Hankins Happenings

Drake is 4!

2010-04-03T00:40:00.013-05:00

I cannot believe that Drake just celebrated his 4th birthday. It seems like just yesterday he was a tiny little newborn.

Now, he is a very big boy!

He is a ball of energy. He is constantly moving. I am telling you...this boy is not still until he falls asleep! He brings a lot of happiness to our lives. He is funny. He asks more questions then any kid I have ever been around in my life! He is a 'doer'. He likes to do just about anything, and he will do it well. He loves tools, fishing, all sports (but he loves to tackle so I think football is probably number 1!), cars, motorcycles, trains...his interests are endless. I love that about him!
Drake's biggest interest over the past year and a half has been monster trucks. I didn't really know anything about monster trucks, but Drake has taught us all more than we will ever want to know about them. So, it just seemed appropriate for his birthday this year to go to Monster Jam since they were in town a couple weeks before his birthday. It was the BEST.

The Monster Jam cake! Drake thought this was the coolest!

We got pit passes, so we were able to go on the floor and see the trucks and meet the drivers. Drake got several autographs and pictures with his favorites.
"Sampson"
"Prowler"
"Spiderman"
The one and only, "Grave Digger" ~ his favorite!
He was amazed at how big the tires were.

In the pit before the show...
I thought it would be a little much for Aleah. She stayed with my friend from school while we went. Aleah is not a fan of loud noises and loud doesn't even begin to describe the noise there!

He was in complete awe!

It was so much fun to enjoy this special day with him. I love you, Drake! You are my favorite four year old in the whole entire world!

Snow, skiing, and more snow!

2010-04-03T00:22:00.008-05:00

Since Terril was busy coaching after Christmas, the kids and I went with my bff's to Red River, NM to ski. Madelyn has DREAMED of skiing since the last time I went (4 YEARS ago) and had the audacity to leave her behind...how dare I? Anyway, Shana told her if she saved her money, she would take her. And that she did. Madelyn saved all of her money for a year and finally had enough to go. I was very proud of her until she decided to take her wallet up to the gym where 400+ people were involved in a basketball camp and LEAVE it laying around. We found the wallet, but as you can imagine. Anyway, I am still proud of her. We live and learn. Thanks to some help from her grandparents, she was able to re-save and was ready by Christmas.

It was a great trip. Madelyn learned to ski much faster then I did my first time. By the end of the day she was skiing down the bunny slopes. She loved it.

Aleah and Drake mostly hung out with me, napped, played in the snow, watched the snow mobiles while evryone else skiied. We all went tubing each evening. Drake LOVED the tubing.

It was a fun trip. Next time, however, I WILL be skiing too! :)

Snow much fun!

2010-04-02T23:47:00.008-05:00

Since I have some major updating to do, I thought I would start with some of our snow activities. The weather in Oklahoma has been crazy this past winter. Much to my children's delight, we have had several opportunities to play in the snow. They love to sled, make snow angels, eat it...you name it. Here are some fun pictures from one of our winter blizzards! :)
Aleah LOVES to sled!

Madelyn kept complaining about her ears being cold. I can't imagine why? :)

Drake the Daredevil. He cannot do anything the easy way! He had a blast!

SO COLD!!!

The kids all had a great time, and got to go home to a warm house and some yummy hot chocolate!

I'm still here!!!

2010-03-27T22:42:00.003-05:00

I vowed that I was going to be a better blogger then scrapbooker, and I am failing miserably! To say we have been busy does not even begin to scratch the surface. Since my last post we have had Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's, Drake's 4th birthday, Aleah's 1st birthday, Madelyn's 3rd grade school program, a new soccer season, Spring Break, and of course, lots of basketball games!!!! Phew! That wears me out just typing it! :) Anyway, I will try to do better to update and post now that Terril is home in the evenings to help. It's amazing how quickly dinner is made, lunches packed for the next day, homework completed, baths taken, and bedtime when my hubby is around. The life of a coaches wife is pretty crazy! I am sure you are all SO jealous! :) I'll have pictures and updates tomorrow...so stay tuned! :)

Photo Shoot

2009-12-02T21:33:00.011-06:00

Well, I decided to take some photos the other day of my kids. Shana and Kayleen were ever so kind, as usual, and helped me with it. Unfortunately, I have yet to get a really good picture of ALL three of my kids together since Aleah arrived. Someone is always looking away from the camera or cranky and totally won't smile. Sweet Madelyn always has the fake smile going on because that is what she does for the ENTIRE photo shoot...just sits with a smile plastered to her face in hopes that the other two will eventually cooperate at the same time!! Anyway, I'll post some of them below. We took about 120 and the ones below were the best. Yikes!! Oh, well. :)

This was my favorite photo from today! Aleah loves her big sister so much. This picture captures it perfectly!!

