This guy was so excited this picture doesn't even do it justice. He ate the other turkey, so no one actually even tried his dessert. He gave mine to Lolli and told her he made it:-)

I LOVE this kid!

Camp 24/7...

2011-12-08T20:38:00.001-08:00

This summer our church had Camp 24/7 for the older kids. This fall they did a one day camp for the younger ones. They did worship, danced, art, and talked about their identity as a prince and princess. Annamarie did an amazing job! My kids were SO excited to go until we got there:-) I eventually snuck out the back and they did great!

This was when I picked them up! We love these mighty world changers that God is raising up in our city!

Christmas Lights

2011-12-07T21:45:00.001-08:00

The boys were SO excited to help Brian with the Christmas lights this year. We decided to do a red...white...white pattern. Brian told the boys the pattern and then let them get to work. They were so EXCITED that they got all the bulbs into the right order. Later that afternoon we had some other boys, Kevin and Brian, help actually get them on the house. Our lights look pretty amazing boys!

Just a few hours before...

2011-12-07T21:40:00.001-08:00

We've been having "Fun Friday" with the Ray kiddos and it has been SO fun! I got to watch all the cute kiddos and just decided to embrace the craziness of 6 kids! We made cookies, ate lunch and played hard. My mom showed up with the flowers for katelin and kevin's party and this is what the house looked like... Amazingly enough...

I got ALL six kids to take a nap and everything got done!

Katelin & Kevin....are ENGAGED!!

2011-12-07T21:35:00.001-08:00

We got to throw a fun surprise engagement party for two of our favorites....

Katelin & Kevin!

Kevin did a great job keeping all sorts of secrets from Katelin...even though she would ask him point blank..."are you proposing!?!"

the happy couple

I'm not sure who enjoyed the party more...Katelin or Ella. All of Katelin's Theta friends came to celebrate and Ella fell in love! I was constantly saying, "Girls...you can tell her no!" At one point Ella ran into the living room with the veil from her Halloween costume and insisted that Katelin wear it! Thanks for loving Ella so well Katelin!

Happy Birthday Jenny!

2011-11-26T05:04:00.001-08:00

God really created the perfect partner for my bother. We just absolutely love Jenny. She is AMAZING with our kids. As you can tell she doesn't even mind when they hijack her birthday!

Happy Birthday Jenny!

Christmas Lights

2011-11-23T09:58:00.001-08:00

We LoVe Christmas lights around the Hartsock house. Brian and I used part of our date night to go get the lights. There are so many options now that LED lights are so popular. This is Brian standing in Walmart with the lights he just broke!
We went with the old fashioned lights this year:-)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Rockin Mini Van

2011-11-23T09:54:00.001-08:00

So my car had to go to the shop for a week in El Reno...long story. They gave me a mini can to drive while it was in the shop. We were super thankful to have a car that everyone could legally fit in, but we had a lot of fun too!

I drove Dax, crew, and my kids to their house from JuJu's. They all decided to lay in the floorboard for the block ride:-). Thankfully my car is back and working perfectly!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Halle's new chair

2011-11-23T09:50:00.001-08:00

Ellen from Sooner Start came a few weeks ago and brought Halle a chair similar to this. It's perfect for her to sit up and use her hands to play with things. We quickly ordered her this cute pink one! The kids just LOVE her in this...as you can see!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2 Ring Bearers and A Flower Girl

2011-11-22T21:57:00.001-08:00

One of our favorite couples, Shannon and David, are getting married in JANUARY! They came to ask Port, Haynes and Ella to be in their wedding. I have to brag that David and Shannon LOVE my kids so well. David is super intentional with my boys and loving them well. Shannon is SO fun, they can't wait for her to be their teacher and Ella just absolutely ADORES her!

They had them sit and cover their eyes and wait for a surprise.

My kids don't really like surprises much...

just kidding!

The boys got new nerf dart guns...HUGE HIT!

A new bop it...HUGE HIT!

Ella got a barbie and everything she could have imagined!

The next morning I awake around 6:00 am to BopIt...thanks guys!

Haynes won't part from his gun, so I've been hit by a few bullets while driving lately!

We can't wait to celebrate this amazing marriage of two dynamic people! We feel so honored that you would include our crazy kids in your special day!

Sisters...

2011-11-22T21:54:00.001-08:00

Ella can't hardly wait for Halle to be big enough to play with. She has finally resolved that when the boys refuse to let her play that she can play with Halle. She likes to read her books, build a tent of blankets over her when she's on her mat, and her favorite accessorize her with ALL of her bows!

