11 months.

Last week, Bri turned 11 months old! It is SO hard to believe that in less than a month she will be celebrating her 1st birthday! Here is what she has been up to:

She loves to play with her new Little People Nativity Set! She is very partial to the red wiseman. He goes with her wherever she goes- I even let her go to sleep with him one night, but she stayed up playing and would never fall asleep, so I had to take him away. ha!

Wes is so proud of his little theologian studying the Scriptures.

Every day we practice the productive parenting skill of the day. Today, we learned how to take on and off a lid.

Aubri loves, loves, loves to play with Momma's Christmas tree. And it makes Momma crazy, crazy, crazy. If you only knew how long it took me to get that tree up, you would sympathize with me.

Still trying to master the sippy cup. We have tried 3 different kinds and are still struggling to get the hang of it. Any tips?

Aubri hamming it up!

All Bri wants to do these days is STAND UP! She will let go and stand up by herself for about 2 seconds. Way to go, girl! (Wes put these socks on her...he always thinks she is cold, so he goes overboard to keep her warm...Ha!)

Thankfulness.

What are you thankful for?

During the craziness of the Thanksgiving holiday accompanied by festive Christmas shopping, I never stopped and spent time thanking God.

When I finally did stop and begin thinking of the blessing to praise God for, my first thoughts were: health, family, financial provision... all of which are true and wonderful blessings from the Lord. However, once I began praying through each of those things, my heart was convicted. What is good health if you don't live for the Lord? What is having a family that isn't united in Christ? What is financial stability apart from Christ? What I truly need to be thankful for is my life in Christ. He has shown me through His word that we are called to "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Wes and I recently started praying through a handout our church provided called "30 days of Gratitude". It has drawn my attention to the precious gifts I all too often take for granted: my salvation, God's goodness, an entrance into God's presence, His Word, believing friends and family, His provision, faithfulness, steadfast love, and the list goes on.

May I encourage you to take a moment and praise the Lord for EVERYTHING- "Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20

Reformation Sunday

Every year our church celebrates Reformation Day (October 31). As most of you know, this commemorates the day when Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the cathedral door in Wittenburg, Germany, during the 16th century.
It's a fun time for our church to think about the founding father's of our faith and celebrate the Protestant Reformation. Most years, we have a HUGE Reformation Celebration and all the kids dress up, but this year we decided to have a church picnic at the local park. That didn't stop me from wanting Bri to have her turn to dress up. Wes thought she should be a Puritan. Ha! Here is a picture of our little Puritan in her first Reformation Day outfit!

A day of PUMPKINS!

We went ahead and set our clocks back today, so that our fun field trip to the Pumpkin Patch didn't conflict with Wes's flag football game and Bri's nap time. However, we had so much fun, she still ended up missing most of her nap.

Here's the rundown:

This afternoon, we headed to Mainstay farm to visit their pumpkin patch. It was AWESOME! Bri was still a little young for most of the festivities but we got some cute pictures and she will, hopefully, love it in the years to come!

Bri fell asleep on the way home, so we let her sleep a little later (Yes, we do sometimes veer off schedule, ha!). Once she woke up we decided to start carving the pumpkin we got at the farm. Bri was a little hesitant at first, but she warmed right up.

Cleaning out the insides.

My little helper.

My first time carving!

The finished project.

We finished up our pumpkin day with toasted pumpkin seeds and a pumpkin roll- 2 main reasons why I LOVE this time of year! YUM!

An afternoon at the park

The sun was out today, so Aubri and I headed for the outdoors. We spent the afternoon playing at the park. This park had the harness type swings, so Bri got to try it out all by herself! She LOVED it!


We both were beginning to get a little cabin fever with all the rain we have had. It was a great day to just sit outside and soak up the sunshine...

and explore LEAVES...

and see how they taste, of course! ha!

Flu Season

While talking to my sister this past week the topic of the flu came up. It seems like just about everyone we know has either had or has the flu. It is past the point of if you are going to get it but rather, when you are going to get it.

Well, we had our turn.

Wes got sick last Sunday and was out a full week. We took drastic measures (set up a quarantine, Lysolled the entire house every few hours, bought 4 bottles of hand sanitizer and 2 bottles of antibacterial soap, communicated with Wes via telephone to avoid him spreading the virus to me, etc.) to ensure that Aubri didn't get sick. (Which is why I haven't blogged lately...Wes had the computer held hostage in his flu infested quarters.) By God's grace, she has remained healthy.

We sure missed Wes this past week. But, Bri and I had some good girl time! We went shopping, we baked, we sewed...

What's girl time without a little lip gloss?

Aubri was SO happy when Daddy finally emerged from his room!

I know that many of you knew of our situation this past week and were fervently praying for us! We are so appreciative that we have friends and family that pray for us, call us, and encourage us. THANK YOU!

Funny Faces!

When it comes to baby food, Aubri can be pretty picky. She likes her food to be warmed up and if it cools mid-feeding, then she stops eating until it is warmed up again. Now I must admit, I cater to her pickyness. I am more than happy to warm and re-warm at her request.

Well, she has found a new favorite food. It is blueberries & apples. She would eat it all day long if I let her. If she won't eat a certain kind of veggie then I throw in a little blueberry & apple and she digs right in. It is a real blessing to have found this treasure!

So anyway, since she likes blueberries & apples so much, I decided to see if she would eat them cold-straight from the fridge. Now, mind you, she doesn't even eat things room temperature, much less COLD.
But she did...and it is so funny I had to share!