My Big Girl

Well, we have been pretty busy keeping up with our big girl lately. Lots of new things have been happening for her. First of all, her breaking her arm. That was just crazy! You worry about your kids climbing up on tall things or riding scary things too fast. All Emma had to do was miss the bottom step on a playground and BOOM, fractured and dislocated right on her elbow. We took her to the ER but after the XRay they sent us to Cooks so that  she could have better care. I couldn't believe it when they said we were going to have to go there and have a small operation done in order to pin her arm so that it would heal right. I mean it made sense, but I couldn't believe such a small fall would be such a big deal. She was so good through out the whole thing. All day long we were going from place to place and room to room. She hadn't eaten all day and they said that she could not have any food or drink until the procedure. They didn't actually do the procedure until like nine that night and she never complained once. I was so proud of her. I also know that she is like me and she was enjoying everyone focusing on her and all of the TLC.We stayed over night and then they watched her for part of the next day. That hospital is so neat! There was a playroom down the hall from us that was so cool and lots of other things for us to walk around and explore. The Build A Bear was our favorite. They really have the set up for those kids. It was neat. She has done very well since then. Even though she broke her right hand you would never know that she isn't left handed. She can do EVERYTHING with her left hand that she can with her right. I also got to see how serious she is about following the rules. The Doc told her she had to wear a sling, so if I for some reason forgot to put it on her she would say, "Mom, the Dr. says I need to be wearing my sling." Very good girl. Now onto Kindergarten. She loves it! She goes to school right down the road at Crockett Elementary and her teacher's name is Mrs. Porter. She is a very sweet lady. Emma talks about all of the fun things that they do and I really like what Im hearing about it. Sounds like a good school. It's definitly different not having her home during the day, but me and Brett go back to school in a couple of weeks so that will help. Me and Brett are enjoying our time together. We have been going on lunch dates and getting stuff ready for my new PreK class.Im really excited about our school starting! I really love my job and the kids. I have a lot of fun ideas for this year. Well, I hope everyone is doing well! Have a good rest of the week!

Getting ready for a new year!!

Yay! We finally have the internet at our house! I have missed it soooo much. I love my IPhone but my eyes get tired of focusing on the little screen. Anyways, I have missed getting to fill you in on our new life in Weatherford. Well, it is great. We really do enjoy it here. It is such a pretty little town and we have plenty to do living so close to Ft. Worth. Justin is loving his job. It is so nice for our family. He is very busy right now during the summer because he is always driving to locations filling up the trailers tanks. They are getting used like crazy right now with our record heat wave. It's been like 48 days over 100 degrees. Craziness...but he does still get to come home a spend more time with us We have a new roommate other than Josh now. Justin's good friend Nate has come to work for us and is staying with us for a little while until he gets an apartment. We have really enjoyed having him here. Justin is happy to have his buddy here and the kids wont leave him alone. They love Uncle Nate. Tomorrow is my last day of work for the summer and then I don't start again until Sept. 6. Again, I love my job!! I absolutely love the teachers I work with and the structure that the school has is excellent. It is a licensed  Preschool and I am going to be teaching my second year in Pre K. I love it!! Tomorrow is also Emma's last day of Pre K. In a couple of weeks she will be going to off  to Kindergarden. So far I haven't gotten real emotional but you know me, it will come. She just loves school so much and I love to see her happy about it. Also, I just got her registered at her new ballet school and I am so excited about it! I was very impressed with their website http://www.aledodanceacademy.com/. So now she will be in ballet and gymnastics and we also putting Brett in gymnastics too. I think its going to be a good year. The dance school is not too far from our house. Only like twenty minutes away I think. Thats a lot better than an hour.  So thats pretty much all that is new here. We do miss everyone in Abilene, especially South Side, but I am getting plugged in here at North Side and it is nice.God is so so good. I sure hope everyone is doing well. I love you all!!