I don't know if I can totally commit to a fav picture for the annual Christmas card. Which is your favorite? We may need one more attempt before the cards are finalized and printed! Anyway, it was a fun day, even if I didn't get THE picture out of it! :)

Finally!!

2009-12-02T21:21:00.004-06:00

Drake is FINALLY feeling better. I had NO idea that the recovery time was as long and difficult as it was. Now that the worse is over, we can see some definite improvements in his sleeping and breathing. Thank God for that. I was beginning to think I was never going to forgive myself for putting him through it. It was rough! I am so glad to see Drake back to his busy, busy self! You have no idea how much you love and appreciate your child's personality until it is gone. He is a handful, but he brings us so much joy and laughter. I'm SO glad he's 'back'!! :)

Please pray for Drake

2009-11-12T22:46:00.004-06:00

My sweet, lovable, baby boy!

Drake is having his tonsils and adenoids removed tomorrow morning. He has had some issues with breathing (mostly at night), where he actually stops breathing for a few seconds at a time. He also gets these terrible, reoccurring sinus infections during the cold/flu season that take months to go away. They believe the sleep apnea and smoldering sinus infections are caused from enlarged tonsils and adenoids. He has received testing for allergies, asthma, reflux, and everything in between. So far, nothing has helped. We have had a very difficult time making the decision to go on with this procedure because they are not 100% sure that it is necessary. We know that it is a pretty routine surgery, but I worry about my baby boy receiving anesthesia, making it through the surgery okay, his recovery afterwards and mainly if we are putting him through this for nothing! Anyway, I am confident that all will go well, but am just asking for your prayers. Please pray that his surgery goes well and it takes care of his 'issues'. Thank you so much!!

Halloween

2009-11-07T23:25:00.008-06:00

We had a fun Halloween. Kayleen had a party at her house with lots of cute decorations and yummy food. Afterwards, we took the kids trick-or-treating. Fun, fun!!

I really wanted to do a 'themed' Halloween this year, but my independent 8 year old did not really want to participate. So, everyone kind of did their own thing. Shana made Aleah's costume, and it was perfect for her! Madelyn knew who she wanted to be since August. I used Drake's Christmas present from last year for his. So, here they are...
Dorothy, complete with Toto in her basket!

Sam Bradford (well, that's what we called him although the number is not accurate. We have been told that he resembles him. What do you think?)

And last, but not least, Pebbles. Her mop of hair on the top of her head made this perfect!

These were the best pictures I got of all three together. Maybe one of these days we'll get a decent one where everyone is smiling and looking at the camera! (But I won't hold my breath!)

Hope your Halloween was happy! :)

BIG day!!

2009-11-07T23:13:00.002-06:00

Even though I did not get any pictures (I know...terrible, but I am working on that! Maybe I'll remember for game 2!) today was a very BIG day for my husband. It was his first game as the Head Assistant Coach. They played AWESOME and won by 30+! The team looked really good. I hope this is a sign of what this season has in store! He has worked so incredibly hard, and I am proud of him. GO EAGLES!!!!

Precious!

2009-11-07T00:25:00.007-06:00

I went to check on my older two 'babies' tonight and found this...

Absolutely precious! They are such good friends and I hope they remain this close forever.

Madelyn is such a good sister. At 8 years old, she is more help to me then another adult at times. As a matter of fact, today when we got home from school, she came straight in, put her things away, started a bath for Drake, gave Drake a bath, got him dressed for bed (this was all about 4:00 this afternoon, a little early, but what do you say?? :))put a movie on for him, and then watched it with him while I fed Aleah and got dinner started. ALL without being asked. I sometimes feel like I am harder on her then I should be (you tend to do that with the oldest, or at least I do), but days like today remind me of how absolutely wonderful she is, and how happy I am to have her as my daughter.

Playing catch up...

2009-09-07T21:48:00.024-05:00

Oh my goodness! My point to having a blog was to keep our lives updated and organized since I do such a terrible job with the scrap books. I seem to be failing miserably at this too!! At least my children can look back and know that I did try!! Anyway...

