Open Houses!

I will be hosting an Open House on both Tuesday July 12^th and Wednesday July 13^th from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at my house. There will be a continuous slide show of pictures and videos. I will share some stories and answer any questions about my time on STINT as well as my next assignment in Orlando – working on the PR team and Conference and Event Planning team. I would love for you to come to whichever evening is more convenient. Drinks and deserts will be served.

If you are unable to attend, but would like more information or have questions, please email me.

Thank you again for all your support. You guys have been a great team!

Email me with questions :)

Home... and not a day too soon!

Wow! I am so thankful for God's timing.

Early Wednesday morning, I lugged all my suitcases (5 of them!) - (with the help of Sarah and Beth) into the car and headed to the airport with Beth and Chelsea. Our Paris to Chicago flight went well and we even arrived early. Chelsea and I watched the Justin Beiber movie a couple times :)

Once I landed in Detroit, my parents, sisters and grandma were waiting for me. They even brought my dog, Rocky! It was great to see them all. They had American flags, flowers and a sign saying "Welcome home Hannah!" And, as some of you might know, my sister Olivia was pregnant - so other passengers commented, asking them if they were waiting for a solider to come home for the birth of his child. Haha! Nope, just me.

Instead of going straight home, I went and visited with some family friends I grew up with - the Hatfields. Kelli had just got engaged and Katie had a baby while I was in France! It was my first time to meet little Laedin! He is so cute! I ended up staying up until 1am Michigan time = 7 am France time! It was totally worth it.

THE NEXT DAY, - after we had taken some family pictures since we all knew Addison would be born soon - Olivia, my sister, got a call from the doctors office wanting to see her to check her fluid levels. I went with Olivia to the check up, and they told her she needed to have the baby! We came home, packed some bags, and Olivia went with Mom and Dad to the hospital.

Gracie, Joel, Luke and I were waiting at home for the call to come, when the time was nearer for the delivery. We didn't want to crowd the room too much! Dad called and said he would call again early in the morning. I was so tired and jet legged...

8 a.m. Dad called us - I was already awake since my body was telling me it was 2 p.m. AND I was super excited!!! - time to come in! We picked up Noah, Addison's brother and got to the hospital at 9:30 a.m.

They broke Olivia's water and 10:20 a.m. and the contractions started to increase immediately. Olivia went from 5 cm to 10 cm in under and hour (which is abnormal for first time mothers! Usually it's more like 1 cm per hour!) At 11:45 a.m. Addison Olivia was born! This was the first delivery I have ever seen. The miracle of birth is breath taking. The burst of life, emotion, joy!

Yesterday was a whirlwind of pictures, doctors, laughs, smiles and THE SMELL OF A NEW BABY! Addison is so cute! She looks just like Olivia and is very healthy. I am excited to be able to still be a part of her life as she grows and grows.

I want to take some time to thank God for allowing me to be here for this. It was my prayer since I found out seven months ago. Not only was I able to be here for the birth, but Addison is healthy, beautiful and sweet as can be. I can't wait to show her off to the world! He not only answered my prayer, but allowed me to be apart of this beautiful start of life! Thank you Lord!

Some of my favorite recent pictures...

Tulips in Amsterdam... White poppy-seed in a park of Paris.... Blue sky and flower seeds along the Seien river.... Mail box in Ris Orangis.... Bare trees in Luxembourg Gardens....

I can't eat french fries with my left hand...

Oh France. Everything here is just... different. One thing I can't wait for is internet at our own apartment. I am currently eating and using the free Wifi at the one and the only McDonalds.

Last weekend, we were doing some Craigslisting and we found a stove top and a washing machine. [You see, in Europe, most houses and apartments come with bare bones. No lights, no oven, stove, washing machine, sink, counter, fridge, etc.]. First, we bought our stove top - I bartered the price thanks to my Negotiation class at Grand Valley. When we left the first stop, I took this picture of my roommate Beth:

The second stop to buy the washing machine was met with a crazy Californian lady who lives in France. Seriously, she was crazy! She wanted us to come pick her up because she didn't live where the washing machine? We couldn't because our car was full. Anyways, she ended up making us wait 1.5 hours to meet us, then decided, before we even went inside to actually see the machine, that she did not want to sell it to us. Waste of time! So, if you think about it, please pray that we find a washing machine, oven and freezer.

During the week, it was our first week at the office doing our own thing. I was helping out in the communication center. It is so crazy all they do there! We were responding to emails from people who have questions about faith, editing reports and addressing envelopes for a mailing to some North African countries. It was really cool to be on this side of the communication - office verse field work.

Later this week, we had doctor appointments so we can be cleared to live in France. Only as simple as that sounds, it was more difficult than it had to be. For this specific type of appointment, we had to buy 340 Euros worth of STAMPS. Stamps. Why would they need stamps? And these stamps you can't just buy anywhere...

... you would think that you could buy them at the post office, the grocery store or even a convent store? The latter is true, but everything in France closes from 12-2 for lunch, which made it impossible to find and buy them. Fortunately God is bigger than all of that and we made it to our appointment on time, all got cleared by the doctors, and got our French licenses -- we even got to keep our x-rays!

I do look forward to this coming week. I will be starting more into my role in the office and start projects of my own to help the staff on the field. One thing I have already done is designing a logo for the National Directors conference in November. Here is the final product:

I took the original picture on Spring Break 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida [shout out to Kaitlyn Farley, Drew Schafer, Ryan King and Brian Early!] The theme of this year comes from Psalm 66:5 which says "Come and see what God has done, how awesome His works in man's behalf!"

More to come very soon!