Thankful Friday...

Here's my 5 things I'm thankful for on this raining, grey day...

1. I am thankful for a good parent teacher conference with Jarod's teacher. He got all A's on his report card. (This is a first for actual letter grades.) We are so proud of him!

2. I spent time in Drew's class on Thursday at the fall party. It went really well. I hadn't been helping in his class yet because I was anxious of his reactions to me in the class. But I was pleasantly surprised. He went to all the centers and seemed to enjoy himself. And then we were able to go home a little early! I realized the other day that I didn't want to miss out on Drew's activities in his class just because I was afraid of his reaction to me being there.

3. My friend's son came over yesterday and raked leaves for us. That was a blessing. However, there are now more leaves on the ground, plus the ones he didn't get to. I guess Eric and I will have finish the job this weekend!

4. I helped out in the children's department at BSF on Thursday. I always enjoying helping out down there. It almost makes me miss teaching!

5. This weekend has nothing on the calendar! That hasn't happened in a long time!! Looking forward to having family time!

Six on Saturday

1. I am thankful for a lazy Saturday at home. We watched some movies and then had some friends over. After the kiddos are in bed, we have a friend coming over so Eric and I can go out for a mini date. We won't be gone long, but at least we'll be out of the house!

2. I absolutely LOVE the fall. I am always in awe at God's amazing creativity and imagination when the leaves turn colors. This is my favorite time of year when the colors just explode on the leaves. I love the smells of fires burning, hot apple cider and the cold of the air on my nose. This season just doesn't last long enough for me!

3. Eric's been busy these last couple of weekends with scout training. He really loves helping out! I'm thankful that he takes volunteering with Jarod's scout troupe seriously. It's neat to hear other moms talk about how much they respect Eric. Some of those moms are single moms and it makes me proud to know that he is making a difference in these boys' lives.

4. Before we left to visit Magic Kingdom for the first time, Jarod's glasses broke in two. They were old and needed to be replaced, but having them break in FL was not on my agenda. I am so thankful for Disney and their kindess in getting us to WalMart to get new frames. I am also very thankful for the effort of the lady at the optical center at WalMart that fitted Jarod's lenses into the black frames! Jarod could have had purple lenses!

5. I just love our eye dr. We were able to move up our appointment to last week so we could get new frames and lenses. Jarod can wear his black frames as a back up. I'm so thankful!

6. I am thankful that we have not been struck with the flu at our house. We all have the sniffles to some degree, but we can handle that! Thank you Lord for keeping the Hansen's healthy!

I'm back!

I know, I know. What happened to blogging? I don't have an answer. All I know is that I want to start blogging again.

I'm missing Rachel today. She passed away 6 months ago. Hard to believe that she's not here. I'm thankful for my hope in Christ!

I'm happy that we went on vacation, but Jarod is still trying to catch up on homework. I don't think his teacher is all that worried about it. But I still want him to get it done.

I went to my friend's house today for their "welcome back home" open house. they had a fire last spring and lost just about everything. it was wonderful to see them back in their house with all the new things. So happy for them!

Well, now that I've started, I think I'll give my brain a rest. Just some rambling thoughts today.

Six on Saturday

I haven't had much time to sit and reflect on God's faithfulness recently. I need to do that more. We've been traveling some and with both boys on summer break, I don't get a whole lot of time to sit down.

So, I have some time now between loads of laundry, the dishwasher running and Drew watching a video.

1. I am so thankful for some "me" time this last week. I went swim suit shopping by myself. Not that I love shopping for a new suit, but I could take my time and try things on without having a child in tow.

2. We were able to take a mini vacation last weekend to Eric's cousin's wedding. it was a beautiful outdoor wedding at her home. There was a DJ and has soon as the music started playing, Drew was up and dancing. It was great to see him having such a great time. The disco lights were a hit too. Jarod made friends with a second cousin who also loves star wars. The two of them spent several hours on the front porch playing with star wars figures. Eric and I were able to visit with family and had a great time. Then we spent the rest of the weekend visiting our friends, the Billman's, in MI. They live in a beautiful home with land and a pool. The boys had a blast. It was good to reconnect with them. When the Billman's were living in Fort Wayne, we would get together almost every Sunday evening for dinner and cards.

