Flat Stanley Comes to Visit

My cousin, Wyatt, who is in first grade, sent us his Flat Stanley. We sent the following letter and pictures to his class, but we thought it would be fun to include it on the blog as well. For those of you not familiar with Flat Stanley, it is from a book about a boy who is flattened, and therefore, is able to travel by mail to fun places. Each student colors a Flat Stanley and mails it to someone to take him on an adventure. Here is our adventure with Stanley.

Dear Wyatt & Mrs. Bohne’s Class,

Flat Stanley came by mail to Spartanburg, South Carolina on Monday, October 6^th. We introduced ourselves as Wyatt’s cousins Chris, Beth, and Baby Charlotte. He had a great time playing with Charlotte.

 

We also showed him a map of the US, so he could see where he was.

 
On Tuesday morning, Stanley joined us at Charlotte’s doctor’s appointment. He made her laugh even though she had to get 3 shots.
 

 

We live in South Carolina because Chris is attending medical school at Virginia Tech College of Medicine. We took Flat Stanley to Chris’ school. Chris gave him a tour of the school.  

 

Stanley also helped Chris practice taking the blood pressure,

 

 listening to the heart beat,

 

 and performing CPR

 

on the school’s practice patient. He really enjoyed learning how to do these things.

That night we borrowed the book about Flat Stanley and let Stanley read it to Charlotte.

 

On Friday, Stanley went to work with Beth who works in the nearby city of Greenville, South Carolina. 

 

She works as a tax accountant just like Wyatt’s mother. It uses a lot of numbers and math, so Stanley got to practice his math. During Beth’s lunch break, she walked Stanley over to the Falls Park on the Reedy, a beautiful park in the middle of downtown Greenville. It has a big bridge that crosses over a waterfall. Stanley really liked the view.
 

 

The next day, Saturday, Stanley flew with us to Houston, Texas. It was Charlotte’s first time on a plane and her first trip to Texas. We were going home to see family, including Wyatt’s great grandmother. Stanley loved looking out the window on the flight. 

 

We spent a few days in Katy, Texas. Then, we all travelled to Burnet, Texas to our lake house on Lake Buchanan. It is called the Aero-Bee Ranch.

 

Chris went hunting, and Charlotte, Beth, and Stanley relaxed and enjoyed the outdoors. Stanley also helped drive the old green jeep.  

 

 

 Lake Buchanan is in the middle of a drought just like a lot of Texas, so the lake is pretty empty. Stanley took a picture with the lake, so everyone could see how dry it is.

 

All of the green behind Beth and Stanley should be covered in water.

Finally, our trip ended, and Stanley needed to return to Wyatt, so we printed pictures of our time together and included them with Stanley on his trip back through the mail to Mrs. Bohne’s class. We enjoyed our time with Stanley so much! Thanks for sending him to us.

Chris, Beth, & Charlotte

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

I took Lottie to a pumpkin patch today for some first fall/Halloween photos. For you locals, we went to Strawberry Hill, which was a lot of fun. I am going to make Chris take me back for some of their homemade ice cream. I had a hard time getting Lottie to look at me and smile. She was way more interested in the hay and all the people. The few smiling photos are due to wonderful strangers helping out by smiling at her behind me. This child knows no stranger. Anyways, here are the photos. I probably included too many, but I couldn't help it.

Too much sun in these (maybe Auntie Carrie can help these out some???) 

 

First wagon ride

 

The remainder are Lottie on our deck with her pumpkin. 

 

Happy Birthday Best Hubs Ever!

I am going to take a moment to give my hubs a huge shout out. This will be sappy, so I apologize for all you people who aren’t fans of public declarations of sap. You may want to stop reading. I just have to share how incredible my husband is and explain why he is the absolute best hubby ever.

First, my acknowledgements:

 I have to give a huge cosmic thank you to my Daddy for exemplifying the qualities of a good husband and father. Because of him, I knew that I needed (and my Daddy even made me feel that I deserved) a husband that would love his family (and tell them daily) and put them first all while working hard to provide for them to the best of his abilities. Because of my Daddy, I waited for such a man and am soooo incredibly glad I did.

More than all of that, an infinite thank you to my Father of Fathers for blessing me with such an earthly father and creating Christopher Hardegree especially for me. Thankfully, our God does not give us the things we deserve, instead He gives us things beyond our wildest expectations and dreams. Even though I knew how a good husband should be, I could never have imagined such an outstanding man as Christopher Hardegree.

And the sappiness will probably only increase from here on out.

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:"

1) Chris is an outstanding gift giver. He knows me so well and puts a lot of thought into his gifts. Every gift he has given me has been perfect. He listens to me (whoa! he is a keeper, right ladies???) and makes mental notes about things I mention. He also surprises me regularly with flowers. Out of everything the best gift is probably my engagement ring--I still think it is the most beautiful ring I have ever seen to this day, and he picked it out all by himself.

My engagement ring

My Mother's Day gift (Charlotte's birth stone)

 

Flowers sent to me at work to help me survive my first busy season as a mom

 

2) He is extremely brave, and I know he would do everything in his power to protect Lottie and me. I always feel safe when he is around.

 

But, really he is and he would. I just don't have a picture that would convey that.

 

3) He is very attractive and is getting more attractive as he ages.

4) He is the best father to a little girl. Lottie lights up when he walks into the room. She is one lucky little lady--her daddy dotes on her.

 

 

5) He makes up silly songs and appreciates my silly songs (which not everyone would, trust me). He made up the following jingle to a super catchy tune:
I am Beth
I am brilliant
And I am beautiful
I am Beth
I am brilliant
And I am beautiful
I am really stinking smart
I am like a work of art
And I make him happy

This is so catchy that it randomly pops into my head and really brightens my day (well aside from feeling weird singing a song about myself in my head).

6) He keeps Lottie & I laughing...and laughing...and laughing.

7) He is amazing with people. He can make anyone feel welcome and at home, and he has made me better at this as well. It is what most people, including myself, admire about him. He is going to be the best doctor.

8) He loves to hunt. Never knew I would love this in a guy, but I do. I love that he goes outdoors and brings home food for his family. I especially love the way he respects animals and the outdoors. True hunters love the animals they hunt.

9) He always knows where my keys are--something I do not. (No picture of this because I can't take a picture of my keys without knowing where they are.)

10) He is the best story teller, and I mean the best story teller. I think I am improving after 7 years of watching the master. (If you want to see it first-hand, ask about the sandhill crane incident).

 

 

11) He helps around the house, and no matter how busy he is, he takes out the trash--my least favorite chore. It means a lot to me that he takes time out of his crazy med student schedule and does this for me.

12) He is romantic. He plans super creative dates and surprises me with random notes or flowers. He also makes sure we get regular dates. He puts a lot into our marriage.

 

 

13) He is very very very hard worker. I can't say enough how proud of him I am. He is doing amazing things.

 

 

14) He tells me I am beautiful and that he loves me every day. I never feel more special than when Chris is around. I am a very lucky lady.

And I love him for a thousand more ways. I can't count the ways.

Boo--Thanks for the incredible journey you are taking us on. It is a long road and sometimes I know we wonder why we are doing it, but we both trust God will get us where He wants us. No matter we end up I know you will get us there laughing. Happy 29th Babe!!! I love you!!!