Halloween is coming up!

Here are the Halloween costume choices we have for the kids. Okay, actually Kale's the only one with any choices -- the pictures of Sky are of her in her costume, but mostly just to show you how ridiculously adorable she is. Notice how Kale's pirate hat barely stays perched on his head? Pretty hilarious!

Future Lunchroom Workers

For some strange reason my kids love to wear this weird little net as a hat. Perhaps they have future aspirations to become lunchroom workers (I would say lunch ladies, but obviously the term doesn't apply to Kale). That is definitely what they look like to me.

Sky's Blessing

Today was Sky's baby blessing and it was such a wonderful day. The blessing was beautiful, and it was just so nice to be able to sit through church and listen to what people were saying -- so thanks family for all the help with the kids. After the meeting we came to our house for some taco salad. It was fun having everyone over -- I love family get-togethers. Anyway, I just thought I should post the picture of Sky in her blessing dress. Anita surprised us with this beautiful little dress a few weeks ago. It was perfect -- exactly what I would have chosen.

Just thought you should see the picture in color. On the right we have the 3 new Castleton grandkids -- Joshua, Max, and Sky. Isn't that a kind of funny picture?!

Also, Rachel started school this past week and she absolutely loves it!

News Update...

It's obviously been a while since I wrote, so thought I would give just a quick update. Here is a recap of this past month in picture form (plus a few words).

As most of you know, Hallie had a run-in with the side of the tub. She was the bravest little person I have ever seen get stitches. The doctor said don't move, and she took him at his word -- she didn't so much as flinch the whole time she was getting stuck with numbing shots and the stitching needle.

Sky is continuing to grow and getting more beautiful by the day. I realize the middle picture is not showing her to full advantage, but it was just such a hilarious face I had to let everyone see it.

Well, that's all the time I have now, and frankly I've taken longer than Sky really wanted to allow.

Sky Janay Hansen

Here she is, our beautiful little Sky. Sometimes it seems totally normal to have another baby, and at other times, I can't even believe that we have 4 kids! Pretty crazy.

Sky's brother and sisters certainly love her. They can't get enough of holding her and cry if they feel like they were shortchanged on time during their turn. They do a great job helping to take care of her. Kale always tells us that he "wants to hold that" (meaning the baby) -- we're working on it.

Lots of hospital visitors

I love the picture of the 2 grandpas. I don't think they've ever looked so proud.

The house visitors. Nick's family and Becky's family saved their visit until we were home -- our kids loved it because then they got to play with their cousins instead of just having to sit around. Awesome!

The proud parents -- We are so excited to have little Sky in our family!

The End Is In Sight

That's right folks, the end is definitely coming. My doctor has set up a date to induce the baby. By this time in 2 weeks, I will have a new baby! I'll be going in on the 19th to be induced, if I don't have my baby before then. Which is code for, I'll be delivering on the 19th since I never go into labor on my own. Wahoo!! There is something so great about just knowing that by this time in 2 weeks it will all be over. I just thought I would post one last farewell to pregnancy picture of myself so we can all remember how huge I truly am.
In other news, Rachel went in last Thursday to have a lump removed from her arm. The doctor thought that it was probably just a cyst (spelling?), but it kept getting darker like a bruise (which I guess is worrisome) and it really hurt if it was bumped. So, we decided to have it removed. Since Rachel was so young the doctor decided to put her to sleep before removing the lump so that she wouldn't be too scared.
Well, we took her to the hospital bright and early Thursday morning. We only got to spend a few minutes talking to her with the nurses, then helped her into her little robe so they could take her into the operating room. We weren't even there when they gave her the gas to put her to sleep. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done just watching her get wheeled away on the hospital bed. I cried as I walked back into the waiting room to wait the short hour until we could see her again. After it was finished, we went back to sit with Rachel as she woke up. It just broke my heart to see her attached to the IV while she slept all curled up on the bed. I have never felt so grateful that my kids are healthy and don't have to spend time in the hospital. That would be so heartbreaking.
Rachel of course is doing great and you can't even tell that she has a big cut on her arm. She's looking forward to this weekend because that's when she can start getting the cut wet -- she's really been missing swimming and playing in the sprinklers. The pictures of this event are on Jon's phone, so I'll have to figure out how to get those at another time.

The Long Wait

Have you ever noticed that the pregnancy time table is slightly skewed? The nine months as a whole haven't seemed too long, but there's something about the last few weeks that seem to take an eternity. It's like, as soon as you pass that 37 week mark and you know your baby could be born without complications, it just seems like your baby should be born right then.
This is the stage we're in right now -- the never ending waiting. I'm trying to have things to do so it doesn't seem so long -- you know, thinking in terms of events rather than actual days. So, this week the events are: Jon's birthday, Rachel's surgery (possibly), and then 4th of July festivities on Saturday. I don't have anything planned for the following week, but then Rachel starts swim lessons on the 12th, so that will keep us busy for the week leading up to my due date. I just know that if I think about it this way, time will somehow speed up. Ah, the power of positive thinking!