He Likes to Move it, Move it!

Carson is officially a walker. Its weird to be typing those words. This is a new phenomenon in our house. To have a child go through the normal progression of learning to walk between 13-14 months. Its so exciting for us!

Carson started taking steps around his birthday and over the last 2 months has progressed from 5-6 at a time, to 20 at a time, to now walking all over the house! It's insane! He absolutely loves to walk around, pick things up and put them back down. I think we get most excited when we see him go down into a deep squat and get something, or even just squat down and stay there. This is something that unfortunately, Brody still can not do. So its something we knew to watch for with Carson. And it looks like he's doing great!

We made a fun little video set to music of Carson walking around the house. Warning: We realize that not everyone will think this is as cute as we do. Its only 4 minutes long but we won't be offended if you don't watch the whole thing. This is more for the grandparents and those that are as excited as we are about Car-Baby taking off!

Big Boy Bed

This post is a little out of order. The weekend before we went to the lake, we decided that Brody was ready for his toddler bed.

A lot of kids his age have already been in toddler beds for months. But Brody had never tried to climb out of his crib. His legs just weren't strong enough. So we saw no need to put him in a bed that we couldn't keep him in. Well, he finally started trying to climb out and would actually get stuck sitting up on the top, probably more dangerous than just climbing all the way out. Plus, we want our boys to share a room soon. And having Brody already in a bed that he can get out of when he wakes up without waking up Carson is a necessity. So it was definitely time to make this change and get him transitioned before we tried the shared room thing.

So on a Saturday morning we made the change. This wasn't just a matter of simply changing out a rail on the bed. You see, we didn't purchase the toddler rail for Brody's crib. And Carson's crib came with a toddler rail. And cribs don't fit through doors...we tried. So we had to dismantle each crib and swap rooms. It was a nice, family activity that took all morning...and into the afternoon. Because nothing is easily done when you have the eager help of a 2 1/2 year old and 1 year old.

The final product of all of Daddy and Brody's hard work

Meet the bed time entourage. All of these guys must be ready and waiting to ensure a good night sleep for Brody. There is Nemo, an otter, a horse, Tigger that he's had since he was a newborn, Buzz, and 3 blankets in that stack. If one is missing, he will ask for it until we find it. Just imagine what its like when we travel. These guys get their own bag. Its kinda ridiculous. 

I was actually really dreading this transition. I just knew that he would keep coming out of his room and would put up such a fight to take naps and go to bed at night. I had heard all these stories of kids who just refused to stay in their toddler beds in the beginning. And he completely surprised us. He's had his moments, but for the most part he's done great. I can actually only think of 1 time that's he's gotten out of bed at a nap. That doesn't mean that he doesn't cry to get up sometimes, but he never gets up without permission. And what's funny, he won't even come out after he wakes up. He'll call for one of us, just as he would when he was in a crib. So we're going to have to work on that before we try the shared room thing.

Brody Boy, you are growing up way too fast! Slow down a little, will ya? 

2010 Zoo Trip

We decided to head to the Waco zoo last Tuesday with Mimi. Brody loves animals and this year actually knows what things are so we thought he'd enjoy getting to go see some of them for real. Although Carson has no idea what anything is, we knew he'd be happy just getting to ride around outside in the stroller.

We got there soon after it opened so that it was still cool and hopefully animals would be out. What we didn't know was that it was "habitat work day." As in the day that half of the animals are back in the back somewhere while the workers clean and work on the cages, habitats, etc. It wasn't on the calendar. I'm thinking they should let people know these things. So we made the best of it and Brody got excited about the animals he did get to see. Brody's favorites were the rhino, giraffe and the fish. At least that's the favorites he says today. Tomorrow it may be the huge turtle (although he was terrified of it) and the lion. We were really sad that the otters weren't out because they have a slide that goes through the otter habitat and they are swimming above you. Brody asked for the otters the entire trip...so we had to buy a souvenir otter in the gift shop that he now sleeps with every night.

These were really close to us and Brody wasn't sure about them.

This is his opinion of the turtles.

Cute little Carson Butterfly.
Brody has this new aversion to pictures being taken of him so he refused this one.

They both loved the aquariums and kept pointing at everything.

Had to make sure we got a picture of Nemo.

And Dori. She really was the right color blue but my flash made her turquoise.

Brody in the Tee-Pee.
I caught him in a smile only because he was playing and happened to turn around excited.
*To the right of this tee-pee were the buffalo. When Brody was telling Matt about his trip to the zoo, he told him that monkeys were riding on the backs of the buffalo. What a nut!

We all loved the giraffe.

Carson's first horse back riding experience. 

