Halle moments

Halle's fist Sunday School

Today was our first Sunday at our new church- it was such a weird feeling walking in there this morning thinking- this is our church! It was my first experience in the role of "pastor's wife." Brian didn't speak this morning, so it was a little more relaxed for us, which is nice that we can kind of ease into this. When I handed Halle over to her "toddler" class- yes she's no longer in the nursery :( - there were no tears. Whew! Smooth handoff. So I picked her up at the end of the service and of course got a wonderful report that she was a sweet girl. Then Halle looked at me and said, "Jesus up there," as she pointed up. I was speechless! I said, "That's right Halle he is up there." Then the teacher came and handed me the little booklet she had colored along with their lesson today. In the car she told Brian, "we read the Bible." My little girl is learning all about God. It was such a sweet, sweet moment to realize how much she is learning. Of course- we pray at home and read stories, but this was the first time she'd really talked about Jesus.


On another note, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!




This is my daddy. I have the best daddy ever! My dad did such a good job of raising us (along with mom) and was very intentional about spending time with us, which is something not a lot of Dad's did. My dad tried his best to give us a life he never had and did such a good job at communicating with us and teaching us about life. My dad spent a lot of time with me and always made me feel so special. As an adult and parent, I look back and appreciate so much the way that my parent's raised me. I'm so thankful dad for your friendship, for your sacrifices, for your support, for your thoughtfulness, and for your love. I love continuing our father/daughter relationship and I love seeing you as a grandfather. I love you!

And to my husband...



It's so amazing to see the man you love become a dad. Brian is the most patient and loving dad. He's so helpful to me as a mom, and he truly lights up when he sees his girl. He is also intentional about spending time with Halle and making her feel special. I'm so thankful that Brian is so involved with Halle. I can't wait to see him grow more as a dad with our next baby. I love you hunny and appreciate you and love that your Halle's dad!

Catching up

I've finally gotten a chance to sit down and upload all of our pictures from the last few weeks and all of our travels. We are gradually settling in here in TX. Today was Brian's first day on the job and most boxes are now out of our living space and in storage. So while it doesn't quite feel like home yet, we have a good set up and plenty of room for the 3 of us.

For Halle's 2nd Birthday my mom and I took her to Build-A-Bear to build her own teddy bear which she named, Princess. We weren't sure how much she'd understand of the process or even get into it, but she loved it! She walked around the store hugging Princess most of the time and plays with her a lot now. She likes to make her dance to the birthday song she plays when you push her hand.







We were able to spend a little time in Chicago with friends and of course a trip to Wrigley to see the Cubbies- even though they lost the night we went. :(






And just great times with my family...






And on our way back to KY to get ready to move, we stopped in IN to see our old small group and then to a wedding of 2 of our former college students- it was great to see our friends! When we moved away there were 3 children in the group and now...3 more and 2 on the way!!





Here's a glimpse of life since we got here- it's been HOT! It will take some getting used to, but thank God for the pool! And thank you Mom!! Thank you for making the 14 hour move with us, for entertaining Halle for countless hours, for unpacking, for swimming with Halle, for cleaning, for praying, for babysitting, and for being with us through this important transition! We could not have done it without you! We love you!

We're made it!

We made it to TX! Our 2 day journey is over and we are thankful for that. My mom was the life saver making the trip with us and reading to Halle countless hours in the backseat. She slept a total of an hour and a half in the 2 day trip- yes folks, that means Nana did a lot of entertaining. We just got internet in our apartment. It is very nice and the pool and park are right outside of out door, which makes Halle very excited. Last night was when we arrived and just when the truck was unloaded, a huge storm came and the tornado sirens went off- so we all camped out in our master bathroom with candles lit when the power went off. I guess that was our Welcome to Texas!

Our travel continues...

We are just about to leave IL after about 2 weeks of being here. It's been so nice to have an extended time here with my family and friends. Halle has enjoyed every minute of running around and playing with the dog and touring the many parks. She went on the paddleboats for the first time yesterday downtown Naperville which was quite the experience. Last night, Halle had a chance to see an author of one of her favorite books, "Freckleface Strawberry." Julianne Moore, the actress wrote the book. I was able to get Halle's book signed by her and meet her, but Halle was too hungry so left to get pizza with grandpa, daddy, and her uncle. But that was a really cool experience and it's a great book, especially for red heads! We leave today to head to IN for a few days to visit friends and for Brian to do a wedding. We will be departing from Kentucky on Tuesday for Dallas. My wonderful mom will be joining us for the journey to help with Halle. Please pray for our safety and for me, as I've been feeling really sick with this little baby. I was sick until about week 16 with Halle, so it's hard to see so many weeks ahead of feeling like this. I just need enough strength to get through each day. It's amazing to think that we'll be in our new home in just a few days- well our temporary home, an apartment until we find a house. We're excited!

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!