Update at 23 weeks!

I'm not the updater I used to be, but I always love to update when I have ultrasound pictures.

Here is an ultrasound from last Tuesday, at 22 weeks:


I love that profile! Everything is looking good and baby's gender stayed a secret.

Then there are these crazies keeping me busy:

at school on Valentines' Day:


At our playground:


At the libary:


At home:


And I just found this. Apparently Farrah loaded me up with stickers on my backside, then took a picture of it, all while I was cooking dinner.

so, yeah... I don't blog much anymore... haaa


Thankful for my little ones. Counting down the time until we meet baby Green #4!

Green Baby #4 - 18 weeks

I hit 18 weeks on Tuesday.
I had an ultrasound that day, the one with all the anatomy scans and stuff. We have decided not to find out the gender this time around! It took convincing (of myself and of Chris by me), but we made it past the ultrasound -- so now we'll be surprised at birth. I have a few little reasons for wanting to do this, but mostly - why not? I could totally LOVE being the mom of all girls or LOVE having a little boy! If it's a girl, we have things covered. If it's a boy, it will be mid summer in Georgia, and he won't need any clothes anyway! :)

I'm starting to feel little flutters when I lay down at night. I'm showing for sure. All is the same in this pregnancy, with a few added varicose veins (compression knee highs are my bff right now.) I'm enjoying being pregnant and I try to never take this little life inside of me for granted. The four of us couldn't be more excited about adding another person and personality to our family.

Here are some pictures.
A profile pic, one of the baby with it's fists up, and a third with the legs straight up (flexible like Farrah!)




I have no "feeling" as to what the gender is. I never do, though. But boy will it be fun to find out this time at birth!!!

Babies in McIver / Green land!!

Hello!!!

I can't believe it's 2013. Not sure about you... but we are just now, like maybe today, finally getting back into the swing of things after the holidays! Kind of. Ha! It was so nice to have Chris home for a little over a week, and it's taken a bit to get back into everything. Sleeping schedules, eating non-holiday food, everything! We enjoyed it.

We're not huge fans of winter. Feeling a little cooped up! Bella asked me a couple of days after Christmas, "So, is winter over now?" (It was only 50 degrees by the way). I had to inform her it had in fact just started. She replied, "We aren't winter girls, mom. We are beach girls." I have to agree.

We were happy to celebrate Hallie and be with family this year. Glad to have the one year marker behind us. I thought it was going to be easier than it was, to be honest. I am pretty sure I say this every blog post... but the roller coaster of grief. Surprises me every time. I've learned what hits home for me, and it's basically anything sad - movies, real life tragedies, etc.  - anything that is too close to my reality. So I stick to comedies and try not to read many stories. There are plenty just in our circles. I just stay away from the news and things like that.

ANYWAYS!!! I got on here to share some exciting news for our whole family! We have so many little blessings for the Green and McIver families. We are just thrilled thrilled thrilled to share this! Three little babies coming (or just come) to town!

First - Aspen Hallie Green

Aspen was born December 27th to Brian and Christina!
Aspen wasn't due until Jan 7th, but came as a late Christmas present to the Green Family. 6lb 5 oz of sweetness. We are now Aunt Katie and Uncle Chris!




Second- Ryan and Melissa are expecting a little girl in May!! We are so excited for them!!!!! They are going to be wonderful parents and make some beautiful kiddos. I love seeing Melissa just glow - she's doing great and is about 22 weeks now.


And third - Bella and Farrah are going to be big sisters again :) God is good. We are due 6 weeks after Ryan and Melissa, June 25th. I'm 16 weeks today. Here is a shot of our 12w ultrasound.



Blessed!
Hopeful!
Happy!
This little one was a sweet reminder of God's goodness during the holidays. I'm in maternity clothes and it's just starting to sink in...

Farrah - Chipmunk Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Greens! Doesn't get much more adorable than to hear your own kids sing.

Farrah Singing the Chipmunk Christmas Song from Chris Green on Vimeo.

Remembering Today

Chris made this sweet video. Today we remember the light Hallie brought to Christmas. We are doing great and love being with family this time of year! Thanks for remembering our Hallie!

First Annual Hallie Lantern Release - Hallie Lynn Green from Chris Green on Vimeo.

