Poor Pepper! (And Brianna, Too!)

In the midst of Pepper having "free-roam" time, Brianna was trying to show us how Pepper had eaten through his entire chew ball to get out his peanut. The peanut was wedged in between the tray and the wire floor to his cage. Brianna went to pull out the peanut, and in the process, the tray fell from the bottom of the cage, landing right on top of Pepper, who just a second before, had climbed underneath it. He ran off, then the kids started telling Brianna and I that he was not using his right leg. Brianna immediately burst into tears. Sam and I tried to console her as we checked the rabbit over. Seeing how distraught Brianna was, we decided it was best to bring him to the vet to be examined.

They took x-rays of his paw, but could not find anything wrong with it from the elbow down. In order to x-ray higher, Pepper would have to be put to sleep. After Brianna and I discussed the options, we declined to put Pepper under anesthesia and brought him home with a shot and a slew of pain killers. Brianna is still very shaken by the situation. She has cuddled him close for several days, but is relieved that it is not anything very serious. As much as this rabbit is loved, extra time and attention is what we think will heal him.

A Visit to the Tree Farm

Picking out our family Christmas tree is always a big deal for our family. The past several years we have had the best time actually visiting tree farms and cutting down the one of our choice ourselves. The kids really enjoy running through the many trees to find the "perfect" one. This year we decided to visit a new farm. We got information about it at the State Fair and thought it would be fun to try something new. This one boasted about their playground, train rides, Santa visits, and more. We were very excited, but quickly disappointed shortly after we arrived. The farm was fairly small in size, all the activities were provided for "an extra fee", and "to prevent law suits" they preferred to cut down the tree for us, would not bring it back to barn or tie it on our vehicle. I guess we had been pretty spoiled. Even though our past tree farm did not have a playground, it did have a friendlier atmosphere, one that we will choose to return to next year.

Our Tree

Poor Sam had to carry William on his shoulders, hauling our 10 foot tree back to the barn with Nate, while Brianna helped push Natalie in the umbrella stroller through tall grass and cracked earth. It was a great family effort, but a little more than we expected. It was hard for me to feel helpless watching them. I have to say that they are great kids though, and had a blast at the end riding the "horse" carousel. We even spent several extra dollars to get them ice cream. They deserved it!

Much to be Thankful for!

At this time of Thanksgiving, our family has so very much to be thankful for. We have been so deeply blessed!

First off, we are so grateful for our health. Each one of us has had great health through this season. With the guided hands of his doctors and therapists over the past 3 years, William is finally free of all breathing medications and has had incredible success at overcoming recent illnesses all on his own, without the need for antibiotics.

Through inspired doctors, we were able to find the causes to my difficult pregnancies and are now currently expecting our fifth child. We could not be happier and more excited for the day of its arrival.

Sam, Brianna, Nate, & Natalie all are very healthy. We are indeed very blessed!

Next, we are grateful for Sam's job, that continues to provide our needs for our family. He is so smart and good at what he does. We are so proud of all his accomplishments!

We are also very grateful for such a loving family and loving friends that we have been blessed to have in our lives. We could never repay the kindness, generosity, and true love that everyone has shown our family.

Last, but most of all, we are so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father, who has continued to pour his blessings upon us. Even when things have looked bleak, in the end, we have been greatly rewarded. We are so appreciative for it all!

Family Photos

A friend from our ward took family pictures of us and we are so thrilled! They came out just beautiful! Here are some of our favorites. Our most favorite family shot we are saving for our Christmas card. :)

The Crazy Crew

Our Beautiful Brianna

Our Handsome Nate

Always "Spirited" Natalie

Serious (only when HE wants to be) William

Thanks so much Mandie for your beautiful artistry and talent!

http://mandiemcmurdiephotography.blogspot.com/

Busy! Busy! Busy!

If you think you cannot add any more events and activities into your life, your wrong! More always seem to come! We have been so incredibly busy with everything, I think the holidays will be a welcomed break!

Brianna has been involved in Junior Zoo Keepers, Volleyball, Activity Days, Science Co-op, and now Mutual.

Nate has been involved in Fencing, Cub Scouts, Science Co-op, and now Basketball.

