Travels to IL

We traveled to my parents in Illinois for a wonderful visit. Here are a few pictures from Memorial Day at the parade in my hometown, and our BBQ afterwards with the family. It was fun to have time with all my relatives and Halle's cousins who are very close in age.







And some more of us around town...






Then I took Halle to MI to visit some of my best friends and visit baby Mya, who is my friend, Diana's 5 week old baby. It was so fun to see Halle with her and be so interested in a little one. It was also great to visit our old home in Michigan where Brian and I met. It's so fun to catch up with friends and to be in a place that holds so many memories. I will miss my friends dearly moving so far away!






And finally, we are proud to announce...




Halle's going to be a big sister!!!!

The Battle of the wills

The other night, Halle refused to eat her last bit of chili- that would be the last out of three bites she was required to eat. The battle began around 5:20 when we all sat down to eat. For some reason, she was not in the mood to eat what I had prepared and decided that no way no how would she eat her bites. So here we went, back and forth, back and forth- trying to get her to eat her bites. We got her to eat 2, but the third was a killer. We left her in her chair and in between crying fits, would try and get her to eat another bite. Finally at about 7:20-after I had left for Bible Study- she conceded. She finally ate a bite for her dad ( at that point was one macaroni noodle and one kidney bean) but it was the point that counts. Brian was so bothered all night wondering if he was too hard on her. It was a hard battle, but we won- oh yes we did! And eating has been much more peaceful since.






On another note, when Halle is not busy avoiding dinner times, she's busy doing this...

My pride and joy

This is why I love being a mom!

Only a mom...

-lets you hide behind her legs
-knows just how to scratch your back
-lets you play with her hair
-lets you play with her antique dolls
-leaves work only to make your big assembly
-only feeds you healthy snacks
-misses you every time she's gone
-sits through hours of cheerleading competitions, when you only perform for 2 minutes
-takes you shopping for that perfect dress
-lets you give her advice even if she doesn't agree
-wants to talk to you for hours
-hurts when you hurt
-rejoices when you rejoice
-can dry your tears
-can fully enjoy seeing you become a mom yourself
-can continue to mother you know matter how old you are
-will hold your hair back when you're sick
-will drive a long way to take care of you after getting your wisdom teeth out
-will write cheers when you're taking your finals
-will understand childbirth
-will sing to you before you go to bed- when she's near or far
-will do everything in her power to do everything she can to help you with anything in the whole world.

Thank you mom for years of support, encouragement, loves, hugs, back scratches, and songs!

Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight, someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight...

Beeson Year

This a our group photo of all of the families that we've been living with this year. There are 10 pastors in all in Brian's program, some with families, some without. Our year is very quickly winding down so we managed to get a big group pic. One huge benefit of this year has been living so closely with these other families- it's felt like college again living so close to them and being so intertwined with our daily lives. We've become great friends, and our kids have bonded so closely. It will sure be sad to say goodbye, but we've definitely made friends for life!

In case you couldn't see us, here's a closeup!

Spring is in the air!

Well some days we have wonderful spring weather, and some days we have yucky rainy spring weather. Here are a few pictures of Halle doing some springy activities. Our two neighbor girls are Anna and Susanna and they are all together most days. They have recently discovered the art of sidewalk chalk and love to color on the ground. We managed to capture them once when they were all looking! We are going to be so sad when we move, to not have Halle's friends so close.








On another note, I'm going to start packing this week! We have no idea where we are going to live yet, so that's a huge prayer request. But we are setting things in motion to head out of here the second week of June. I can't believe our year here is almost over!