Keeping Up With The Hannahs

Sam Allen's 1st Birthday

2010-05-22T11:20:00.003-05:00

Our Last One Is One!

2010-05-22T08:36:00.005-05:00

We celebrated Sam Allen's 1st birthday May 12th. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I have a 3rd child, and now he is already 1! We had a party the Saturday before. We could not have ordered a more beautiful day. The temperature was in the upper 70's, the sun was shining, and everyone had a great time. Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate. On the 12th, Sam Allen got his first haircut -- Thank you, Mrs. Amy! -- and we all went to "Mexico" for supper. Of course, the twins let them know that we had a birthday boy at our table. So he got the hat, the whip cream on his nose, and the Spanish version of "Happy Birthday," which he seemed to understand. We also made sure to get him together with his birthday buddy, Abby, for their annual picture. She turned 9 on the 12th. I hope you all enjoy the birthday pictures and I will try to ease up on the "slide shows" after this...there were just to many good ones not to include them all. Hope everyone is well. We love you all!

Slide Show Fest

2010-05-04T10:27:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone! As you can see, I went a little slide show crazy today. I was trying to get all of you caught up on the past year. My camera met an unfortunate fate with our brick floor Easter morning, which is why you don't see many pictures of that day. I did take more with my phone but I have to upload them. So, there will be more to come.
The twins are finishing up their first year of "school" and it has been a great experience. They adjusted far better than I had anticipated and love going to hang out with all of their "buddies," as they call them. I guess I better enjoy the fact that they like school while I can. I am sure that will change soon enough.
Sam Allen will turn 1 on May 12th. I am still not used to the idea that we have a third child and he is already 1! We are so glad that God knew we needed one more child, even though we thought we were finished. We have a big birthday party planned for this Saturday. I will post pictures next week.
I hope that you will all have time to view the slide shows -- there are 4 of them. Pop you some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the show. We love you all!

Spring 2010

2010-05-04T10:26:00.001-05:00

Christmas 2009

2010-05-04T10:11:00.001-05:00

Halloween 2009

2010-05-04T09:43:00.002-05:00

Summer 2009

2010-05-04T09:28:00.003-05:00

We're Back!

2010-03-07T12:06:00.005-06:00

HELLO EVERYONE!!!! My goodness, it has been a crazy (almost) year since I have updated this site. First of all, let me say sorry to the family and friends who depended on this site to keep in touch with us. I simply have not taken the time to upload pictures and blog. We moved in to the new house, the twins started K-3, and Sam Allen has been growing up entirely too fast. I am going to post a few pictures today and will be posting a few slide shows over the next few days to try to get you all caught up on the past 8 months. I will tell you all that Clay and I know how very blessed we are. All of our children are healthy, happy and EXTREMELY active! God is so good!
As a side note, let me also let everyone know that 2 of my very dear friends are expecting new little bundles of joy in the coming months - Joni and Todd Cheney are expecting a little girl in July and Amber and Brad Peacock are expecting a child in August. (they do not know the sex yet) Congratulations and best wishes to these special people in our life! We love you all!
Ok, friends. I promise to try to be better and I promise to try to include funny little stories and many more pictures. Hope you are all doing well and I hope you are all glad that we are back to blogging!

God's newest Angel

2009-07-24T09:13:00.007-05:00

On Friday, July 17th, Anna Todd Cheney left this world to live in heaven with our Father. This 4 month old bundle of joy was such a precious spirit. She brought such happiness to those who were lucky enough to know her in the short time that she was with us. Her parents, Joni and Todd, are very dear friends of ours. They have felt led to help other children and their families who are in need, all in the memory of Anna Todd. Please take a moment to view their family blog site (see link to the left under "My Blogs") and, if you feel led to, please consider donating to this memorial fund. They, as well as all of us who knew her, want Anna Todd to live on through this memorial. Thank you all and thanks be to God!

Welcome Sam Allen Hannah

2009-06-08T19:16:00.001-05:00

Change Gonna Come...