We had a great end of summer. Madelyn celebrated her 8th birthday at the OC swimming pool with 10 of her friends. It was fun and she had a great time!! I cannot believe she is 8!

During the party, Drake went to KK's house and swam, played in the dirt, and looked for frogs. He had a blast there. Meanwhile, Aleah enjoyed sitting in her carseat for nearly the entire three hours we were there! She is an incredibly good natured baby! She puts up with being drug all over the place to her sister's activities very well!
The following week, my dad had surgery to remove the tumor in his stomach. It went well, and he is still recovering. He is suppose to be starting chemo this week. We are very optimistic, but cancer is such a scary thing. The reoccurence of the kind of tumor he had (GIST) is very high. Hopefully, since they were able to remove all of it, the chemo will do the trick and he will remain cancer free.

The first week of August, the kids and I went with my best friends to Branson for a few days while Terril stayed back and did a painting project at the gym. We had a great time in MO. It was a short trip, but nice to get away for a while.

If you have been to Branson recently, then you know about the fountains that they have. They are similar to the fountains at the Bellagio in Vegas. When we were on a dinner cruise, the captain informed us that the fountains in Branson were desigend by the same company that did the Bellagio's. The fountains in Branson also had fire too. Interesting, but I still like the Bellagio better. The first pic is of Madelyn enjoying the show, and the second one shows the 'fire'. The heat from the flames was pretty intense!

I started back to school the week after we got back from Branson. I ABSOLUTELY love my job. I love the teachers I work with, the kids are wonderful, and teaching in general is one of my most favorite things to do...but this year I had a very hard time deciding if I was doing the right thing by going back to work. Three children, a VERY busy husband, and working full time is a lot to manage. We will see how this year goes and then move on from there. Hopefully, we will survive!!

Terril also started a new journey as the Men's Head Assistant Basketball coach at OC. This has been a dream fulfilled for him, and our family. We are anxious to see what the year holds. He is also teaching 12 hours, and loves the college life, so far! He's ready for me to get my Master's and join him. We'll see! :)

As far as school for Madelyn, she is LOVING third grade. I know I say this a lot, but I CANNOT believe she is in third grade. That sounds SOOOO old! :) She is doing well and has a great teacher. She was very nervous about making 'letter grades' for the first time this year. She kept saying that she was so worried she would make an F. How she knew about F's is beyond me, but so far...no F's. She is making all A's and we are so proud of her!

Thanks for hanging with me on this VERY long catch up post. Hopefully, I will do better in the coming weeks, but don't hold me to it! :) Have a great week!

Does it ever get any easier?

2009-08-28T21:25:00.007-05:00

I wonder each passing year if it ever gets any easier. It is soooo hard to believe that today marks the ninth year since the birth and death of our eldest children. I really thought by now that loss would be easier. I really thought by now, 3 healthy babies later, the sting wouldn't be quite so bad. But, sadly, it is. I guess you never get over burying your children. The thoughts of never seeing their first smiles, first steps, hearing their first coos, laughs...it just breaks my heart. However, I am at a place where I realize that their death was only a beginning for them. I can only imagine how beautiful, healthy, and happy they are in Heaven. That does give me comfort. I just wanted to publish this post to say happy birthday to my oldest babies. I love you Emily and Erika and miss you sooooo much. I look forward to the day I can hold you in my arms again!

Happy Birthday, Terril!!

2009-07-25T23:54:00.003-05:00

This is not a picture from today, but the most recent one of the two of us. Guess it's about time we get dressed up and take a picture together!! :) Anyway...
I wanted to say happy birthday to my husband! We had a great day! We got to spend almost 5 hours TOTALLY by ourselves! It is sad to say, but it is so rare that we get to do that anymore that I almost forget how much fun we have together! We had a great lunch at Abuelos and did some shopping afterwards. I love you, Terril!! Happy Birthday!!

I don't...

2009-07-23T00:32:00.004-05:00

Jenna is doing a "don't list" over on her blog and I thought I would join! Hope you do too!

I don't...

- wear makeup. I can't. My face breaks out in hives...any kind and EVERYtime!!

- watch tv unless it is something I have dvr'd.

- take out the trash. Terril always does it. I really dislike trash!

- take the same route to places I drive to around town. I like to 'mix it up' when I can, even if it is just one turn! You never know what you may discover off the beaten path!

