Be Fruitful & Multiply

In honor of Will's baby dedication, JD & I wanted to get him a sentimental "prize." For Anna Katharine's, we bought her a pearl to add to her add-a-pearl necklace (the idea is to have a full strand of pearls at some point in the future). Since Will I don't think Will has the same appreciation for pearl necklaces, we decided to plant a tree for him. We thought a fruit tree would be appropriate because of Genesis 9:7, "As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it." So today JD went to Devers nursery and brought home a Mayhaw tree. If you don't know what a mayhaw is, they produce a small red berry. The berry itself isn't that great to eat, but you mash it, collect the juice & it makes the best jelly you've ever eaten in your life!! **As an aside, I do have a fond place in my heard for Mayhaws as I was the 1997 Jr. Miss Starks Mayhaw Festival Queen**

So, We went out to our new home pad tonight & planted the tree in our future yard. So fun!! I have visions in a few years of looking out my bedroom window (that's the side of the future house that we planted the tree) & seeing my children picking mayhaws off the tree. Excuse my daughter's attire..I promise she doensn't ALWAYS run around in her swim suit & rubber boats. Long story, but I forgot her gymnastics leotard today, so I had to grab one at Walmart, which they didn't have so I grabbed a swim suit instead. Mom dropped her to me at gym & accidentally left me with no shoes, so we found the rubber boats in the back of Daddy's truck! Nonetheless, we had a fun little family time planting our tree. I'm just hoping it survives the tsunami that is passing though our area!!

Caroline's 1st Birthday Party!

Our precious niece, Caroline had her 1st birthday party this afternoon at Graywood Park. It was a beautiful day to swing, slide & eat cake. Here is the link to the pictures my mother in law took at the party.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=1a893t47.chfj7xhv&x=1&y=8hvyv1&localeid=en_US

Happy Birthday layout!

So anyone who knows me, knows I love my birthday and think of the entire month of May as my birth month! Well I'm creating a little girl after my own heart, because Anna Kate also claims May (& she's working on April!) as her birth month. So in honor of the festivities to come in the next few weeks, I thought I would start early with a cute birthday layout. Plans are in the works for an exciting storybook birthday party next Saturday for Anna Katharine. For our birthday weekend, my law school classmate Lyndsey Knight (we share birthdays) & I are going to fly up to Chicago & visit our other law school classmate Kate Mascarenhas. I haven't looked forward to a birthday this much in a long time. I've heard there is nothing to look forward to after 21, but I beg to differ!!!

Our prayer for Will

Tomorrow is William's baby dedication at church. For Anna Katharine's baby dedication, our church in Houston had us write a prayer/blessing for our child. We decided to do the same thing for William. I have attached below the prayer that we wrote for him. We are so blessed by our little man (actually both of our children, but this is William's time in the spotlight). He will be 8 months old on Tuesday and has truly made an impact on our family. Thank you God for blessing our family with his life!

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come to you today in awe and thanksgiving for the precious life you have blessed us with, our dear William Rhodes Hankins. The verse that comes to our mind the most when we think of our son is Psalms 139:13-16, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Everything about our precious baby is perfectly made- your handiwork created quite a masterpiece!
On this day, we dedicate the life of William to you and your kingdom. We recognize that you have entrusted us with a delicate life and it is our desire to raise him according to your commandments. We love your scripture that says, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.” (Psalms 127:3) Just as we pray that William will leave a heritage that will honor our earthly family, we pray that he will leave a legacy that honors his heavenly father as well.
In only seven short months, William has already become such a blessing to our lives. We prayed for a mild-mannered, laid back, healthy baby and you delivered- above and beyond our expectations. William is already known for his sweet, gentle personality. He always has a gummy smile on his face that can light up an entire room. We are so blessed by such a small little guy. Having our own son has made us appreciate the sacrifice you gave in giving up your own son, Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. I can’t imagine how painful it must have been and we are truly appreciative of that enormous sacrifice.
We thank you again for all of the blessings you have bestowed on our family. It is our prayer that you will continue to provide the wisdom, patience and love we need to raise our children according to your word. In Jesus name, we offer this our prayer to you.
Amen.

Easter Egg Hunt Round 1

Last Sunday our church had our annual Easter Egg Hunt. I still haven't found the device to download pictures off my camera, so the pictures I have are all stolen from Ashley's blog! http://www.ashley-lambert.blogspot.com/ Tomorrow Anna Kate has an egg hunt at her school & on Saturday we are going to one at the Country Club, so we should be pros at this after this weekend!!

Family Pictures

I know it's been a while since I blogged, but I have lost my memory card reader to get the pictures off my camera. One day I'll get around to catching up. However in the meantime, last Friday we had two great photographers (Double Take Photography http://www.doubletakephotography.blogspot.com/) come out to my parents ranch and take some pictures for us. It was a combination Will's 6 month pictures (even though he is 7 months old), Anna Kate's 3 year old pictures (her b-day is in May) & we didn't have any good family pictures of the 4 of us. We had a lot of fun & so far I've seen two pictures & they are both so great. Katie & Amy are GREAT to work with & I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for quality yet affordable photography. They were so patient considering what they had to work with (Will got tubes on Friday & Anna Kate was running 102 fever!)