Yard Sale Give-Away

As we prepared to move to California, we found that we have way too much stuff. We talked about doing a garage sale...well we don't really have a garage so I guess technically it would be a driveway/yard sale. We realized how much of the stuff had been given to us by other people and thought, "why don't we just give all of it away, regardless of how much we could get by selling it." We really just wanted to use it as a way to show the free love of God to people in the community. It was absolutely pouring sheets of rain for the first hour of the give-away (btw, garage-salers are nuts) so rather than move all of the items off of the sun porch, we just put a tarp down on the floor and let people come inside. The only bad thing about this, other than the cramped quarters, was that the stuff we normally have out on the sun porch...you know, stuff we wanted to keep...was mingled in with the stuff we were giving away. We had to scramble just to make sure that the stuff we wanted to keep made its way inside the house and not out the door...almost lost my brand new running shoes! It was so successful despite the monsoon-like weather! We were left with just a small box of a few books, cds and a couple of sweaters. I did have multiple offers for the purchase of my son (which was kinda funny at first and then just creepy), but none enticing enough to part with him. I finally put one of the "Not for Sale" signs on him that Brittany had made to keep people from running off with our sun room furniture. HUGE thanks to Brittany Putman...what an amazing garage sale organizer/runner! If you are having a garage sale anytime soon, you should hire her to run it...you won't be sorry! Also, thanks to Putty for being the official barista of the Hart Yard Sale Give-Away!

Katie's 27th Birthday Scavenger Hunt

I'm 27! Wow, I can't believe that.... So this is my last time to celebrate my birthday while living in Champaign and Brad wanted to do something really special for me. It took quite a lot of planning and preparation, he even took a day off from work to set up the details, well and go to the dentist and go get his hair cut. Brad took me through a journey of childhood memories in the form of a scavenger hunt. Through the hunt, I had to remember (or be reminded) of funny childhood moments in order to get the next clue. Some memories include shoveling sand into the ac unit at the home we lived in on First Street, being a bell in a musical at church, calling a wall-mounted moose head a goat, and more. It all started with a video on the laptop of Brad giving me the instructions for the scavenger hunt. (that's the picture to the side here) He brought me all around C-U from our home to our church, to Dairy Queen, to Taco Bell (that was the bell clue) to what used to be Jumer's, to the bookstore I grew up in, to the park I used to live near and played at often, to TGI Friday's (because I was born on a Friday) and once we ended up at the restaurant, he had filled it with lots of family and friends for dinner! It was a really wonderful evening, and I even got to chat with my piano teacher I had from about 2nd grade through sophmore year! I'm pretty sure that I have the most wonderful husband in the world! He said that he so enjoyed getting together with my mom and hearing all of the stories about me growing up. Oh, and we got to enjoy the Nate the Great kids books again, that was a blast for me!

Thank you to everyone that was able to make it to the restaurant for the dinner and cake time! It is so fantastic to have the wonderful friends that I do. Also, thanks to family for your participation and the gifts. It was fun to see grandma as a clue giver! Thanks to all clue givers (Heather, Carolyn, Mom, Gabe, Tara, Brittany, Grandma, Steve, Jeff & Linda, and Dad) both on phone and in person. I think this is up there for one of the best birthdays ever!
Here are the pics.

Hart Family Photo

Blanket Buddies

We have been trying to make sure that Josiah gets consistent "tummy time." We laid down a very soft blanket that Great Grandma Stone (thanks!) made for Josiah and put him down on it. Seconds later Kisbey walked over and laid down right next to him...it was soooo cute! Of course I had to grab my camera. Make sure you check out the one of Josiah with Kisbey resting her head on his chest. I think it may be my new favorite.

Check out the album here.

