Ada Grace is almost 2!

As I sit her reflecting on the last two years of our lives, it has been such a whirwind...but at the same time it has been two of the best years of my life! Children are blessing beyond what I could ever have imagined! I do not think that there has been one time that I have thought it was "hard" to be a mom or that I wished that I wasn't a mom. The hard times were when we had Andre, Christopher, and Kaley...but most people do not have 5 children 3 & under in their home at the same time. Anyway, I am so thankful for our Ada Grace and Ethan and pray that one day (hopefully sooner than later) the Lord will allow us to have more children!

In the mean time, I thought I would share some picture of Ada Grace's first month or so...right after we got our first digital camera.

Ada Grace at only 13 days old...this is the day that I was working at taking her picture and getting a good one for her adoption anouncement
I have always loved this photo, however as she grows I see more to it than I used to...it is her basically telling us that she is going to try and do it her way no matter how much more difficult it is!
Precious
This outfit is just waiting for another little girl to wear, it is Jason an my favorite from this point in her life. We have always LOVED lilac on her though...it is still our favorite!
Many of you will rocognize this one, it is the one we chose for the annoucement
So tiny and CUTE! Now Ada Grace is calling other babies cute...all by herself
She has always had big hands...looks like Mommy should hae put more lotion on them here
This is the first time that cousin Alexa met Ada Grace. She would have held her for hours if we wouldn't have had to drive home a 7 hour trip. The thing I remember the most was when Alexa just kep turning Ada Graces hands over to see that the underneath (palm side) was close to like hers, but the top (back of the hand) was so different. Then when it came time for a diaper change, the tights came off and she saw that it was the same with her feet. The precious memories! Alexa still is the one that is the closest to Ada to this day!
This was before Ethan, Sophie, and Katie were born. So it was all the cousins at this poit...they were happy to have another Hartung cousin! Notice Alexa is the one holding Ada Grace...


So I hope you have enjoyed this blast from the past, it is hard for me be believe that my babies are not babies any more. They are toddlers and so much fun to be around...I love them to pieces! I love being a Mommy!

A little encouragement...

I guess that I have not exactly been the encouraging type lately. Most of you probably know that Jason and I have been working with a fertility specialist for a few months now and I have to say it has been a journey! Forever ago a dear friend of ours told me that I should be checked out for polycystic ovarian syndrome, something that she had AND was successful in having 4 healthy pregnancies. I asked 3 doctors about it and every time they said, "no point in testing, you are not a classic case." Well, back when we started working with my current doctor, I actually went to her because we thought there was a good chance that I was expecting. I chose this Dr. because I have heard LOTS of great things about her and most of all that "SHE WAS THE BEST!" Well, I went in and they drew blood for a pregnancy test and without my knowledge also for the PCOS test...I wasn't pregnant, but I do have PCOS. Now depending on which side you take there are two different stories about what PCOS is...doctors say one thing and nutritionists say another. But that is a different debate. Anyway, due to some of the happening with my PCOS, my body actually was tricked into thinking it was pregnant when in fact I was not. All the classic symptoms AND THEN SOME and yet there would be no bundle of joy at the end of 9 months.

Anyway, the Dr. said that she thought there was a high possibility that she could help us so we decided, after much prayer, to go ahead and work with her. We tried some meds the first 2 times with NO results, and we have now tried a method where I gave myself shots in the tummy 5 days in a row of HCG. This has done some good things for me and we are encouraged that there is light at the end of the tunnel. ENTER SOME BAD NEWS! My doctor is moving her practice to New Zealand! ENTER BETTER NEWS: Her last day of seeing patients is September 30th! So, now we have a doctor that is actually helping and she is taking off on me! Whoa, this is great. Well, there is someone that she said would work with me in town and we are going to have a meeting with him in the near future.

But in the midst of all of this I have to say that I have not been the help meet to my husband that I should be. When dealing with PCOS it messes with the Pituitary Gland (basically the master hormone) and does funny things to emotions! Jason says he can tell which Ashley he is getting when he looks at me, this is not the way that I would like to be with my husband and I are praying that each time I have to do the shots that the effect on my emotions will be less and less.

Now with all of that said, I do not want you all to think that I have been a monster to live with or anything...but as the doctor stated it, it will make you very tired and you will have times that you act as if you were pregnant.