Those are just a few! I know there are many more, but my brain is done thinking for the night! Look forward to reading some of your lists! :)

Food?!

2009-07-23T00:11:00.009-05:00

Aleah started cereal a couple of days ago. She seems to really like it, however I am not real sure how much actually goes in her mouth!

She's doing really well with it. She is even getting to where she takes the spoon from me and tries to feed herself!!

Very determined!!

Happy 8th Birthday, Madelyn Grace!!

2009-07-22T23:54:00.003-05:00

I CANNOT believe you are 8 years old. You are one amazing little girl! You have been such a blessing to our family! Your birthday party will be Friday, so I will post more about that then. Today you had fun hanging out at the mall, meeting daddy for lunch, playing with Abby and Emma and having them join us at your favorite restaurant (Olive Garden)for a special birthday dinner and a sleepover afterward.

Fun and friends..what more could you ask for!!
We love you so much and are so glad that you are our daughter.

Shots!?!

2009-07-16T22:18:00.006-05:00

Aleah's expression -and hair:)- says it all! I absolutely HATE when they have to get their immunizations at the doctor, but Aleah did amazingly well today. She didn't even cry! I am so proud of her. She weiged in at 14lbs 11 oz and was 24.25 inches long. Everything looked great! Oh, and just FYI...I did not take the above picture while she was getting shots. I am not thet cruel! I was taking pictures of her one day, and in the midst of it all I got this shot! It made me laugh! I was thinking about entering it in a Hallmark contest if I can think of a clever enough caption. What do you think?

Also, my dad recently found out the treatment plan for his cancer. He will have surgery on the 27th. They will remove the tumor and a portion of his stomach. They will not know just how extensive until they get in there. Afterwards, he will take chemo (orally??) for a few weeks. Hopefully, this will take care of it and he will be cancer free! Please continue to pray for him and our family. We appreciate the prayers so much!

4 months...already?!

2009-07-10T21:53:00.015-05:00

Guess who is 4 months old today?????

That's right! My baby is 4 months old! She is pure sweetness! I love her so much!
Aleah, at four months you are:
- still nursing exclusively, but I am sure we will start cereal soon.
- rolling over from back to tummy, but you DO NOT like being on your tummy
for very long.
- smiling and giggling when someone makes silly faces or sounds at you.
- starting to reach and grasp toys.
- drooling a ton and love to make bubbles out of it!
- OBSESSED with your tongue! We have very few recent pictures with your
tongue in your mouth!
- cooing and trying to mimic sounds.
- a GREAT sleeper (at least 10-12 hours each night and 3 naps a day).
And MY favorite:
- You LOVE your mommy the best...not to brag, but it's about time one of my
kids gave me this bragging pleasure! I have to enjoy it while I can! :)

And while I am posting about our youngest little angel, I wanted to post a few of her 3 month pics that were taken a couple of weeks ago.

I wanted to end this post with a video. It's not the best quality, but you can still hear Aleah's sweet little voice. She has SO much to say!

We love you sweet girl, and are so blessed to have you in our family!

Camp Survivor!

2009-07-10T21:34:00.005-05:00

Madelyn survived her first time at an outdoor camp! It was just a day camp, but I was not 100% sure she would enjoy it because of the heat. She is a princess, and does not really enjoy extreme temperatures without the soothing cool of a swimming pool. However, she had a blast! From day one she was excited about their "home in the woods" that their group made. She also got to cook two meals by camp fire, go fishing and canoeing, rode a zip line, archery, and much, much more. I was so impressed with how it was all ran. Today was their last day and they had an 'awards ceremony' that the parents could attend. Her group's 'home' won 2nd place! Afterwards, we got to go see their "home in the woods". This is her next to the entrance of their home (with the coke can doorbell hanging on the tree) and next to their 2nd place award.

This is her next to the 'tv' in their home.

It was hot, but I enjoyed getting to see what all my oldest baby girl did during the week. She is already asking about next year! :)

4th of July

2009-07-10T21:12:00.007-05:00

We had a fun 4th! My sister's family was in from the Houston area, so my niece and nephew had a sleepover with Madelyn the night before. We got up early and went to our town's annual 4th of July parade. This was the BEST picture I could get of the 4 oldest together...sad,I know! :)

You would think I could get a little better cooperation at least with the bigger ones! Oh well, they were taking it all in! Drake LOVED the marching band! Aleah enjoyed just being outside.