Josiah meets cousin Nolan

Now here are a couple of good looking kiddos!

click here to view album


also check out Gary, Melissa + Nolan's blog

Slough Visit

Hey everyone! Sorry its been so long since the last post. Since we brought Josiah home, we have had lots of out of town family come visit (as well as the frequent visits by in town family). Grandpa Slough, AKA Katie's Dad came to visit + then Grandma Kosi, Great Grandma Slough and Auntie Audrey + Auntie Hannah shortly after. We had such a great time which included such classic moments as digging a very large hole in our backyard, jumping off of Krannet Performing Arts Center, and changing a diaper on the quad! Ah, so many memories...

click here for pics

Crib Time

I had put Josiah down for a nap in his crib. When I came back in he was wide awake + the lighting was so great, I had to run get the camera. These are some of my favorites thus far. What a photogenic kid!


click here to view the newest album

First Bath

I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't had kids yet, but I will just say that bathing an infant is awesome! Plus you get a chance to style their hair.

click here for bath pics

Going Home

Click here for more photos of Josiah's transition home

Josiah :: Day 2

We got some great sleeping pics of Josiah + parents (because we did a lot of that) as well as some great shots of Josiah + grandparents!
View complete album from Day 2

Josiah's First Day

(One of our favorite pics of Josiah so far may be this one of him giving the okay sign)


Wow! What an amazing first day! Katie did AWESOME in labor + delivery! She focused + made it through the entire 21 hours of laboring + pushed little Josiah out with no pain medication other than some local anesthetic for the episiotomy. She was inspiring to watch and even the doctor was impressed. A very special thanks to Mom (Linda), Mom (Becky), Brittany, Steph, and Amy who were vital in getting Katie through a tough delivery!


Josiah is such a great kiddo already! He has been feeding + sleeping really well. When he is awake, he is very alert, looking around with bright, wide eyes. We are so thankful to the many people who came to visit us + little Josiah and to everyone who has been helping us with food and taking care of pets and anything else that we need. We love you all very much and are so thankful for you! If you would still like to visit we are at Carle in room 1104 of Labor + Delivery.


Click here for the complete picture collection of Josiah's first day

Labor + Delivery :: Highlights From Last Night

Click here for the complete photo collection of Katie's labor + delivery

Josiah Samuel Hart

May 12, 2008 2:33am
8lbs 6oz
20in long

more info/pics coming after we sleep a little.

Crash is coming :: update eleven

We're in the pushing phase!

Crash is coming :: update ten

As it is approaching midnight and still no Crash, Crash's birthday is going to be May 12.

Crash is coming :: update nine

The water has broke...Katie's exact words were "Ohhh....that's wet." 7cm dilated. It's getting closer!!

Crash is coming :: update eight

Katie is laboring actively. She is dilated 6-7cm at this point and the contractions are coming fast. She is doing very well, but is having problems finding a comfortable position for handling the contractions. We'll keep the posts coming.

Crash is coming :: update seven

Hey this is Brad's sister Steph. Brad and Katie are tied up right now so responsibility for updating the blog has gone to me. We are at the hospital...again, although this time I think we're here to stay until this baby comes. Katie has been checked in and is handling contractions extremely well and in really good spirits. Katie is about five centimeters dilated and contractions are coming strong and often (less than two minutes apart). Katie is getting ready to get in the jacuzzi, lucky girl. I'll keep the progress updates coming as things progress.

Crash is coming :: update six

hey all...really quick...contractions are very close together + very regular and we are heading to the hospital again...here we go. i will update again soon.

Crash is coming :: update five

hey everyone. katie is doing awesome! we are still laboring at home waiting for the contractions to be consistent in duration before we return to the hospital. when she is active, the contractions are right in that target area, but when she lies down, they start getting erratic. we need them to stay in that target area of 3-5 min, 60 sec in length regardless of her position. man, I am so impressed with my wife! I can tell just from watching her in action + holding her hand through each contraction that labor is no picnic. She is soooo mentally tough. please continue to pray for her strength + that the contractions regulate soon. She has had intense, strong contractions every 2-8 minutes (each lasting anywhere from 30-95 seconds!) since 530am!! Its beginning to wear her out a little. we love you all + thank you so much for all your words of encouragement + prayers. I will post another update again in a little while.