Last year…

and this year…

okay so Carter is not a fan of costumes. lol. We thought we bought the CUTEST lil monkey costume for him. the main piece of course being the head piece which ultimately lets you know that he IS, in fact, a monkey. Well, there was NO WAY that was happening. We attached the head piece under his chin and he immediately took hold of the ears, attempting to jerk it off. To his frustration the headpiece did not move, he just ended up giving himself whiplash, so then our angry little monkey dissolved into tears. Not wanting to deal with that all evening, we went with the headless monkey costume.

poor guy was still not thrilled with the costume. he remained very serious while we trick or treated. no tears. no grumpies…just very, very serious and snuggly. However, as soon as it was over and we stripped into street clothes for dinner, he was back to a smiley, happy baby.

Ah well!!
happy halloween friends!

thanks rebecca, for the photo!!! :)

another super fun, super wonderful weekend of family staying with us! This weekend we had Jim, Lori, Riley and Carson at our house. We love them so much and as always, it was great to be together. The decibel level was crazy, the kiddos laughed and screamed and chased the dog, they had tantrums (oh wait, that was just OUR kid-lol), and we all soaked the moments up. The adults hung in there until 8 pm each night…that magical hour when quiet was restored and the peanuts went to bed.
The first night we were all together, we were sitting at the table eating dinner when Riley looked at Carter and said, “his head looks like a little meatball.” This was the moment, our boy got his nickname-at least as far as these cousins are concerned. ha ha.
Again, I don’t have to time to summarize their stay at this very second. I’m hoping to find an hour tomorrow to blog for real so we always remember these past two weeks for what they were. In the meantime a few pictures.

Carson and Riley. our little loves.

it’s good to be cousins. :)

Riley, we love you!

peek a boo giggles

Carter-looking so sweet right before a colossal meltdown while painting pumpkins.

our munchkin learned to crawl up the stairs this weekend. He now wants to crawl onto everything.

that’s how we feel when family come to visit. it was a perfect weekend from start to finish. I have many words brewing inside me to paint a picture of the past couple days but I’m afraid there’s no time to write today. So for now a few pictures.

We forgot the camera when we went to the storytelling festival-which is sad because it was gorgeous outside and the streets were lined with pumpkins and hay-perfect for photo ops. Ah well, we got some fun ones hanging out together indoors.

Dad and Rhonda-thank you. You have no idea how much this weekend meant to us. We love you!

our little punkin

bouncin to the beat

kyle and the peanut

about to be impaled by 1.5 teeth

one thing not suggested by our pediatrician, in an effort to get our little man to eat.

if it’s a toss up between grass and hay…the hay wins, hands down.

dad saves the day

first fall clothes…ready for some football!

touchdown!!

We sat in a field tonight and twirled and danced to bluegrass.
go ahead and laugh.
I. Loved. It.

While I dipped and twirled the cutest, most kissable bald guy out there, I took a minute to survey our peers. Lots of beards; lots of old man base ball caps; lots of kiddos running wildly through the grass. It was small town, that’s for sure. Carter entertained the older ladies with his one tooth smile.
I think I was made for this stuff. Nights like this make me happy to my core. Kyle and I walked hand in hand, with Carter in tow. We took pictures by the pumpkins and by the rows of corn. We introduced Carter to baked beans and chocolate cake. We sat in lawn chairs, beneath a rainbow. It was good.

I dwelled in the memory of those happy moments as we drove home, enveloped in the deafening screams of our son-who was obviously up past his bedtime. When I got him home and attempted to change his clothes it was more of the same: back arching, snot pouring, gnashing of his 1.5 teeth. Kyle warmed a bottle while I tried to reign the beast in. Finally, with the bottle secure, and his blankey snuggled close, his little lids hovered half open.
peace.
We rocked and rocked and soon, he drifted off to sleep.

We take a million pictures of life as we live it -the zoo; the pumpkins; the fields but these are the moments that a still frame just can’t capture. The innumerable minutes where we rock and pray. Where we sing and kiss and cuddle. The nighttime moments where we sit in the soft light, and I stare at every curve of his little face. It’s hard for me to believe he wont remember this-these fleeting first months that we’ve lived as a family of three.

Carter is about to be 10 months which is almost unbelievable to me. Over the past 4 weeks, he’s had one tooth pop through and there’s another one is on it’s way. He had his 9 month appt where he weighed in at 17 lbs and is 29 inches tall. He says ma ma ma all the time. He crawls all over the house-still an army crawl but impressively speedy. He cuddles. He doesn’t cry when we drop him off at the nursery. He eats table food-only bites but appears to love this which is a huge improvement from the gagging antics that took place when trying to brain wash him into eating baby food. He laughs like my mom. He laughs hysterically when other people laugh. He wants a piece of Stinky so bad he can’t stand it. We love him. We adore his little bald head. I like that he rests his cheek on my shoulder when people get in his personal space, while I’m holding him. I love his little baby babble as he chats throughout the day.
I love that for now, for this night, he delighted in bluegrass music as we danced and bounced in the fields.
and I can deal with the beast that occasionally takes hold of my baby, because I know he’s still in there, waiting to be held, and loved, and snuggled.
I will remember these moments that have bound us together as family, long before his memory is formed.

