Our family has already had many memorable experiences together and separately at our new digs (Copper Creek Lane, named by Miss Gracie Hanna). Faith decided to experiment as a fire-coal walker this fall when she attempted to traverse a bed of coals left from a campfire the previous night. Decked out in only a skimpy pair of flip-flops, her feet soon became covered in the ash colored fire remnants that prooved to still harbor an adequate amount of heat to royally blister the tops of her feet. Our poor baby suffered immensely but has cautiously steered clear of fires since. In addition, both Gracie & Hope have attempted on numerous occasions to practice their long jump expertise over 2x4 boards with 4 inch nails sticking up. (These attempts have led to every family member visiting the doctor for tetnas shots - OUCH). But let me not forget our way too numerous encounters with species from the reptile family. Anywhere from 15" rattlesnakes to 4' black matrix have slithered across our paths. Once decapitated by our fearless leader, these snakes have soon become favorite toys of the girls and have served as jump ropes and "feather boas" for runway model sessions! Yes, indeedee, we are quickly becoming your modern day "Wilderness Family" (those of you with childhoods in the 70's will hopefully have fond memories from those classic movies).
Actually, aside from the erection in the woods, there have been other milestones our family has celebrated this year. Last June, Kevin turned "40" and this June I turned the big "4-0". All a long I've always believed age was just a state of mind but I was quickly proven wrong on June 25, 2010. On this day, as I celebrated with friends and loved ones by eating my favorite meal and one of my favorite candies (popcorn crunch made by my Ninny), I gained first hand knowledge of life's cruel attempt at aging gracefully as I broke off a tooth and spent the rest of the evening in bed with a stomach-ache. Some of the good friends I mentioned that were celebrating with us belong to the "Young Marrieds with Children" class that Kev and I started teaching about 1 1/2 years ago. Now when I hear these "young'uns" moan about turning 30, I just want to slap them - but Kev has explained that's probably frowned upon at church:)
As for Kevin. As always, he continues to be our family's rock and foundation. However, he has chosen as his mid-life crisis to become a hunter. So in addition to protector/leader he has taken on the role of hunter/gatherer. This consists of time spent at the "lease" observing wildlife (ie hunting) and the purchase of expensive gear in order to engage in this activity (ie gathering). Whoever makes sport of the female gender's propensity to shop and spend money has never seen Kevin Hanna attack Bass Pro Shop! In addition to the hunting lease ($$$), new archery and rifle equipment ($$) and many items needed to design a deer utopia at said lease ($$), there were additional night vision motion detected cameras purchased to capture the deer's bovine cousin, the cow, enjoying all the utopia!!! All I can say is at least Kev's mid-life crisis expenditures haven't interfered with a time in our lives when we have major out-lays of capital. Oh, wait. See paragraph One - The HOME:)
Our beautiful daughter Gracie is beginning her journey into adulthood and creating her own identity. A part of that is renaming herself GraZie and the other part is reprising her role from "Silence of the Lambs" as Hannibal Lecter in "Hannibal". After having her braces removed at the beginning of the year, GraZie deemed it best not to wear her retainer and to resume her tongue-thrust (thus the return of the spikes). This year also became the first year for GraZie to have the opportunity to play school basketball. With every game there is remarkable progress and at South Rock Creek she scored the first 6 points!!! We are still working on how wonderful being graceful and gliding across a stage is for dance but maybe not so much for basketball?!? This year also marked the first time she was ready for band at school. GraZie chose to follow in her old mom's (literally) footsteps and play the clarinet. She soon excelled in that instrument and has added the saxophone.
Our adventurous daughter, Faith, has had the opportunity to experiment with several new activities this year. This summer, the girls took up horse-back riding lessons and became quite adept at equestrian showmanship. However, Faith's favorite part of this activity was getting to groom the horses and clean their hooves. She was always just a pickin' and a grinnin'! In addition to the horses, Faith chose to pursue her lifelong dream (yes, she's 8) and take violin lessons. We have been amazed at our little "fiddler on the roof" and the progress she has made! We've determined Faith's love language is Words of Encouragement (ie praise) and she's certainly been getting a lot of that as she continues to excel in dance, gymnastics, music, drama and many other talents. This year was the first year for Faith and her sisters to enter the competitive world of Dance Competition. So far everyone is absolutely loving it and Faith and her sisters had the wonderful experience of performing in Branson, Missouri this past summer.
Our baby girl, Hope, turned 5 this year and went off to all-day Kindergarten. With everyone holding their breath and awaiting her separation anxiety to kick-in, Hope decided to prove us all wrong and took to school like a duck takes to water! On the first day, she reported on the "tom-girl" in her class (and why not?) and the 4 1/2 new friends she had made (1/2 friend was nice but not willing to share her red crayon). As she was conquering her new adventure with glee, I drove away quite sad. It all came to a head when I yelled out "slug-bug" while spotting a VW bug and realizing I was alone in the car, broke down sobbing. God knew what he was doing when he chose this time for us to build our house and thus keep our minds occupied. Soon after the first day of school, Grove had it's first talent show. Hope and her sisters entered along with many other dance hopefuls. When the results were read, Hope had received the Audience Choice award and is now eligible for the $100 top prize in the final round. It 's been a little hard to live with her following her new found popularity! Hope has never lacked in self-esteem but now we're trying to temper it with a little humility and grace (please pray for us).
I'll close our end-of-the year report of the Hanna family at this time, but would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
