Recent Pics…

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Cuddle Bug…or Not!

Hana Kate thought it would be funny if she pretended to lay down with her dolly. She is such a prankster, and thinks she is so funny! She’ll often pretend like she’s going to give us something (especially food), and then she takes it away and starts laughing and gets the twinkle in her eye that you see in the second picture. And to think, I was so careful about not trying to do things like this to her because I had thought it would confuse children and that they didn’t understand that kind of humor. Apparently, this little girl does.

Silly Girl, Happy Girl!

Hana Kate is Daddy’s gardening assistant. So far they’ve planted peas, lettuce, carrots and beans in the big garden. Oh, and dandelions… Hana Kate was sick for a few days before this picture, so a rare event occurred in our yard–dandelions with seeds! She normally picks all the yellow ones before they ever make it this far.

What little girl could ask for anything more? Daddy, swinging, beautiful weather, lots of food before…

Learning to Sing and Pray

As a young mother, one of the things I’ve lookd forward to the most in my child’s development is her spiritual development. Of course, it will be at least a couple more years before I will see this in depth. But for now, it is exciting to see that my little girl is already learning things that I hope will eventually point her to know God.

They are cute and fun for now, but when repeated, perchance they’ll bring about a discipline in areas that will be a means to her spiritual growth.

Recently, Hana Kate saw a memory verse pack of mine. Apparently to her, it looked like a little Bible–like the little New Testaments you often see. She brought it to me and kept saying, “By-buh, By-buh!” I finally caught on that she wanted me to sing “The B-I-B-L-E!” So Daniel and I have now sung the song well over hundreds of times. (She even asked Grandpa and Grandma to sing it to her over Skype!) As soon as we finish singing, she does her little sign for “please,” and wants us to sing it again! On occasion, she’ll say “By-buh” at the end of the song, too! Of course, to her it’s just a fun song, and she sees certain books and thinks they are a “by-buh.” But we pray that she will one day learn to love God’s Word as much as she loves this song about the Bible.

If that weren’t enough to make our hearts smile, she’s been asking us to pray. She recently learned how to fold her hands. Although she normally holds our hands for our mealtime prayer, we often fold our hands at bedtime, and apparently between that and the sheer fascination of folding her hands she equates it with praying.

And so, I am learning more about prayer because of my 14-month old. Randomly throughout the day, she’ll come up to me, fold her hands and say, “please.” So we fold our hands together and pray a brief prayer. Sadly, I am praying much more in these days than I have in recent weeks.

At first I noticed that most of my praying was for requests. I realized I want to teach her to praise God, too, so now I go back and forth from praising God to praying, especially for her Grandma who currently has Bell’s Palsy. She usually asks to pray several times in a row and at very random times. But we love it! Someday we’ll tell her about how she used to ask to pray as a toddler, but we hope and pray that she’ll always want to pray like this!

Oh how we pray that we will one day enjoy the day when we can say, “I have no greater joy than to see that my children walk in truth!”

And perhaps soon I’ll be able to put some pictures up of these fun events!

Picture of Tiredness

Here’s a picture my friend sent me after they watched Hana Kate on Monday night.

She was recovering from being pretty sick over the week and weekend before, but I didn’t realize quite how tired she was until I went to pick her up. On Sunday night, she was asking to go to bed by 6:30p.m., and apparently she would have liked to go to bed at that time on Monday night, too! (She normally goes to bed around 7:30.) Makes Mommy sad, but I still think it’s cute!

Changing Seasons

It has been quite some time since I have blogged here. If for some reason, you’re still checking for updates, thanks. I’ve missed writing, and know I need to continue to write (though not necessarily blogging) as a discipline that needs to be developed. Our lives have changed a good bit since I’ve last posted. As winter has turned to spring (how happy that makes me!), so our lives have been gradually changing.

At the end of last year, my old computer crashed. Ugh. My sweet husband did a lot of freelance work and to earn funds to buy a used computer for me to use…a Mac! I am loving the change and am still learning, but one thing that has kept me from blogging here is that I hate to write without posting pictures! Especially picture of my sweet little girl, who is now 14 months. I don’t yet have a fast and easy way to transfer pictures from my camera to the new computer, but I decided to post this anyway. I have still been posting (well, not as frequently as intended) at my savings blog, Saving in Greenville, but it is a bit easier to keep up with.

