The Hanson Crew

I just carved how the kids told me to! (L to R: Caleb, John, Deanna, Joshua, Ashlyn, & Jonathan)

Today after school work and Ashlyn's flu mist visit (the boys go next week together), we made it over to the free Kearney pumpkin patch by our house...the good news is it was the last day so all of the pumpkins were $2 no matter what, so we actually got pumpkins this time - most of the time we enjoy the extra stuff, buy everyone a little pumpkin and go to Hy- vee for the bigger pumpkin... A group shot is almost impossible, but the weather was perfect! Caleb's favorite part was the train ride Ashlyn's favorite part was just going since last year she was in school Jonathan LOVED the animals, especially the cats running around Joshua liked picking the pumpkin and the hayride the best!

Yesterday was one of those incredibly busy days you hate to see on that new magnetic calendar. We had to take Joshua to preschool by 8:30, go to speech from 9:00 to 9:30, go to Joshua's fall party at school from 10:00 to 12:00 (I had to help set it up), pick up dinner for a friend and eat lunch, help a friend with a computer project from 1:00 - 2:00, meet John and Ashlyn at a different friend's (at 3:00) who helped babysit while John and I went to a parent teacher conference at Joshua's school from 4:00 to 4:30 and then manage to come home to try to fit dinner in before church service. Needless to say, we couldn't do it so we had to skip church or starve. We decided to enjoy a fun family night together instead of worship together. Here are a few pictures from our busy day... Here is a picture of Joshua at his party with his cute pumpkin! Here is Caleb really working on his pumpkin - followed by way too many snacks Here are the 3 boys carving the pumpkins later th

Missouri state law here is that a child is required to be in a booster until they are 8 or 80 pounds...since Ashlyn is not quite 60 pounds, we went with the 8 year part of the law...she is very excited and looks so grown up in the car now. The car seat has found a new home for winter... the garage. We hope to move Caleb into it in the spring when he gets to 40 pounds. Getting rid of a carseat is just as exciting as moving one forward from rear facing I think!

Yep, gas in Kearney, MO is at $1.99 today!!! How much is it where you are?

Caleb has to be our most helpful child by far. Sometimes his siblings would say he is TOO helpful! I will ask Joshua to go get the mail or to sweep up under the table and Caleb will push him out of the way to do either job before he starts. This usually is only annoying to the others if it is something they enjoy doing! He usually does something I need done without even asking. One day I said that we couldn't go to the park because I had to do all the dishes and make my bed before we could leave. And you guessed it, he was doing both before I could start. It is wonderful! So when I saw this picture of the party it made me laugh...Caleb helping Ashlyn and Joshua one more time!

After talking to a few fellow "30s" friends today, it seems I might not be the only crazy mom addicted to these shows and songs...so here is a friendly poll. I'm curious who else has seen them. Thanks for playing along!

Reoccurring themes: Star wars and High School Musical. Bonus guest: Great-grandma Steiner came from Omaha - this is her first appearance at any birthday party for our children...we were all very excited! Lunch: 5 Little Caesar Pizzas, salad and garlic bread Funniest Moment: A hard one, but probably when Joshua put on his new Halloween costume - the mask is crazy and makes him look so real or something! Favorite Present ( Ashlyn ): She couldn't pick one - her favorites were the Narnia movie, the HSM singing toothbrush, the HSM beach towel, a suitcase, a homemade purse, and Magic Tree House books 1-4 Favorite Present (Joshua): 2 Star War figurines - Obi Wan Kenobi and Han Solo

Ashlyn's favorite part of her HSM party was the game we came up with. We had the girls all sit in a circle in the living room and played some HSM songs. They had to pass a microphone around the circle while the music played. When the music stopped, the girl holding the microphone had to karaoke to one the HSM songs on the TV from our "stage." Ashlyn was very brave and sang first, the girls were a little shy at first (probably because their parents aren't crazy like me and have the soundtrack in the car)... By the end of the party, we had built a bigger stage and everyone wanted to sing...it was sure fun! They all had fun learning the songs and I bet are running home to watch the show now (ha, not really!) Besides the game, we had cake and ice cream, opened presents, and made bookmarks with their names and HSM stickers... Our shy and sweet little girl made it through the whole party awake! We were most excited about that! And she spoke to everyone there - unl

It was fun to go on opening night with all those other screaming/giggly HSM fans - there was cheering, dancing, and a little crying! If you liked the first 2, I think you're really going to like the 3rd...the acting was better on the big screen and the story was really good...Joshua says he LOVED it!

