Thankful Hearts

It was with very thankful hearts that we celebrated Thanksgiving. When I really stop to think about my life, I am in awe over how much God has blessed my family. There are many reasons to give thanks to the giver of all. Family, friends, the love of God, health, a comfortable home, an amazing church. But there are so many little things as well. Ice cream. Warm beds. A good book. Sweet kisses from Joel. Game night. Ugg boots. There are so many days I take all of this for granted, so I love having a day to refocus and really appreciate what I've been given.

We made the most of our day around here. Even though the weather was a bit chilly, we got outside and let Joel practice riding his new big boy bike.

We also played a little football. What Thanksgiving is complete without it? (Actually, I could care less about football but I LOVE seeing my husband and son play.)

The rest of the day was spent with family eating, laughing, and playing Scrabble. Oh, and drinking chocolate milk out of a fancy glass.


We had a truly blessed day and hope you did, too!

A Bouncing Birthday

Joel had a very fun time celebrating his birthday this year. It was neat to see Joel's excitement in the days leading up to his birthday and the frequently asked question, "Is it my birthday?" We found a new family fun place near our house a couple months ago, and since Joel loved it, we decided to have his party there. They had a bounce room, a party room, and an arcade with games and prizes. We chose a race car theme, invited Joel's little friends, and had a great time!

Of course, there was lots of bouncing going on!

The slide was a very big attraction.

The always amusing group photo. Do you see how nicely Joel is sitting? If you saw what happened moments before, you too would be amazed.

After we wore the kids out with bouncing, it was time for pizza. And more importantly, cupcakes.

We gave each child a few tokens to play games after the party. I think the best part was getting to pick out prizes with the tickets they won.

We know that many of our friends drove quite a ways from home to celebrate with Joel, and for that we are so thankful. It meant so much to see our son surrounded by people who care about him. Three is such a fun age, and we're glad that we could celebrate Joel in such a fun way!

Three is the Age to Be

Three is the age of 

big smiles...silly laughs...sweet words...a new big boy bike...curiosity...a love of everything Cars...a big boy bed in a new room...fun music classes...questions about God...unprompted hugs and kisses...and lots and lots of love.

Happy 3rd birthday to our Joel Allen Hwan! We love you more than you'll ever know and are so proud of you.

Family Fall Photos

Last year, we had the opportunity for Todd at Pierson Studios to take some amazing photos of our family. This year, we were blessed enough to do this again! Joel has never really been a ham before, but he was totally loving the attention from everyone at the photo shoot. Todd's assistant got some great smiles and laughs from him, and Joel just knew that he was being super cute. Here are some of our favorites.

Thank you, Todd, for capturing the spirit of our sweet boy!