He actually really enjoyed this although the photo doesn't appear that way. He was coming out of a laugh and had a funny face.

Caught him while he wasn't looking

There's a spirit can ne'er be told.

It's the spirit of Aggieland. 

I don't claim to be the proudest member of the Aggie Alum. (Even though we are supposed to say that when we give our year. And it looks that way at our wedding.)  I mean, I DO love the Aggies. What kind of Aggie grad would I be if I didn't love them? But there are a lot of other things in my life that are just far more important.

But I will say that there's something about this time of year that makes me love the Aggies a little more than I do the rest of the year. I think there's something about living in a college town that gets you a little fired up when football season starts. There's something in the air.

A newness.

A hope.

A chance that maybe this will finally be the year. The restaurants and local businesses fly their flags. People start whooping in churches instead of saying Amen. There's just something different.

Today is the first game. We've already hit up the tent sales...twice...to get some new duds for the season. I'm excited about my cute grey and pink girly Aggie shirt. I have enough maroon to last a lifetime so I thought it was time for a change. See, I'm not the proudest member. Some people out there think its a crime to wear anything but maroon to a game.

So at 6pm tonight we'll be on the 3rd row of the Zone. In an armchair seat. I halfway think this could be the reason I'm excited about the game. An armchair seat. No one squeezing me out of my seat. And it has a back. I don't think I'll ever be able to go to a game and be content sitting anywhere else. I think it will be hard not to get into the action when you're that close. When the Ags score we'll be able to high five them...if only they'd come over there. Our pastor's son, Garrett, is on the opposing team (SFA) today. I told him that he was allowed to score a touchdown, do a dance, and find us and say it was for me.

I hope that if we lived in a different town where the world didn't revolve around my alma mater that I'd still have excitement when the season started. Even if you don't like football, you can't help but love your team. When I see my grandfather and his undying love for the Gators, I see Matt in 50 years. That will be him. Decked out in his A&M wind suit. Willing to talk about his team 24/7 year round. Sometimes more than others want to hear. But with a deep rooted love that only Christ and his family can beat out.

Does anyone else get a little excited as football season starts? My enthusiasm usually fades about mid season when things aren't turning out the way we all anticipated at the beginning of the season. But maybe this year will be different. Just maybe...

*Please note that although I love the start of the season, I do NOT like the enormous amounts of traffic, the long lines at restaurants, and the inability to live like a normal person in my town. No shopping. No eating out. No going ANYWHERE on game day except to the game. And you're lucky if you make it there alive and find somewhere to park without being towed. Its crazy how your opinions of these things change when you are out of college. As a student, its just part of life. As an adult, its just a nuisance.

August Lake Trip

The weekend of Matt's birthday we planned a lake trip with my parents and Matt's parents. Its so great that our parents all get along so well. It allows us to do fun little trips with both sets of parents and allow them all to get to experience fun things in their grandchildren's lives. 

So, on that Friday, Matt's parents squeezed in with us into our loaded down Expedition and made the 3 hour trip to the lakehouse. My parents had gotten there earlier and had all our rooms ready for us. We stayed Thursday night through Sunday and had a great time playing in the water, tubing and wakeboarding and getting way too much sun. 

Brody closes his eyes to block the wind when the boat goes fast. He closed them so long that he fell asleep at the wheel! 

Carson trying to decide if this mud thing is going to work out. 

Not pictured: The mud was a hit. He was covered in it!

Brody giving Papa a mud bath.

This boy LOVES the lake. We had to drag him on to the boat to head back to the house.

Daddy and Carson

Learning how to pull in the anchor

The boat ride back to the house at the end of day 2. 

Sweet boy was worn out after 2 days playing in the sun. 

The last morning the guys (minus Carson and Brody) went out and caught a bunch of little yellow bass. 

Brody is keeping an eye on them while we take a picture.

And when one jumped, he WAS NOT happy about it.

Thanks mom and dad for being such great hosts! We had a great time! Can't wait to come back!

I have a secret...

Really. I do. A little secret that when Matt reads this he'll say "Why don't you tell me these things?"

I don't tell anyone these little quirks about me because..well..I don't really know. Maybe I feel like its dorky? That others will judge me or make fun of me. But how ridiculous does that sound?

So here goes....

I have a secret love of writing. See, its dorky.

I express myself better that way. Far better than speaking. Its hard for me to talk about feelings or thoughts but give me some paper or a computer, and I can write it out for you easily. I think that's why I enjoy having a blog. Not because I want the whole world to know my deepest inner thoughts. They aren't really that deep or important. But because its a way for me to get things out.