twirling in the fields, under the rainbow.
rocking, sleeping, loved.

a few quick pics of Carter’s 9th month, before time gets away from me! I’ll write more in a day or two-he’s grown SO much this month.
First a few pics from this past weekend and the zoo!
in the eyes of our child, this camel alone was worth the trip…

the friendly goats

we got to see the huge gorilla up close and personal

practicing the monkey face

hanging with ryan and tara

favorite new toy!!

best doctor’s appt yet…no shots, balloons, and plenty of snuggles

happy 9 months, sweet boy!

mom sent me a couple of pictures from her trip to see my brother and Lara. We were so sad that we couldn’t join them but we hope to see them ALL sometime soon. ;) For those who have asked about how mom is…it should make you feel better to see her face! :) She continues to say she looks pregnant-but I would argue “not so much”! Please continue to pray for her.

A word about George and stephanie-also pictured in these pics. They have been friends of my parents for years. We grew up, in part, with trips to their house or vice versa. You guys look amazing! So wish i could have been there for the reunion. Mom and Chris couldn’t say enough good things about you!

we got home today and there was a fun package waiting for us to open. It was a little something to celebrate the first tooth! love that! I’m posting this for dad and Rhonda…we thought you would want to see how much our peanut loves his gift. pay no attention to the inedible strap that my child chews on the entire time we rolled. :)

love you guys! thanks for the laughs.

Yesterday I stood in an auditorium, facing my friend, with our hands linked together. All over the room, pairs of people were lumped together-all doing their best to repeat the challenge we’ve been given. We stood there staring at each other, with tears pouring down our faces.

Now, before I go any further, let me be clear. I don’t normally enjoy demonstrative group activities…and I wasn’t exactly thrilled, nor comfortable with my present situation. I don’t typically stare into people’s eyes…nor do I have a regular habit of holding both of people’s hands while talking to them; never mind that we were insanely close together. friend or no friend…not so much my thing. In fact, I might go so far as to say that had I known we were going to do this, it might have made me reconsider my weekend plans. ;)

Nonetheless, in those moments there was pressure. We were told what to do, and as far as I could see, everyone was following suit. So there I stood; hands linked, voice shaking. The ugly cry hovering on my lashes.

A month or so ago, when I first heard of the conference, a part of me believed I was supposed to go alone. My heart has been so disconnected from God and from community that I was sure He would want me there alone, so He could deal with me one on one. It would have been easier to do this activity with a total stranger. I’m convinced, there would not have been any tears…because a stranger wouldn’t know my heart. With a stranger, I could receive my challenge and then walk out of the auditorium, and into the world without any human follow up.

So really, it’s not all that surprising that I was uncomfortably staring into the eyes of my friend. I have a feeling, I was exactly where He wanted me to be.

A lot of life has happened over the past few weeks. The most heart breaking has been the diagnosis of cancer in sweet John Marr. Anyone who knows us, knows how unbelievably precious the Marr family is to us and when they ache, we cannot help but ache with them and for them. At the conference this past weekend, we talked about prayer that comes from the deepest parts of us. The prayers where we cry…’please, God, please’…as we beg Him to heal our loved ones, or to rescue those in the throws of addictions. We cry out for God to take searing pain out of our lives and from the lives of ones we love the most. I was reminded this weekend of how tender He is to our cries and that when the answer is to wait…or even, no, it’s because His glory is at stake.

Hearing that gave me these little snap shot images of the Marr’s over these past few weeks. John, after his diagnosis, sitting in his hospital bed, talking about God’s grace and sovereignty; able to laugh and play with babies; to hug and hold people extra close; able to hope. Yvonne, always, faithfully at his side. Becca, tucking her babies in, praying with them for Baboo, waiting for their child-like questions about sickness, and then at the end of a long day, going to the hospital once they’d fallen asleep to be with Tony. And Tony, who with a very broken heart, stood on stage and led worship at church. Tony is a teaching pastor and he’s taught so many important lessons over the past few years. But his most powerful message to date took place last week as he stood in front of us and offered His praise and his heartache to a God who’s still Good.

That type of living, changes those who are watching. I understand what Beth means when she says, ‘His glory is at stake’. It doesn’t make it any easier, but I get it. The real life moments of those we’ve walked with as of late, are more powerful then any sermon I’ve ever heard.

The challenge we gave each other yesterday as tears poured down our faces, is to dwell in this land. To really truly dwell in it. We have one life and a piece of the world beneath our feet; we’ve been commanded to get out there and to do some good.

So for as much as I griped about the awkward moments, eye to eye with my friend, I’m grateful I wasn’t there alone. In addition to life and grace, God’s given us each other to live with. He knows we might do more, when encouraged by loved ones to get out of our comfort zones and live. To my Marr’s and the ladies with me this weekend, I love, love, love you. Thanks for helping me see.