Family Update

Time flies and I can't believe it's almost October.  Here's a quick update about our family:

Bryce: B's main job is AJE where he works 75%.  He also teaches 1 class ast CaSE and is a students at SEBTS getting his EdD.  He has about 2 more years until he's done.  Next semester he will have to choose between teaching a class at CaSE or a online course at Lancaster Bible School in PA. 
Katie: K teaches at WFRMS still in 7th grade.  I also coach girls soccer this fall and I'm still the department chair.  When I'm not teaching and coaching at school, I'm planning with my PLT who are my best friends at school.  I look foward to weekends when I get to spend the days with my kids.
Rin: R is 4 years old and loves to learn.  She's currently taking gymnastic lessons on Tuesdays for an hour.  She really likes it, but I couldn't tell you what her teacher's name is or what she is learning.  We stay and watch, but it's not like we can practice at home.  Besides gymnastics and learning, R loves princesses and fairies.  She still likes puzzles and is eager to learn to read.
Abe: A is a couple weeks shy of turning 3.  He's very athletic and seems to be pretty fearless.  When he turns 3, we are thinking about finding a program for him to do (maybe at the factory).  A is learning how to be independent of R, and he's developing his own personality.  A likes to joke and be silly.
Wes: W is almost 18 months and is starting to form more words.  He's got about 5 words he can say now, and the funniest is when he says 'yes' and 'uh-oh'.  He's a big boy wearing 18 month clothing since he was 15 months.  W likes to wrestle with B and he likes to sit in my lap while I read him a book.  It seems to us that W has a bit of a silly personality, but we aren't quite sure exactly what W will be like. 

We have a lot of fun as the Hantla Clan and thank God everyday for the family he's blessed us with.

Are you Ready for Some Football?!

Our annual trip to the Panthers/Saints game came earlier this year.  The Gillams and Hantla's were onboard for making a weekend of it, except B had class that week.  We waited for B to get out of class on Saturday and then left for Charlotte.  MP watched the kids for us over the weekend. 

We got on the road about 4:15 pm, and made our way to Charlotte.  K/J had made reservations at a hotel that they normally stay at, and Chris & Heather were meeting us there.  C/H decided to meet us and go to the game with us this year.  We are always welcoming more friends, so having 6 of us was going to be exciting.  By the time we made it to the hotel, it was already getting pretty dark.  We were all starving so we headed into Charlotte for dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery.  B & I had never been there, but the other 4 had.  I looked at the menu ahead of time and knew I wanted the Chicken-n-Mac.  It was yummy mac and cheese with shredded chicken mixed in with some spice.  It was so good.  Jen even got it also.  B got Jambalaya, Chris got a burger, Heather got veggie quesadillas, and Keith got a steak.  I think everyone's food was great, but I know mime was.  We didn't even sit down to order until almost 10, which made for a late late night.  I think we got to sleep shortly after 1am. 

We were so excited about sleeping in, but around 7:15, I woke up and was wide awake.  B and I layed in bed for a while, and then finally got up for the continental breakfast.  The breakfast was hot with eggs, bacon, muffins, gritts, and some fruit.  It was nice to just take it easy and eat breakfast without cooking or cleaning up afterwards.  C/H came down for breakfast later, but J/K never made it down.  They got to sleep in late....We all checked out of the hotel and headed to the stadium for our tailgate.  We found an awesome spot for free, and started the pregame party.  We all brought some stuff to snack on, but B and I weren't very hungry since we just had breakfast.  We ate and talked for a while, and then headed into the stadium around 12:15pm.  Keith and I wanted to be in our seats so we could see both teams come out and warm up.  The past several years we had been late to the game and missed all that excitment.  This year we had plenty of time though.  The entire weekend was a blast, but the Saints lost:(  Carolina's defense was just better than our offense that day. 

Jen and I took naps on the way home, while B and K talked in the front.  By the time we got back to our house after stopping at K/J's to get our car, it was after 9pm.  MP had kept R & A awake so we could see them, but W was already asleep.  We missed our kids a lot.  We look forward to the days when all the Hantla Clan can come to these games together.

Pregame snacking

Keith, Bryce, and Chris

Heather, Katie, and Jen

Gillams, Bryants, Hantlas

Silly

Cam is #1

Who Dat

So Sad:(  Panthers 35   Saints 27

Not in the mood for a picture

Best Friends

Spaghetti Dinner

Since I'm coaching again this year, I asked B if we could host a spaghetti dinner for my soccer girls before their first game.  We wanted to do something special to promote commradary.  Our first game was Thursday, so Wednesday we had the team over for spaghetti. 

I have 20 girls on the team, but 2 were unable to come.  My manager came, which made 19 girls in our house.  I warned them before hand that our house was small and that they might end up sitting on each other's laps.  I also told them I didn't want to see cell phones out the entire afternoon since this was supposed to be a time to get to know each other better. 

B started cooking the spaghetti and I cut the bread.  The salad was just thrown into a bowl and the sauce was in the crockpot.  I used my mom's recipe for sauce and it makes the whole house smell so good.  We had water and lemonade to drink.  Well these girls ate, and ate, and ate some more.  B cooked 3 lbs of spaghetti and the girls ate every single ounce.  They ate all the bread, all the sauce, drank all the lemonade and ate all the cookies.  The only thing that was left was a tiny bit of salad.  B and I didn't even get to eat!  The girls kept coming back for more.  I'm glad they enjoyed it, but I would have liked some myself. 

