It's A....

GIRL!!!!!

God has truly answered prayers for our future as parents. I am humbled and amazed by His faithfulness to us. We had our 18 week appointment today and really enjoyed the ultrasound. It was so fun to get to see all of Baby Girl Hardy's organs, skeleton, tiny toes and wiggling hands. She had the hiccups while we watched and was willing to bare her all for us to confirm the gender. It was one of the coolest experiences to watch her moving around and see how perfectly she has already been made.

After our ultrasound we met with Dr. Braquet. We were scheduled to see a P.A. today, but the doctor wanted to come in and talk with us because they noted an abnormality on the ultrasound. We will see an OB specialist at Forsyth Hospital next week for further ultrasounds (and possibly an MRI) in order to discover more clearly exactly what is going on. The doctor's suspicion is that the baby has a herniated diaphragm. My understanding is that this means there is a hole in the diaphragm that is causing part or all of her stomach to be squeezing through into her chest. This would take up space needed by her lungs to grow and develop. We will know more after meeting with the specialists next week, but what it likely means is that if this is the case the baby will face surgery soon after birth to try to correct this problem. In some very severe cases, the problem cannot be remediated and it can be fatal. There is also a chance that what was seen on the ultrasound today was just an anomaly and everything is perfectly okay. Again, we'll know more about the size, the location and the future after further tests.

Dr. Braquet was incredibly patient, thorough and compassionate. He gave us a full hour of his time in the exam room at the very end of his work day and was willing to explain all scenarios to us with love and concern. We are thankful for the doctors in this practice and the exceptional care they have offered to us. It was the first time we had met this doctor, but his obvious concern for us was very meaningful.

There are many things to be thankful for:
1) We're having a baby girl.
2) This condition, if our baby has it, may be treatable with no lingering complications.
3) We live in a place with excellent health care and are under the watchful care of terrific doctors who love us and will advocate for us through this.
4) There is no additional risk to the pregnancy... the baby is breathing through me right now and we should not have any complications because of this before delivery. I should be able to still have a normal delivery.
5) The rest of the ultrasound looked great. (And the sonographer took lots of time checking!) There are no additional signs of any other problems with this Baby. She is healthy and growing right on track.
6) We are surrounded by the love and support of amazing friends and family who will do anything in the world for us.
And most importantly, the Creator who made us all is loving us and caring for us during this with His perfect plan for all of us.

We are scared. I had my meltdown this afternoon. Nobody wants to hear that there could be something wrong. I am so deeply grateful for this Baby's Daddy and his amazing faith. He trusts the Lord fully and instinctlvely and gives me a great sense of strength, security and peace because of that. While I worry and stress and try to solve problems on my own, Robert is constantly reminding me that we believe in a good and loving God who wants the best for us and for our baby. He will take care of us and provide us with whatever strength we need to face whatever may be ahead of us. A dear friend reminded us of this today, "God's been knitting your sweet baby together in your womb and he's the one who knows every cell of her tiny body. He's created your daughter for a purpose and he already knows all of her days." We are resting in this promise.

We covet your prayers. Having faced medical crisis before in my life I know the power of an army of people praying for great miracles. We already love this little girl so much and want only wonderful things for her. Please remember her in your prayers.

We are truly tickled pink to have a baby girl on the way! For more news and to stay posted on updates to her condition, please follow our blog at: http://www.thehardylife.blogspot.com. We'll be posting some pictures, and hopefully a little ultrasound video soon too.

Thanks for being an important part of (all of) our lives!
Robert, Chrissy and Baby Girl Hardy

Profile Shot

Rear View (It's a Girl!)

Teeny Tiny Baby Feet

Baby Hardy

I've clearly not proven myself to be an effective blogger. However, I'm really hoping to change that in the coming months and years so that our friends and family across the country will be able to watch as our family grows and changes. That's right; we're having a baby! Robert and I took a marvelous two week vacation to Ireland in July and came home with an extra special souvenir. In late March, there will be a Baby Hardy.

The first few weeks were filled with excitement and anticipation and some anxiety and fear too. It was hard to keep it a secret from our family and our friends, but it was like this tiny little treasure that just Robert and I shared. We've enjoyed slowly letting the news out over the past couple of months and have loved the responses, the surprised looks, and the love and affirmation that we have received. Already, this baby is so loved and cherished.

