Hannah Grace

Hannah Grace
Hannah Grace

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Sunday, February 26, 2012

My Many Blessings 51-100

My Children on Nathan's 6th Birthday!

My Many Blessings 51-100
51.  I am thankful for my ability to sew!  I love sewing and creating neat things out of of piece of fabric.
52.  I am thankful for a can of Diet Coke.  
53.  I am thankful for broccoli.  It is so yummy cooked with cheese melted on top! 
54.  I am thankful for my prayer journal.  With this prayer journal, I remember to pray for the things God puts on my heart or allows  me to know so I can pray! 
55. I am so thankful to know answered prayers.  I have seen prayers answered that I had faithfully prayed for in my prayer journal. 
56.  I am thankful for that time my husband takes to lead family devotions!  God blessed me with a godly husband who leads his family to seek God their heavenly father!
57.  I am thankful for my gift of encouragement and compassion.  I am embracing these gifts and allowing God to used me in ways He leads me too.  I am praying I bless others and lead them to Christ by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead my giftings.!
58. I am thankful for birthdays!  I like our family birthday celebrations as we celebrate even of our children. We gift them with presents and verbal blessings, 
59.  I am thankful for nerf guns.  My nerf guns can entertain a bunch of boys for a very long time! 
60.  I am thankful my children willingly help me around the house.  What a blessings they are to their momma.
61.  I am thankful for all the Trisomy mommys I have met because of Hannah.  You have made my life fuller and I pray for you each day. 
62. I am for my washing machine.  I do so much laundry and my washing machine helps so much!
63.  I am thankful for my clothes dryer!  What more can I say!  It is just a true blessing!
64.  I am thankful for my dutch heritage.  My mom and dad and my husbands mom and dad all immigrated from The Netherlands.  I just love that my children have a dutch heritage!
65.  I am thankful for the time I spent before I fall asleep.  I spend time talking to God and I always fall into a sweet sleep while commuting with God.
66.  I am thankful for grapefruit!  I love love eating grapefruit!  For a couple of my pregnancies I lived on grapefruit!
67  I am thankful for the Cedarhome Awana's program.  My children have learned so much scripture at Awana's. Cedarhome program is quality!  I love that my chidlren are hiding God's Word in their hearts.
68.  I am thankful for Christmas cards and Christmas letters.  I love all the letters and photos. I love keeping in contact with all my friends and family!
69.  I am thankful for Charms Blow Pops.  I love sucking on a sucker and then being rewarded with gum in the end! 
70.  I am thankful for friends who have prayed for me and my family during this year!  I have felt the prayer of God's People!
71.  I am thankful for Aunts and Uncles and Cousins.  You all make my life fuller! 
72.  I am thankful for the beautiful tulips that make they appearance in the spring!  so beautiful to see a field full of tulips.
73.  I am thankful for ducks.  I love seeing our ducks wondering around the yard just waddling around looking for food! 
74.  I an thankful for my new devotional "Jesus Calling"  by Sarah Young.
75.  I am thankful for the manicure I was blessed with this weekend by some very special friends.
76.  I am thankful for the pedicure I was also blessing to receive this weekend.
77.  I am thankful for my husbands drive to fix something that needs fixing right away. He is awesome and I don't have to work around a broken thing for long!
78.  I am thankful for green grass.  I love laying and walking through the lush green grass we have here in our lawn all year long!
79.  I am thankful for the NICU nurses.  The nurses were so kind and helpful and answered all our questions and loved on Hannah!  What a blessing to have been in the NICU with Hannah. 
80.  I am thankful for my daughters awesome sewing abiblites.  I am enjoying all their skills so much as they make special things for each other. 
81.  I am thankful my children take turns making lunch every school day so I can focus on finishing school with the children.
82.  I am thankful for First Class Skaigt County Homeschool Co-op and their members. The ladies are so encouaging, loving and supportive.  My children are blessed to be loved on by others too!
83.  I am thankful for Pansies.  I love the look of Pansies.  They are my favorite flowers.  I love how they come in different colors and they are easy to grow and they come back every year. 
84. I am thankful for a good salad.  I love eating salad.  I love the salad my mom makes but I am making myself learn how to make the salad so I can pass it down the generations.
85.  I am thankful for a calculator.  The calculator makes balancing my checkbook much easier! 
86. I am thankful for my families good health!  What a blessing that is
87.  I am thankful for the evergreen tress so abundant around here!  I love watching them sway in the wind.
88.  I am thankful for the ability to read and write! 
89. I am thankful for the ability to teach my children to read and write!
90.  I am thankful for my new camera!
91.  I am thankful for the trust I have in my teens!  They are great young men and I trust them!
92.  I am thankful I have 2 teen drivers in the house.  Now when I need an extra driver,  I have one at my disposal!
93.  I am thankful for all the Trisomy Mommy friends!  You understand what I've beeen through and you have given much loving support!
94.  I am thankful for the 64 days our family was blessed to have Hannah Grace!
95.  I am thankful God is with me every day, hour, minute, second! 
96.  I am thankful for Hannah's hook finger.  Her specila finger gives much joy and memories with the children.
97.  I am thankful I got to hold Hannah every single day of her short life!
98.  I am thankful I slept with Hannah every night she was at home.  She was nestled on my chest or cradled in my arms.  That special times with her are a great time of peace and love. 
99.  I am thankful for the feeding pump we used to feed Hannah.  Without the feeding pump, she would not been able to eat!
100.  I am thankful God and only God lead me to be thankful.  God through His word and spending time with Him.  He lead me to remember my blessinngs!
More to come! 


