thebynumfamily.com

So, I keep promising that I am going to update more often…and I am not doing very well.

Hank is 3

On Sept 5th, our precious Hank turned 3 YEARS OLD! He decided to have his birthday party at his favorite place, The Hand’s On Children’s Museum inOlympia. We had a great turn out and Hank had a blast! He also chose to have a Monster/Wild Things Party… very fitting for his current personality!

Getting Ready for his Party

Monster Cake (aka the blue pig)

Hank and his best buddy Julia

The Benedict Family

The Plewa Family

Sweet Sky

Ellie the Florist

Ezra teaching us about chickens

Olivia shopping

Rebekah and Sky

Jen helping Hank make a sand castle

Ready to build

Jason and Aaron's push board masterpiece

Hank has gotten much more efficient at opening presents since last year!

The newest member of our family

The start of a beautiful friendship!

We have had a difficult few weeks, but we have also had some wonderful things happen too! It is amazing to see the blessings God has given our family, even in the midst of hard times.

On Sept 1st, Hank started preschool at Capital Montessori School in Olympia. I can not believe that our baby is old enough for this! Needless to say, he loves it! In fact, for the first week, when all the other children were having a hard time leaving their parents, Hank cried when we came to pick him up! He did NOT want to leave “Big Boy School”! It was actually a little embarrassing and heart breaking that our son cried about coming home. But, it really gives me so much joy to know that he is happy and having fun learning and growing at his preschool! Every morning he would give us a big hug and run off into his classroom without even looking back.

Heading to Hank’s Preschool Orientation…can you see the tears in his Momma eyes?!?

I actually had no idea that I would be so emotional about this. Hank has been in childcare for almost his whole life, so I was really surprised at all my tears. But the reality is, our family is changing and have entered a new phase of life. We have officially closed the “Baby Chapter” for Hank. I felt equally overwhelmed with pride and sadness. I am so excited for all that Hank will get to learn and experience and so sad to loose my baby. But, I guess every parent struggles with the desire to hold on to their children and keep them small and dependent forever. I am so comforted that God has blessed us with a confident, healthy boy who is well adjusted and independent enough to not need his Momma right by his side anymore.

Hank’s first full day of Preschool

Hank picked out his T-Rex shirt to wear on his first day!

He is doing GREAT at the Montessori school! We have already had our first Parent/Teacher conference and heard what a wonderful and busy child he his. His teacher definitely said “he is in perpetual motion” (tell me about it!), but also raved about how well he was adapting to the program. We are so proud of you, Hank Bynum!

I have gone back and forth with writing on the blog today as it has been a hard day for the Bynum Family. In life there are times of happiness and sadness and God uses both for His glory and makes all things beautiful. So, in an effort to just be who we are and embrace the beauty of being real, and fragile, and human, I (with the consent of my husband) decided that we should let our friends and family know what God is doing in our lives.

About 5 weeks ago, we were so excited to find out that I was pregnant. It was very early and to “be safe” we decided just to tell our immediate family. This morning, I would be 9 weeks pregnant, I had my 2nd ultrasound and a heartbeat could no longer be detected. Around 8:40am we realized that that we had lost our baby. From there we have had several appointments, several teary phone calls, and just a very long, sad day. But, as in all things, God is at work, teaching us and molding us and showing us His love and His grace.

With that being being said, I would really like to share these sweet pictures of our family that my very talented sister-in-law took the day we revealed our big news. I really love these pictures and I would love to always remember this time and celebrate the very short life that we were blessed to be a part of. Jason and I got to be parents of this precious little one for 9 weeks and we consider it a great honor. We would like to rejoice in the time we had with him/her.

