Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!!!!




Happy Halloween! We had a great time at our church's festival and even got to meet Sarah Palin and the Incredible Hulk. :) We are already home with our little hotdog sound asleep. Hope you had lots of fun and ate lots of candy!

A Halloween Story

Once upon a time, there was a baby and his family that wanted to carve a pumpkin for Halloween...
"Daddy, I really want that pencil," said the baby.

"Here," said the Momma, and the baby was satisfied until...
"Ready to scoop out the guts?" asked the Daddy, handing the baby a spoon.

"But Daddy, I really want some pumpkin seeds," said the baby, pushing aside any other distracting toys the Momma had given him.Alas, the baby was relegated to a safer, yet not nearly as interesting, bystander role in the pumpkin carving tradition for this year...
With the baby safely at a distance, it was the Momma's turn to carve...

Then the Daddy got after it with a Drimmel because that little ol' steak knife wasn't nearly exciting enough...

And before long, it was dark, and the candle was lit, and it was way past the baby's bed time, but the family still had to get a picture since it was the baby's first Halloween...

The End

Happy Halloween!!!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Sneak Peek




Only two more days...!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Home Sweet Home

We made it home safely last night after a great flight home. I say great because Charlie cried for the first 20 minutes (which was a great distraction for me) and then slept the rest of the way! It wasn't bumpy at all and I felt the Lord calming my heart as I thought of the sermon I had heard just hours before "... even the wind and waves obey Him" from Mark chapter 4.

We had a great time in Lubbock. Charlie loved his cousins and they loved him. And they wore him out. He took like two hour naps every afternoon, it was amazing. And I only took three pictures. I know, what's my problem? My problem is my sis in law has this stinkin' awesome camera so I let her take all the pictures and then forgot to get copies before I left. :P So here are my pics...
Waiting in the airport

Charlie going to school with Luke

Reading a book with Ellie

Thank you to our Lubbock family for the great week!!!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Welcome to Lubbock

We made it safely to Lubbock this afternoon and are sitting here now in Matt and Robin's living room while the kids sleep (hopefully soundly tonight)!  It was a short flight with lots of turbulence (it just so happens to be the windiest day ever here in Lubbock today).  I will be honest, as silly as I feel about it now, there were a few points when I was really scared.  But Paul kept me focused on Truth and Charlie kept me somewhat distracted.  And we made it.  If you prayed for us- thank you so so much!  I may not post much this week because we have a full itinerary of apple picking, pottery painting, and picture taking!  But I'm sure many many posts will follow... 

Off to Lubbock

Today we are flying to Lubbock. Paul has to go to Texas Tech to do some recruiting for work and so Charlie and I are coming along so we can all spend some time with Paul's brother and his family.

If you would, please keep us in your prayers as we travel. If you keep up with me, you know my fear of flying, and I would just ask that you pray for peace and for safety. I'm feeling a lot better about this trip after having such a good experience on our last trip, but those nagging chains of fear are still creeping in. I call them chains because I am realizing that's what they are. When I fear, I am not living in the freedom in Christ that I have been given- freedom from death and the fear of death. When I think with an eternal perspective, I know that the Lord is with us, He already knows today's events, and all the days of my life. He is in charge and nothing has ever or will ever happened without His knowledge. I would greatly appreciate your prayers as I struggle to maintain that eternal perspective for the hour or so that we are in the air (I know, its only an hour!!!).

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah." Psalm 46:1-3

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

I've Been Tagged!!

Yippeee!!! I love being tagged, thanks Sharla. :)

The rules are you go to your sixth folder and pick your sixth picture and explain it.

When I went through the blogger upload and found my sixth folder (they are listed alphabetically here, so it is from August 2008) and sixth picture, this is what I got:

I know! BO-RING!!! It's almost exactly like the one I have on my blog alllll the time! Of all the pictures...ha! So, just for fun, instead I went to My Pictures and got the sixth picture from the sixth folder there where they are NOT listed alphabetically, and this is what I got:




This is from June 2004 when our great friends Laura and Clay (who now live all the way in Boston, *sniff sniff*) came and stayed with us at our old apartment and we spent the day at AstroWorld. It was cloudy and hot, but not crowded at all and this is a picture of Paul (who you can see in the very back left seat) and Clay riding this ride while Laura and I took pictures. What a fun day and a fun memory!!!!

