Human Mobil

I came in the living room last night to find this sight. Haynes had climbed into Halle's bed and unhooked her mobil. I guess she had been crying and he decided he would make her happy! While all my kids LOVE Halle, I would have to say that Haynes is the most in love with her. He loves that she is tiny (I think because he is always being told how small he is), he really doesn't go about 5 minutes without checking on her and kissing her, and he is always making sure that she has his BB or some stuffed animal. Thank you Jesus for sweet siblings!

Halle for Show and Tell

Haynes got to bring snack and show and tell to Gingerbread this week. He was super excited to bring Halle Beth for his show and tell. In fact when he brought the bag home he wanted to go ahead and put Halle in the sack...I put an end to that quite quickly (even though he did have a point that she was small enough to fit). He was super sweet introducing Halle to all his friends. He described her as:

tiny

sweet

only kiss her feet-because she is sick

Hawee Beff

Port got to bring show and tell the week Halle was born and was super disappointed that his new baby wasn't here in time. We decided to stop in on Port's class so he could introduce his sister to his friends. When we walked in his face lit up like nothing I have seen. He jumped up and quickly introduce his friends to Halle Beth.

Happy Birthday Shannon!

The girls planned a surprise party for Shannon at Sooner Bowling on Sunday night.

Port bowled a strike on his first attempt...with bumpers:-)

Haynes had a blast!

Ella really loved her shoes!

Shannon we absolutely adore you! We pray God's richest blessings over you this next year. May it be the best year yet!!! Happy Happy Birthday Sha Sha!

Week with Daddy!!!

Halle's first night home was slightly overwhelming for Brian and me because of her biggest fans...Port, Haynes and Ella! Yes that is the three of them pushing her stroller around our living room...we are still waiting for the newness to wear off:-)

Daddy promised the kids we would take them to JumpZone...they had a blast!

This is Port's rest stop, he was literally dripping in sweat! Brian played harder than the boys did...isn't he the best daddy!

Team Hartsock determining what game to play...oh how I love these guys!

Halle had her days and nights mixed up, so we let her cry it out while the kids played. JumpZone is so loud no one ever heard her, and we got back on a normal sleep pattern that night!

Marble Slab Afternoon Treat...my favorite!

Port learning to ride without training wheels...he is awesome!

My sweet husband

So one of the best parts of bringing a new baby home is that my amazing husband stays home for the entire week. We all look forward to this for pretty much the entire 9 months! This afternoon I was just overwhelmed with the ways that he really loves our family extravagantly. He is almost rude in his demand for me to REST this entire week. His goal is that when he returns to work next week that I am refreshed and ready to go...

The moment the kids are awake he is ready to go! On Sunday night I told him I may have him running back to work next week, but he completely disagreed...I think it's his dream come true. We were discussing that our kids have always adjusted really well to bringing home a new sibling, but I think Brian being home and engaged is one of the top reasons. Each of my kids "love tanks" are sufficiently filled by special time with Daddy. The boys love their daddy time filled with basketball, learning to ride bikes without training wheels, breakfast dates, and so much more.

Brian is really the best Daddy to our boys, but there is just something about watching him love on our sweet little girl (and now sweet Halle). Ella falls more in love with her Daddy each day and she LOVES her special time with Daddy. It's almost a joke between us that he can't really go anywhere without her. She has loved park dates, rides in his truck and other fun things!

We love you Bri! You love us beyond extravagantly!! It's so fun thinking about how I fell in love with you so many years ago and am constantly falling more in love with you as each season passes.

HolliB

Our sweet friend Holli was the photographer at Josh and Laura's wedding in November. She sent me these pictures this week of my cute kids.

I love this picture of the kids walking down the isle. I was in the back so I couldn't actually see their faces, but they were SO excited and nervous! It was a LONG isle and there were lots of people there to celebrate.

This cute picture was of all the kids yelling, "WAGGS!!!"

This might be one of my new favorites! Port got to stay that night and dance with us, he had a blast. He needed to check out the dancing situation first and then he joined in...classic Port behavior. I love that his place to check out the situation is in his daddy's arms!

Sweet Sarah...

A few weeks ago my dear friends Abbey and Cathleen were asking how we were going to introduce our kids to the new baby. I honestly hadn't given it much thought because in the past we had introduced the baby to everyone at the same time. Brian and I started talking about how fun it has been that our kids are older and REALLY understand what it means to have a new sibling. We decided to bring the kids into the hospital room first to meet their new baby and then let them "help" introduce Halle to everyone else. I really wanted to have some pictures of that sweet family time, but didn't want Brian to the pressure of doing 100 things at once.

I actually felt like the Lord asked me to ask our sweet friend Sarah to take the pictures, but I didn't know when I was going to see her. At our last Celebration the Lord gave me three really sweet encounters...

1. I felt like I was suppose to pray for a girl during worship, but didn't have a lot of clarity why...at the end of Celebration they needed extra ministry people and when I went up the first girl in line was Ryan! (the girl I had been wanting to find earlier in the night!)

2. One of my sweet friends Emily had her 5th baby a few months ago. Her recovery was supernaturally amazing and I was wanting to find her to pray over me. I never found her, but her dear friend Shelby caught me as I was walking out the door. She said, "I felt like I was suppose to pray for you and your delivery today! I am going to release Emily's testimony over you..."

3. When Shelby finishes praying sweet Sarah is walking through the door. (Isn't God's timing just so fun!) I asked if she would be willing to come take pictures and she graciously agreed. The night before we had Halle she wasn't feeling well and even went to the ER to make sure she didn't have strep or the flu. We prayed that God would heal her and we would have peace about her being around our newborn. The next morning she came in saying she felt completely healed!

All those stories to say....here is the link to some of the amazing pictures she took. I love the process the Lord takes us through to get to the other side.

http://sarahdenbow.myshowit.com/hallebirth