Visiting Santa

We visited Santa this week. When I told Farrah that afternoon that we were going, she walked around the house and kept saying, "Mom! I love Santa now!!" (She has seen last years video where she clung to GG the whole time!! haha) Looking back, I'm pretty sure she was trying to talk herself INTO loving Santa; trying to pump herself up. She was great until we walked up to him. Then... we had to pry her down and beg her just to stand in front of Santa. Bella is so funny - she's holding onto Farrah, telling her that Santa is wonderful, all the while holding a perfect smile!

Bella wouldn't say what she wanted for Christmas. Claims he should already know from the note she wrote him. Farrah wouldn't say a word so Santa guessed that she loved Ariel (which she does) so now that is what she wants. 

I can't say enough great things about Santa (Rick!) at Bass Pro. Everyone loves him. He was busy even on a Tuesday night; luckily my mom went up and got a reservation at 5:30 for 7:30 on short notice. He remembered us all and our names. Then proceeded to pay for our pictures. He's amazing. He is so sweet and gentle and patient with the kids. All the "elves" there also cannot say enough good things about him. It was a great way to kick off Hallie's birthday week. 

*****************

At school Thursday, Santa came to visit the kids. Farrah was crying to me (a fake cry I might add) that she didn't want to. As soon as she got up there, she was all smiles?!?! So maybe she's good now! Bella still wouldn't say what she wanted and Farrah just smiled and nodded her head. 

I LOVE THESE TWO GIRLS SOOOO MUCH!!!

(Oh, and it was also PJ day at school!) Thank you for the pictures, Joy!!!

One Year Birthday Anniversary

Yesterday (Dec 19th) was Hallie's one year birthday.

I had NO idea how I would feel. No two people's grief is the same. And no two days of my own grief are the same, really. I didn't plan anything. Because I wasn't sure if I'd want to do anything. If I'd want to be around anyone. How do you plan something like that anyways? I knew I wanted to celebrate her, but I also felt a sadness coming over. With the holidays approaching and feeling like I'm right back to figuring out what Christmas looks like again... last year was just so different. I feel myself getting overwhelmed out shopping because I just miss last year... focusing on just her. 

A few days ago, Bella had her first real emotional time with missing Hallie. I think it's the season, too. Remembering her. And listening to her song in the car this weekend, she just boo-hoo'd. Bella is sensitive, but she's never done this before (about Hallie). She said she just really misses Hallie and thinks about her everyday. We talked about how it was ok to cry, that mommy does sometimes too. It was good. And then in true 5 year old fashion, she was back to normal in 5 minutes. 

So, the morning of Hallie's birthday I was still unsure. Unsure about what to do. It was my intention to keep Bella home from preschool, and for us three to just cuddle all day. Except that would only last the length of a cartoon. I decided I needed a day to myself. Really just to nap and be quiet for a while. The girls confirmed this when they woke up with a sweet spirit of remembering Hallie! They were excited to have muffins on our special birthday plate and Farrah even sung Happy Birthday. Bella requested that we make a special treat that she could take to school to celebrate Hallie's birthday (like everyone does, so it made sense to her!) We made some quick treats and she was kinda speaking and asking rhetorically, "It would be Hallie's first birthday. But she's not here. She's in heaven. That doesn't make sense that she died, she wasn't even 40 lbs yet!" (her weight, haha) 

And that stuck with me. It doesn't make sense. And we are sad. We miss having a third sister. Another daughter. Another granddaughter. But we love her like the other two, and I feel blessed to have had a few days with her. Many more would have been wonderful. 500 other pictures of her would have been great. But NONE of it would have ever been ENOUGH. So I just agree - it doesn't make sense. I don't have all the answers. But we love you, Hallie, and we praise God for you. 

So... after a wonderful mid-day nap, Chris and the girls came home around 2. We then felt confident in our emotions and that it would be nice to be with the family that surrounded us those 5 days. So we all got together and ate dinner. And celebrated just being together. And got excited about new babies coming next year (Christina is due with Aspen any day now, and Ryan and Melissa are expecting in May!) Melissa had a lantern that we lit in honor of Hallie's one year. It was cool and fun - and got stuck in a tree. Dad ran and got a blower, and we were able to retrieve it and let it go again. Lots of laughs and love and hope. Just what we needed. And then Chris and I just soaked in two precious, precious sweet girls passed out in the van on the way home. Love our families. Love our girls so much.