My Many Blessings 1-50

My Family.  (this picture was taken for our 23rd Anniversary)


My Many Blessings 1-50

I started a list of Thankfulness back on November.  This daily listing of things to be thankful for and remembering my blessings, really helped me when I felt like I was spiraling into depression.  Since then I have felt the Lord nudging me to make a list of Thankfulness.  During my Sunday School class on prayer I was convicted to follow through on my nudging from the Holy Spirit.  Then I was lead to do make my list public.  (I will be adding to it so I is a work in progess not at all complete ever). I'm going to list my November blessings list first and then continue from there.
 Here is the start: 

1.  I am so thankful for Jesus Christ who died for my sins so I can go to heaven. I will get to see Hannah once again!
2.  I am thankful for my best friend Rick.  He is my husband but much more to me than that!  He loves me and treasures me!  I love and treasure him too!   
3.  I am thankful for God's Word! 
4.  I am thankful for my oldest son Martin Allen! What a blessing he is to our family!  He is a wonderful example to his younger siblings.
5.  I am thankful for my second born:  Samuel Roger!  He has such a kind heart and a servants heart!
6.  I am thankful for my oldest daughter, Cassandra Marie!  She is a hard worker, joy and a great friend!
7.  I am thankful for my second daughter Heidi Alice!  She is happy, easy going and joyful always!
8.  I am thankful for my third daughter and fifth baby Valerie Kay!  She has a kind heart, and is very determined.  She also has her daddy's perfectionist eyes!
9.  I am thankful for my sixth baby, Nathan Richard!  He is alarm clock every morning!  God knew I didn't like being awaken by an alarm clock!  He is a joy!
10.  I am thankful for my seventh baby and my fourth daughter!  She always says the sweetest things at just the right time! 
11. I am thankful for my youngest child Hannah Grace Kwant.  She is waiting for me in heaven!  What a blessing she has been on our life!  I am honored to be Hannah's chosen momma!
12.  I am thankful for my big white van!  I love that I can carry extra people, extra things and whatever!  I am also happy that we can loan it out once in a while!
13.  I am thankful for my church family! 
14.  I am thankful for my very comfortable bed!  I sleep so good in my bed! 
15.  I am thankful for my mom and dad.  I am blessed to be their daughter.  I am thankful to be raised in a Christian home!  They love my children and are a great example.
16.  I am thankful for my mother in law, Gertie.  She is a godly women and loves to help and she loves her grandchildren.
17.  I am thankful for my homeschooling freinds.  They have given me so much support and and encouragment.  I treasure their friendships.
18.  I am thankful for the free motel stay we won!
19.  I am thankful for my favorite sister, Alice.  She is my only sister. 
20.  I am thankful for I live in the Pacific Northwest!  It is such a beautiful area to live. 
21.  I am thankful for the Conway moms I've gotten to know.  They have made me feel apart of the comunity even though I homeschool!
22.  I am so thankful for my "Irons" group!  You allow me to share and you love me though my struggles and you pray for and with me!
23.  I am thankful for good health for my family and I.  What a blessing!
24.  I am thankful for Thankgiving!  It is a day to sit back and remember all our blessings!
25.  I am thankful for forgivness granted to me by my Heavenly Father through Jesus!  so I can also show love, mercy and forgivness to others.
26.  I am thankful for telephones/cell phones.  I love keeping in touch with friend and family. 
27.  I am thankful for windy days.  These windy days help me remember the power of God!  God is in control!
28.  I am thankful for the rainbow of colors!  God made colors and the colors makes such a beautiful world!
29.  I am thankful for my dishwasher.  I'd have so many dishes to wash if I did not have a dishwasher!
30.  I am thankful for my daily shower.  I love my nice warm shower!
31.  I am thankful for the blessings and joy that homeschooling my children brings me and my family!
32.  I am thankful for Cascade Lumber.  Rick had worked for them for about 18 years!  What a blessing to be apart of such and awesome godly company!
33.  I am thankful for hot water! 
34.  I am thankful for my "little" brother Peter! 
35.  I am thankful for my younest borther Robert! 
36.  I am thankful for my sisters in law!  Holli, Alice, and Bonnie! 
37.  I am thankful for the blessings sweet Hannah was in our lives.  She made me a better person!
38.  I am thankful for the love and support we have been shoen this year.  It has been a hard year but we have felt so much love!~
39.  I am thankful for a warm home.  It is cold outside and it is so nice to come into a nice warm home!
40.  I am thankful for all the photos I have of my children!  It is so fun looking at the pictures and see how they have grown.
41.  I am thankful to have meet Deborah. It was very healing for me to see her and her little girl.  I blessed them with my breast milk that I had pumped for Hannah. 
42.  I am thankful for cool crisp weather.  It brings back memories of my college days!
43.  I am thankful for puzzles.  I like how they challenge my mind.
44.  I am thankful for Great Wolf Lodge!
45.  I am thankful for computers.  They help my be able to share my thoughts to others. 
46.  I am thankful for a cup of warm tea!  I love drinking tea!  Forget coffee.  I love tea!
47.  I am thankful for the time alone with all the children are in bed and I'm alone with God.
48.  I am thankful for the opportunity to be a hostess.  I love opening my home to share and visit with others.!
49.  I am thankful for Summer and the Molly Bear she made in memory of Hannah.  She made it to be the same weight as Hannah's birth weight.  I did not even ask her for one.  She blessed up with it. 
50.  I am thankful for the ability to type!  I'm sure glad I learned typing in high school.  Who would have known how important that skill is today!