When I was pregnant with Hank, early on, Jason gave him a funny nick-name before we knew much about him…Hank, at that time was “Cletus”. When we found out about Baby #2, Jason started calling him/her “Clark”, never intending that name to stick with this little one, just being silly. However, for the past 5 weeks, this precious little one has been know to us a Clark and now I seem to have a hard time thinking of him/her as anyone else. So…

Precious Clark,
We love you very much. We know that God is the “Author and Sustainer of life” and that He has a plan for you. Even though our time with you was short, we feel so very blessed to be your parents. I know that one day we will meet you, our precious second child, and that God has a place and a purpose for you in heaven. We are very excited to meet you there, but until then, we will leave you in the care of our Great Protector and Provider. Thank you for the joy you have brought to us. You are a gift.
Love,
Your Mom and Dad

3 years ago today, at 9:11am, we welcomed Hank Whelan into the world. He weighted 9lbs 5oz and was 21.5 in long. We were amazed and he was amazing.

Today our baby turns 3 years old!

We love you, Hank Whelan! We are so thankful that God chose you for our family!

In June we were able to go home to TN for almost 3 weeks! It was so much fun and so refreshing to spend time with all of our friends and family.

Hank getting ready to fly on the airplane…at this point he has been on a plane like 6 or 7 times, so he’s a professional!

I am not sure how we made it through 4 days in Nashville without getting pictures of all the people we love so much, but we did. I did, however, manage to get one picture on my phone…

Shannon and Sophie

After a few days in Nashville we went to Bolivar to spend a few days with Jason’s family and had a BLAST! Grammy even got a pool for Norah and Hank to play in!

First time in Grammy's pool

Splash!

Helping Charlotte in the pool

Pool Hugs!

Bathing Beauty

Loving the floats!

Playing catch

Making breakfast with Grammy! I think this resulted in BLUE pancakes!

Cousin Love

Watermelon with Grammy and Granddaddy

The Carousel in Memphis. Grammy and Lucy were very good sports because I think Hank rode the carousel 10 times in one day!

Hank & Grammy

Hank & Lucy

And, somehow, mom got suck riding the smallest train ever with Hank

Memphis Zoo. Living in the northwest, we sometimes forget how HOT the south can get. A day at the Memphis Zoo certainly reminded us! Luckily they let you play in the fountains and get cooled off…very fun!

We celebrated my birthday while in West TN and Grammy, Lucy, and Granddaddy kept Hank while Jason and I had an overnight date in Memphis. We had such a nice time and forget how great it is to spend time together! On the day of my birthday, Hank brought me a delicious surprise…

Cupcakes are my FAVORITE!

I think Hank enjoyed them too!

Thanks for such a GREAT time guys!

It has been WAY TOO LONG since we have updated the blog! The Bynums are going to try to be more timely in updating, so please accept our apologies.

Here is my best attempt at a recap of what has been going on in our lives for the past 4 months.

A Trip to Lake Quinault and hiking in the rainforest of the Norethwest

Quinault Lodge, BEAUTIFUL!

Ready for a day of hiking

Hank & Daddy at the base of a huge fallen tree

Tree Huggers

An authentic Quinault rain gage

Ruby Beach, A Pacific Northwest Must See

My cute hubby

Hank found a BIG rock

We hosted a “Provider Dinner” at our house. All 11 providers and their families.

Our Wine and Cheese appetizer

Jason and Gena Dalan

Proof that I actually do cook, sometimes

Look who wears Big Boy Underwear…

Jason and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on June 6th.

Loving every minute

The Puzzle Master

The 4th of July, notice the winter attire and hats…Yup it was THAT cold

Hank & Momma with Henry, Jaime, and Joel watching the fireworks

Hank’s first big boy bike

Hank and “Dorothy” at a Reach Out and Read event

Hank’s Big Boy Hair cut…getting ready for Preschool

We have a few more things to write about, but each need a full post. Look out for our trip to Nashville, Bolivar, the Beach, and Camping with the Dalan Family…all are soon to come!

So most of these pictures look very similar to the previous post about Huck, except he is slightly bigger as he is now a whooping 8 weeks old. Life with a new puppy consists of our playing the back yard as much as possible, which means Hank and Huck chase each other. Hence, more chasing pictures but they are both SO CUTE that it is hard to resist snapping away!

Love Hank's face!

Hank loves to play soccer...

...And so does Huck!