I can't wait to see what amazing sisters these girls are going to be...

FuN FrIdAy!!!

2011-11-22T21:49:00.001-08:00

In the fun of raising kiddos you sometimes don't cross paths with the people you love the most...so you have to be intentional about your time! Allison and I have decided to do FUN FRIDAYS with the kids. Selfishly we get to hang out and the kids get to do a fun project....

Week 1

Mayflower Boats filled with acorns

*those are the older neighbor boys that thought they were too cool to pick acorns until they realized it was cool:-)

Our littles with their cute boats...Allison came up with this adorable project, I'm sure your not surprised. I should follow this with a picture of Ella's boat a few days later. She decided to decorate it with all of her hair bows:-)

Can't wait for more FUN FRIDAYS with Al!

FBC Gymnastics

2011-11-21T08:33:00.001-08:00

Brian and his mom have been trying to get me to take Haynes to gymnastics all year. I love the idea but Bart Conner's schedule just wasn't really working with mine. We stopped to play at the FBC park one Friday afternoon. Everyone had to go to the bathroom so we ran to the FLC and Haynes spotted the gymnastic equipment...I TOTALLY forgot they did gymnastics there and I used to take there as a kid! We called and got in the next week:-)

When we walked in it was a class of ALL girls...Haynes stood in the hallway:-) Ella jumped right in and Haynes slowly warmed up as Miss Carol gently brought him into the class.

They had the best time and I laugh out loud during their class. Haynes is so coordinated! He just can't hardly stand doing the easy stuff. Ella LOVES it but isn't quite as coordinated:-) They have a performance in December so it should be entertaining to say the least!

Parent Watch Week

2011-11-20T20:27:00.001-08:00

Ella's dance class doesn't allow parents to watch each week. I get to sit in the waiting area with other parents waiting for Ella. Twice a year they let the parents come watch class and we were SO excited to see our little dancer.

*Ella's face is so chapped from being at school. She plays hard all day and her sweet face is SO chapped on Tuesdays/Thursdays when she gets home.

This is the girls "Dancing in the Dark." They are so cute...they are still so little that they just dance in little clumps together:-)

This is one of Ella's favorite parts that she tells me about....

MR. T

*Look at how pointed those cute toes are:-)

She is probably one of the youngest kids in the class, so we were pretty impressed with her attention span. She did get a little silly...it's funny to see how nerves come out in a 3 year old!

Getting ready to Bunny Hop across the floor

Millie and Ella

Sweet friends taking dance together!

Sharks Party!

2011-11-20T20:20:00.001-08:00

We had a little pizza party at Mazzio's to celebrate our season. We have seen our boys improve DRAMATICALLY this season. The funny thing is that we consider our boys to be pretty athletic and competitive, but we actually went an entire season without a WIN! We will be the most improved team next year:-)

The boys couldn't care less...they love being together!

This is my PROUD & STRONG PORT!

Halloween

2011-11-16T14:18:00.001-08:00

Every Halloween we start at JuJu's house with most of our cousins!

Halle was a ballerina...but didn't get her picture taken:-)

Then we trick-or-treat the nighborhood....

This year our sweet friends Jon & Liz joined us....I love that they decided to dress up too! Nice CREAPY COW Liz!

Next we headed to my parents with some friends. The kids had a great time and so did we since I obviously forgot to take any pictures!!!

Carving Pumpkins

2011-11-16T14:13:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite things is carving pumpkins every year...I'm not sure if Brian would agree completely:-) Port decided to try and throw pumpkin guts on him...it was AWESOME!

Halle joined in the fun by watching from the high chair...

Haynes was the creative mind and Brian made it happen...

I love watching Brian with our kids!

Lolli helping Ella make a cat...

Ella wasn't completely convinced they had made a cat:-)

Port was the most creative...

Champ would let Port draw it out and he would carve.

There was a great conversation about trying to make ears for the pumpkin:-)

Happy Birthday Preslee!

2011-11-16T14:08:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Preslee with face painting (Kooper was the artist), hair colored spray, and tie dye t-shirts! Ella was THRILLED to be a tiger:-)

Port LOVED the blue hair

Haynes was a tiger too!

We love this precious girl! She is going to influence the kingdom in amazing ways. We love the influence she will have on our girls as well. We love you Preslee Love!!

Happy 5th Birthday!