The boys and I tried these Cinnamon Melts today at McDs after Speech and I'm telling ya, they are good! Very sweet, but warm and just the perfect way to start the morning! Go give them a try - they definitely got my vote over the cinnamon bites at Burger King :) I wish I got a picture of the cinnamon rings around both of their mouths!

Just wanted to give an update on my project list I had created before. I am actually almost done - all that is left is my laundry room project, Ashlyn's costume and her dollhouse. The good news is that I have a monthly hobby night next Monday, where I hope to work on both of Ashlyn's projects! So on to the laundry room soon...my favorite projects were probably Ashlyn's room makeover, my schoolroom wall makeover and a website I worked on. My husband loves following politics and has really been following the election this year. Today was a scary day because he now believes Obama will win. Until today, he thought McCain stood a chance. Some of our friends are voting for people who did not win the primary election (I guess to prove a point?) or not voting at all this year because they are not happy with either candidate. The person I voted for in the primary did not win either, but these are the real 2 options we have at this point. John Piper wrote a very good article c

Does any other mother out there know where the time goes? I know we say it flies by, and it really does - I just wasted 30 minutes down here checking blogs and it seems like 5 minutes! I have to share that when I had Ashlyn, and maybe this was only because it was my first, time stood still. She came out, we met, and I held her while I smiled at John and there was no such thing as time. That moment was very precious and so memorable...the other children had a moment similar to that one, but it was different and maybe that is because I had already experienced that one moment before. All of a sudden, nothing else mattered. Anyone who has been handed over a child like this knows what I am talking about it - it is truly life changing and although you have 9 months to prepare for that one glorious event - you can never prepare for that one moment in your heart - it is priceless. So how is it possible that 8 years has passed since then! My baby girl will be 8 in a couple days, and I really c

2 kids down + 1 mom and waiting for the other 3 any minute...we finally got the 24 hour stomach bug going around our school and church. After hanging out at the school/church building pretty much all weekend, it was bound to happen! We were lucky enough to also catch a new throat/nose thing yesterday and yes, the 3 w/o the stomach bug has that one. We'll keep ya posted... Oh - the good news, pictures yesterday were wonderful and I think we got tons - Lisa said she took 429, which is a lot for family photos. About 2/3 of those will be deleted, but we will sure have a variety to choose from. I loved the backyard we took them at and can't wait to see them all. I'll share some when I get them :)

So when I started this blog I chose the Hanson Crew for it's name because there wasn't really much left...Hanson family - gone, Hanson clan - gone, Hanson Five - gone, and a few others that seemed to fit good. So this was it. And it has kinda stuck. We have a few friends at church who see us walk in and ask "How is the Hanson crew" or people who ask me "How is your crew doing?" It's kinda funny. Anyway, each year since before this blog began, I update our family website I made back when Ashlyn was a baby. It is the easiest and cheapest way to show family/friends we don't see much throughout the year some pictures of our kids without overwhelming their mailbox or emptying our pockets for postage! Our current family website is a free site we get through our Internet provider, Road Runner. Unfortunately, because it is free, we do not get to chose the url. It is a little hard to remember because it has kc.rr.com in the address and currently is rep

So I managed to get through every one's closet's this morning and give them a major makeover. Jonathan surprisingly now has all 18-24 month clothes in his closet. It was sure nice to see what the older boys had available for winter too - thanks mostly to our friends in Kearney passing down boy clothes to Josh now! What a blessing that will be for all 3 boys eventually. Now I have to convince John to go through his stuff - he actually has more clothes/dresser space than me :) It is much cooler here the past few days and it will be nice to have more clothes at hands reach for the change in temperature. How is the weather where you are?

We can't believe you are 5!

I am wondering if typing that project list on the blog has made me a little more motivated about these projects! I was able to stay up late last night and finish up the website project I have been working on. After my friend looks it all over and I make any changes she has, I think it will go live. Plus, I was able to organize all my files this morning while the two little boys played with play dough and trains in the office (I'm loving that bigger table I got last weekend a lot)...what a difference my desk looks like now with all those 2008 bills/letters filed! After schoolwork yesterday, the kids and I painted the purple wall in Ashlyn's room too. I am excited to get rid of the busy orange/purple look from my hall view. The letters looks much better on the dark background color too... The Before and after!

