The Hanson Crew

Caleb's preschool had a Halloween parade today at his school. They walked around all the grandparents and parents twice, sang about 8 songs and then picked up their party stuff. Here is Caleb with his loot in his mask and costume. He didn't wear the mask for the parade or concert, which is my favorite part of his costume. Tomorrow he will be a blue power ranger (like in the last picture when the boys tried on their costumes for Grandma Peggy).

and we did it! We painted the exterior of our house in 3 weeks!! Off and on with lots of rain that is (and some help from 2 friends and a painter!) But it is done!!! Thanks again Kansas City for the free paint! Not only did we paint the house, but we also removed the shutters, painted all the iron black (from white), replaced some windows and took down a bunch of small trees and bushes close to the house. Here are some before and afters. The afters were taken when we finished one night and the sun was setting. I also did not use a wide angle lens like on the befores so they are a little chopped up....enjoy! The front (before): The front (after): The back (before): The back (after):

This week at Caleb's preschool a few moms were talking about their children with speech disorders. It was amazing to see how many other kids at this preschool or siblings have some kind of disorder. Two of them were even diagnosed with verbal Apraxia, which is what Caleb was originally diagnosed with. So after talking with them for awhile about therapies, First Steps, and other methods of treatment, I was so excited to give something new a try! Both moms said their pediatrician told them to give their Apraxic child fish oil each day to help that area of the brain develop that was not developed yet, causing the disorder. When I got home, I researched it more on the Internet and was amazed at how many testimonies of young toddlers with speech disorders are taking fish oil. I couldn't find many reasons or side effects of taking the oil if they didn't need it (it sounds like everyone should take this amazing stuff - even you and me), so we are going to try it out! We are

Ashlyn has inherited my hair knowledge...that basically means she has no idea how to do her hair! We both like to keep things as simple as possible - no blow drying, curling, or up dos. Well, yesterday I went crazy and we got her hair cut (we had a $5.99 coupon!) Not just a trim like normal, but an actual style! We got a stacked bob, which means the back is stacked alitte across the back. The rest of her hair is about to her chin and goes all around her head the same length. We decided not to go too crazy and angle her bob like most people are doing these days (longer in the front and shorter in the back). Here are a couple pics of the back and front....it came out really cute! We even went to our pond and took some family photos for our holiday postcard after...

So we lost our first family pet since we have had kids. Ashlyn knew one of our cats a little when she was a toddler, but didn't even notice when she died. Yesterday, Mystery, our brown gerbil, died. I wasn't sure what their reactions would be. We all went to the cage and the first thing Ashlyn said was "Since dad won't let us get a dog can we get a Guinea Pig now." I guess she wasn't too sad....oh, I forgot to tell you about a week ago, she gave her gerbils to her brothers. She said they were too loud in her room and it was time for the boys to have them....maybe the lack of food this past week contributed to poor Mystery's death? Either way, Caleb had the biggest response. He kept asking about death and how you really know someone is dead (His open eyes freaked him out a bit). He continued to wonder what happens after you die too. It was a great conversation and I think he is very curious about death and what happens after. I think I have becom

For Ashlyn's birthday this year, I took her and 2 of her closest friends bowling. We bowled, played at the arcade, ate pizza, and had cake. It was a lot of fun listening to them all giggle and talk all night. Here are some fun pictures of our night...

We are officially DONE!!!! Nothing left to do but the shutters and we have decided to keep them down for awhile....we had one really good day of weather today, and John and I worked from morning to night, while Grandma Sue took the kids to another fun pumpkin patch/orchard....before and after pics to follow soon!

Happy 9th Birthday Ashlyn!

John and Ashlyn made this interesting dish this week for 3rd grade History extra credit. It came out pretty good, but really smelled up our kitchen for a couple days...I think it was the load of garlic John added to the below recipe. I was so proud of Ashlyn who tried every dish at school. I was the kid who got her parent to write an allergy note on all cultural days :) Here is the original recipe in case you are interested in trying some Greek food... Riganatha This is one version of Greek bruschetta and a favorite and easy recipe for a quick snack or accompaniment to drinks. Use homemade crusty country bread , or thick slices of sourdough, french, or Italian bread. Cook Time: 10 minutes Ingredients: 3/4-inch slices of country style bread chopped tomatoes crumbled feta cheese extra virgin olive oil dried Greek oregano ( rigani ) Preparation: Note: Quantities depend on the number of people and the size of their appetites. Be creative! Grill the bread over coals, in the oven, or o

the leaves are falling everywhere. We just love the mature trees all along our street and those around us....here are the trees in front of our house! I'll have to take a picture of the pond a few houses down, it looks like a postcard with the fall trees all around it!

My finger is on its way to recovery! I was able to bend the whole finger today, and at both bending areas (what are those called joints?)! The nail hasn't fallen off yet, but it is sure looking tons better!

John shared with me a great quote (or I should say tweet) by John Piper: "One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time." It is very convicting to say the least...

Today after school work, I was able to paint the fascia boards and underneath area across the top. I worked in the back, right side and front. I think the only white part left on our house is in the front above the garage. The painter we hired who was working next door is going to try to paint it on Friday. We'll post picks when he is done. Oh, the last picture here is our new light fixture John put in this weekend by the garage doors...it looks so much better now (and it was on clearance!)

The cake was a present (used the idea on Family Fun for it) There were tons to open! (and tons of smiles & hugs that followed) Daddy used one to sleep (but just couldn't get anyone else to join in) And of course, we ate one (w/ Snickers Ice Cream)

Well, we had some pretty productive paint days the past few days! Sunday evening we were able to finish up the right side, start the first coat across the back and start the gutters and fascia boards in the front. Monday we painted for most of the day (70 degree weather!) and had a couple friends join the fun - thanks again Shelly and Ralph! We did both coats on the left side of the house, finished the first coat across the back and then started the second coat across the back. Most of the house is no longer white! These pics were taken before it got dark and we painted quite a bit after them, all the white spots - so it really does look better than this now. I will take more pics tomorrow after I paint some more. I am hoping to finish up the gutters 2 nd coat tomorrow....oh, the best news...my neighbor is getting their house painted and I talked to her painter and he is going to paint the area in the front above the garage doors for us...and its not too expensive! It is the tallest