2009-06-08T18:36:00.003-05:00

Well, as Sam Cook said, "Change Gonna Come," and come it has to our house. As most of you know, we welcomed Sam Allen Hannah on May 12th. He weighed 8 pounds and was 20 1/2 inches long. As you all can see from the slide show, he is just as beautiful as his older sister and brother. We are all so excited that he is here. We are in the "adjustment" stage of having a newborn in the house. The twins are handling things pretty well and I am getting used to going without sleep. As for the house, it continues to be a work in progress but, hopefully, it will be move-in ready soon. Hope you are all doing well and I will try to keep the posts and pictures up to date. Love to everyone!

A Quick "Hello"

2009-05-10T22:19:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone! I know that most of you check this blog to see updated pictures of the twins. However, I have had trouble trying to get their latest pictures to upload. I wanted to go ahead and post a little update anyway. Hopefully, the pictures will follow soon. Caroline and Charlie are doing great! They are both potty trained now. I had no idea just how great that would be! They are getting excited about their baby brother, so they say. We will see how they feel about him when he gets here. As for Sam Allen, I am scheduled for a c-section on Tuesday, May 12th at 8:30. I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy has gone. It seems like yesterday that I was posting that first ultrasound picture of the little butterbean. I am excited, nervous, overjoyed, anxious,...you name it and I am feeling it right now. I just pray that all goes well and he arrives healthy, safe, and sound. Many of you have been asking about the status of the new house. Well, it is a continuing work in progress. I think that a safe estimate for move-in would be around the first of July. We shall see. You all know how it is. You fix one thing and then notice 5 other things that you want to "go ahead and do." That "go ahead and do" approach has made for a complete remodel but I think it is going to be very nice when we are done. I invite you all to stop by and see it. Well friends, I know that things will be a little different the next time I post. I just wanted you all to know how things are and what things we have ahead. I hope you are all doing well and be on the lookout for pictures of our newest addition.

Easter 2009

2009-04-15T16:19:00.000-05:00

Easter and "The Big Day'

2009-04-15T14:54:00.006-05:00

Hello everyone! I hope that you all had a happy easter. We had a great day. The twins had a great time dying eggs, they were good in church, and they had a ball hunting easter eggs with their friends, Abby and Merritt. It was a great day.
As for "the big day," I had a check up yesterday and the doctor has scheduled me for a c-section on May 12th. Sam Allen will be here in less than 4 weeks!!!!!!! I quess that it is too late to ask myself "what the heck am I doing?!?" We are really excited and in planning mode to try and be ready. We will most probably not be in the house by the time he is born, but that's ok. One thing at a time is better.

Getting Ready For The Big Move

2009-03-17T14:59:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone! I can't believe that it has been 2 and a half months since my last post. We have had a lot going on and time had gotten away from me. First of all, let me say that our very dear friends, Todd and Joni Cheney, had a beautiful baby girl. Many of you have met them and so, if you are interestd, they have some pictures on their website. She is absolutely beautiful! Just click on "The Cheney Family" over to the side of this under "My Blogs."
Secondly, I had a check up on Monday and all is well with the pregnancy. I am 32 weeks now and I can't believe that we only have a couple of months left. This pregnancy has flown by. The twins still say they are excited about having a baby brother but we will see how they feel when he gets here.
Finally, the thing that has had us so occupied is the fact that we have bought a house. We are very excited to have more space and are looking forward to moving in. We had plans to do a few basic renovations before moving in. The house was built in 1960 and, according to everyone who knows, it is very well built. However, it has not been touched since then. It needed some upgrades, definetely. So, we have many projects in the works. I think it is going to look really nice when we finish. I just hope we finish and can move before Sam Allen arrives. The pictures are of the twins where they helped paint their room and where we let them put their hand prints in a spot we had to fill in with concrete.
So, as you can see, we have been very busy. Things are going great, we are excited about the things to come, and we know we are so blessed with wonderful family and friends. Hope everyone out there is doing well, too. I promise I will try to not wait 2 months to post again.

3rd Birthday Pictures

2009-01-14T16:09:00.000-06:00

Three Years Old!!!!