Finish up a website project I have been working on the past month Paint a small accent wall in Ashlyn's room for her " ASHLYN " letters to go on (it was driving me crazy that they didn't stand out much) Re-arrange her room for winter (we usually move her bed away from the window that has a leak) Organize my file folders in my office and get ready for 2009 files to start Decorate the school table area (I got a new table this weekend on craigslist that is so much nicer and moved it to a wall where now I can hand a white board/bulletin board, etc) Finish my laundry room project (still needs to be taped, joint compounded, and painted) Finish re-doing our personal website for Christmas card/letter (waiting for new pictures for that - we had to re-schedule because of rain yesterday) Make Ashlyn a Princess Leia dress for Halloween (I bought a white sheet and I am all ready) Start Ashlyn's house project with her at the next 4H meeting Go through fall/winter clothes by

It's never a good sign when your pediatric dentist notices your haircut as soon as you come in and knows the names of all your children! We might have spent more at that place in the last 6 years than what we paid for our last car! Scary!

This is the video I talked about a couple weeks ago from the Desiring God conference...it is missing the verse at the end that makes it so convicting: With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. (James 3:9-10)

So Sat was Joshua's first friend party...he invited his handsome friends from school and church and decided he wanted a Star Wars party...he started counting down the days. Sat morning, I got up a lot earlier (about 5:00) than I normally do to setup for the party before I left for a charity run Ashlyn and I were doing around 7:30. Joshua heard me and got up to see if he could help (you could tell he was so excited then!) which was about 3 hours early for him. When I got home around 11:00 from the event, the boys had picked up and got all ready for the big day...I made the cake and decorated a little, Joshua was doing great and very excited still. By 1:30 though, Joshua (who never naps anymore) could barely keep his eyes open... He told me he needed a nap right now...so we let him catnap until 2:00 when everyone was supposed to come. I woke him at 2:00 and he would not get up. He kept saying he was so tired. When his friends arrived I figured his adrenaline would kick in and he w

"Hey mom, please take my picture!" (a fun picture outside with a great natural smile) "I HATE doing this.... cheeeeessse !" (his 1st school picture - grinding teeth and funny face)

(the picture doesn't do the spider web justice..it is huge!)

So last night the kids and I finally made that magnet schedule I wrote about last week. Ashlyn wrote the times out in digital form instead of the clock form (I think because her hand was hurting after awhile) so we might change to that later on when Joshua is recognizing his digital time a little better. We used green magnets for things we all do, Joshua got blue, Ashlyn got pink, Caleb got red, and Jonathan yellow. I think I will be editing/adding more to these as time goes on with it working... Today was a very busy day for us so it was probably a bad day to try it. We had a dentist appointment, Speech therapy, a parent/teacher conference, and a 4H meeting today in addition to our school work, meals, and everyday craziness....but the day on our new schedule is above (click to enlarge) Here are the extra magnets we didn't use today...tomorrow we will change it for Wed. Then as I said before, we can modify it throughout the day...we're excited to give it a shot. I must be h

growing too fast and keeping me too busy!

Ashlyn and I found this cute little house at a neighborhood garage sale this weekend for $1 and have decided to make it our first 4H project. We are going to give it a huge makeover inside and out. She is most excited about decorating the 4 rooms and has some great ideas so far. We'll keep you posted on the project as it progresses. Tomorrow is our first official 4H meeting. It should be great girl bonding time together.

Before: After: Besides painting the garage doors white, we will have to paint the gutters and drain spouts. We'll post some pics when the whole house is done...we can't wait!

Saturday was fun and busy for our crew (like most of the Oct weekends we have planned out for the month). Ashlyn and I woke up a bit early and went to a neighborhood garage sale we love - a very weathly community that practically gives their gorgeous things away at this annual event! We came home into time for John to go help a friend work on his NE house (wallpaper work I think). Then the kids and I went to the Holt parade for our first adventure together being in a parade! We walked with State Representative Doug Ervin (pictured above) with Joshua's school, Northern Hills Christian Academy. The Ervin family attend the school and we were all invited to support him in the parade. Joshua loved throwing candy to the people and was so excited to see some fellow classmates in the audience waving to him. Ashlyn handed out flyers to people while I manned the two little boys in the stroller. It was a short parade and a lot of fun. After it was done, we hung out in Holt and had lunch at