Sunday, February 19, 2012

Thank you to Grandma! and Pake and Beppe!

 "Grandma" Rick's mom
 "Pake"  My daddy
"Beppe" my mommy

 
Thank you to Grandma! and Pake and Beppe!

First of all, I wanted to say thank you to Rick's mom and my mom and dad for all their faithful prayers for their special grandchild Hannah Grace.  Hannah was apart of their lives and she was their granddaughter.  I know from talking with my mom that the loss of Hannah was just as hard on her and it was on our family.  

I wanted to personally thank Rick's mom, Gertie, for all the trips to the grocery store so I did not need to go to the store.  I could stay home and tend to my family and tend to Hannah.  Thanks also for all the meals and special dishes you cooked for us.  You blessed us with yummy meals abundantly!  Thanks for showing Hannah unconditional love.  Thanks for being available when we had to leave the rest of the kids and head with Hannah to the hospital.  Thanks for always being available to help even though I didn't always ask or need help at the time.  You were always willing to do whatever.  Thanks for coming each day to the NICU everyday to see Hannah.  Thanks for supporting us in prayer and your love.  We love you! 

I also want to thank my mom and dad, Roger and Jessie.  Thanks so much for spending two weeks with our family when Hannah was born. Thanks for loving on my family each day as you prepared breakfast and got dinner on the table each day while Rick and I were with Hannah in the NICU. Thanks for taking Hannah's siblings to see each and everyday that she was in the NICU.  It was important to them and Rick & I and you knew that.  Thanks for loving Hannah unconditionally. Thanks for your shoulder to cry on!  Thanks for listening to me and my sadness and supporting me through such a hard time!  Thanks for making each of my children feel special.  Thanks for coming to visit us the extra times.  We needed the extra visits!  What a blessing you are to my family!  Thanks!  We love you! 

Proverbs 31: 28-31
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.


