Christmas 2011

This year to help us celebrate in our new home we decided to start a new tradition. Carter asked if we could go the the Christmas Tree Farm and pick the "most perfect tree". So just after Thanksgiving we headed to Stonycreek Farms to find our special tree. Now if you have ever read The Three Trees (which we read every year at Christmas), you will know why I had a hard time doing this, but in the end we picked out the most beautiful tree and brought it home. And it filled our living room with so much light and beauty that it brought a smile to my face every single day!

I smile even bigger when I see this little cutie
and my heart jumps for joy at the sound of his voice!




All hands pitched in to make the first cut and then it was all daddy and Carter from there. Aren't they the cutest little lumberjacks you have ever seen?

We had a wonderful Christmas full of good food, sweet treats, family, friends and everything GI Joe!

Operation Christmas Child

Every year, especially around the holidays, Matt and I try to find something special for Carter to do for the good of others. Whether it be donating items to the Freecycle event that our church hosts, adopting a family at Christmas, or donating food to the food banks, we just try to teach Carter to care first for those in need. This year, along with other things we are doing, Carter decided himself that he wanted to be involved in Operation Christmas Child. If you are not familiar with it, Samaritans Purse collects shoeboxes full of essentials and small gifts and then delivers them all around the world to underprivileged children and orphanages. And since it was his idea, we went with it and for an entire weekend that was his only thought and mission....to fill the boxes! We started with just him doing one, and then he told us that we needed to do one as well, and if we are doing three, why not do 4....so somewhere out there 4 little kids will be so happy to get a gift from us!....amongst the millions that are being donated across the country.

To get things started we selected our boxes....all large enough to hold lots of goodies. Except there was one box that was really small and I told Carter "well, buddy lets find another, that is just too small" and he insisted "mom, it is perfect, it will hold lots". I opened it up and nearly started to cry because this is what we found. A shoeprint printed in the bottom and the lid had this message....Carter was right, the box was perfect for our cause!

although the company was clearly talking about recycled products I could not stop thinking about it's new use and the message it could send to a child in need....that indeed a shoebox just might be able to change the world, but if not the world, at least perhaps the life of a child. To recieve a gift with such a message could be the inspiration needed to keep stepping forward in the pursuit of changing their destiny. so maybe not the box itself, but the message it sends could make a difference!



Carter wanted to draw a picture for the 10-14 year old girl we bought the journal for, along with other goodies!

He loved picking things out for the 5-9 year old boy as well...legos, puzzle, matchbox car, socks, and essentials. I think the little boy will be very pleased!

Posing with his 4 gifts before we take them to be donated.

Carter, your sense of compassion never ceases to amaze me. You are a kind boy with a big heart and God's love surely lives within you. May you continue to love the Lord and yourself. I promise as your mother to nurture your desire to follow Christ and become the person God has chosen you to be! With all my love, your momma

Halloween...a month ago!

Meet Capt Jack, who took every minute of Halloween very seriously and played the role well. From striking poses to gathering his loot, Carter really enjoyed being a pirate!

Here is Carter with Ceili as Taylor Swift, and Keaton as Justin Bieber and our little cupcake Kenley

all smiles for his bag full of loot!

Down on the Farms

On Friday, Matt took a much needed and well deserved day off work to spend time with me and Carter. We started the day off at Traders Point Creamery touring the farm, hiking, and of course taking tons of pictures. We finished up with lunch at The Loft and walked out enjoying off-the-farm milkshakes...so yummy! We had clear blue skies, crisp autumn air and enough barns and farm animals to make my heart smile!

Later that afternoon Carter donned his Capt Jack costume and we met up with family at the Indianapolis Zoo Boo. The kids loved trick-or-treating in their costumes at the zoo and seeing the animals so active was an added bonus!

Aren't they all just the cutest little trick-or-treaters you have ever seen?!

And then on Sunday we took Carter to Stonycreek Farm to pick a pumpkin. All I can say is "LOVED IT!"

From the oh so pretty trees to the big barns and all the animals to the hayride and pumpkin patch, this place was so much fun! I believe my favorite part was that the pumpkin patch is in the midst of their Christmas Tree farm which for me is pure bliss, joining two of my most favorite things...fall and Christmas and then you through my hubby and my son into the mix and I was in pure heaven!!

So above, I am pretty sure that Betty is asking Bob, "so, umm, how exactly do you think we can get out of this cage". and I am pretty sure that I heard Carter answer that you have to crawl through the tractor tires, slide down the huge slide and laugh all the way home! Have I ever told you that I have a secret love for chickens.

and a pure crush on these two...my heart skips a beat!

He is just too handsome for words!
and so is this old brick barn with red trim and rotten wood...my heart skips a beat again!

Sept 6, 2011 Back to School

So here he is on our new front porch posing for his back to school pictures. He was all smiles and all poses for his big day! And when he got to school he was excited to know that one of his teachers Mrs Parker, was actually one of my preschool teachers 27 years ago....and she is just as excited to have him! And I of course was excited that he got her and Mrs Basch because she welcomes him everyday with a smile and a hug and sometimes even a kiss. I love the fact that while he is there he is being cared for by women who really love kids and really love teaching!

But i really don't like how stinkin' big he is looking! I wish I could just push pause!
Nothing says back to school like mums for the teachers and a big red school door!

Turkey Run~~ August 2011

Matt and I have always loved to take a day and go hiking in Turkey Run State Park and we were so excited that this year Carter was able to hike over 3 miles with us all on his own. It included 3miles of hiking and over 400 stairs and 2 ladders, and the little cutie just kept putting one foot in front of the other! He was even able to scale this big boulder all on his own and waited patiently while I mustard up the nerve to climb it myself! I swear I think I get more cautious and more nervous as I age. I hate to see me when I am sixty!

Here we all are acting silly while having so much fun! Carter and I crawled into a cave and acted like bears while he and daddy had a punching match at the punch bowl. Then it was off to skipping rocks...but don't skip that one it is shaped like a heart! A perfect rock for my two loves!

Carter and daddy tried their hand at fishing but the fish weren't having any...no bites but lots of smiles!

And, while we were hiking we kept coming across the cutest little Amish family...umm so they were cute but they weren't little. They had to charter a bus there was so many of them! Anyways, I desperately wanted a picture of this one little boy with his blonde bowl cut hair, blue eyes, suspenders with his shoes off resting against a wooden fence. But out of respect I just passed by making a mental note of the cutest little thing! Then after we were fishing we climbed the hill to find this....their bikes and all their clothes and them running full force into the lake! So I settled for a picture of their bikes!

To love this place

It only took one night to love this place. We woke the very first morning feeling like we had lived here 100 years. With it's big front porch, wood floors, millions of windows, cozy fireplace, big backyard, it just feels like "us"! We have spent the summer watching little birds be hatched in our new lilac, clipping numerous roses from the beds, and planting and painting and grouting a little too! We have a few projects under our belt and a few more underway! But we are taking our time and trying to enjoy this place that is so easy for us to love!

We had our very first get together on the 4th of July for our 1st Annual Slip 'n Slide Party! I am telling you now, if you missed it you truly missed one heck of a time. From BBQ and sweet tea to rum runners and corn on the cob to a 100 foot slip n' slide there was a little something for everybody! And by all the smiles we saw I think everybody had a pretty good time!

I simply cannot wait until next summer for round II !