Trails Carnival

2011-11-16T14:03:00.001-08:00

Ella decided to wear the beautiful bride costume my Granma made her:-)

Halle enjoyed staying warm in her carrier

They had amazing bounce toys that my kids LOVED

Ella checked out a few of the animals they had to offer.

We had a great evening running into friends and family.

Gingerbread Halloween Parties

2011-11-16T13:54:00.001-08:00

Haynes Cole...

our adorable race car driver

Ella Rose...

She changed costumes for everything we went to:-)

Today she was a beautiful princess!

Port Robert...

our amazing astronaut

Port and some of his sweet buddies

Port got to do the flap...how appropriate:-)

Emily and I couldn't stop laughing because he was SO serious!!

He even gave me the eye, "MOM!"

Ella and Haynes loved joining with the kindies on their reading time

My scary monster!

Cutest kid!

Oh Ella....

2011-11-16T13:52:00.001-08:00

So we were taking pictures later that afternoon. Port comes downstairs and says, "uh...mom" He shows me a small mark on his forehead and then says you should go upstairs...I walk upstairs to find Ella sitting in a chair and Haynes drawing "make-up" on her face!

My first text was to Shannon..."How well can you photo shop this?!?"

We wil see:-)

Date Night to Remember

2011-11-16T13:39:00.001-08:00

So after visiting the tailgate we ran home and dropped off our kids with two of the best sitters, Megan and Lauren. We headed back to the game and noticed the weather looked a little questionable. We ran into our seats as they say..."There will be a 30 minute delay of game." Brian and I quickly assess that it will be a much longer delay than 30 minutes, so we head to a movie!!!

On the way Brian says "Don't let me forget to get gas when we get out of the movie"

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

So we got out of the movie and I say, "Don't forget we need gas!" As our car completely dies in the parking lot! I obviously start laughing hysterically as we push our car back into it's spot and start walking to a gas station...I've only had a few experiences of doing this when I was in high school:-)

We get to a gas station and they give us a paper funnel and a gallon of water. We dump the water out and buy a gallon of gas. As we are walking back I remind Brian about when Marci and I tried this exact thing in high school and it didn't work at all....

Paper funnel is WORTHLESS in this situation. We experienced a supernatural miracle because Brian just decides to check the back of the car for a funnel...since I usually carry a spare in my car?!?

There actually was a plastic funnel in the back of my car!!!

Oh it was such a fun and memorable date night with my sweet husband!

I love laughing together:-)

Haynes Cole

2011-11-16T13:33:00.001-08:00

Haynes was quite the soccer all-star this year! One game he scored 7 goals in the first quarter!!! Some seasons things just click and this was his season:-)

Thanks Coach Jade! We had a great season!!

Homecoming Weekend

2011-11-16T13:28:00.001-08:00

This year for Homecoming weekend it was OU Pom Reunion. I wasn't able to make it to most of the events, but we made sure we stopped by their tailgate. Ella got to get an OU Pom t-shirt and take pictures with the girls. She was beyond thrilled with her experience...maybe next time we will do pre-game together:-)

The boys weren't too impressed with the OU Poms, but they did LOVE the tailgate!

Brian and I would just assume they didn't care too much about the pom girls anyway:-)

The real celebrity of the afternoon was the Chick-fil-a cow!

The kids got a card from Dr. Pepper since they took a picture with the National Championship Trophy. Haynes would try and reimburse it for a Dr. Pepper about 10x's...we even had to warn the babysitters that night:-)

Liddell Football Tradition Continues

2011-11-16T13:23:00.001-08:00

Jake, Jade and Brian set up a football game a few weeks ago. Look at all these kiddos!!!

I think there were so many kids they had to divide into 4 teams. My boys were beyond thrilled to finally get a chance to play some football. It was just as fun watching these daddy's teach their little ones...I LOVE TRADITIONS:-)

This kid LOVES football!

He wore his flags for about three days after the game.

I mean I couldn't love him any more!!

Bonner Buzz-Off!

2011-11-16T13:14:00.001-08:00

These are some mighty men for my boys to look ahead to in life. The oldest Bonner Boys, Asa and Phin, decided to raise money for Backpacks for kids. They raised over $1000 and had a party to SHAVE their heads! It has been so fun to process with their amazing momma about the heart process in this experience.
*That means that 8 kids in Norman will get to bring a backpack of food home every weekend!!

I brought my crew and a few friends to help celebrate. These two boys were thrilled with the treats at the party as well...They are shaking their root beer bottles and trying to drink the foam:-)

Love their creativity!

