Merry Christmas

Feeling grateful for so many good gifts from my heavenly Father...His mercy and unrelenting love in my life being top on the list! Reflecting on his goodness and kindness in sending Jesus to be our rescuer and give us hope and a future...now fellow heirs instead of enemies! Amazing grace!

I'm so thankful for that grace being the bedrock and in the very fibers of my marriage and family. Thankful that Jesus is my perfect righteousness. Thankful that he continues to reveal himself to me in deeper ways to make his love and grace more beautiful and amazing to me.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas filled with wonder at God's great love and such a gift as his Son sent to save the world from the curse of sin and death!

Love from our little family to yours :)

"birth announcement"

We're not sending out a birth announcement in the mail, since, in this digital age, it's much easier/cheaper just to post your pictures on some form of social media for friends and family to see and enjoy :) so here are a few of Savannah at 2, 3 and 4 weeks old. We're thrilled she's a part of our family!

Savannah Hartley
October 30, 2011
7lbs 13oz, 19 3/4 in

our sweet girl is here!

We're so in love with our sweet Savannah Hartley! It's been a crazy three weeks, but things are going well. I found out she was breech at my 38 week appointment, and despite all my attempts to get her to flip, she was still breech Saturday night Oct 29 when my water broke. We headed to the hospital and they informed is she would have to be delivered via csection. She was born at 3:30 am Sunday Oct 30 :) The recovery has been very different than it was after Kaden's birth, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Thankful for that! Kaden is doing so great with her. He adores her and kisses her and asks to hold her all the time. It's precious! Posting from my phone so that's all for now :)

my little man.

full of excitement, wonder, curiosity and cuteness. so thankful I get a front row seat to see what God does in this little life. so incredibly glad to be his mama! 

seven..

..seven more weeks till we're a family of four! here are a few pictures of things we've been up to the last couple months..

 33 weeks with babygirl! 

 Tides game..just the three of us. Kaden was mesmerized by the whole experience and has been obsessed with the game of baseball ever since :) He'll sit and watch it for a really long time! amazes me. 

my boys at the Pier Cafe enjoying a beautiful summer evening. 

we've been in the process of potty training for the last couple months! he's definitely getting there...not 100% yet...still working on getting him to tell me when he needs to go :) Proud of the progress he's made though considering we started before he turned 18 months.  

sunset walk on the beach. so blessed.

 We went to CO last week for about 5 days to visit some great friends! It was an awesome time and we loved the city of Denver and surrounding area. 

amazing mountains! 

thankful for our friendship with Brock and Carolyn! loved seeing what God is doing in and through them in this new season of their lives. Thanks for putting up with us for the week guys =) 

::twenty week ultrasound::

We had so much fun getting a peek at baby girl today!! I see baby dolls, pigtails, ruffles and PINK in our future :) Couldn't be more excited!! Here's our precious girly.

 

I'm so thankful to get the opportunity to be this girly's mama. What a blessing. So looking forward to seeing how she'll steal her daddy's heart and look up to her big brother :) I can't wait to hold and smooch you sweet girl!!! You are so loved by all of us already. Kaden loves to kiss "baby" in mommy's tummy. I know he'll love you and look after you as the two of you grow. We are praying you'll keep growing strong and healthy and look forward to the fall when we can hold and cuddle you...I'm one excited mama :)

18 weeks. the belly.

Here's the first baby bump picture...at 18 weeks. It's funny how with Kaden's pregnancy I started taking "baby bump" pics at 2 months...and I haven't even really thought about it til now. Second time around is definitely different. But still very exciting and special. It is going by fast. Later this month we get to see this little one and find out if we're having another son or a daughter! Really really excited about that.  

little this, little that.

So life is full lately, and loads of fun. What a great start to the spring/summer we've had already! I've been staying busy with my little man...lots of the outdoors, sunshine, dirt, sand, new experiences, and I think he's loving every minute of it :) 

yes, he definitely is :) 

we've visited the zoo a number of times already...with friends, aunties, marmee and papa, and with daddy of course!  

strawberry picking was a big hit!  

this boy can down some strawberries!  

 Kaden's first beach day of 2011!

He loved it, though you can't tell that from this photo :) 

Botanical Gardens has also been a favorite getaway spot so far. The WOW kids area has lots to offer and we always just love strolling around or finding a wide open field to run and play in :)  

Mother's Day 2011. love my little family. 

dear sisters!! so thankful for them. 

At the end of April, Steve and I also had an amazing 7 days away on a cruise to the Caribbean! What an awesome vacation and time away with my love! We stopped at Cococay, Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Plus we had three days at sea to enjoy all that our ship had to offer. Since being home, I find myself daydreaming about that crystal clear, bright blue water and those perfect white beaches. Or all the fine dining (none of which was prepared by me! ahhh). Paradise.

But we're also glad to be back home with Kaden :) We missed him like crazy. I didn't think it would be as hard as it was to be away from him for a week! He had the time of his life getting spoiled with Marmee and Papa and Auntie Rach ;) He probably didn't miss us at all, but man we missed him. 

This pregnancy is going amazingly well and flying by! I'm 15 weeks and haven't felt sick really at all! I've had energy to keep up with my now 15 month old (!) which is a huge blessing and answer to my prayers! Next month sometime we will find out if this one's a boy or girl!! Can hardly wait!