HattieJo's 1st Baseball Game

HattieJo went to her first baseball game on Friday night! We went out to dinner with a bunch of young pros and then headed over to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park for a game! It was the 3rd year of the young pros going! It was so fun to be able to fellowship there with everyone. The weather was gorgeous (it did come a downpour in the bottom of the 7th, but we had left already!) and HattieJo had a great time watching everything that was going on all around her. When we put her in the car, she immediately got her thumb and was knocked out, she even slept in about 30minutes on Saturday morning!

.beach bums.

*cutest girl on the beach in her bikini*

This past weekend we went to Fort Caswell for the Young Pros beach retreat. It was such a wonderful weekend! HattieJo did AMAZING! We headed down on Friday evening. On Saturday morning HattieJo woke up at 545, I didn't want to wake everyone up, so HattieJo and I went for a walk. It was gorgeous to see the sun rising above the ocean. What a picture of the beauty of God's creation. HattieJo helped me get breakfast cooked and set up for when everyone woke up! Then we had a great time of worship with everyone. Then headed to the beach for the day. The weather was PERFECT, there was a great breeze with the sun. HattieJo enjoyed sitting under the umbrella watching everyone playing and chatting. After we had lunch HattieJo and I hung out at the house for a bit before heading back out to the beach in the late afternoon. The water was still chilly, so HattieJo wasn't interested in getting in the water.We had a great time of connecting with lots of new young pros at the Summit and we were so thankful for the time of intimate worship through singing and time in the word. We headed home on Sunday to get some rest before the week got started.

.no more monkeys jumping on the bed.

:9 months:

Wasn't I just writing the blog for 8months... whew.. where is time going? I think I started the 8months post the same way. I can't believe how quickly time is flying. HattieJo has become so vocal lately. She LOVES to talk and tell you all about something. Not quite sure what she is talking about, but she is talking. She has 6 teeth that are all the way in, and then she has 2 other top teeth that have broken through. She is sleeping on her stomach now, which is crazy because when you put her on her stomach she rolls herself right back to her back. She is so close to sitting herself up from laying on her back. She says, "dadadada" "mamamama" and "shshshshshs" all the time! She will even say "hey" haha.. She likes to clap her hands and LOVES splashing in the bathtub. She pulls herself up using your hands. She likes to walk while holding onto your hands. She loves to bounce on the bed (video to come). She scoots on her bottom when she is sitting up. She is CONSTANTLY moving! haha.. I have a feeling once she starts crawling or walking she is going to be gone!!! HattieJo is eating 3 meals a day along with some snacks. She loves to eat puffs and green peas using her hands. We go next Wed. for her 9month appointment so I will post her new stats after the appointment. HattieJo,
Mommy and Daddy love you so much and are so thankful for you. We pray that you will continue to grow and to develop right on track. We are thankful for your great health. We LOVE your sweet smile and giggles. We are so blessed.
We love you!

.over the river and through the woods.

When Andrew got the 4wheeler the other week, all of our family happen to be here that day, so of course we all had to take rides! My dad took my mom on a ride and about lost her as they were taking off.. and Mr. Perry took Mrs. Penny on a ride, then Andrew took my sister and I... HattieJo didn't get a ride, but she did get to sit on it with her daddy!

.party on the farm.

Since HattieJo's dedication was a brunch on Saturday, my family and Andrew's parents came up on Friday to hang out and be with us on Saturday. It was a wild night on the farm! It is such a unique and awesome thing that both our families get along so well with each other, it seems most families don't all get along, it was so fun! When I got home on Friday, they were all out on the screened in porch just hanging out. We continued to do that for a couple of hours along with taking rides on the new(new to us) 4wheeler(another post) before we got busy cooking out for dinner. After dinner we spent more time just hanging out then we watched The Blindside, which is a really good movie. Then they all spent the night, yep thats right... 7 people and one bathroom, but it worked out great! Here are Gigi and Grandmama with their mother's day gifts from HattieJo:That evening we also got a gift for our anniversary, it was the WillowTree angel, "The Gift"... its the mom and dad with a baby. "The Gift" is perfect, because that is exactly what HattieJo is to us. We are so thankful for our families who came up to hang out with us and share this special time! We love yall!!!

.toes in the sand.

*ready to hit the road*

For our anniversary, Andrew told me that he had been telling me that he was going to take me somewhere, but would not tell where. The week of our anniversary he told me that we were going to Wilmington! It was PERFECT! We left on Sunday morning and headed down. Once we got there we walked around the historic downtown and then ate lunch at Elijiahs on the river, it was beautiful and delicious! After lunch we walked around downtown and got some DELICIOUS ice cream. HattieJo enjoyed her daddy's peach ice cream! After that we checked in to the the place we were staying. He had reserved us a suite at Hotel Terrymore, which is 2 blocks off the river in the historic district. It was so cute! (the view from our room)

We relaxed a bit and let HattieJo take a nap before we headed out to visit a local church and then back downtown for a walking ghost tour! That was a lot of fun, it was just us and the tour guide... we were the old people who signed up for the before dark tour! Here we are on the boardwalk before the ghost tour. On Monday the plan was to go to the beach for the morning, but the weather was yucky, so we went to a local beach place, the Causeway Cafe, for breakfast and then went to the ocean for HattieJo to see it and put her feet in! She loved watching the ocean and trying to figure it out, but when the COLD water came rushing in, she wasn't a big fan! Then we headed home. It was such a great little get away!

