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AWANA Ceremony

Hannah and Joshua just completed their second full year of AWANA, a church club sort of like a scout group that earns patches for memorizing Bible verses. AWANA stands for Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed (based on 2 Timothy 2:15). Hannah moved up from being a Cubbie last year to a Spark this year, and Joshua had his second year as a Puggle. It is pretty exciting to see your child get all pumped up reciting Bible verses!

A Day at the Park

We had a great day at the park today. LynLyn and DanPa were in town for grandparents day at PCA so we went to the park for a nice Saturday morning and a picinic lunch. Then the (adult) guys went out for an afternoon of golf.

Sewing up a Storm

I've been sewing up a storm, my personal favorite is the Big Bird outfit I made for a 2 year old's Sesame Street birthday party! I'm starting to get some more orders for hannah's house (pictured above), so that has been exciting check it out:

http://www.hannahshouse-hannahshouse.blogspot.com/

In other updates, Aaron's job is going pretty good. He's putting in tons of hours and always working on ways to improve. He is working out of another Financial Advisor's office in Smyrna so that has been a huge blessing. Going to a commission based job has plenty of challenges but we are trying to trust God on this journey. I finally got my Tennessee teaching certificate and I've put my name in to start tutoring. I'm not ready to start teaching with the kids still home, but wouldn't mind to just start doing little jobs here and there.

We are hoping to send Hannah to private school as she will enter kindergarten this fall (can you believe it?!) So we are just trusting that God will open the right doors and put her where she is meant to be. Joshua is doing good talking-he repeats everything you say especially, "no sir," which he hears alot! Starting April 15th, I will be leading a women's Bible study at our church so I'm looking forward to that. Right now we are in Missouri (minus Aaron) enjoying family time over Hannah's spring break.

Basketball Mania

Hannah played on the YMCA basketball league. She was on the GOLD team and had a great season from January-March it was 8 games. She improved each week and you can imagine how adorable the kids were to watch. She was on Nathan's (her friend) team and it was perfect because his younger sister Ella & Joshua could play together too.


My favorite things about Hannah playing basketball:
(1) One week they had a make-up game and Hannah said, "Mom, what will the boys do?" What do you mean Hannah, the boys will come to the game too. "Well you said boys can't wear make-up, so will they wear make-up at the game?"
(2) We were at home practicing and I told her that when she's dribbling just to keep going and the players would move out of her way and she said, "Well I have a good idea mom. I could just say, 'Please move out of my way,' right? That would be the polite thing to do." Not in basketball Hannah, not in basketball!
(3)At the end of the season, Hannah did you like playing basketball? "Oh yes I loved it." What was your favorite part? "The snacks."

Good Friends

Gina Joly an ole' Maritz buddy was in town for a conference and stopped by for the afternoon & evening until her conference started. It was so great to see a good friend especially to have one right here in Nashville. So anyone coming this way soon, please let us know we love company!

Meier's in Tennessee

Dave, Jenny & Andy were able to stay in TN for a few days after the birthday party and it was great. We enjoyed the Superbowl with them, went to Jumper's Playhouse, downtown to Rippy's and had lots of playing at the house.

Hannah's 5th Birthday Party

Hannah turned 5 on February 3rd and we had quite a birthday celebration. It was a Candyland party and it turned out super cute. We made the board game and a castle so the kids played all kinds of games and filled their goodie bags with candy. Then we made the cake and had lots of fun with it too. And the best part was that we had all kinds of family in town for the celebration: my parents, my Grandma Murray, Aaron's parents, Andy Aaron's brother (and it was his first trip to TN), Angela, Mary-Evelyn, Allie and Benita (Angela's mom). It was awesome we were only missing my brother Doug & Aaron's sister & family Amanda, Kevin & Levi. It was such a fun weekend!

Katie's 5th Birthday Party

Hannah was lucky enough to be invited to her friend Katie's birthday party (the night before her party). It was at a salon and it was so cute! The girls got to dress up, get their hair and nails done and do a fashion show. Of course, Hannah was the only one who showed her midrift-it's a good thing she doesn't know what that means yet!

Tennessee Snow

It's been a crazy winter this year and even included snow in Tennessee-multiple times!

