Happy birthday to me...

Today was my birthday and it was a day filled with all my favorite things. The day started with an amazing gift from Joe...because I am not much of a "flower" girl (a girl who enjoys, but doesn't really need flowers from her husband) Joe gave me a bouquet of small cards (36 of them for my 36 years of life.) Each card had a character trait that he sees in me on the front, and inside a simple but loving note from him and a scripture that fit perfectly. It was amazing and blessed me more than I can express.

Then we went to First Watch for a family breakfast...they have the best coffee in town! After Toby's attempts at a morning nap failed, we went to Emmenegger Nature Park to hike. It was a beautiful fall day, crisp air, great fall colors, and a bright blue sky! Just look at the great pictures, and this place is 5 minutes from our house!
Toby was obsessed with Joe's ears. He would switch off holding one ear and then the other...like it was his personal handle.
I'm not sure if Toby knows that he has those funny things on his head too.
The Meramec River borders the park here are some other pictures from the hike...

After the hike we headed for home, but first we stopped in at Sam's Club for a snack...they have the BEST soft pretzles around! Then it was home for afternoon naps for everyone!

Tonight Joe and I went to dinner and a movie. It was so great to spend an evening with Joe...and only Joe! It was a perfect day! I couln't have asked for anything more!

Oh, and one more thing...Toby decided to start using a pacifier at 10 1/2 months! Way to go kido...you are a quick learner.

the many faces of Toby

The month of November brings more personality! Toby is quickly learning the art of a temper tantrum. It's really amazing how he can go from the most pleasant, joyful child to tears and total frustration in a moment. It doesn't happen often, but he is sure to get in a little tantrum practice at least once a day.

The other day while sitting on my lap he went through several emotion in the course of a few minutes. I had the camera with me because I was hoping to get some pictures of him playing with a beam of sunshine that was coming through the window...that is one of my favorite things he does. But as soon as he saw the camera he wanted to know what it was all about. So while sitting on my lap you can see him check out the camera, want to grab it, I won't let him, he pouts and before you know it he's smiling again! Lord, help us when puberty arrives.
this one is the best...he turned it on in hopes that I will give in! What you can't see is that the face was accompanied with a slap of the arms and shoulders dropped.

the mood is turning...he is talking to me here, probably telling me what he thinks--good thing I can't understand him yet
and there you have it...we're back to smiles

*his red cheek was caused by a crawling injury...those are common these days and never last long.

Happy Halloween from our cowardly lion

Today Toby was forced into a photo shoot at studio de wilmot...

Enjoy the pics...and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

look at that booty! my mom saw him in this costume and started to sing..."I like big butts..." and you know the rest.

What a presious little face!

Toby's attempt at a roar...it's more whimper than roar, but it's really sweet

Sunday pictures

Sunday was a beautiful day, so we went to a small pumpkin patch in the neighborhood with Toby. Most moms would dress their child up in a great new fall outfit, but not this mom. After all, it is October in Red Sox Nation! GO SOX!

He was totally distarcted by the other kids playing around him to look at me or even smile.
here is a good one!

like father like son, Red Sox fever is speading. (Joe was trying to get Toby's attention, clearly something on the ground was more interesting to him)
He's still not too sure about grass, but he LOVES Max!

pics from around the house

my mom and I tried on Toby's Halloween costume to see if it still fit and to see what he'd think of it. He doesn't mind having a butt the size of his mother's, but he put up a fight when it came to the lion's mane.

He isn't growling here...although it kind of looks like it, he is in a mad dash to get that thing OFF HIS HEAD! His new favorite thing about bath time is playing with the water spout, and bath pictures are just cute, anyway.

ALL WIVES...must read!

Joe and I are taking a 10 week course, through our church, on marriage. It has been amazing! The first 2 weeks was directed to WIVES and discussed subtle ways in which we can disrespect our husbands without even realizing it. This was eye opening and convicting to me but I have been grateful for the lesson. Because it has been so impacting to me, I would like to pass it on to any wives who may read our blog. I pray that it encourages you as it has me.

Respect Your Husband

1. Respect, on every level, means the world to a man. (including sons, brothers, dads...any men)

2. Respect his family because of the position they hold in his life. Watch how you think about, talk about, and act towards his family.