Okay, I'm tagging Dacia, Robin, and Lacey S.!!!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Charlie's Weekend in Pictures


Hangin' with Aunt Erica

Playing in "the clubhouse" (aka the wet bar) with Emma
Flyin' with Momma
Hangin' with Unckie Trav
Laughin' and Droolin'
Fun with Nana
Sunday stroll with Nana and Pop
Lovin' on Pop
Sittin' in a high chair for Daddy's birthday
Out with Nana and Pop
Love my Daddy Family photo

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Must-See

If you are married and you want a great date night, I highly recommend Fireproof. We saw it Friday night with some great friends and loved it. You may have heard that its cheesy or that the acting will not be pulling in any Academy Awards- and its probably true. But wow, great story line, inspiring, some great action scenes, funny, and you leave wanting to love your spouse more than you ever thought you could.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Where I've Been/Halloween Costumes Part Two

After a fun weekend in San Antonio, we all came back sick. Paul's started out as allergies and Charlie and I had sniffles and stuffy noses. Charlie had his six month appointment Monday where it appeared he had the beginnings of an ear infection... plus shots, which equals fever for him. Meanwhile, my sniffles and stuffines have turned into a full blown cold and Paul woke up this morning thinking his is taking a turn for the worse too. So, yay, fun! My house is covered in boxes of Kleenex and crumpled up ones over flowing the trashcans (and the coffee table and bedside tables)... yikes.



Here's a picture with his poor little shot fever and stuffy nose


And in other news... our Halloween costumes are coming along well!!


Move over Leanne, I've got my Simplicity Beginner's Choice Level Two pattern from 1981 and I'm on a roll.



Quote from the beginning of the instructions:

"Smart you, you're about to sew something wonderful! Something that will fit better, look better, and be of better quality than things you buy. But, more importantly sewing will give you hours of pleasure and satisfaction. "


Umm, did that say hours?? Uh-oh, what did I get myself into!!!???

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Charlie and Dad's Big Adventure

Paul and Charlie spent their first whole day alone together on Friday in San Antonio while I went to a conference for work. Even though I'm not working this year, I have to get hours of training to keep up my license, so this helped out with that. When I came home, the boys had the following surprise for me:


Thursday, October 9, 2008

Half a Year

Six Months Ago Today

Are you kidding me??? I can't even believe how the time is flying by. I'm still trying to take it all in, and am learning every day about what it means to mother Charlie. For some reason I used to think all babies were pretty much alike. Maybe some cried more, but they didn't really have personalities yet, or if they did, it was just based on how you treated them. Like if you are attentive and loving parents, they will be a certain way, and vice versa. Wow, was I ever wrong.

Certainly I still believe that parenting styles affect a child's behavior/personality somewhat, but this little boy was born with a mind of his own! God created Charlie to be the little person that he is and I can't even believe how blessed I am to be his mother and get to know him more and more each day. I think back to those early days when Paul and I had this tiny little bundle in the hospital that just basically slept and ate. Then we came home and he went from sleeping and eating to crying and eating. And then gradually, we began to get to know his rhythms, his likes and dislikes, his desire to look out and see all around, his curiosity, his voice, what (many of) his cries meant.

And here we are six months later, with this little boy who is a morning person and coos at us from his crib, who is rolling over, sitting up, reaching, grabbing, who loves to eat anything, thrives with routine, needs naps but fusses every time I lay him down, loves his bed, smiles every time he sees his daddy, is super ticklish, loves going for walks and looking around outside, can sit up straight when I hold him with one hand on my hip (I'm getting a really strong left arm!), wakes up for the paci at night but doesn't need to eat, lets you know immediately when he doesn't like something or when he is tired/hungry/bored/needs to be held, gets red-cheeked when he's hot, gets really serious around new people or places, can cover a clean shirt in drool within 10 seconds of putting it on him, loves taking a bath, doesn't mind a diaper change or change of clothes, loves music, and has this great belly-laugh chuckle that makes me wanna bottle it up and keep forever.

I've learned (and am still learning) that book smarts are nothing compared to experience, the time flies by too fast to spend it discouraged and wondering if I'm doing things right, sleep is overrated and not as necessary as I once thought, and my life will never be the same.

Thank you Charlie, for making us parents. We're sorry to say we don't always know what we're doing. Actually, who are we kidding? We rarely know what we're doing, ha! We place you in the Lord's hands every night when we pray over you and ask that He guide us and you on this path. These past six months have been the hardest but best of our lives and we love you so much!!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Deck Dreams...


Dreaming of cool breezy evenings, having dinner outside... cold nights sitting and talking around the outdoor fireplace... warm afternoons, watching Charlie play in the grass... fun cookouts and parties... hot summer days involving a baby pool or a sprinkler...oh the fun to be had... one day!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Friday Night Fun


Friday night we went to the Music Rebuilds concert to see Jars of Clay, Switchfoot, Robert Randolph, and Third Day. We had a great time, but realized we were old when we starting yawning around 9:30 pm and took a few breaks out in the hall because it was too loud. Haha, tons of fun though and great to get out with some friends and family and leave Charlie behind... with his wonderfully-capable-loving-and-more-than-willing-to-babysit-anytime-Nana-and-Pop!!!! Thanks Nana & Pop for the night out!!! Here are a few pics from the night...




Jars of Clay



Alisha and I (with Paul squishing her head)



Switchfoot guy out in the middle of the crowd



By the way, my husband's cousin's husband knows him. :)


Paul getting sleepy at 9:30


Third Day