2009-01-14T14:41:00.005-06:00

Hi everyone! We celebrated Caroline and Charlie's 3rd birthday with a little family party on Sunday afternoon. (Their birthday was January 12th) We had a great time. Caroline wanted a Cinderella castle cake and Charlie wanted a Spiderman cake. I made them myself and I think the kids were happy with them. They wore their costumes to the party and had the other children do so, too. They all looked really cute. It was a fun time and, by party's end, we were all on a sugar high. I do know that old saying about time going too fast is so true! My babies are 3! I can't believe it.

Time To Catch Everyone Up

2009-01-02T09:20:00.007-06:00

Hello, friends! I have so much to tell everyone. First and foremost, let me say a HUGE "Thank you" to everyone for your thoughts and prayers regarding mom. She got out of the hospital on Christmas Eve. She is still very weak, but she is ALIVE!!! A huge improvement from where we were. All of you were so supportive and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

Next, I wanted to tell everyone that we went and had an ultrasound on December 22nd. The baby is growing so big and everything was as it should be. We also found out that it is a BOY!!!! We are very excited. Clay had already said that he didn't think that our house was big enough for more than one queen - and we've got her! We are going to name him after our dads. He will be Sam Allen Hannah. Of course, Charlie argues that his name is "Sam Poppy" - that's what they call my dad, but we've got a couple more months to change his mind.

We had a great Christmas, with much to be thankful for. My mom is on the mends, the baby is healthy, and the twins were COVERED UP with toys. The first few days after Christmas were really dangerous around our house. I told Clay that, if the house was to catch fire, we were all gonners because there was no way we would be able to get to the door. We have since cleaned out the old to make room for the new. We enjoyed getting to see many family members and we miss the ones that we did not get to see.

We are looking forward to this new year with much anticipation. There will be many changes in our life - a new baby, the twins will start pre-school. Life is changing. We hope that you all have a wonderful new year filled with many blessings and much happiness. Thank you all for being a part of our lives.

Prayer Request

2008-12-14T21:53:00.003-06:00

I know that this blog is usually a place to update all of you on how the twins are doing. However, today I must blog about needing prayer - AND LOTS OF IT! My mom is very sick. She is in the hospital in Meridian, MS with pneumonia in both lungs. She is on the ventilator, which she did not want to do. The doctor told me that she was very near death before being put on the vent. I ask that all of you please pray for my mom. Most of you know that she has been in poor health for the last few years. This is the 3rd time she has been in the hospital with pneumonia, not to mention all of the other problems that she has had. Please just pray. Pray for a speedy recovery. Pray that she doesn't remember being on the ventilator. Pray for me to have the strength to balance being there for my mom with being Caroline and Charlie's mom. Pray. Pray. Pray. Thank you to everyone and I love you all. I will try to keep you all posted.

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-14T09:31:00.004-06:00

Cinderella and Spiderman had a great time getting dressed up for Halloween. They really looked adorable, as I'm sure you all can see. The only disappointing thing is that we could not find anywhere to actually trick-or-treat. They had been practicing all week. Everybody's porch lights were off and nobody was answering their phones. What happened to trick-or-treating? Anyway, we did go to family's houses and then went to Mrs. Cyndi Merritt's (Sittee) house for a Halloween party. The children had a great time, ate way too much sugar, and then crashed when we got home. I would say that is a pretty successful Halloween.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

2008-10-29T10:11:00.009-05:00

On Saturday, we took the children to the Lazy Acres Pumpkin Patch. It was a cool, crisp fall day. We had a great time. They enjoyed everything from the train ride to the pig races. The highlight, of course, was the hay ride in to the pumpkin patch to pick out our "punkins." They checked each one intently and made sure that they got the exact ones they wanted.
We also took part in another Halloween tradition last night. "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" was on TV. Now, this is one of my favorites and I was as excited to watch it as the kids were. Charlie did not move the entire 30-minute show, except to let me know when the commercials were on and how he wanted "the punkin show back on!" Caroline liked it, too and thought it was funny that poor, old Charlie Brown would only get rocks during the trick-or-treating.

I will be sure to post some photos of the kids in their costumes after Friday. Caroline is going back and forth between wanting to be a ballerina or Cinderella and Charlie is torn between Spiderman and Superman. We will see how it all shakes out when it comes time to get dressed.