Grandpa Murray-Celebration of Life

Grandpa Murray, my mom's dad passed away on Sunday, January 10, 2010. He had alzheimer's disease, so it was a blessing that he got to go be with the Lord. It was a celebration of life and it was so nice that all the grandkids could come in for it, from Tennessee, Louisiana, Kansas City, etc. When we traveled to Missouri for the funeral, my dad was in the hospital with pneumonia but he came home by the time we left. It was a blessing to get to go for a week and spend lots of time with family. I am also so lucky that I still have 2 grandparents left and Aaron three.

Christmas in Minnesota

We had a wonderful and very WHITE Christmas this year in Minnesota. We had such a great time getting to see the Grapentine and Meier side, plus spending time with Levi (our nephew). In addition to the Christmas festivities I went snowmobiling for the first time, thanks to Aaron's uncle Derrick-it was so awesome! Then Kevin, Amanda, Andy, Aaron and I took Hannah snow tubing for her first time. She was just barely tall enough and once we got there I was worried the hill was a little faster than we had remembered-but she loved it. Maybe she has more daredevil in her that we thought! Yeah!

Christmas in Tennessee

The weekend before Christmas, my mom and dad came into town to celebrate. Santa came early since he knew we would be in Minnesota for Christmas and we had a great time. After the festivities, we went to see Miss Pattycake at World Outreach and as always it was wonderful!

2009 Year in Review

(Our Christmas letter as told by Aaron)

Wow! We have not had a year like this roller coaster ride before . . .
Hannah turned 4 in February and is as cute as ever! She and Joshua are like two peas in a pod. She is the best big sister any brother could ever ask. Hannah stays busy at preschool, story time at the library and just started AWANA, a church program. I participated in AWANA when I was her age and still cling to my old 3-legged race record - sadly my highest sporting achievement to date.

April turned out to be a very important month for the future of the Meier’s. I was let go from Maritz after 9 ½ years. Maritz was my first job out of college and was the only company I had known in my professional career. I have so many fond memories of my decade there that one page wouldn’t do it. I met Julie there, traveled all over the world, went to the Masters and brought home over 3,000 bottles of shampoo & conditioner from hotels!
The summer saw a flurry of travel for us. We went to the always fun and festive Murray Family vacation in Destin, FL. We spent a week in the sun, beach & ocean. In July, we headed north to MN to see the Meier’s, a couple of interviews for me, and for Julie to work a Maritz program. Julie also experienced her first taste of having hot chocolate on the Fourth of July! That’s right, since fireworks don’t start in MN until late into the night, because it stays light so long, it became very chilly. So from the beach in FL in June to hot chocolate in July!
My unemployment experience lasted long enough and I landed a great job with Edward Jones as a Financial Advisor at the end of July. I was extremely excited to roll up the sleeves and get to it and that is exactly what happened. Lots of work was required to be licensed and I can proudly say that Aaron H. Meier is open for business!
This year has definitely had its share of ups and downs. We found out we were pregnant on Julie’s birthday and couldn’t have been more excited. Just as we finished telling everyone about our great news, we found out at 12 weeks that we had lost the baby. We were devastated, but we know that God will use this hardship for good.

But on the upswing a few highlights from 2009 include:
• A January trip to Colorado Springs to visit the St. Clair’s and meet our new nephew Levi. Stayed at the famous Broadmoor Hotel. Met up with our old Maritz friends Brian & Gina, & Julie was even able to hit the slopes one afternoon.
• Julie experienced her first “friends” trip to Kiawah Island, SC. Julie said the house they stayed in made the Biltmore Estate she visited in NC earlier that year look like a fixer-upper.
• Watching the US World Cup Soccer qualifying round at LP Field (the USA won!)
• A boys only trip (Joshua and myself) traveling to Los Angeles to see cousin Matt & Gwen get married
• Hannah dancing on the big stage at her first dance recital.
• Our 3rd annual successful Sew Much More project blessing little girls across the world as well blessing the over 100 volunteers that made it happen. 374 dresses were sent to Africa, Brazil & Mexico.
• Julie & the kids flying to MN for cousin Robert & Brooke’s wedding.
Joshua just turned two in December and is really coming into his own and flexing his “independent” wings by memorizing the word no for every question asked of him by his parents. He is all about sports and especially loves his new basketball hoop where he can already beat me in 1 on 1.
We have had an eventful year but in the end nothing has changed . . . God sent His Son to be born into a manger for our eternal salvation and for that we are forever grateful. Wishing you & yours a very Merry Christmas.
Love, The Meier’s

Missouri Time

Our schedule just seemed to work out perfect. We were in Missouri for Thanksgiving, had Joshua's birthday party and then Aaron had training in St. Louis the entire next week (Nov 30th-Dec 4th) so me and the kids stayed in Desloge for the week. It was jam packed with fun.