Grapevine Mills

I had to take Emma's ballet recital fee to her school on Saturday and I thought since we were going to be driving all the way over there on a Saturday we might as well make a day of it. I decided to take them to the Grapeving Mills mall and to the Rainforest Cafe. It was just me and them and I am not usually the type to go out to eat with out another grown up. We really had a blast though. They are just getting so big. I can carry on a conversation with my daughter now and that made it such a neat time to spend a special day together. It made me think of how me and my mom used to go to special places to eat, just us, when I was little. I always loved that. Im glad I get to have that with my little girl. They loved the Rainforest cafe. Brett wasn't scared at all until a person dressed like a frog started going around to all of the tables. He hates anything in a costume. But we had a very nice lunch there and then we walked around the mall for a couple of hours. Neither one of them complained about being bored or tired. We just had fun. We usually always do, but we don't usually go shopping for that long before someone starts whining. It was just such a blessing to get to go out and do something different and special with my babies.

Our Life in Weatherford Texas

It has been a long time since I have last posted anything because I haven't really had a computer to be able to update on what has been going on. Im staying with my parents this weekend so I can finally let you know what has been going on. Well, we have moved to Weatherford and into Justin's parent's house. It's not bad. I have really felt at home there. They were so sweet to give me and Justin their bedroom so that we wont be right next to everybody else and we don't have to share a bathroom with the rest of the house. Thank goodness because I do not like sharing bathrooms. I didn't even like sharing a bathroom with Justin at our house in Abilene! I really like Weatherford. It's a nice town. Not too big, not too small and it is really close to Ft. Worth so we can go to the big city to do fun things. We have already filled up our schedule with different activities. Monday, Emma has gymnastics at 3:30 and me and Gus have Obedience school at 7:00. Tuesday Emma and Brett go to Mother's Day Out all day and then right after that we drive an hour to the Ballet Academy of Texas for Emma's dance class. Wednesday night we have church and then Thursday is MDO again.Sunday of course is Church again. God has really blessed us with family that has been able to make this possible and I love that we are busy because if Im not busy I get homesick. I hate sitting around the house, especially when it's not my house. God has definitely taken care of this for me. We tried several churches that were just not a fit for us and I was getting really down. I missed everything about South Side. Finally I tried North Side Baptist in Weatherford and I felt right at home. Everything about it just fits and I have already gotten into a Bible Study and the kids are in a great program there. Praise the Lord! He heard my cries. I love when He does that. And He does seem to do that all the time. I love prayer. Justin is really enjoying his job. It has definitely helped us financially but the best part is that he really gets to be home a lot more. We see him a lot during the daytime now. I love it! Of course I miss Abilene but because I stay so busy it's not too bad. And I have gotten to come home at least every two weeks because Im only two hours away. I like that too.So we have had a lot of changes, but God has been so good to us. They have been very good changes. Im looking forward to what the Lord has in store for us in the town of Weatherford. So far so good and I know it will just get better. Especially when we get to get our own home. Im praying for that now. We just need to sell our house in Abilene and then we will get to look for our new home. Im praying that we can sell our house quickly. But like I said. I know the Lord hears my cries and I know he already has that all set up for us. We just have to wait. That can be hard sometimes. Im ready to decorate!!! Sorry I can't put any pics up. I can't figure out how to do that on my mom's Macbook. I promise I will try to get on more and update more often. Miss you all!!