HattieJo's Baby Dedication

This past Saturday was the Parent Commissioning brunch at the Summit. This was the first time they did the Parent Commissioning as a brunch. This took the place of the families being announced during the service due to the number of babies! It was a neat time for us to be with our families to celebrate our little miracle.
The verse we chose to pray for HattieJo is:"And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." Colossians 1:9-10
Please join us in praying, for HattieJo to grow in godliness, We ask for the Father's grace to be extended to her at an early age; may the Father draw her to himself. In doing so, we ask that the Lord will shield her from the temptations of the enemy that lead only to death. We also pray that she may come to the understanding that the love of the Father is better than life and that she would taste and see that He is good.

Here are a few pictures from the day:

.Wordless Wednesday.

(this was at HattieJo's baby dedication... more to come about that tomorrow)

Happy Anniversary

Thats right folks, its our anniversary. We have been married 5 years today! What a joy and fun ride these 5 years have been. I could write a book on the these 5 years and all the things we have done, the places we have gone, the great memories we have made, and all that the Lord has taught us! I am so thankful for Andrew. He is an incredible man. I am so blessed. He loves the Lord and desires to walk according to the Lord's will in all things, he leads our family in that way. He is an amazing daddy to HattieJo. He loves and serves us. He goes to work and provides for us. He is so fun even all his little quirks!

Father, I thank you for the 5 years that you have blessed Andrew and I with. Thank you for all the steps and spiritual markers that we have built in our life through things that You have taught us. Thank you for the opportunity to serve alongside of a man of God that fears You and seeks You. I pray that you would continue to bless our marriage. Use it to minister to others and continue to teach us more about yourself through our marriage. I pray that you would continue to guide us and give us wisdom in all that we do may we honor You.

:date night:

When I got home last Wednesday, this card was on the table, me being the most IMPATIENT person when it comes to something like this IMMEDIATLEY tore into it! It was a Mother's Day card from Andrew. It was PRECIOUS. You are asking yourself why he was giving me a Mother's Day card on Wednesday before the day... well, he left on Thursday morning to go to San Diego with some of the Summit staff to visit with a pastor and his staff at a church out there and wouldn't be returning until Monday, missing my first Mother's Day... So inside the card he told me that he was taking me out to eat, shopping, and to get dessert! YAY!!! So we headed out not long after that and got some dinner at Hibachi, did a little shopping at Target, then ended the date night with some Starbuck's. It was perfect! So thankful for my man!

:playdate:

Last Sunday, we went over to the Quinn's home to hang out for the afternoon. We met Ben and Ashley the weekend we came up to look for houses before moving to Wake Forest. We immediately connected with them, I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that they were "from the country" as well! haha.. A lot has changed in those three years since meeting them; they now have 2 kids and we have HattieJo, Andrew is finished with seminary, Ben is finished with seminary and now working on another degree. So it was fun to be able to hang out and catch up with them. The men went and rode 4wheelers while the girls stayed back and played with the kids. I only got these two pics, but I love it that HattieJo is playing with a car! haha.

It looks like Camp is pushing HJ away from his stuff in this first picture!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to our AMAZING moms!
We are so thankful for Gigi and Grandmama. The Lord has blessed us with incredible moms and now they are an amazing Gigi and Grandmama to HattieJo.
Gigi and Grandmama, we hope that you both have a great day today, you deserve the best!

*sorry I don't have any pictures, our computer isn't working..please pray that they will be able to recover it at the apple store today*

:Meet in the Street:

On Saturday after HJ's morning nap we loaded up and went to Wake Forest for the annual "Meet in the Street." We went last year for the first time and really enjoyed it, so we met up with friends this year to enjoy the festivities. We took Jr.Boy with us too!

:Diggin in the dirt:

When we moved to the farm our landlord told us that we could have a garden. Next thing we knew our neighbor from across the street was over and plowing and getting it ready for us! YAY! We have always wanted to plant a garden, so now we have a BIG plot of land plowed and ready to go. So last Saturday we bought all our seeds and then on Sunday morning we had a family time of planting our garden! We shall see if we can grow anything!!! haha. We planted cucumbers, corn, greenbeans, zuchini, squash, and green peppers.

.a typical saturday in our lives.

Since the campus that Andrew is the pastor of meets on Saturday nights, I thought I would let everyone in on a Saturday in the lives of the Hoppers...(these pictures were taken between two different Saturdays)
*HJ usually wakes up around 7 and is bright eyed! So she eats then we make breakfast and then head into our bedroom for some snuggles with daddy!Then we eat breakfast and hangout in the living room for a bit...*Whilte HattieJo is napping I get busy on some laundry and making baby food for the week:*After HJ wakes up she eats again, then we usually will head outside to hangout with Andrew while he takes care of the doggies... HJ LOVES to watch the dogs while they run around, they are not interested in her which is great!*After lunch we usually play then start getting cleaned up to leave for church at 2:30.
*When we arrive at church Andrew hits the ground running and HattieJo and I just hang out, run errands, work on projects for daddy until its time for us to get to serving.*I usually check HattieJo in to our SummitKids area around 4:40 and she LOVES her classroom there. Then I serve as a greeter in the SummitKids area. It is so fun to greet the families as they come in each week.*This past week I had the opportunity to serve in HattieJo's class where they needed an extra set of hands since there were so many babies, so I was able to capture some pictures of her playing with her friends!*After the service we hang out then head out to dinner with people from church. Then home to get some rest! We are so thankful for the opportunity to serve at The Summit. It is an incredible church, where the Gospel is preached constantly, where people are reached and loved, where hearts get challenged and encouraged through the Word.