I also wish I would have taken pictures.  All their backpacks and soccer bags were in the back of the van, and all their shoes were on the front porch.  R & A had a blast with a bunch of kids to play with them.  After eating, most everyone went outside for a big game of tag and hide-n-seek.  All the girls were gone by 6:30 and then we headed to the WFRMS football game vs Heritage, by way of MacDonalds so B and I could eat.  The game was fun and the Cougars won.  Some soccer girls were there too and R wanted to go off with them.  We did not let her because they were more interested in socializeing than playing with a 4 year old.  R & A sat with us as we cheered our team on.  We got home a little after 8 that night which meant no baths, but such a fun evening!

Puzzle Time

Our kids love doing puzzles, probably because B and I love doing puzzles too.  While we were at walmart looking for a gift for a birthday party in the toy isle, we came upon puzzles.  Of course R & A were asking for new puzzles, but we got an adult puzzle instead.  A Coke themed puzzle that was 1000 pieces.  The last time B and I did a puzzle was over Christmas Break so about 9 months ago.  It took us about a week to finish this one, working a little bit every night after putting the kids to bed.  We did it on the coffee table and then covered it with a towel so the kids wouldn't bother it during the day.  It was a lot of fun together and I look forward to doing another puzzle with my love!

Guess Who!

We worked nursery duty this morning with the Gillams and Keith showed me this picture.  He said I had to guess who it was, and that both he and B guessed wrong when they looked at it.  So, I guessed it wrong too!

Taken October 2011

My guess was Abe and Lexi...but no, this is Wes and Bree.  I made Jen show me the date to prove it!  It's also taken at the WFR campus and both Abe and Lexi were older when we moved to the new campus.  It's just funny how much they look like A and Lexi.  I really don't remember Bree being that chuncky and W looks skinnier than I remember him being.  We laughed a lot at how all us parents didn't even know which of our children were in this picture!

Small Group Babysitting

Having date nights is important for the marriage, but with small kids, it's expensive to pay a sitter, and then still go out to eat or to the movies.  B and I try to swap sitting nights with friends to help save the cost of the sitter.  Over the summer B and I got to go on several date nights so we thought we'd try to return the favor.  We scheduled the first small group babysitting last night. 

We told our small group that we would babysit from 5-9pm on Friday so they could have a date night.  We agreed to feed the kids dinner and keep them entertained until 9.  The Daniel's and O'Janpa's were able to come, but the Caldwells did not.  Actually the Caldwell boys had A over for a sleepover instead.  So I have 2 different stories to tell. 

Shortly after 5, the O girls and the D boys arrived.  I had planned to cook mac and cheese with nuggets for dinner and then some fruit.  I knew we'd take the kids to the playground down the street and then possibly back for a movie.  We had 6 total which ended up being perfect.  We did not need the kid table in the kitchen after all.  Rin, Bella, Logan, and Julia each had a big chair while Landon and W sat in the boosters.  Everyone ate their food and and had some fruit. 

About to say the blessing

After dinner, all the big kids went to the potty and then we walked to the playground.  B and I decided to avoid the swings because there were only 2 and then we would have had to push the entire time.  We made them play on the set and then a big game of tag broke out.  We also played hide-and-seek for a while.  Everyone was sweaty and ready to had home around 7pm.

lined up outside about to get bug spray on

walking to the playground

Our plan was to put on a Disney movie for the kids, but B wanted to show Prince of Egypt.  10 minutes later, the only 2 that were watching were R and Bella.  Everyone else was back in W's room playing.  I stayed in the living room with the girls and B headed to the back to play also.  After some play time, we turned on some music and had a dance party.  Parents started showing up around 8:15 after eating dinner out for date night.  I was surprised, because we were prepared for 9pm.  Everyone was gone around 8:50, and then we got R and W in bed.  Having all the kids over, was really fun and not a problem at all!

watching the movie (for a minute)

 We had only 6 out of the 10 kids in our small group.  Justin C was out of town, so Nicole wasn't going on a date anyway.  We told her to bring her boys, and have dinner with a friend or go do something else, but she asked if A could spend the night with them.  Justin and Nicole are A's god-parents and we try very hard to build up that relationship.  Each of our children have a different set of godparents specifically because we wanted each child to develop a unique relationship.  B and I wanted spiritual godparents for our kids, not legal guardian godparents.  Our thought was that if each child had their own spiritual godparents, then that relationship is special.  One reason B and I asked J and N to be A's godparents, was how we witnessed them cope and rely on the Lord when they lost their twins.  J told us that he's having a hard time being mad.  He said the twins had the perfect life: they were conceived with love, born and held and kissed, and then died and with the Lord.  They never experienced pain, heartache, sin.  He's right-what a perfect life.  Faith and Avery will be rejoined by their parents and brother one day.  Going through that experience with J/N and seeing their faith strengthened, made it obvious to us, that they definitely have wisdom to impart upon our fist born son.  Seeing as J/N already had 1 boy when A was born (now they have 3), we also knew that they would be good with talking through guy stuff. 
We brought A over to Nicole around 4:30 yesterday afternoon.  Her boys were still napping so she got some special time with just Abe.  She said she really enjoyed that 1 on 1 time with him.  A just loves Grayson.  A does everything G does, and really looks up to G.  Nicole said she cooked spaghetti for dinner and then gave the boys a bath.  I think they ended the night with a movie.  A brought his sleeping back and just crashed in G's room.  Nicole said they had a great night and morning together.  The boys played and watched Cars this morning.  We picked A up around 11 am.  He was excited to see R and she really missed him too.  We are just so thankful for friends and godparents that will spend quality time with our kids!

movie time with god-brothers