I love you Ben!

For those who don't know, Gerber daisies have always been my favorite flower. My most awesome hubby sent these to me for our anniversary, January 22nd. He sent me 4 for the four years we have been married and 4 more for our four kids. We have been through a great deal since the very beginning, even before we got married. Together we have hurdled over so many obstacles. Some were small, like when I moved to Belen, New Mexico and became homesick. And some were as big as a mountain, like learning that we may never have children. We learned that when God closes one door another one opens, and boy did so many more doors open for us! After a few years and a few thousand dollars later, we didn't give up but decided that maybe God wanted something different for us. So we gave everything to Him and prayed for what He thought was best for us. About 3 months later some very significant people came into our lives and well the rest is history. We now have 4 beautiful kids, all moved into our home within 8 months. Now a year later, we have our wedding anniversary, the day that Ben and I became husband and wife, and we have 2 family birthdays, the days that we all became one BIG happy family.

With God all things are possible. ~ Matthew 19:26

Last but not least...my little rascal

Justin Michael...He moved the trash can and parked his little "car" and hid from everyone. Well, tried to but it didn't last long. He was screaming "I'm right here" before we could start looking for him. Now you know why the kids like to play hide and seek with him. He either gives himself away or Alissa just follows and lets everyone know! Being the second to the youngest, he sure doesn't act like it. Let's just say that he keeps us on our toes.

Alexis

Basketball season is in full swing! We will soon start mini dribblers here and Lexi is excited....ok, ok so are we. We even thought about coaching. And we don't know what's going on :) HaHa. Alexis was part of the teams of tomorrow and they performed during a halftime of a girls basketball game. She loved it. She did an awesome job, and we were so proud of her. She is still doing her piano lessons and those are going pretty good. She just has a knack for it. Actually, anything creative you get her to do she just does it like she's been doing it forever. Maybe I'm just a very proud parent. Love ya Lexi!

Nicholas

I forgot I had this one. Over the Christmas holidays Jeff came home and surprised Nicholas with his own Air Force uniform. Nick was on cloud nine! He doesn't have the saluting down yet but he sure is trying. This time around when Jeff left, there weren't much tears but he was reassured that Jeff would be back soon. I have no idea what will happen when they move to Hawaii. Nice family vacation, Huh? :)

Miss Independent!

As much as I want to cuddle our smallest of Hart's, she has a mind of her own! Here lately we have been on a rampage trying to keep an eye on Alissa. She opens any door that's not to heavy. And yes we have had our little fingers crushed one to many times. The dressers are becoming a danger zone because they are just the right height for her to open ALL the drawers and her quest to the top begins. Thank goodness we've caught her before she makes it up the first drawer. Speaking of steps...Nicholas and Justin have bunk beds but I really don't know for how long. Alissa has now made it to the second step and still tinkering to get to the third. YIKES!! Clothing, well let's just say that it does stay on for long, especially her darn socks and shoes. As we are trying to potty train Justin, we are also trying to break Alissa of the bottle. And amazingly she only cries for one at night but holds close to a cup all day long. This is going a little better than I had imagined. Potty training for her seems to be just around the corner, I think. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but she barges through the door when we are helping Justin and she just stands there to watch. We just need to show her that girls sit on the toilet not stand like boys. When we are all done, she gets close to the toilet, lifts her shirts and stands there like she is waiting for something to happen. It's the funniest thing I have ever seen!!! Talking is something else that is working itself out. She says tons of words and understands when you tell her to do something. Her vocabulary consists of "mine"(that is probably the clearest word of them all), "hot", "nana" (my mom), "thatha" (ben), "mama", "thethe" (bottle), "shoes", "shash" (thrash), and a few that she has some funky way of saying but we understand. Well mostly, sometimes we have Nicholas translate :) So...her name fits her well Alissa Grace Hart. And it is by God's grace that we have her (hence her middle name) and she is becoming an amazing little Hart.

Quick Updates

Well it was pretty chaotic at our house Christmas through New Year's. Justin is still doing an AWESOME job with the potty training. We have had a few accidents, but just on separate occasions, and they are during the day. No accidents at night!! He has been wearing big boy undies now for a week. So we are keeping our fingers crossed that it continues...
Nicholas is still on his firetruck kick. Although he has showed alot of interest in the Air Force. Jeff, one of Ben's cousins, is currently in the Air Force, and well Nicholas looks up to him and well you know where it goes from there. Jeff even got him his own uniform that looks just like his. Nicholas is on cloud nine! Yeah, can you imagine an Air Force trainee on a firetruck with a truckie belt :) What an imagination!
Now Alissa, she is in a world ALL her own, a very fast and LOUD world. She is always running back and forth from room to room and giving the others a reason why they DON'T want her in their room. She is amazing and growing so fast. She is trying to say words that of course only we understand what she really wants. Sometimes I even have to ask Nicholas what she wants.
Alexis is just fitting in like she has been with us since day one. We have had some issues but nothing out of the ordinary. Her and Nicholas bicker just like brother and sister. The second semester will be starting when they go back to school. Her grades are betting better every six weeks. We are so proud of her!
Last but not least, there's US...Ben has been a little under the weather. Well not so little because he got put in the hospital this evening. The doctor thinks that his gallbladder isn't "working" they way it's supposed to. He doesn't have gallstones so in the morning he will be having a HIDA scan (I know how to say it, not spell it). There is a possibility that he might have his gallbladder removed Saturday. I will try to keep you posted. As for me, well....let's just say that this is my way of keeping my marbles straight :)!!! It gets a little overwhelming but we wouldn't have it any other way. The kids are the light of my life. Everyday that I wake up I love them that much more. The hugs, the kisses, the fights, the timeouts, everything always seems to fall into place. God truly blessed us with 4 beautiful children. I can't thank Him enough for all that he has done in our lives. God is Great!