When I was in kindergarten or first grade, my best friend and I would write books. I would write and she would illustrate. We always said that one day we'd write a book together. In college, I majored in journalism and she majored in graphic design. So see, those kids out there that say you want to be an astronaut when you are 5, you may still have that desire when you grow up! So Laura, one day, this book will happen!

Sometimes I still do have a desire to write a book. I have no idea what it would be about. Probably fiction because I'm not smart enough about anything non-fiction. Or maybe some children's books. I do have a few ideas of those in my head.

So, my dorky confession is out. I love to write. Just sit down and let my thoughts and ideas flow. Sometimes about life, my family and how great God is. Sometimes about absolutely nothing. I used to journal a lot. Maybe I should start again. In a real, paper journal where the world wide web can't see. But also, I feel like blogging is good for me. Since I'm not good at sharing things about myself with my friends, its a way to let you in. Let you see the real me and my thoughts.

So if you now think I'm a dork and are judging me, you might want to unsubscribe from my blog because I might just start writing on here more. :)

To All the College Students....

6 Years ago, I was one of you. My first Sunday. Walking through those doors for the first time. I was probably greeted by someone. My first observation was not one that I'm proud of. "Wow, there are some pretty people here. Very stylish." That was my first impression. I walked in the sanctuary with my best friend. The music was ROCKIN'! LOVED IT! And then this guy got up on the stage and began to preach. I don't remember what the sermon was about, but I remember thinking that this guy was intense. But I liked it.

That was my first Sunday at Living Hope. Yesterday, a couple hundred college students strolled back in the doors after being gone for the summer. Some of you for the first time. I thought about you all through the service. What was your impression today. I pray that it was deeper than my shallow observation six years ago. (However, I'm not even kidding, I had never seen so many pretty guys and girls at a church before. It definitely seemed like the "cool" church to be at.) What was God stirring in your heart. Would you ever be back. I prayed that you would. I prayed that you would fall in love with Jesus here and get plugged in and let us get to know you. Because I didn't do that as a college student.

I started going to LH with my best friend when I was a junior. I liked it. It was, like I said, cool. The music was powerful. The sermons were powerful and I knew that Butch was speaking truth. But they sure had a lot of requirements of their members. They even expected us "super busy" college students to go to this small group thing once a week. You know, get a free meal, get to know people, talk about the Lord, make some of the best friends you could ever have. I just didn't have time for that. I remember even talking about how it was ridiculous that they would expect that from us. And that they couldn't MAKE me go. So I went through my junior year just "going to church." Even though the leadership was very clear that just going to church at Living Hope wasn't allowed. I started dating Matt that year. We got engaged that following summer. We even took Purpose Driven Life that summer. And I don't think we even finished reading the book. We were both just doing enough to get by.

We got married the spring of 2006, the spring of my senior year. Matt was on a softball team with some guys from church. I remember one night after a game, this one guy named Charlie asked Matt if we were going to a hope group. (those small groups I was talking about).

Ashamedly, Matt stammered "No."

"Well we would love to have you visit ours," Charlie said.

I am so glad Charlie invited us. I'm sure we would have "gotten around to it" eventually. But this hope group started to mold and change us. We became close with our group. We began to realize the need for community. We began to serve and get plugged in. And this Charlie guy and his family, well, you can't help but love them. We loved them so much we had to move next door. We eventually had to move on to a new hope group, and they eventually went to a new church, New Life, but this family still has a special place in our hearts.

We plugged in to a new hope group and stayed there for 2 years. And now this family is like a second family to us. They love our children and oh how my kids love Mr. Don and Mrs. Kelli. And this is where we met these people that we love so much.

And now its time for us to start a new hope group. With a new family and new faces. I'm excited to grow close to a new group of people. We aren't replacing the old relationships, just adding to our community.

This wasn't supposed to be about hope group. But about how much of a blessing it is to serve and get plugged in. We are serving willingly in ministries. And excited about the new semester now that all of you college students are back. A few years ago, not so much.

So this is my plea to you.

Get plugged in. Once you know that this is where the Lord is calling you, jump in full steam. You'll be so blessed it will knock your socks off. Do I think that Living Hope is the only church in town where you can get saved and grow closer to the Lord? Absolutely not! But I know that I love that place. The people. The gospel that is preached. This church isn't about hope groups or ministries or taking classes. Its about the gospel of Jesus Christ. About Salvation. These other things are just wonderful things that God uses to speak to us and use us to further his kingdom.

I know that half of you that showed up yesterday won't be back. Butch knows that and even said it in the service. But I am ready to meet and get to know the other half of you that plan on sticking around!