3. I am thankful that we are in a financial place that is relatively safe. I'm thankful that we can continue to support missionaries and their work. I feel humbled and blessed.

4. I am thankful for the summer school program that Drew is involved in. The program is at Haverhill this summer, where Drew will go in the fall. It is also in the kindergarten classroom that he will be in when school starts. How cool is that?! Everytime I start to freak out about kindergarten, I remember that he's already got a start and knows where his classroom will be!

5. A few weeks ago, I was able to reconnect with a special friend from college. She has moved back to the area. I am so thankful that we were able to catch up and talk. I am looking forward to spending more time with her!

6. We are still looking for a new church home. We have visited some wonderful places! We will go back to Emmanuel tomorrow. There will be a buddy for Drew. I am so thankful for that!

Stop thinking!

I have been thinking way too much recently about all the "what ifs". I need to stop doing that! Making a decision for a new church home has been taking a toll on my emotions lately. We have tried some great churches and there are positives about each one. But which one is for us? A lot of my thoughts have been about my own insecurites of fitting it. Will I be able to use my gifts in a large church where everything is done to the upmost degree? I sing, but will I be able to sing on praise team? I teach, but will I be able to teach preschool like I did before?
I just need to let go and let God lead us to where He wants us. I know that I will need time to be refreshed before I dive into serving. So, why am I thinking so much?
I think this post is just for me to write down what I'm thinking and get it out of my brain. It's good to think about the answers to my questions, but I also know that God will use my gifts to glorify Him. It may not look like what I wanted, but I have to trust that God knows best!

Okay...brain is alittle less crowded now.

An ordinary Tuesday

I thought today would be just an ordinary Tuesday with lots of whining between the boys, laundry, cleaning, and just hanging out. It has turned to be delightfuly pleasant. Nothing earth shattering, but still, I have a smile on my face!
First of all, the boys and I slept in until 8am! That in itself is a big deal in our house! The boys both have a tendancy to wake up early when they don't have too. I was delighted to get some extra rest this morning!
Second, I was able to take a nice long hot shower. I take showers most days, but they are usually interrupted by a child needing something. Today, no interruptions!
After my nice shower, I realized that we really didn't have much for lunch so I thought, "hmmm. Let's go out to lunch. hmmm...Wonder what Eric is doing for lunch?" We ended up driving to Kendallville and had lunch at McDonalds. As we were driving through downtown Kendallville, Jarod said, "You know, Mom, Kendallville is like New York. All the buildings are pushed together!" I tried not to laugh too much. I think that was the line of the day!
We had a nice lunch with Dad and then drove off. On a whim, I thought we could go to the zoo. We had visited the new African Journey, so both boys agreed. The zoo wasn't terribly crowded, in spite of all the cars and full parking lots. Andrew walked with Jarod most of the time and was fine to go see the new lions. I even sent them on the train by themselves! That's a first.
Jarod was awesome with Andrew today! I was and am so proud of him! it's not been easy for Jarod dealing with Andrew's autism sometimes. But, today he was just big brother!
I am so thankful that we had a really fun time today. Andrew didn't mind the spur of the moment ideas and was very flexible. Jarod helped out and was a joy to watch.
Thanks God for showing me the simple things today and to take time to enjoy them!

It's Friday!

The school year is almost done. At 3:30pm today, I will have a third grader in my home. Where has the time gone? I will also have a kindergartener. I am so thankful for great teachers this year for the boys! Mrs. C has been such an encourager to Jarod. What a blessing! And then there is Mrs. L and Mrs. D for Andrew. We have been with them for 3 years. It is very hard to say goodbye to them! They both have become mentors to me and friends. I am anxious about next year for both my boys, but I know that God has prepared a path for them and I am excited to see where it leads!



I am also thankful for a wonderful time celebrating Rachel's life on Monday with a bunch of friends. It was nice to be around others who loved Rachel and that I wasn't sitting at home with my thoughts. We called it: Rachel's first birthday in Paradise!



I finally have my living room painted ! It's a very warm beautiful gold color. My folks came up and helped. As sad as it sounds, it was my first time to paint a room. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I'm hoping to paint the kitchen before the end of the summer. We'll see if I actually make that goal.

I had planned to post this on Friday, but my little Andrew decided he didn't like it up on the computer screen. So, he hit the "x" and I haven't had a chance to get back to it. I'm thankful for automatic save!