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Hannah Hope Ministries Update: Gift bag making & more!

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Thank you to those that have donated to my outreach, it means so much to me to know that you believe in me and what I’m doing. With the money I’ve raised so far, I’m starting to gather supplies for the gift bags I’ll be bringing with me on my visits but as you’ll see below, I still could use some funding. I’d love your input & ideas on things I can include in the gift bags!! Please leave a comment or message me with what you think would be nice to include in the bags.  One item I’m thinking of including is a small, plush doll handmade to look like my dolls that I’m bringing. I found a woman in Ukraine that can make them, but if you know of anyone that makes anything similar and is local, please let me know. I’d really love if I could find someone locally as I’m all about supporting local. The photo below is what the dolls look like. Here are some other items I’m thinking of including in the bags: *inspirational quotes on custom, pretty paper *picture frame with a photo of the d...
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Time for an update - 2021 goals!

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I know - it’s been far too long since I’ve posted an update. I’ve read your emails and I apologize it’s taken me so long to update you all. All I can say is, well, life happened!  So let me get you up to speed a bit!  We had our first holiday season in Wyalusing and despite things being a little different due to Covid, it’s been a magical experience for us all!   November was met with beautiful winter days, family time, and delicious food!  I learned how to make several dishes from my mother-in-law and she helped build my confidence in the kitchen. From homemade apple sauce to stuffing a turkey to turkey & ham pie with the thanksgiving leftovers. She sure has been great at teaching me some of her tricks in the kitchen and she’s taught me in a way that I’ve been able to absorb and remember. We enjoyed a lovely thanksgiving meal with friends and family at my in-laws house.  Thankfully they’re just across the street, so we didn’t have to go far in the cold weat...
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Vulnerability for Helping & Healing

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As I sit here writing this, it’s the first week of 2021 and while it’s scary and completely out of my comfort zone, I’m going to tell my story and why I chose to start an outreach program in 2021. First, my outreach program is for residents in assisted living facilities that suffer from depression, anxiety, and/or dementia. I’ll be visiting 4 assisted living facilities in our community to get started (once Covid restrictions have been lifted at each facility). The girls, Grace & Joy, will be coming with me as my little helpers. I’ll be bringing books and babies for the residents to hold. The joyful & calming effects of holding a newborn baby are incredible!  How am I going to be able to bring a newborn baby?  Well, it doesn’t have to be a real baby. Studies have shown that dolls made to look & feel like a newborn baby can have the same effects.  How did the idea for my outreach come to be?!?  Well, it all started with a documentary... One evening Bill (my...
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S’mores, sadness, & smiles...

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I’m not sure where to begin. So much has happened since my last entry. For starters, I had my birthday. The first birthday of mine in PA. My birthday week started off with receiving a present in the mail from my sister and throughout the week the gifts continued. On my actual birthday, Sept 30th, my husband cooked me a special dinner and greeted me with a custom bouquet of flowers he picked up on his way home from work. My in-laws, Dave & Nancy, stopped by that evening with a delicious dessert and a gift certificate for the beauty salon and free babysitting for the girls so I could get my hair done - something I’ve wanted to do for nearly 2 months!   The following weekend we went on our first ever family camping trip in our camper. The trip started off with a fun girls drive of myself, my mother-in-law Nancy, Grace, and Joy. We had plenty of girl talk along the way and plenty of beautiful scenery. Our campground was in Ithaca, NY and it was gorgeous this time of year!  (Ph...
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What’s the weather like?

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This morning the girls and I went out to run a few errands and I was surprised at how cold it was outside. The sun was shining and our home was warm and cozy, so I dressed the girls in summer attire. Needless to say I felt pretty silly when we walked outside and we’re greeted with a cold gust of wind. I felt as though I had a flashing sign saying “I’m from California. We dress in summer clothes in September!”  The afternoon warmed up a bit but I did change Charlie Joy out of her summer romper and into a cute sweatshirt pants romper.  Will, or as he’s been going by in Wyalusing his childhood nickname of Bill, has been taking up the guitar for the last several weeks and is pretty good at it already. It seems to come natural to him. The girls LOVE when he plays guitar! Charlie Joy is trying to play guitar as well and Gracie got a little toy guitar at the dollar store last week to be like daddy. Charlie Joy will strum daddy’s guitar (very loudly) as she sings “my Jesus, my savior”...
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Here I grow...

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As of September 1st it will have been 2 weeks since we’ve moved into our beautiful Wyalusing farm house. I never imagined myself a “country girl” or living in a large farm style home on so many gorgeous green acres but I must say I absolutely love it and we hope to live here for a very long time! We’ve made a lot of progress and have quite a bit unpacked. Of course there’s the “little” things like hanging pictures and organizing my clothes but overall we are settling in quite nicely and I find that I fall in love with our home, land, and community more every day. I wake up with a smile on my face every morning - what a glorious feeling that is!  It has been absolutely wonderful having my in-laws across the street. They’ve truly been such a blessing to me, all of the kids, and my husband. Their kindness and understanding towards me has been so needed during this transition.  Gracie started her 1st day of pre-k homeschool (although I use mainly kindergarten curriculum) on the 26...
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The road to Wyalusing: This is home!

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It has been a long journey!  Friday we spent the entire day flying from Sacramento, CA to Philadelphia, PA. It was Gracie & Charlie Joy’s first times flying on an airplane. Gracie loved it!  The first flight she spent the first 40 minutes excitedly saying how fun it was to fly (she really enjoyed taking off). Joy, on the other hand, wanted to get down and run around. Since I wouldn’t let her out of my arms, she was pretty frustrated and let everyone know it.  During our layover, baby Joy fell asleep within minutes and slept until it was time to get back on the last flight of our trip. She was much happier this flight. She played quietly while Gracie slept. I thought we were in the clear until the last 30 minutes of the flight Joy decided to scream until we finally landed. Oh my! This mama was tired and so ready to be done with planes, airports, luggage, and cranky babies. We eventually got all of our luggage. Hauled it to the hotel shuttle and made our way to the hote...
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