Thanks for your continued prayers! We hope you have a very merry Christmas!!!

Hallelujah - Free Song Download

Good morning!

I know most of you know our story. You were and have been so wonderful in praying for us. Especially this time last year as Hallie was preparing to enter this world.

God has shown us so much love through other people. One example is our friend Casey Darnell. He came to Chris after Hallie passed away letting us know he'd begun writing a song for her (and us). It was beautiful! I knew right away I wanted it played at her memorial service. Chris and Casey got together and had it recorded with some amazing musicians (thanks to donations from a generous person). It is just breathtaking for me. We have been listening to it a lot the last few weeks - it's like a Christmas song to me. Since Hallie represents what I think of as Christmas now. We call it "Hallie's song" and the girls love it, too. Oh my goodness, to hear them sing it with their sweet voices just about kills me. The song is entitled, "Hallelujah."

As December has started, and we near Hallie's first birthday, we would love to share this song with you! Below is a link for a free download. You can download it and listen to it at home or in the car. Share it with others! We hope you enjoy it as much as we have. I just love having anything that has to do with Hallie and reminds me of her life. It confirms to me that she did exist, that this all really did happen. That she matters to us and matters to God.

This is a free, downloadable song. Just enter your email address and zip code and the song will be emailed to you. You also will see a link for an donation on the site. That is completely optional. A large portion of each donation goes directly to Hope From Hallie (HopeFromHallie.com).

Here is the link! Enjoy!!

https://noisetrade.com/caseydarnell

Happy 3rd Birthday, Farrah!

Ahhhhh!!! Three years old??
I love this little Farrah Kate Green.
Even though I am surprised she's turning three, I can hardly remember not having Farrah around.
She adds so much to our house.
She is so smart. SO goofy. Cuddly when she wants.
LOVES to play dress up.
LOVES LOVES to do anything and everything that her big sister is doing.
She likes to try things herself, and I have to remember even though she's the baby of the house, she's very capable.
I love her little, long stories.
Her dance parties.
Her little hands.
And of course her voice.
Her love for her family, BELLA, her grandparents and friends.
We all love you, Farrah Beara!!
We can't wait to see what the next year holds for you.
Happy third Birthday!

Apple Picking (or Buying)

A few weeks ago, we went up to to Elijay pick some apples. If any one is going soon, can you bring me home some more apples and I'll pay you!?!? I mean it - let me know!! We went through a bushel so much faster than I thought possible!!

We didn't actually pick very many. Many have already fallen, so we picked them at the market there. They also had lots of "fall farm" kid activities. Like pig races. ha. And who doesn't love a big jumpy pillow?!? And why don't they have these for adults?

Anyway - we are still here and enjoying our fall.





Somebody loves gum!

Bella turning 5

My first born is 5 years old.
Wow!
It has flown by.
She is sweet, caring, giving, thoughtful. Tender hearted.
A great friend.
And so much fun!
Learning what Jesus is all about and how much God loves her.
Smart, inquisitive, and a wonderful big sister.
What a joy it is to be her mom.





Can you believe all of this was 5 years ago!?!? I certainly can't.

Fair 2012!

Continuing the tradition...

What a difference a year can make!! I love looking back at the years past at the fair. How each girl has changed, but their sweet smiles and faces stay the same!

This year, we had Nana, GG, Grandy and Granddaddy there with us!

This year, Bella and Farrah were PUMPED about the fair. We started talking about it about 2 weeks before, even going through the Photobook I have of last year's pictures. Both girls loved every ride. The Frog Hopper was again the favorite. The laughs coming from those two are contagious.

Bella is always so sweet to help Farrah with everything. She's like a second mom, always has been! She would get Farrah in the seat and strap her in every ride.





Everytime they went around this track, we got a thumbs up from Farrah!




My mom said, "Can't you see them at 16 and 14 years old in car together...?" Oh my gosh.

I hope they are always as close as they are now. Inseparable.


The bumper boats and the swings were probably the next favorite rides.

But Frog Hopper took the cake.



No words.

Learning to wait our turn, patiently. :)

You can tell I can't pick my favorite pictures. They are all so fun and colorful at the FAIR!! Chris is so good, thanks baby.



Well... maybe this could be a favorite:





Until next time, fair...


Past three years...

2011
2010
2009