The biggest news is that Aaron achieved his Can Sell Date and became an official Financial Advisor on November 30th. I am so proud of him-it's been a tough journey and I know we are still at the bottom of the mountain climb but it's a huge accomplishment to have made it this far!

Me, the kids and mom had a big week (dad was traveling for work)we went to the Science Center, Elephant Rocks, bowling, go-carts and sat on Santa's lap plus a Christmas parade in there. At Elephant Rocks we found Hannah's calling: rock climbing. For as timid as she is in most activities she was an adventurous rock climber!

Joshua's 2nd Birthday

Joshua turns 2 on December 1st, so we just had his party on November 27th while we were still in Missouri so lots of family could come. The theme was Frogs & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails. It turned out SO cute and the adults played along with all the games, so we had a blast.

Thanksgiving 2009

Another Thanksgiving and another year full of blessings. Although this has been a tough year and full of changes for us, we still have so many blessings God has poured out on us. We traveled to Missouri for the holiday and having just had surgery on Monday, I was quite sore for the trip but happy to get to see family. We had a great day of food and cards (a Murray tradition) and Angela and I did the whole Black Friday starting at Old Navy at 3am! We had a blast. It was great to see all the kids play together they have so much fun and of course I made them a few outfits!

Pre-Thanksgiving Activities

Hannah is keeping us busy with all her Thanksgiving activities. She was a Native American for AWANA on Sunday, November 22nd. Then her preschool had a little program on Tuesday the 24th. I ended up having to have a second D and C Monday (the 23rd) so I didn't get to go to her school program. But Aaron was great enough to take photos and video.

Job 1:21

"Blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21

Last week at church we sang that song and even though it is one I've know my whole life for some reason it really spoke to me. It says,

When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord

When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

Sometimes all the world is as it should be & sometimes the darkness is closing in and both times we still have to praise His name. I think Aaron and I have been through a lot this year some really great blessings and some expereinces we wish we wouldn't of had to live through. But at the end of the day, God sent His Son for us and that always has to be enough because He is Lord and even His name needs to be blessed.

Here we are 8 weeks after the miscarriage and still having a few health issues. I have never stopped bleeding so I've been to the Dr. for some testing and we were thrilled to find out last week that I don't need a second d and c. We are really praying for healing before next week otherwise I will have to go back for more testing.

Aaron's job is going good, he is currently in week 5 of 7 weeks of meeting new contacts (also known as door knocking), more training, and he just finished getting his insurance license. He goes back to St. Louis for more training the week after Thanksgiving and will be legal to sell financial services at that point.

I've been busy keeping up with the kids and sewing. Sewing is going good, I was a part of another church sewing event last week and as the holidays are approaching I'm hoping for lots of hannah's house orders. http://www.hannahshouse-hannahshouse.blogspot.com/

This weekend Gina Russo is coming in from Colorado and I'm so excited to see her. It will be so fun for a little girl time.

Halloween 2009

This year we had all kinds of events for Halloween. On Wednesday, Hannah's good buddy Hailey invited us to her church's Trunk or Treat. It was great, they did a Bible lesson first then let the kid's trick or treat in the parking lot from each person's trunk. Hailey was dressed as Dorothy & had a real puppy for Toto & Hannah was a lion, so we had a cute picture (above). At the church they had all the kids who were animals come to the middle and sing a Noah's Ark song. Hannah went right up and "roared" into the microphone every time they said lion-it was adorable.

On Thursday, Hannah had her class party at school. Then on Friday I took the kids to the library for Ghost & goul, where they had snacks like witches fingers, kitty litter cake & mice. On Saturday we trick or treated 2 streets in our neighborhood then took the kids to Chick Fil A for free kid's meals & playtime it was great fun and lots better than candy! You can see Joshua's "with eye patch" and "without" look-he was hilarious he LOVED dressing up. He would go get his outfit and put on his hat everyday after I took his p.j.s off in the morning-so he is a fan of Halloween.