Thanksgiving 2010

This year was our Thanksgiving in Weatheford with Justins parents. As always we had a really great time. We got to be there for a couple of days so that was really nice. I am so thankful for my wonderful In-Laws. I am so blessed that I can go over there and still feel at home. That is a very good thing since very soon that will be my home for a little while. But really, they are great. I am also so thankful for the relationship I have with my mother-in-law. She is like a mother to me and a friend. I can talk to her about anything and we just like to hang out,shop and have fun. I don't think a lot of people have that with their mother-in-laws. While we were there Emma had fun playing with her cousins. I really think Emma will like getting to play with them more when we move there. On Saturday we got to come home and have Thanksgiving with my family. It was fun too. We got to talk to Jim with Skype. I just think that is so neat that military families can communicate with computers like that now. It's amazing the way they improve technology. We had a really nice meal there and I got to watch Gus and Piper play together. That was entertaining. I just have so much to be thankful for this year. My wonderful loving husband, healthy children and my whole family. I am also thankful for our opportunity to move on to a new chapter in our lives. It's scary but exciting. Justin has decided to take a job that his Dad offered him in Weatherford and we think it will be very good. It will be a very good chance to make more money and also take good classes for his degree. It is great because it is not far at all from home so I can come back anytime I want, and believe me, I will be. It is scary because of the day to day changes. I know that it has to happen in life though. Emma will have to change ballet, I wont have a job for a while so Im not sure what I will do all day there, and no more South Side bible studies. That is the scariest part for me. Changing churches. I will get to come back to South Side a lot. I will be coming home a lot on weekends. I will just miss Wednesday nights. Bible studies and Awana's. I know, I know... they have them at other churches. I will just miss mine. I am so so very thankful and I love my church family. I have gone there for so long and I wish all of you knew how much they have taught me and how much I have changed. Jesus is my Savior but my South Side family has helped me grow. I love them all and I will miss getting to do the small group stuff where we get to learn together. I will be going to Kevin's Discovery class on Sunday so I can hear him talk about what to look for in a church. I do know that my desire is to find one with  passion for Truth and people who are intentional to dig deep in His Word and teach it. I am so glad I can still get Kevins sermons online.I know though that God already has another church already picked out for us and I can't wait to see where we end up. It is such a relief to know that as long as I am seeking Him, He will lead me and I don't have to worry about being lost in a bad church. It will be good. Justin and I have put so much prayer into this and still are praying about our future. We do still have some obstacles with finishing our house, but we aren't worried.  So anyways, the Hardin house does have so much to be thankful for and we do thank the Lord everyday for blessing us so much with this life and the promise of life everlasting. God is Good!!

                                            

Guster Bob Hardin

Well we got another dog. Yes, I know I already had three, but we have missed Haley so much since she has been gone. Justin did finally say I could get another inside dog. I didn't want anything but a cocker spaniel. I love them. They are just the perfect dog for a family pet. Justin said his only condition was that he had to pick out the puppy and name it. I said that was fine because I know I tend to pick out the worst of the litter. Also, I really wanted Justin to bond with this puppy since he is not an animal person like me. He picked out a male and one that was pretty calm, but not so calm that he wasn't social. We have had him for a week now and he is deffinately the best dog I have ever had. He is so good at going potty outside and he is very good with the kids. Of course he is only seven weeks old so he is just learning about doggy life, but he has been so good. Justin has really liked him too. He even takes Gus outside to potty and play. He has never done that with a dog. He is really trying to bond with Gus. I am so happy and so thankful to my wonderful husband for letting me have another one. I can tell that Gus is going to be a very special part of our little family.

Halloween

For Halloween this year we took our annual trip to Poolville's Fall Festival. That is at Grandma's school. The kids had  blast there, but I was wiped out. Justin didn't get to go, so trying to keep my two kids together and all of their stuff was hard. I really do admire military wives. When we got back to Abilene we got to go to our churches first fall festival since we have been there. It was so much fun too. I had a lot of fun there because Justin was there and was able to play with Brett while I played with Emma. I am just so thankful for our church family. We are so blessed to have them in our lives.

Brett's favorite game there was the fishing game. He played it four times.

Emma enjoyed making sand art.

I made some lady take a picture of us.

Brett looking through his candy. He was so happy.

This was another of Betts favorite things to do. Ride the rail. It wasn't a fall fest game but he made it one.

Headed to South Side

Emma and her friend Chloe

Emma, Abbie, and Noelle. Emma's best friends (except Ryleigh)

Big girl!