It has been a tough pregnancy for me thus far. I always imagined that I would love being pregnant, being as maternal as I am. But the first few months of nausea and vomiting and pure exhaustion have not suited me particularly well. My energy level is creeping back and we're prayerful that my stomach will settle down some too so that I might enjoy this growing creature a little more. At 16 weeks now, the "glowing" second trimester ought to be setting in soon.

We'll find out on October 28 whether Baby is a boy or a girl. I think that will make it seem even more real as we begin to prepare in more practical ways and can start to imagine our lives with our little bundle of joy.

I've wanted this for as long as I can remember. My mom says my desire to be a mother started when I was about three or four years old myself. Many years of nurturing cabbage patch kid dolls, followed by more years of babysitting and now teaching have brought me to the threshold of my dreams. It still feels unreal to me sometimes that something I could have desired so desperately is really coming true. It's a vibrant reminder that God gives us the truest desires of our hearts. (Psalm 37:4 - "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.")

More than anything, I just feel thankful. I am overwhelmed by the feeling of this blessing and the sense of peace I feel when I consider committing ourselves to raising and loving and teaching and nurturing this child. When I pray for him (or her), I find myself praying primarily that he'll be healthy and joyful and will experience love in the many ways that we have. I pray that we will be able to serve as a Christ-like example to him and provide for him in the wonderful ways that our parents provided for us. I'm thrilled to be sharing this with Robert who I know will be an amazing father. I can't imagine it any other way. We are so grateful for this opportunity.

Thanks for following us on this journey and being a special part of our changing lives together. Stay tuned; hopefully posts will begin happening more than once every 14 months. :)

The Gift of Family

We’ve just returned from a family reunion in Elberton to celebrate Daddy Hardy’s 95th birthday. Reaching the age of 95 is a pretty remarkable feat in the first place, but what took place in the pasture in front of Bob and Karen’s house when family traveled a collective 10,000 miles to be together was even more incredible.

I love my family. Unfortunately, my grandparents all died when I was fairly young and while our immediate family is close and enjoys traveling together and sharing holidays and other occasions with each other, our extended family has never really been close. Marrying into the Hardy family has been full of many blessings, but one of the greatest things that Robert has given me by inviting me into this family is the gift of grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles like I have never known.

This is a gathering of four generations. During the day on Saturday there are people going off in small groups for jogs or perfecting cannon-balls off the diving board at Daddy Hardy’s Swimming Hole. Some folks chose to swim in the lake while others hit J.C. Pool Co to acquire a new fall wardrobe. There are board games being played inside, bocce and frisbee in the yard, stray dogs wandering up to the house, children laughing and running and other children hot, tired, cranky and crying. Everyone chips in and helps out – no matter if it’s your kid or not. It is chaos and cacophony and pure bliss.

And there’s always food. Oh, is there food. Stuart and Marie bring pounds and pounds and pounds of fresh shrimp from the Coast. We feast on Mema and Papa’s fresh garden tomatoes, butter beans, okra and more. There’s tomato pie (who’s even heard of tomato pie?), and BBQ and slaw and salads and fresh corn on the cob. The hutch is the kitchen is covered with dozens of fresh Georgia peaches. And for dessert there’s blueberry cobbler, peach crisp and of course Karen’s homemade pound cake for Daddy Hardy’s birthday cake. This is a pretty amazing picture already. Thirty relatives getting together and really, truly, genuinely loving each other’s company. One cousin said during the weekend, “I would choose to spend time with these folks whether I was related to them or not.” Most families just don’t feel that way. But the most beautiful part of the evening was after we’d gorged ourselves on fresh produce and birthday cake and an informal toasting began.

Aunt Peen had spent a week earlier in the summer cleaning out Daddy Hardy’s attic and come across piles of old letters sent to Grandmother and Daddy Hardy over the years. The letters had been sorted and each of the three sons was given a bag of his family’s old news. People took turns reading the letters that had been written over the last fifty some years. With each word, a memory was dug up and appreciation, love and admiration was offered to Daddy Hardy. A few folks read some scripture – both some of Daddy Hardy’s favorite verses and some that just reminded us of the man he is and the remarkable job he did raising this family. We were celebrating Daddy Hardy and his life. We were recognizing how devoted he has always been to his faith, his community and especially to his family. We were acknowledging his legacy, but with it we were carrying on these memories and these values. It’s his story, but it’s a story that belongs to the whole family as we strive to follow in his example.

