Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we stayed in Iowa City. Paul had to work and didn't want me to be five+ hours away from him! So instead, his parents came to IC and we had Thanksgiving supper with Jon and Joel (Stef and Syd were back in Sibley). We had a great time, way too much food, and tons of laughs (as usual!).

We have so much to be thankful for - we always do - but this year is extra special! This morning in church we sang "In Christ Alone," one of my all-time faves. There is a line in the song that really hit me this morning. "From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands our destiny." We are already so thankful that God has given us a little life of HIS to take care of. We are so thankful that God knows the plans for our baby and we are certain they are GREAT plans!

Front Row Seats

Paul and I had made plans to attend the season opener of the Hawkeye basketball team earlier in the week. We paid the $12 for our tickets and were planning on sitting in section C, row 36. However, as we were walking around Carver, we ran into a doctor that Paul works with who had front row seats - literally on the floor. He said there would be two empty seats next to him and his son that we could have. Even though we were a bit nervous that we would get kicked out of them, we gave it a try! And, we made it the whole game with no one kicking us out! We had a great time, despite the Hawks losing to SDSU. Even though "Fran is the Man" according to the t-shirts the student section received... it may be a long season. But we will keep cheering anyway!

The ref to the right of the picture is my dad's cousin Rick Hartzell. He got yelled at plenty by the student section! ;)

Week 31-34

31 weeks

34 weeks

Shower :)

A couple weeks ago, my sister-in-law Stef, and good friends Nicole and Jen, hosted a baby shower for me and baby VH. I simply cannot express how special the day was. They made it so much fun and we feel so spoiled. Our house is actually beginning to look like a baby is going to live here soon! Thank you so much girls!

My sister-in-law Carrie, Hattie, and my mom were able to make the trip to IC for the shower!

Everyone made little onesies using iron-ons. Hat made this one and it is just perfect!

The Jungle Cat

Jon and Stef took Sydney to our house for Halloween - she was the cutest jungle cat ever! Sydney will even let you know that jungle cats like pepper and not cinnamon!

State XC

On October 30th, we traveled to Fort Dodge with our full girls' team and Tyler who qualified for the State Cross Country meet. The weather was beautiful and the group performed well. The girls placed 11th out of 15 teams and Tyler placed 43rd - almost two whole minutes better than his time from last year. This is such a great group and I couldn't ask for better kids to coach for! Go Lions! I'm so proud of you!