I guess why I am sharing this with all of you dear faithful readers is because I like to be an approachable open book to friends and family. There is also a certain level of accountability when you have shared a weakness with other people, and it will (or at least SHOULD) help drive a person, in this case me, to work at being better in particular areas of life. I need to work at not letting the shots get me down so bad that I neglect my responsibility as a wife. I also want to warn others about polycystic ovarian syndrome, it is the leading cause of infertility and a high cause of miscarriages. The thing that I really want people to know is if you have a hunch that you may have it to push your doctors harder than I did...the sooner you get a grip on it, the less cysts are there and the easier it is to deal with. My doctor says I have a 50% chance of conceiving, and after that a 25% chance of carrying full term. Not great odds, but I know that we serve a faithful God and if it is His will that we have a child naturally, it will happen.

In the mean time, if any of you are in a great giving mood...please feel free to send Adoption Donations our way as we would still like to adopt one more time!

Another good Movie

I know that I have ranted and raved about how wonderful the movie "Facing the Giants" is...and I still believe it to be my all time favorite movie. Tonight Jason and I rented "Flywheel" which was the first movie that the "Facing the Giants" creators made and I have to say that it was very good. They only had a $20,000 budget for this movie and with such a little amount they produced a very good film. I would suggest it to anyone!

Also, remember the 3rd movie will be out in most theaters on September 26th called "Fireproof." If it is anything like the last two, it is a surefire win!

E looks like Daddy!

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Mac n Cheese Improved!

I have to share this with you all! About every 2 weeks Ada Grace and I have Mac n Cheese with Hot Dogs and Ethan has just Hot Dogs n Veggies for lunch. There is almost always some leftovers and so I went to Google.com and typed in something to the effect of "recipes for leftover mac n cheese" I found this that I just HAVE to share!

1-2 C tortilla chips broken into small pieces
1 lb Hamburger
1 (1 1/2 oz) Pkg taco seasoning mix
1 (10 oz) can tomatoes & green chilies, or 1/2 C salsa (I used salsa)
1 C shredded cheese
1/4 C olive, diced (save some out for topping)
1/2 C sour cream &/or salsa &/or tomato &/or lettuce

1. Break up the tortilla chips until you have between 1-2 cups depending on how much crunch you want in your meal.

2. Cook the hamburger and drain the fat; make the taco meat according to the package directions.

3. In a bowl, mix the leftover mac n cheese, taco meat, tomatoes or salsa, and the olives (make sure to keep some out for topping)

4. Spray 9x13 dish with cooking spray and layer the broken chips on the bottom

5. Top with the mac mixture

6. Top with shredded cheese n olives (I also saved a little of the taco seasoning out to put on top for decoration)

7. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbly

8. Top with sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, or lettuce as desired after meal is cooked

It is a sure winner...I tried it out on the church people last night and the entire 9x13 was cleaned out! Of course poor Ethan cannot eat it, but it is a winner!

My Most Beautiful Rose

On Sunday we had a beautiful rose open up, the prettiest of this season for sure, and maybe of our entire 6 years of growing roses! It is rather large and perfectly shaped! The fragrence is wonderful....just another perfect example of God's BEAUTIFUL creation!

My kids....

Some pictures from Monday when we were just goofing around!

Bye Bye Carlotta!

She was the only "Doxie" looking pup of the bunch and she was the first to go. I am extra sad, partially because of the fact that it seems to have gone so fast this time and partially because of the fact that she was my favorite....at least for the moment. I guess she was just so much fun because she always pushed Ada Grace to her limits and it was a hoot to watch them interact. HOWEVER, I am very happy with the family that she will be with. I know I have only met them today, they came to our rummage sale and had two boys some where around 6 and 8 and a baby girl around 5 months. They were such a close family and respectful of each other. When they spotted the puppies I had in a little bucket (the one we bought for E's party as the punch bowl!) next to my chair they immediately starting talking about which one they liked. They had it narrowed down to two, and then decided that they should not make a "snap" decision. About an hour and a half later they all came back again and the boys stated that they would like to have Chip, but they were waiting to hear back from their Landlord. I could kind of tell that the Mom really liked Carlotta, because of her playfulness...but they had to wait and see. Well while we were with some friends tonight the family called and said they were going to be able to get the puppy and since it was so late they would call tomorrow and arrange a time. I said that we would be up for a while if they would like to bring her home tonight (knowing how excited the boys were) and just a little while ago the dad came and picked up our precious Carlotta! She will be missed, but I am happy to see her go to a loving home with children! We also may have a home for Clarabelle. A family that lives here in Spearfish that we have known since before we moved here is thinking about getting her as a gift for one of their kids. Once again, I would be perfectly happy with her going home with that family! But all the while sad to see her go!
It is so funny how you do not realize how attached you are until you come to a cross road. It doesn't just have to be with puppies either. I am thinking about how when life is going so well WE go along in OUR strength and WE seem to be doing everything RIGHT because WE are loving life. BUT THEN WHEN THE CROSS ROADS COME ALL OF A SUDDEN we REALIZE HOW SMALL we ARE IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS AND HOW ATTACHED we ARE TO GOD. Why do WE wait until it is a catastrophe before WE call on God?