I watched some of the oldest children in the youngest generation and wondered if they had any idea of the significance of what they were participating in. I was soaking it up and delighting in it and not wanting any of it to end. It was one of those precious moments that you want to find some tangible way of capturing and holding on to. It’s one of those things you never want to forget. When Robert suggested that we all sing Happy Birthday one more time before turning in for the night, I started choking up. No one else seemed to be crying, why was I having such a hard time letting it end? These kinds of gatherings and reunions are normal to them – they’ve never known anything else. I hope they never have to.

Daddy Hardy always says, "If you give your life to the Lord at an early age, study his word, and follow his commandments, he will bless you with a loving family.".” He then says he “wouldn’t trade it for all of Solomon’s gold, wives and concubines.” Me neither, Daddy Hardy. Me neither.

The man of the hour. His expression? Pure delight, as he's watching his family and soaking it in.

lots of family, swimming in the pool...

I can't resist mentioning that for this reunion, Bob and Karen borrowed a friend's RV, parked it in the driveway and used it to sleep all the relatives. How fabulous is that??

Working on handmade birthday cards for Daddy Hardy...

Did I mention the food?

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, Daddy Hardy! Happy Birthday to you!

Here's the family, after dinner, sharing toasts, letters, scripture, memories and more...

Bob reads the birthday letter he wrote to Daddy Hardy 20 years ago for his 75th Birthday.

And Karen reads a letter even older than that, when Bob wrote asking for money for their honeymoon.

I am so proud to be a part of this family:

The Suspension of Disbelief

Yikes... it's been a long long time since I posted anything. I was afraid I might be dreadfully bad at this whole blogging thing. Oh well, this is just practice for the kids later on, right?

We've just gotten back from a fabulous ten day vacation to Hawaii. We saw and experienced some amazing things while we were there, and I look forward to another blog update soon with photos and details about that trip. Right now, I'm still processing the photos we took. Robert gave me a fantastic new camera for Christmas and I've had a whole lot of fun with it. I'm enjoying learning about photography and figuring out how to do some things. But I also took almost 4,000 photos on the trip and the processing is taking awhile.

So until then, another post about teaching.

Today was one of those days that I was really struck with why I love kinders so much. I tell people all the time that it's a really great age and I can't really imagine teaching anywhere else. Sure, the beginning of the year is difficult when they can't wipe their noses or butts and aren't really sure how to line up, push their chairs in, or go through the cafeteria line. But I do love to see the change and progression from the beginning until the end of kindergarten. They learn so much, not only academically, but about who they are and how to relate to others. It's just a really neat process to watch.

But the other reason I love kinders is because of their suspension of disbelief. When I was in college and doing a lot of theatre we talked about that concept a lot and how important it was as directors and actors to create a situation where the audience was willing to suspend their disbelief of the stage and believe fully in the action happening there. But kindergartners are so ready to suspend their disbelief and they will do it with such great abandon that it delights me.

We began our St. Patrick's Day unit today. I always start this unit by talking a little bit about leprechauns and what they do and what they're like. But then, when the kids go to PE or a special, leprechauns will come and visit our classroom. They play in centers, read books, leave little green footprints on the floor, and make a general disaster of our room. They also leave a note for the kids. When we all get back to the room the children are outraged ("What?! WE have to clean up THEIR mess?!") and enthused and curious and just so alive!! So we clean up the room, talk about what clues they left behind and then as a whole class write the leprechauns back. Thus begins the week-long pen pal relationship.

I just love how thoroughly the kids buy in to it all. Suddenly, what was once a messy desk is the work of Paddy. What used to be a missing pencil is all blamed on Looie. And on the way to playground I heard them all discussing the tiny boot footprints they could clearly see in the mud. Everything they view is suddenly through this new lens and go all out with it. What if we all trusted so completely in a suggestion?

Some may say it's just innocence or naivite. But I'm inclined to think that this suspension of disbelief is more than that. I think it's a gift, and a fleeting one at that.

Finter

I woke up this morning to the surprise of a dusting of snow! Now I know I have a terrible memory, but I honestly can't think of a time when we've had snow before Thanksgiving! I'm sure it's a sign of a very cold, perhaps white winter ahead. Unfortunately, no delays or cancellations in Davie County this time, but that's alright.