Natalie has been involved in Gymnastics and Soccer.

William has been involved in twice a week preschool, terrorizing the house, and just being 3!

Mom has been chauffeuring, pregnant, teaching school, cooking, cleaning, and the list goes on...

Dad has been working, traveling, working, traveling...., getting his masters, helping mom & the crew, and his list goes on...

Plumb-out exhausted, us Hardy's are ready for a turkey dinner and relaxation this week!

Camping at Eisenhower

Texas always seems to be a bundle of surprises when it comes to weather. This year has been no exception! With our cold front in August, and weeks and weeks of torrential rain, trying to plan a family camp out has been quite a challenge. Luckily, the weekend we finally decided on was an absolute success!

We were intending to go to Broken Bow, Oklahoma since one of our really favorite camping-buddy families was suppose to be moving close to their, but the weather was going to be in the 30's at night, and pregnant or not, I was just not up for that. Also, our friends have not yet moved, so there was no point in driving several hours to be close to them if they were already closer to us.

We decided Eisenhower would be a better pick, since it is only about an hour away, and if weather moves in, we could move out and be home quickly.

Brie and Nate went up the day before us, since I was not fancying the idea of 2 nights on an air mattress. We met them there early the next morning in time for the beautiful sunshine and a hike.

What we were not expecting were all the bees at this time of year! Our hike was quickly ended when one crawled up Nate's shorts, couldn't find a way out, and stung him in his thigh. Of course his screaming throws all the other kids into a screaming crying frenzy and we had to play "reassurance police" anytime anyone saw a bee the rest of the time we were gone.

The kids had a blast making a fort out if a cave in the rocks by the lake. I wish they would have gotten a picture of it, but unfortunately they didn't. We will try harder to get more pictures on our next adventure!

One of our many "Camping Buddies."

"Look Out Below!"

(It did make it to the water and not on his head!)

Whittling Away

Natalie is not pictured because she was always on the move!

Happy Birthday Nate!

Fun and excitement never end at the Hardy household, and with the arrival of Brianna's birthday, comes the introduction to "Birthday Season!" Nate was next in line for a celebration, and celebrate we did! No longer is he in the single digits, but moving in to a life long bliss of the doubles! 10!

It is so hard for me to believe that I have 2 kids already in their double digits. Especially Nate! There is so much I remember about him when he was little. I actually use to be the most important thing in his world. Sometimes in the midst of it, you wish they would spread their wings and fly on their own, but looking back, it just goes by too--- fast! He is growing and maturing so fast that I know we will blink our eyes and he will be on his mission then married to some beautiful young lady and starting a family of his own. :(

Nate is such a great kid! He strives to please everyone, and is greatly disappointed when he feels he has not done his best. He is super smart and a super talented fencer! All those years of light sabre battling with Sam sure shine through!

Nate is a fantastic cook, and sometimes I think he cooks better than I do. (Don't tell!) He is so incredible with William that it makes my heart melt every time I hear William belly laughing while he is playing with Nate because I know Nate brings him so much joy. What a great big brother. And finally,now, Nate and Natalie are becoming the good buddies they use to be, when she was smaller and very much less opinionated. He and Brianna, I believe, will always be the best of buds. They have shared so many good times together and are always thinking of each other when they are apart.

Nate has such a tender side to him and wants to make the world be fair in every way. When something goes wrong, he has a hard time seeing why people do not know what is right. I hope he continues to fight for the right way through his life. He is strong and I know it will make a great impact on others if he does!

I am so grateful for Nate! He is such a blessing to our family. I am so happy to be celebrating such a fantastic son!

The King himself, in his self-decorated crown

Halloween Never Ends!

Well...Almost! In our family, Halloween is a very celebrated time of year. Not only do we love the pumpkin carving, treat tasting, and costume partying, we also love the TRICK or TREATING! There was plenty to go around this year! The kids went to the Tri-Ward Trunk-or-Treat, then followed that up with Trick-or-Treating at Grandma's house on her birthday. They loved every minute of it. Now we just need to figure out what to do with a 20+ pound bag of candy. Sam said he would gladly bring it to work, but I think I know that means he would like to sneak it all for himself.