Phin's amazing hair was long enough to send to "Locks of Love." I got to help tie it up before they cut it off, and must admit I got so teary thinking of some sweet child getting this beautiful hair.

Thanks for letting us be apart of this process!

San Francisco

2011-11-15T20:38:00.001-08:00

Brian surprised me and had extended our trip for the rest of the weekend. We headed to San Francisco for the weekend...it was SO FUN!! I LOVE surprises!!!

First we headed to Fisherman's Warf

These sea lions were AMAZING!

Lunch on the warf with sweet Halle!

After dinner we headed to a fun cupcake place...

awful cupcakes but fun idea:-)

We woke up to the ROAR of the Nike Women's Marathon outside our window....yes those are ALL people running in the marathon!

Our last stop was driving and getting a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge!

I am so thankful for the extravagant ways my sweet husband loves me. I love that he took care of every detail, managed a complete surprise, and so many fun memories!

Redding with Friends...

2011-11-15T20:29:00.001-08:00

Early last year we started throwing around the idea of heading to Redding, CA for a conference at Bethel with some of our dearest friends. Everything magically fell into place that we traveled for a few days with the Bonner's and Billingsley's and Halle Beth. We had the most amazing time for so many reasons!

These three mighty men will get you laughing at any point of the day!

This sweet girl brings JOY everywhere she goes! She was the most amazing baby to sit through 7 sessions and never made a sound. People from all over were coming and telling us how the Lord ministered to their hearts through our sweet Halle. We know God has a high calling on her life, and it's so fun watching her impact people already at 8 months!!

This was our fabulous/can't miss us bright orange mini van. I'm not sure who was more excited about the minivan...Brian or Mike:-)

So many fun stories from this amazing trip...I'll blog those later:-)

Sarah, Abbey, Charlsey

(Emily was probably climbing the sundial bridge at this point)

OU/TEXAS Weekend

2011-10-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

Judi called Saturday morning and said she was going to watch the kids so I could go to the game with Brian, Port and Bob. I haven't been to a game in 6 years! I quickly got showered, schedule written, and everyone ready to go...we leave early for this game:-)

We took Port and let him ride a few rides before the game.

This guy loves his quality time....his cup was quite full by the end of the day! It was so fun sitting with my BIG boy!

We also got to sit next to the Grigor's to my surprise...Brian new:-)

This might be my favorite shot. I loved watching Port take in everything Grandad and Brian had to tell him about the game. He was taking it all in like a big kid.

Port Robert you are getting so big! It was so fun celebrating your first OU/Texas game together! Champ thinks you should have a permanent ticket due to our BIG win!

Happy Birthday Ella!

2011-10-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

Ella is 3...or 5 as she might tell you!

She chose to eat lunch at Johnnies with some family and friends. Her favorite part of the meal was the singing card of course!

Then we headed to the ballerina party at Lolli and Champ's!

Lolli made tutu's for everyone...aren't they adorable!

Here are a few friends that joined us for ice cream!

Then a little dance party for the little girls!

Once everyone when home, she really turned it on:-)

This might be my all time favorite picture. It totally shows her crazy fun personality!

Mostly, her love for Josh and Jenny!

Happy Birthday beautiful girl! We are beyond blessed to call you our daughter. God has amazing plans for you this next year and we are expectant for amazing things!

Happy Birthday Millie!

2011-10-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

Millie had a princess birthday party for special little girls. Everyone got to dress up and come celebrate sweet Millie. Ella absolutely adores sweet Millie, so she couldn't hardly wait!

Millie comes from an amazingly talented family of women, so I can only expect the same from her one day. Her sweet aunt, Maggie, made this amazing cake for her!

All the girls got to make crowns, ice cream sundaes, paint their nails, and eat cake...I dream come true! We, mommies, got to drink some amazing iced coffee and enjoy sweet friends.

Great job Al!

We love you Princess Millie!

New Rainboots

2011-10-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

We pulled out our rainboots and got feet full of blisters.

Lolli to the rescue!

Everyone got a new pair of boots...Haynes are batman:-)

Port got some new cool big kid boots and Ella got a matching jacket with her adorable furry red boots!

Thanks Lolli!

2011-10-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

Brian and I have booked the best babysitters around so that we can go to a few of the home football games. This was the sky one night! Our family just loves looking at the sunsets and usually my kids will say, "Look what God did for me!!" We decided that He was just showing off this night!