God's Great Sense of Humor

2008-10-09T22:13:00.006-05:00

I have always considered myself a faithful person. I try not to question God or challenge Him on things. I pretty much take the position that what He wants will be. Well, apparently, He has decided to play a really hilarious (and, by the way, FABULOUS) joke on me. For those of you who do not recognize what the picture to the side is, that, my dear friends, is a baby. That's right! WE'RE PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!! Now keep in mind that, in order to have the twins, we went through a lot - 5 years, 3 surgeries, 3 fertility treatments, and a number of miscarriages. Then let me tell all of you that Clay has been working nights for almost 2 months now so, "alone time" is not very abundant. Now, you tell me - who else, other than the Lord Almighty, could pull off such a huge "gotcha?" We are so surprised and thrilled to be expecting this little blessing. We went to the doctor today and everything looks great. According to Dr. Max, whom I love more than I could ever express, we will probably have a baby mid-May.
As an added little surprise, most of you know my best friend, Courtney. Well, guess who else is unplanned pregnant! That's right! She is expecting, too. And to make it to over-the-top hilarious, our due dates are 2 days apart! 2 DAYS!!! You can't tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor!!!

I will keep you all posted on how things are going. All of you please pray for a healthy, happy baby to join our family. I send my love to all of you and I can't wait to read the comments that this post is going to generate!

Country Living

2008-09-16T09:21:00.007-05:00

Sometimes I am reminded of how lucky I am to be able to raise my children in the country. On Sunday, the twins and I went over to my dad's house. We took their riding toys (Barbie jeep and John Deere tractor) and let them go. As I followed them down the road toward the pond, I was struck at just how precious this moment is. Here are my children playing on the same land that I played on as a child. As we got closer to the pond, I had flashes of my childhood. I thought about how many times my grandfather and I had gone fishing or looked for deer and turkeys. I can't tell you how many times I "counted cows" with Papaw. I learned to drive in that very same field. I took so many walks collecting flowers, rocks, and anything else that I thought was neat at the time. So many precious memories! Now it is my children who are "growing up on the land." I am fully aware of just how lucky I am. So many memories to make - so little time. Country living may not be for everybody, but it is certainly for us.

Back From The Beach

2008-08-23T16:37:00.013-05:00

Hello everyone! I wanted to share some of the pictures from our trip to the beach last week. We had a good time. It was not quiet as relaxing as last year's trip. Both of the children had fever right before we left and neither of them felt great that week but we still managed to make memories, which is what it was all about anyway. Some of the highlights include Clay and Phoebe catching a cooler full of fresh crab which made for a wonderful lunch, picking up new sea shells for our collection, and the children playing restaurant with Gran-Gran and Granny in the sand. I think the best part was on Wednesday night. Clay and I took the kids out to eat at the Wharf. We sat outside by the marina and the children watched the boats as the sun was setting. There was a man playing the guitar and he sang "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues." Caroline insisted on dancing along. It was one of those moments that Clay and I both agreed we would always remember. We finished the night with a ride on the ferris wheel. It was really great.

It's About That Time!

2008-08-05T09:22:00.005-05:00

Perfectly manicured field. Roaring crowd. Eli Gold on the radio. "Yea, Alabama" playing in the background. I can almost smell the "game dogs" cooking and the bourbon being secretly poured into cokes. That's right, people. IT'S FOOTBALL TIME! I have to admit that it snuck up on me. Yesterday, as I was taking the kids' picture for the Patrician football program, I realized that it's almost here! Now, I understand that not everyone shares the same enthusiasm for Alabama football as my family does, but we just can't help it. We love everything about it, and it's not just me and Clay. Ask my kids what the elephant says and they respond "Tide Roll!" Notice in the pictures that Caroline has her "Ambama bom-boms" and Charlie has his "Ambama bootball." (not a type-o. that's what they say) They wouldn't even consider taking their pictures without them. During this time of close to unbearable heat, the impending football season gives us something to look forward to. We know that, with each passing game, the air will get cooler and, hopefully, the games will get better. So, go ahead and get excited people - FOOTBALL IS ALMOST HERE!