Love, Sandi  (Hannah's mommy)

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Hannah's First Heaven Birthday

 We decorated every window in house house upstairs.  Messages to Hannah or remembrances of Hannah! By Martin
 By Sam
 Our Van got a paint job too.  I am enjoying driving around with my decorated van!
 64 balloons, one balloon for each day we had Hannah.  Each balloon was a visual remembrance for each and everyday we had Hannah.  One balloon for Hannah's day on Rick's birthday,  One balloon for the day Hannah got be with with us for Sam's birthday, one balloon for Cassie's birthday,  one balloon for Heidi's birthday, one balloon for the day she was baptized,  one balloon for the day she was under the billi lights,  one balloon for the day she was born. 
 Each of us got 7 balloons, This is Heidi.
 Nathan and his 7 memory balloons
 Valerie and her balloons
  Martin and his balloons
 Sam and his balloons
 Cassie and her 7 balloons
 Terri Lynn even got 7 balloons for which she was really proud!
 Rick and his balloons
 I got 8 balloons!
 Sending the balloons off to heaven
 We each got the let our balloons go as we wanted too.  Nathan has a little trouble with some tangling and he decided to let them all go at the same time.
 Sending the balloons off, one of Sam's balloons had a picture of Hannah on the end of the string, you can kinda see it in this picture.
 We also visited Hannah's grave.  The balloons here are from grandma, Pake and Beppe
 We went to a park as a family.  It was a good time.  Here we all are
 Terri Lynn wanted another time picture with daddy.
Up and the Little Mountain over looking the farm land and toward our home.


As we reflect on our day. It was so good we could be together as a family.  I just need to remind myself I have seven other blessings that need their mommy.  I know Hannah was an extra special gift God gave us and we are honored to be her family!!

We love you Hannah Grace and we miss you so much! 

Psalms 23
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell[a] in the house of the Lord
Forever.

Love, Sandi Kwant (Mommy to Martin, Sam, Cassie, Heidi, Valerie, Nathan, Terri Lynn, Hannah


Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Found Some Cell Phone Pictures

Valerie noticed I missed some pictures on my cell phone.  What a nice surprise to find a few more pictures of Hannah.  It is like a gift! 
 In daddy's arms!
 My precious baby!  Still in the NICU
 Under the billi lights
 Hannah's ear
 Hannah's eye!
The first times Hannah opened her eyes!
 Mommy and Terri Lynn having fun. 
Valerie loves this picture and so does mommy!
Hannah at Children's sleeping. She did have her mouth open alot the last week as she breathed! 


I'm so glad I found as few extra pictures! 
Love, Sandi



Friday, February 3, 2012

Kutless Song

My husband likes the Christian singing group Kutless.  I read through the words to this song and I thought I'd share. It has a lot on how I feel this year. 

Promise of a Lifetime

Here are the Lyrics:

"Promise Of A Lifetime"
I have fallen to my knees
As I sing a lullaby of pain
I'm feeling broken in my melody
As I sing to help the tears go away

Then I remember the pledge you made to me

[CHORUS:]
I know you're always there
To hear my every prayer inside
I'm clinging to the promise of a lifetime
I hear the words you say
To never walk away from me and leave behind
The promise of a lifetime

Will you help me fall apart
Pick me up, take me in your arms
Find my way back from the storm
And you show me how to grow
Through the change

I still remember the pledge you made to me

[BRIDGE:]
I am holding on to the hope I have inside
With you I will stay through every day
Putting my understanding aside

And I am comforted
To know you're always there
To hear my every prayer inside
I'm clinging to the promise of a lifetime
I hear the words you say
To never walk away from me and leave behind
The promise of a lifetime

I know you're always there
To hear my every prayer inside
I'm clinging to the promise of a lifetime
Looking back at me
I know that you can see my heart
is holding to the promise of a lifetime

Sandi

Valerie And Hannah


 Hannah under the Billi Lights
 Aw little cutie! 
 Look at her cute face!!
 What a cutie!!
 so cute!
 We can reach our hands in and touch Hannah!
 Heidi touching Hannah!
 Nathan touching Hannah!
 Valerie touching Hannah!
 You can see our hands!
 Terri Lynn touching Hannah!
 There is a lot of hands!
 rubbing Hannah!
 Nathan looking at Hannnah!
 I love this picture!
A close up!
  
 Love, Valerie (Hnanah's sister)