Sami turns two...

My baby turned two this week! I cannot believe how fast the time has gone...and we are about to start all over with another baby. Yikes!!!
We had a fun day celebrating Sami's birthday on Saturday. A new bounce gym had their grand opening so we spent the afternoon bouncing (well the kids and Nick did...I didn't want to go into labor). That evening we had dinner, cake and opened presents. Sami loved singing "happy birthday to me" as we sang to her! It was fun seeing her eyes as she opened the gifts...very expressive. I wonder where she gets that???
Nick and I had a banquet to attend on Friday night at the Officers Club on base. I stuffed my big belly into one of my stretchy gowns and probably stretched it out for good. It was worth it though! :)
Nick defends his prospectus on Thursday morning...please be in prayer for him. I know that he will do great but am praying for wisdom and peace.
That is all for now...blessings!

Soccer season is here at last! Scotty is playing on a 6-8 year-old team which has been really good for him. He's no longer the tallest, quickest and strongest player. He hangs in there though...
Ashley plays with the 4 and 5 year olds. When she wants to, she tears up the field. When she doesn't "feel" like it, she hugs her opponents and giggles with the other girls. As long as she has fun out there, right? :)
Nick is playing on a team through the base. We watch him play each Thursday night and you would never know that he hadn't played soccer all his life. He's been fun to watch!
Sami is getting really good a cheering her siblings and daddy on. "Here we go Bobcats (or wildcats or FC), here we go!" and she clucks her tongue twice instead of clapping. It keeps those on the sidelines amused!
Once this little guy (we are still deciding on a name) decides to join us, I too will return to playing soccer...next year of course!
Blessings to all...

Now our little Sami has started school. She's in a toddler morning class that lasts about 2 hours one day a week. She thinks that she is such a big girl now...too cute!

Scotty had his annual heart check-up this week at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital and was amazingly told that his PVC's have completely gone away. God is so good! His heart is normal and we won't have to make any follow up appointments. This was wonderful news for Nick and I who have been praying so hard for our little guy!

In other news, our little Ashley asked Jesus into her heart. She came to us and we talked with her for a loooong time to make sure that she knew exactly what she was doing. She did! We gave her her own pink Bible yesterday and she keeps "reading" it.

AWANA started last night. Scotty is in Sparks and Ashley a Cubbie. Sami goes to the nursery and I volunteer in there once a month. It works out perfectly. On my off nights, Nick and I make it a dinner date night! Can't beat the free babysitting! :)

Scotty and Nick had VIP seats this week to see the McCain/Palin rally here in Dayton. They sat behind the press and waited for a loooong time for McCain to introduce Palin to the world.

Nick is still pounding away on the keyboard trying to get the prospectus out of the way. He's almost done tweeking it. Please pray for wisdom and inspiration...

I've just signed up for a Beth Moore study (Daniel) and a moms group that meets twice a month. I'm excited for some good Christian fellowship.

Until later...Blessings!!!

Scotty and Ashley's first day of school...

Today was Scotty's first day of KG and Ashley's first day of pre-school. They love their teachers and their classrooms are right next to each other. They will both go each morning, half day. This will give me some time to focus on Sami...especially before the baby comes!

Amish vacation

We packed up the minivan and headed north east to Ohio's Amish country. On-line I found an adorable log cabin right on a lake full of fish (catch and release only). The kids had a blast! We toured an Amish farm, sat in a one room Amish school house, rode in a buggy and held all of their baby puppies and kittens.
One night we caught a frog and the kids put it in the hot tub and bathed with it (we cleaned out the tub)! Scotty and Ashley both caught a ton of fish. We could hear the clip clop of the Amish buggies go by as we fished off our deck. Nick had to tell the kids that they could wave at them as they went bye but not jump up and down yelling "look mommy, daddy, Amish"!!! They finally got used to seeing them everywhere and the excitedment died down.
One day we drove to Canton, Ohio home of the Football Hall of Fame. Nick loved it, as did Scotty. I'm worried that he's going to want to play football now. I was hoping that soccer would capture his heart! :) He did think it was a bit of a rough sport though...
We had a wonderful swiss meal (fonue...I was in heaven) and ended our trip with a morning at the Amish flea market. It was fun to shop alongside all of the Amish selling to each other.
And now...we are back to reality. Nick is finalizing his prospectus and has a meeting set up for the first week of September...pray for him, please!
Scotty and Ashley start school on Tuesday. We have Scotty's heart appointment at Cincinnati Childrens on the 2nd of September. I cannot believe that it has already been a year since we went through that whole thing. God is so good!
I have my 27 week doctors appointment on Monday. I think that they'll have me do the glucose test...yuck!
There you have it...the Hardman update! Have a blessed week!

Ship shape...

Nick had the kids out practicing soccer...they got a little hot and took a break under a tree.

Like father, like son... the boys are wearing their Real Madrid uniforms.

Sami loves to sit in the chairs at the pool. She takes many breaks from swimming to relax pool side!

In March, Nick and I were able to "get away" for a week in Athens, Greece. Thanks mom! :)