We were going to go swimming at my friend's house, but the weather did not cooperate! It has not rained in DAYS here, but of course picks the 4th to finally have severe thunder storms!

Fortunately it cleared off in time to enjoy some fireworks that evening.

Terril managed to steer clear of the camera!! I will make sure not to let him do that next time!! :) Hope you had a happy 4th!!

Day at the Zoo and a Giveaway

2009-07-04T00:17:00.008-05:00

Terril has started basketball camps for the summer and is so busy, so I have kind of been 'on my own' so to speak. The kids get restless or maybe I do from Madelyn and Drake's newfound love to argue with each other constantly!!!! Anyway...I decided to take the kids to the zoo. Well, I guess my two wonderful best friend's decided I did not need to do that alone and offered to come along with us. They are seriously THE BEST! It was sooooooo HOT, but we had a good time.

Just the beginning...a semi-family picture!

Am I big like the eagle?

I promised Madelyn BEFORE Aleah was born that I would take her the the dinosaur exhibit they had at the zoo. They did a dinosaur unit at school, so she became quite interested in them. Drake has had a dinosaur obsession for a few months now, so he was excited to go see the dinosaurs too. I am so glad we went when we did because the day we were there was the LAST day that the dinosaur's were going to be there!!! Wow, I definitely lucked out! Thank you God for not making me a liar!! :)

Madelyn and Drake with my wonderful bf's

Proof (for Aleah) that she was actually there!

Needless to say, the kids slept VERY well that night!

On another note, there is a fun giveaway at Jenna's Journey. Go check it out!

Dad update

2009-07-03T23:16:00.005-05:00

Just a quick update about my dad...

The biopsy revealed that it is cancer, BUT the mass is located in his stomach not pancreas. Although "cancer" is never good to hear, his prognosis is so much better then what they first believed. He has been diagnosed with a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor. CT and PET scans both revealed that the tumor is self-contained and has not spread to any other organs. Specific treatment plans have not been officially made, but they have briefly discussed possible surgery and/or chemo to remove the tumor.

As you can imagine, this has been a very scary time for our family. This is one of the parts of growing up that I ABSOLUTELY do not like! Although he is not completely out of the woods, this news was very promising as this kind of cancer seems to be very treatable. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

Random Happenings

2009-06-22T21:48:00.022-05:00

It has been a very busy past couple of weeks. The girls made a quick trip down to Houston to see my new nephew, Elijah Scott, who I FAILED to get a picture of, but i did get a picture of my niece and Madelyn helping me bake! It was a long trip, but the girls were great so all went well.

When we came back from Texas, all of us went to visit friends that live an hour and a half away. It was nice to spend some time together as a family before Terril started camps for the summer. We spent some time at their pool. We needed a life jacket for Drake and since they have 3 girls, he got to borrow a cool pink Barbie life jacket. He didn't mind at all, but these pictures may mean something to him in let's say about 10 years?!

Terril and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary on the 20th. We couldn't find a babysitter for the evening so we took the whole family with us on our 'date'. While we were sitting there eating it was just crazy to think of all that has happened over our 11 years of marriage. Lots of ups and downs, but I am so thankful for him and my family.

Aleah just turned 3 months and is getting so big! I can't believe it has already been 3 months since I had her. Where does time go? She is such a happy baby. My favorite time of day with her is when she first wakes up in the morning. She is soooo smiley and happy! I LOVE this face!!

In other news, if you have not heard, my dad recently learned that he had a mass on his pancreas. He had a biopsy today, and we do not know much more then we did before. We are hoping and praying that all goes well. I am not ready to lose him, but I know this is totally out of my hands. For whatever reason, I am very optimistic and know that he will come through this alright. Keep him (and my mom) in your prayers!

That is all of the randomness for now! :) Have a great week!!

GIVEAWAY

2009-06-04T23:58:00.005-05:00

Madsen is giving away a bike in July! They look like fun, so check out their site (by clicking on the link below) and enter to win yours!!

New Beginnings

2009-06-01T22:01:00.002-05:00

I guess it is time for 'New Beginnings'! I spend a lot of time reading random people's blogs and have been inspired to start my own. I have waited so long because I thought it was kind of creepy for random people that I don't even know to read about my life. However, I do it and I am not so creepy! :) Also, I am HORRIBLE about keeping up with my kids' photo albums, scrapbooks, and such so MAYBE I will do better with this! :) So, here's to New Beginnings!