They Were Fine...And So Was I

2008-07-28T10:43:00.002-05:00

The girls weekend was wonderful. We had a great time and laughed more than I thought was humanly possible. I have returned to the real world, revitalized and ready to go. And, as I had suppected all along, the children were great. They played. They swam. They even helped their great-grandmother make a cake. When Clay asked Charlie if he was ready for Mommy to come home, he said "No. I'm just fine." At least he acted happy to see me when I got home. So, my mother's guilt has faded and now I've started the countdown to next year's trip.

A Mother's Guilt

2008-07-23T20:53:00.002-05:00

I will be the first to admit that I am extremely attached to my children. We wanted to have children for so long and we have gone through so much to have them. Now that they are here, I don't like to leave them very often. I have been blessed with 2 beautiful, healthy, happy, smart, funny, adorable (and the list goes on and on) children. I have also been blessed with the fact that I am able to stay home with them. I have enjoyed these past 2 years more than I could ever express. I say all this to say that, while I love being a mother, even moms need a break. Everyone will tell you that a little time away is good for a mother's soul. It gives us time to "re-boot." We need time to just be, without someone needing juice or a diaper or his tractor or her lipgloss. It is good for us to take time to relax and have adult conversation. That is what is happening this weekend. A group of girlfriends are headed to the beach for a 2nd annual getaway. It is something that we have all been eagerly anticipating since we came home last year. We are all looking forward to talking, lying on the beach, sleeping late, and laughing (a lot of laughing). My brain knows I need this. As for my heart, well, I must confess it is not so sure. The truth is that, even though there are times when I want to pull my hair out, I love being with my kids. I love that they want to lay with me on the couch to go to sleep. I love that they want me to build a fort with chairs and blankets so that we can crawl inside and watch Sesame Street. Bedtime and early mornings will be the hardest. I will have to figure out how to drink my coffee without 2 kids in my lap. I will miss them terribly.

Other Powder Pics

2008-07-19T00:46:00.001-05:00

Getting back 10 fold...

2008-07-19T00:06:00.000-05:00

What's that Bible verse that talks about getting things back "ten fold?" Well, I'm not sure it was quite ten fold, but my kids "got me back" for one of my childhood mishaps on Tuesday. I have been told all my life that when I was around 3 years old, I decided to re-enact a commercial using a bottle of baby powder. Mom tells that we were at Mamaw's house and they noticed I had gotten very quite. They walked in one of the bed rooms (the one with the dark teal carpet) and found me in a cloud of baby powder singing "Just and sprinkle a day helps keep odors away! Carpet Fresh! Carpet Fresh!" Well, Tuesday morning, Elmo was on and so, with my children focused on learning about violins, I stepped into my room. I was there no more than 10 minutes when I came out and was met with the smell of baby powder. The children were not watching Elmo as I had left them and, to make mater worse, their bedroom door was shut. There is only one word to describe 2 two and a half year olds in their room with the door shut - TROUBLE! Well, people, I opened the door and could barely see Caroline and Charlie. They had managed to pour out 2 full bottles of baby powder onto their beds, the floor, the changing table, and there was even some up the wall. They were covered! Everything was covered! Charlie kept repeating "It's broken. Mama, it's just broken." Caroline, however, wanted to make sure that I knew that this was all Charlie's idea. Once I was able to move without busting out into laughter, I took some pictures to use against them when they are teenagers (one of my favorite things to do). Then I started to think, surely all the things I did growing up won't come back on me ten fold. I have always heard that God has a sense of humor, but come on Lord, work with me here! Anyway, hope you all enjoy the pictures of one of the biggest messes I have cleaned since becoming a mother.

A First Time For Everything

2008-07-18T22:35:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am attempting to blog. I never thought I'd be doing this, but, as I read an old friend's blog, I thought, "If Lori can do this, surely I can figure it out." Those of you who know Lori will understand and, Lori, I mean no offense. I thought this would be a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. That task is proving more and more difficult as the twins get in to more and more things. I am sure that most of my posts will be focused on them and things they have done. As a stay-at-home mom, what else am I going to write about? And, let's face it, most people want to know about them anyway. Please be patient with me as I try to figure out this tech stuff. I hope I can get pictures on tonight and I hope you check this site often for updates.