3. Respect his friends and his right to choose his own friends and respect whom he chooses.

4. Respect his upbringing (how his family does Christmas, vacations, family traditions.)

5. Respect his jokes and story telling…don’t interrupt or roll your eyes.

6. Respect his opinion, his taste and preferences.

7. Respect him in conversations with others (friends, family, and kids.) Don’t make him the butt of the jokes, or put him down. Speak instead of what you love about him and tell what he is good at.

8. Respect his hobbies and interests. Don’t view it as a competition for attention or make it into a power struggle.

9. Respect his occupation.

10. Respect his salary. Respect how much he works, how hard he works and how much he gets paid.

11. Respect his ability to do the job somebody hired him to do. Don’t try to manage his career path.

12. Respect his feelings and his ability to handle your feelings. Be a safe person for him to share with.

13. Respect his requests—let him know that I have thought about him during the day. i.e. If he asks me to pick up his dry cleaning during the day…don’t forget! Set his request as a priority.

14. Respect your husband’s physical appearance (guys struggle just as much as women in this area.)

15. Respect his faults, failures, mistakes and weaknesses. Men are called to servant leadership and called to lead their wives in areas that they themselves may not be strong in. How do I respond to his mistakes? Does my desire to be right override my desire to love and respect my husband? Are we engaged in a partnership or a power struggle? He will be less inclined to lead if he hears about every mistake he makes. Note: we are not called to respect sinful choices or behaviors…confront in love.

16. Respect his sexuality…his sexual make up. Sit down and talk about needs, likes, dislikes, etc. The sexual arena can become a power struggle. Talk about frequency and which person initiates…this may become less romantic, but may help for a time.

17. Respect his ability to act, think and chose for himself. He is a grown man and can think for himself. The marriage relationship is an adult to adult relationship…not a parent-child relationship. Don’t confuse “wiving” and “parenting”…he doesn’t need a parent or a manager. Love your husband, parent your children.

At the end of the lesson, the husbands were given an assignment. They were to review all the areas of respect and let us (the wife) know 3-5 areas that are most important to him. This lead to great discussion and helps me to better understand and respect Joe.

Happy Respecting!

hilton head pictures...finally

toby is stretching his legs during a layover in atlantaour first stop was the beach, of course! (I think he might be pooping)saturday we went to the sea pines plantation

this is the 18th hole on the harbor town golf course in sea pines...picture taken from the top of the light house. it was a beautiful viewsea pines has cute rocking chairs in the shopping area for people to sit back and watch the world go by...so we gave it a try

Karl took joe and I out in their boat while christy stayed at the house with toby while he slept...it was such a treat!karl and christy were incredible hosts, and toby LOVED his time with them...we can't wait to go back! (although, karl and christy may have something to say about that)

We're moving...

not really, but Hilton Head is AMAZING and it's tempting. So much to do, so little time. We went to the beach, played golf, walked, went out in the boat, slept, talked, ate, read, and because it's October, which means post-season play for all the Red Sox fans out there, we watched baseball. It was a wonderful weekend and a total blessing to reconnect with Karl and Christy. I am so thankful to the Lord for allowing them to be apart of our lives.

I am having trouble adding pictures right now, and I am so tired...so I'll try again tomorrow...check back.

my husband is AMAZING!

I'd like to take a moment to let everyone know what an amazing man I am married to...if you know Joe, you know that he is loving, kind, totally compassionate and a born servant. And I, personally, am blessed by his love, patience, support, and encouragement of me. But this passed weekend another talent emerged! He fenced in our backyard. I have a new appreciation for what appears to be the simple chain link fence...it's not that simple!

Last week, during one of my melt downs (one of my many melt downs last week) I asked if we could get the backyard fenced in so I would be able to let Max out during the day and not have to watch him while he's out there. By "we" of course I meant Joe and his tools (it was a melt down moment.) Joe, being the incredible man that he is, changed what he was planning on doing and taught himself how to build a fence. He had never done anything like this before, but did an amazing job! After a few trips to the hardware store, many cuts, scrapes, and swollen hands, and several hours of work we now have a fenced in backyard! Max LOVES it!...so do I.

IT GETS BETTER...

to top it all off--Joe gave me an awesome surprise gift (an early birthday gift.) This weekend we are going on a family weekend get-a-way to visit friends in Hilton Head! I am so excited to take long walks on the beach and play in the sand with my husband and my son. We are all in need of some time away from the regular routine and time together. I love time with my family...I am so blessed!