They discovered some purple flowers growing in our yard

Flowers for Mom

As you might have noticed from various other pictures, we usually spend Saturday mornings in our pajamas. This, of course, means Hank goes outside and runs around all morning in his pajamas and rain boots/flip flops depending on the weather while Jason and I drink coffee and try to recover from the week. It has kind of become a Bynum Family Saturday morning tradition!

They even manage to ride ride Hank's tricycle together!

Chalk paintings

Trying to keep both of them from ingesting the chalk is the real trick

Sweet Boy

Sweetest Boy

Hopefully I have something more exciting to post soon. Currently this is about all we do, but I am pretty happy with just that!

So, I have gotten a little behind on blogging, and then with the puppy news, I skipped ahead. This would be my attempt at a “Catch Up”!

Strawberries are back in season = Strawberry Shortcake! And what is Strawberry shortcake without a little black eye?!?

Yummy!

Love it!

Seattle with Elvis

Hank & Elvis

Hank & Momma

Post Alley

...more Post Alley

Close up of the gum...only Jason can find the ART in the grossness

Pikes Place Market

Hank & Elvis with the pig!

3 Generations & a pig

Always BEAUTIFUL Flowers in the market

Even found cheesecake in the market!

Lunch on the pier at The Crab Pot

Hank & Daddy

Finally a smile!

Love My Dad

Who's ready for some crab?!?!

The literal Crab Pot

My boys!

Two Peas in Pod…or is it, Two Peas in Life Is Good?!?

Elvis fits in pretty well here in the Northwest! More to come…

We have been talking about adding to our little family for a while now, and if you have talked to me in the last 2.5 years, you probably know that a baby is not in the plans any time soon. So, the next logical choice would be a puppy!

Meet Huck Bynum

Huck, is a 6wk old yellow lab. We picked him up yesterday afternoon and he was a little sad to leave his brothers and sisters. But, warmed right up after a few snuggles.

This one is ours

Sweet Cuddly Boy!

Needless to say, puppies are a lot of work, as we have been reminded in the past 24hours. But, so far so good! He is doing great and fits right in with us!

Welcome Home Huck!

These two are a match made in heaven!

Hank even woke up bright and early asking “Momma, is my puppy, Huck, still here?”

Play time

Gotcha!

Run Run Run

…And this is what happens after a morning of playing with Hank!

Wiped Out!

So, I have been looking at all the postings of Easter pictures from our friends in Nashville wearing their sundresses and sandals with pink sun-kissed cheeks…this is NOT the case in the Northwest! Spring, much like fall and winter is primarily cold, gray, and wet. Apparently I was a little confused about what area of the country we live in when choosing Hank’s Easter clothes because he was the only child in Washington state wearing shorts!

Best Attempt at an Easter Picture

We actually started Easter a day early…On Saturday morning, one of the local churches had a community wide Easter Egg Hunt. We met the Dalan Family there, because in Hank’s mind, no day is as much fun as a day spent with Julia!

Hank figured out this year that there is CANDY inside the eggs!

They make quite a team!

Best Buddies

Hank & Julia

Going through the loot!

They even had REAL bunnies!

We had a great Easter morning! It is interesting trying to explain to a 2.5 yr old why we celebrate Easter. If anyone has good ideas about how to do this please let me know.
A little boy in Hank’s class came in saying “Happy Kwanzaa”, so I know we are not the only one’s who had a hard time explaining this! I ended up going with simple: “JESUS IS ALIVE!!! He died on the cross for our sins but He was more powerful than death, and now He is ALIVE!” I think it went over pretty well.

Hank’s Easter “Basket”

We had two services at our church, Jason played in the worship band for both and I did the nursery for one service and then attended the other. We were busy but it all worked out perfectly and got to spend the rest of the day together as a family, praising Jesus. Dr. Polley, my boss, invited us to her home for Easter dinner and and an Easter egg hunt in her back yard. And like all afternoons in the Washington it was rainy and freezing…but a little freezing rain NEVER stopped a true northwesterner! (As you might imagine, I took pictures from inside!)

Ready to hunt eggs!

Henry getting the hang of hunting eggs

Go Hank Go!

Eggs for all!

Last Egg

Don't worry, he found the chocolate!

Isaiah 53:5
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.