The Lord has led us through many seasons in recent months. Certainly, we miss my Dad, and I’m learning that the grief was not just in the days surrounding his death. For me, those days were relatively easy, and I miss him more now than I did then. But I am thankful for our wonderful years together and for the memories that will live on until we see him again in heaven.

Just over a month after my dad’s death, we learned we of a new life that will be joining our family–we are expecting our second child in late October. We believe that each child is a gift, and have trusted Him to give us these gifts in His perfect timing. It is perfect, no matter how quickly they come or how long we must wait; but we will not refuse God’s gifts. (This is a subject on which I have been hesitant to write publicly, but perhaps I will in days to come.) Recent weeks have been filled with all-day, unpredictable “morning sickness,” but how we rejoice at the days to come.

We’re also busy preparing for our upcoming survey trip later this year. The political situation in Madagascar is all but favorable, but at this point we are still planning the trip. God has already shown us His kind provision in this area-often from unexpected sources, as well. There is still much to do and much to fund, but we are confident that this is the direction He is leading.

But it is spring, and so we are soaking up the sunshine. Hana Kate just loves being outdoors, and has already gotten a little farmer’s tan. Maybe I’ll be in the sun enough this year to turn my hair back to the blonde it used to be. Or maybe, it wil just help her to grow some hair!

This past weekend, all 3 of us were throwing up together. It was a new experience, for sure! Thankfully, my mom was visiting for part of that time and was able to take care of Hana Kate while we rested. Now we just have to catch up on laundry and dishes!

Many other changes and plans seem to be coming our way in future months. The months ahead hold many unknowns, but our God holds our future, and in that we rejoice!

My Dad’s Homegoing

It’s been a while since I’ve written here, and we’ve been super busy lately!  One reason is that we spent quite a good bit of time in West Virginia (at least, Hana Kate and I did) during the month of January, surrounding the time that my dad went home to heaven.  Most of those who know us personally were aware of his passing, but I thought I’d mention it here, though it is a few weeks after the fact.

Dad had bladder cancer that eventually spread to the rest of his body.  He died a peaceful, quiet death in his own bedroom.  And yet, he did not taste death; we were really the ones who experienced his death more than he did.  And now he lives more than we could ever imagine, for he is with Jesus.

Here was Dad’s obituary:

Marvin J. “Skip” Hawley, age 61, of Williamstown, West Virginia, went home to his Savior Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at his home following an eight year struggle with cancer.  He was born June 26, 1947, in Cleveland, Ohio, son of the late Marvin J. and Dorothy Schimming Hawley. When Skip was four years old, he and his family moved to Ava, where he grew up. He was a 1965 graduate of Shenandoah High School in Sarahsville. In 1970, he was employed by the Central Ohio Coal Company, where he worked for over 25 years. After working at various mining jobs in Wyoming and West Virginia, he retired from Hobet Mining in Madison, West Virginia. He was an active member of Faith Bible Church in Williamstown, West Virginia.

Surviving are his wife, Joyce, whom he married October 17, 1981; five children, Michael (Joan) Hawley of Westerville, Mark Hawley of Portland, Oregon, Kelly (Erik) Klaustermeyer  of Hampton, Georgia, and Keren (Daniel) Threlfall and Mary Beth Hawley, both of Greenville, South Carolina; two grandchildren, Matthew Klaustermeyer [Ryan] and Hana Kate Threlfall; two sisters, Sandy Sklenar of Belle Valley and Deanna Hall of Las Vegas; one brother, Mark Hawley of Belle Valley; and several nieces and nephews.

Friends may call Friday, January 23, 2009, from 2-4 and 6-8PM at McVay-Perkins Funeral Home, 416 East Street, Caldwell, and Saturday from 11AM-1PM at Faith Bible Church in Williamstown, West Virginia, followed by the funeral service at 1PM with Pastors Robert Smith and Bob Hodges officiating. A graveside service will be observed Sunday, January 25th at 3PM at Halleys Ridge Cemetery in Ava. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Wood County Christian School, 113 W. Ninth Street, Williamstown, West Virginia, 26187.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tree Wonder

Playing her gift from Daddy!