Our Silly Peanut

Anna is our silly little peanut. Her latest trick is standing on her head all day!

She makes us laugh so much!

Quick Trip to the Zoo

A friend of mine had some complimentary zoo tickets that were expiring this week and was generous enough to give them to us. (Thanks Teresa!) So the kids and I went to the zoo for a few minutes today and took our lunch for a picnic. It was so hot and getting a little close to Anna's nap time, so I told them we wouldn't have time to see everything in the zoo. They each picked out what they wanted to see and do the most.

Catherine picked to see the snakes, go to the little playground in the zoo, and go through the mister to cool off. She stood there so long that she was actually soaking wet.

Anna was happy to see the elephants and play at the playground.
Will wanted to see the lions (who were eating a racoon and running around) and play at the playground too. Catherine and Will were both very proud of themselves for climbing on this.
We had a great (and hot) time. I love having so many options of fun things to do in Greenville with the kids.

Radical

I just finished reading the book Radical by David Platt. I highly recommend this book. Platt shows us how as Americans we have made the gospel fit our culture, so that we can be comfortable Christians. He takes a look at what Jesus really says Christians are to do--feed the poor, care for orphans, take the gospel to all nations--and asks some really hard questions about why we don't do this. If you read this, God will most likely convict you of some areas of sin in your life so be prepared.

I think Catherine read this book when we weren't looking. On her own initiative (or really the Holy Spirit's prompting) her bedtime prayers this week have been things like "Dear God, please help all the children who don't have mommys and daddys to get mommys and daddys." and "Dear God, please help the people who don't have food to eat be able to get food to eat."

I guess just to make sure Jay and I are listening, God is using Catherine as a reminder for us. And if that isn't convicting, I don't know what is.

An awesome Daddy

Our children are so blessed to have an awesome Daddy. Jay is such a great father. I can't even explain the way he leads and serves our family, other than to say that it is totally Christ-centered. He gives of himself to all of us and loves being with our kids. They adore him and it's the highlight of their week when they get to have special dates with him. (It's the highlight of my week when I get a special date with him too.) He makes them laugh, plays lots of baseball with Will, draws pictures with Catherine, and dances with Anna after dinner. And he takes silly family photos too! Happy Father's Day, Jay!! Thanks for having children with me.

And Happy Father's Day to Papa and PopPop too!! (or as Catherine wrote on her card, Happy Fater's Day) You're great dads and grandfathers. We love you!

Our Castle

It's summer and I'm trying to encourage the kids craftiness (even though it's not my favorite activity). The other day we used lots of boxes and towel paper rolls from the recycling bin to make a castle. We duct-taped it together and then they painted the whole thing. Catherine's Cinderella barbie now lives there.

What else are we doing so far this summer? swim lessons, speech therapy, play dates, swimming and running in sprinklers, Bible study, cleaning and organizing, reading lots of books, doing puzzles, going on picnics and walks. And most of all, just enjoying our time together. I love my time with our children and wouldn't trade it for anything--even if it means I occasionally have to be crafty!

Will's "Nemo"

The other day Catherine was telling a story in the car about a fish and she called him Nemo. Here's the conversation that followed:

Will: "Me-no"

Me: "No, it's Ne-mo"

Will: "Oh, Me-no" and we kept practicing until he finally said Nemo.

Then he got really excited and he said, "I have a Nemo."

Me: "Really, you do?"

Will: "Yep, right here." And he pointed to a mole on his knee. His knee-mole.

That's what he thought we were saying. Now he knows it's funny and keeps talking about his "nemo". He's so funny!

Family Photos

While in WV, a special family friend came over on Sunday afternoon to snap some family photos. It was great fun and we really love the pictures. Thanks, Special K!

The whole Hatten family:

The Jay Hatten 5

I love how proud Will looks in the picture!

With Anna's new walking skills, she didn't want to sit still with the other kids for a photo.

I love this one of her toddling away.

Starting the Summer

We began our summer by heading to WV to spend a few days with Mimi & PopPop and Aunt Wissa (Melissa), Uncle Andy, and Marshall. We had a great time relaxing and hanging out with everyone. Will played lots of baseball with Daddy and PopPop, Catherine made lots of crafts with Mimi, and we went swimming at the Y almost every afternoon. Anna even loved the swimming! And Anna started really walking while we were there too. Yeah!

On Saturday we headed to Beech Fork lake to eat a picnic and play. Jay rented a canoe and he and Steve took the kids out on the lake. They loved it! "Except for when PopPop almost tipped the canoe over", Catherine said.

We enjoyed lots of hanging out in the yard and enjoying PopPop's "margaritas", which are frozen grape juice.
The kids really loved playing with Marshall, who is already 10 months old--almost 11 months. That's hard to believe! And Marshall tolerated the craziness of our 3 pretty well.
On our last night there, Will fell out of the bed and got his first black eye. Anna also cried for about 1/2 the night. Time for everyone to go home and sleep in their own beds, I guess.
So now we're home and starting to get settled into our summer routine. So far we've started our Book Challenge, made poster collages, gone swimming, and cleaned. We're looking forward to a great summer with lots of play time.