Rummage Sale!!!

Saturday the 6th is the big day! Please pray that our rummage sale will help raise a good amount to help pay of our adoption loans. That is the main purpose we decided to have a sale this summer.

Thank you to everyone who donated items for the sale!

What a Blessing...

(These are not pictures I have taken, but some I found on a website from years past)
I just have to share, fall is my favorite time of the year and these last few days have felt VERY fall like! There is a little color starting to show up in the trees and I have been able to have windows open the last 3 days! I am so thankful for fall, I know that it isn't here to stay yet, but it makes me very excited that it is coming soon!



For those of you that have not experienced a fall drive through Spearfish Canyon, you should really make a reservation at the Hartung Hotel and check it out. In about 3 weeks it is going to be at its prime....hey, while you're doing that have some cake with us for Ada Grace's 2nd birthday!



As fall approaches it makes me want to "nest" I guess. I start thinking about hot cups of tea, cuddling with my kids, husband, and a blanket. I love the warm colors of fall, it is actually the time of year that I redecorate my house the most. I do not even decorate for Christmas as much as I do for fall....those warm fall colors just make the house so cozy!

It's Your Birthday

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL SISTER-IN-LAW, MELISSA! We pray that you have a wonderful day with Eric and your precious little Sophie!

Wonderful Labor Day

Although it was a little chilly (we didn't make it out of the 50's) we managed to bundle up the kiddos and go for a family walk. We everything that has been going on this summer, we just haven't gotten enough of those in! Anyway, Labor Day is one of the days Jason gets off and we are thankful for Daddy's days off!

Here are the kids in their coats waiting for Mommy...they give hugs often these days!Ada Grace with her hat, scarf, purse, and baby....she is ready for anything!
As long as Ethan has is thumb and his blanket he is good to go!
AG thinks her baby needs her own seat and buckle
We walk the bike path and there are two parks on the loop that we usually walk, of course AG sees them about a mile away and we get to her "wing, wing...WING" until we arrive! I always tell her she needs to ask Daddy if we can stop and swing. She just loves it so much

I believe this face tells all!
Ethan was having to concentrate very hard on swinging yesterday, he got ahold of some wheat last week and is having some struggles here and there. Normally he likes to swing and is just a smiley as his Sissy about it

We also took the kids down the slide, last year E loved it and AG didn't think it was so great. This year, E could take it or leave it and AG kept wanting more. Just so you all know, Jason let me go down first to "polish" the slide...actually he wanted me to dry off the morning rains before he took the kids down! We each took both AG and E down one time.

Of course I cannot tell you about a walk we took without telling how BEAUTIFULL the Black Hills of South Dakota are! Seriously if you haven't been here for a while or ever, it is time to book a reservation in the Hartung Hotel! One of our church guys owns the lot to the left of the Spearfish Creek in this picture.
This is coming up on the other park, the one we usually stop at....just so pretty!
AG and E were telling their Daddy (pushing the stroller) a big long story! They LOVE going for walks.
More Spearfish beauty

Here is our favorite park. The slides aren't great for parents to take their small children down though...so if we are going to slide we stop at the other park. But this one has all sorts of fun things to do!
AG was very quick to point out the duck at the fish hatchery in town
The kids love watching the fish and ducks at the hatchery
The fish...
This is another view from the fish hatchery

This is a place called Indian Hills
After we returned home from our walk the kids and Daddy were relaxing on the playroom couch, before we sent the kids to take a nap! But Grandma Pam wanted to see pictures of their new fall outfits! She is so silly...but here you go Mom!
Ethan's made him look like such a handsome man and Ada Grace's was just too adorable with the little plaid knickers and her sweater!
My MORE THAN ADORABLE son!
We had a great Labor Day...the kids took a nap and Jason and myself worked on a project that we have been trying to figure out. When the kids woke up we grilled hamburgers and then watched a movie. Of course the kids only made it half way through, but then Mommy and Daddy got some special time together!

We love "Daddy Days!"