The Hanson Crew

So with interest rates at the lowest in history, we have decided to refinance our house. This will be our first time ever doing this, but can save a more than $100 each month on our house payment. We are a little nervous about the appraisal since the market is still bad and houses aren't appraising for what they are worth...but, we are going to give it a try. If it does not appraise for what we are hoping for, we will have to pay a small fee upfront. Otherwise, we don't pay anything, which is our hope. So in the preparation for the proposal, I am working on a few small house projects this week and weekend. I will post pictures soon...and I am still working on staining the fence I told you about earlier.

While John and I were in Minneapolis, MN this weekend at the Desiring God National Conference , the kids soaked up some fun grandparents time. Once again, Sue handled all of our crew's busy schedule, including preschool drop off and pick up, FCA pick up, first flag football game, birthday party, wedding, fire pit fun, church, and a pumpkin patch. That makes me tired just typing it all! The kids all said they enjoyed their time as much as we did (I will post a separate post about our trip). I grabbed a couple of Sue's Facebook pics from her weekend to share...the first is everyone roasting hot dogs and the second is at Caleb's first football game...

These are great examples of proof that my children watch a little too much TV/movies... Joshua: Stephanie from Lazy Town (if you died your hair bright pink) Jonathan: Velma from Scooby-Doo (if you wore your glasses) Ashlyn: The mean lady from Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Caleb: Yeah {laughing} all of those, especially Stephanie! Here is why they all said that after school: I cut about 3 inches of my hair and got a whole new look while everyone was in school. I think they like it, but were in shock. It is still a little hard to look in the mirror and not recognize myself!

This fall when the weather is nice enough for us to be outside, we are working on staining our fence. Today, I put 2 coats on the front side of this portion. The kids are going to help work on the other side of the house sometime this week. I am excited for the color and the price of this first gallon - $8. The next few gallons will be $18, but so far we have about 1/8 of our fence looking pretty good for under ten bucks!! I'll try to post pictures of our progress as it happens...

Ashlyn and I have finally found a hobby we are both really excited about. Sewing. I used some of my free lance money on a new sewing machine this past month and we figured out how to use it last night. We sewed a curtain together for her book nook in the school room. She helped pick out the material, helped pin it together and helped sew it. She is a natural! Our next project, sewing some curtains together upstairs and then making some new ones for the sunroom . Here is our first project, hung up... While Great-grandma Shirley was here from AZ last week, she taught Ashlyn how to use a pattern. Grandma Shirley, Grandma Sue, and Ashlyn all worked together to sew this fun fall dress. They did a great job! The material is a brown corduroy with lime green and bright orange owls, flowers, and dots. This one was very expensive though, so we might try a different pattern idea next time... I just love having a daughter! God blessed me with just one and the one he gave me is so m...

Photo courtesy of Mingle: Kansas City

This week has been much cooler, especially in the evenings/nights. John is gets hot very easily and usually turns our AC on in April. Yes, that is about the time most people open their windows and enjoy the fresh Spring air. Not our crew. We enjoy 69-71 degrees of blowing cold air through the house, until the start of fall. Well, today was that day! We turned the AC off and wore pants and sweatshirts all day while we did homework. Man it was cold. It was so tempting to turn the heater on, but we stuck it out. As I lay in bed and type this post, it is tempting to turn it on, just like it is tempting for John to turn back on the AC. I wonder how long our electricity bill will appreciate this moment of difference. We will keep you posted....

The boys have always been fascinated with super heroes, especially the Marvel ones. Well ever since Captain America this year and some of the new trailers for upcoming Avengers movies, they have been talking more about them. So it was no surprise this week when we were talking about costumes for Halloween what they decided to be... Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America. Ashlyn refuses to participate in the fun, but hopes to help me sew some kind of costume for Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. She is enjoying those books right now.

John was able to get free tickets to the circus this week from the radio station that he advertises on. It was a lot of fun! Jonathan sat there in shock most of the time and Caleb yelled out quite a bit. There were a few acts that made John and I nervous (or at least made us say, "that's impossible!") Here are a few favorite shots of some favorite acts. The first one is my crew, who of course, belong in the circus most days...

Jonathan went to preschool today and had a wonderful time. He sure grew those 2 1/2 hours because when I picked him up and he told me about his day, he sounded so much older! He said his favorite thing about his first day was his friend Chase in the orange shirt. I heard later that Chase brought cupcakes today for his birthday. I wonder how Friday will go when Chase is not wearing orange and not giving him his favorite snack?

Today Caleb started his speech therapy in a new school district. He seemed to have liked it alot . He will go Tues and Thurs afternoons for the rest of the school year. We are so thankful that even though he is attending a private school, he will still get free therapy through a public school district. His therapist seems nice and excited to work with Caleb. We will keep you updated on his progress as he continues along...

Jonathan got to visit his preschool this past Wed to meet his teacher, some of his new friends and see where his desk was. He was pretty excited and is getting so big. We know one other family in his class from our church as well as a friend of mine from bible study. He will have Mrs. Taylor, who Caleb had 2 years ago. So starting this Wed, all four kids will be in school MWF for 2 1/2 hours. Sue and I are going to try working out together - at least that is the plan for now....

Wow, another week has flown by and I have not been blogging. We have some special visitors here and have been hanging out at Grandma Sue's every day this week. Great-grandma Shirley and Great-grandpa Pat are here from AZ. They really enjoy playing cards so we have got to play a few games with them while they are here. We also went to a movie yesterday and Ashlyn has got to learn how to sew using a pattern with both grandma's. It has been a lot of fun. I will try to post pictures with them tomorrow...