Hannah Jo Reynders

Little Hannah Jo Reynders joined our family July 25th 2013. She was anxious to enter this world. She came 8 days early and boy did she come fast! I knew I was in labor when i woke up that Thursday morning, but figured she would come in the afternoon. But by 9 am I was busy making sure I had everything in order and someone on their way to watch Evelyn and Peter. David left class a couple hours early. We were at the hospital a whole hour and a half when I felt the need to push. The doctor wasn't there, the nurses didn't even have the table set up with all the tools and things they would need. No one was ready for Hannah to come but me (in excruciating pain) and David. David would have had to catch little Hannah if the nurse would have walked in half a minute latter! That would have been exciting :)

We are so happy to have little Hannah Jo in our family. We are deeply in love with our little bundle of joy. Life is wonderful in the Reynder's home.

Nauvoo

We were blessed with the opportunity to visit the historic sites of Old Nauvoo and Carthage. The weather was perfect! It was unseasonably cool in Nauvoo while we were there and boy were we greatful. We had a wonderful time. There is such a wonderful, ever-present spirit there. We were able to go on a carriage ride and a wagon ride. We watched two shows, "Just Plain Anna Amanda" and "Sunset on the Mississippi," we saw two films, one at Carthage and another at the Visitors Center in Nauvoo, and visited many historic sites.

We went to the Brick Yard, the Gunsmith/ home of Johnathan Browning, the Print Shop, the Scovil Bakery, The Family Living Center, the home of Lucy Mac Smith, the home of John Taylor, the temple, and we walked down the Trail of Hope which took us to the Mississippi.

In The Family Living Center we got to make our own family rope, learn how candles were made in the 1840's, and how to bake bread in a brick oven. This was one of our favorite places. Another area we enjoyed was called Pioneer Pastimes. This is a little park area where they have pioneer clothes for kids to dress up in and all sorts of games and toys that the Pioneer children played with. Peter and Evelyn loved this area.

We all enjoyed our stay. There are so many things to see and enjoy. We would have had to stay a week in order to see and experience it all. But we had a wonderful time in Nauvoo and Carthage. We are so grateful for all those that went before and showed us how to have true faith as they sacrificed everything for the true gospel of Christ.

Five Years!

June 28th marked our five year anniversary. We wanted to celebrate it as a family. Though to most it is just a celebration from the date we were sealed in the Fresno, CA temple, we also feel that it is a day to celebrate the beginning of our family. After all, getting married is the start of a new family. So, we celebrated our five year Family Birthday :) We went down to Springfield and enjoyed time together as a family. We went to "The Library Station." We love to read to our kiddos and they love books, so this seemed like a fun idea. But, what made this trip to the library even better was that this"Library Station" in Springfield is themed around transportation. The outside of the building looks like an old train station. Inside there was one of the first models of an old black Ford car, model airplanes hanging from the ceiling, a model train running on a track suspended from the ceiling, and a train for the children to play in. There were many other neat paintings and sculptures dealing with modes of transportation. It was real neat to see and since both of our kids love things that go, it was perfect! Here are photos from out visit to the library:

While in Springfield, we purchased new guitar strings for David's guitar. We all enjoy David playing the guitar so this was a great gift for all of us. And we ate dinner at a little Indian Restaurant called "Gem of India." There is much significance to an Indian Restaurant in David's and mine relationship. We were pleased to find this little restaurant in Springfield, and even more pleased when it was authentic, good food.