Have I mentioned how I love my job? I really really do. And we're getting to the point in the year now that's just fantastic. The kids have all been trained and broken in for the most part. They know my expectations and do a pretty good job of meeting them. They're smart enough and independent enough to be functioning on their own (finally!) and I can relax and play and begin to really enjoy them. It's a great time.

I have a couple of funny Kindergarten stories from today. We came back from being outside this morning and my kids announced to me that it was no longer fall. I started to explain that yes while it is cold outside and we did get some snow last night, that doesn't really mean it's Winter when I had one student cut me off by saying, "No, no, no, Mrs. Hardy! It's not WINTER EITHER.... don't you know? It's FINTER!!" I love the way that five year olds think about things.

Except I don't always love the way that five year olds think about appropriate hand washing habits. Because after lunch today my dear sweet Tyson* who has warmed my heart countless times since he first darkened my doorway, had to go to the bathroom. Now a few weeks ago he went to the bathroom right as it was time to leave lunch and I didn't know it and left without him. This was apparently somewhat traumatizing for him because since that day he has said to me, EVERY SINGLE TIME that he goes to the bathroom, "Mrs. Hardy -- I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be quick. Don't you leave me now." I assured him I would not leave him and so our class was all lined up waiting for him to come out. As he started to scoot out the bathroom (all he really does is scoot anywhere... this child is so overweight that he moves like he can't quite pick his legs all the way up off the floor) the rest of my class starting saying to him "Tyson*, Tyson* -- you gotta go wash your hands!!!" To which he replied: "Why?? I didn't go poopy!"

*SIGH*

Since I'm writing about school, I guess I should also say that I've started a second blog that you can find the link to on the left here. It's "Mrs. Hardy's Honeys." I really created it for my kids' parents so that they could see photos of stuff we do, but if you're interested in looking at pictures of these kids too, feel free to check it out.

I feel so blessed to get to be a part of their lives and see and hear the way they are making sense of the world they live in each day. And you know what? I think it does feel like Finter.

Thankful

We had such a wonderful weekend at Wake Forest Homecoming. On Friday night we hosted the Hardy Hootenanny and had such a good time it might just become an annual event. It was fun to show people our home who had never seen it before and have friends from lots of different phases of life all together at once. On Saturday we went tailgating and to the football game and just enjoyed the general festivities of the reunion weekend and the absolutely stunning fall weather. Mostly, it was great to see old friends again. I'm convinced that what I have in the friendships from college is rare and beautiful and truly an incredible blessing. There's something about that time when everything is so intense and emotional and there's so much searching and healing and growing happening. The friendships that come out of it have really been through the fires and have a level of depth and intensity that mirrors the roller-coaster of that time of life. I feel especially blessed to have met some really remarkable women during my time at Wake. And even though many of them are now scattered all across the country and some I don't even get to talk to that much, it's great to know that when we're together again we can pick right back up where we left off and it's like nothing has ever changed. I'm posting a few photos of some of those ladies here. I'm proud to have known them and grateful to know that these friendships still have a lifetime ahead of them. I am so thankful.

Autumn in NC

I'm so sorry that I've let a month pass by without posting anything! I knew I would get carried away with life and stop being diligent about taking time to step back and reflect. It's a busy time of year with school and Robert and I have been gone most every weekend it seems. But life is still full and happy. I'm ready for election season to wind down, but that's another post altogether. For this one, I just wanted to share a bit about our weekend.

We met my parents and brother and sister-in-law at Beech Mountain this weekend for some time away. Lucky for us, it was peak leaves weekend and absolutely stunning. The weather on Saturday was a little overcast, but it didn't stop us from enjoying a great hike with all three grand dogs and an afternoon at The Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk.

If you don't know about woolly worms, then please allow me to fill you in. They are small worms, fuzzy, black and brown. But in Banner Elk they are much, much more. Every fall for 31 years now they've had a woolly worm festival with lots of booths and vendors and delicious food like turkey legs and hand cut potato curls. However, the main attraction are the woolly worm races. You can purchase a woolly worm for a buck or two and then they race them! Competition is fierce and emotions run wild during this big moment. The cash prize for Saturday's winner was $1000! We had a great time cheering on the woolly worms, eating an elephant ear, wandering through the vendors and of course taking our photo in the cut outs! Trey, Jennifer and I even have tee-shirts to prove it.

Here are a few photos from the weekend. It was great to have some time away with family and to enjoy the beauty of God's creation. Autumn in NC is hard to beat.