All Hallows Eve Eve

Getting ready with the spooky treats.

We're setting up the wii in the backyard with a bed sheet and a projector. Tomorrow night shall be a battle to the death with some life sized wii action. Here is Rob practicing with a ninja.

I was sick....

...but my daddy brought me roses and a balloon and now I feel better.

The Parental Units

Just enjoying these beautiful days with little B in our neighborhood. We sure are going to miss this 'hood. We built out here because we loved the floor plans, the lake, the walking trails... But we are excited about finding the perfect neighborhood in KC. Keep praying for our house to sell. We have had several people look at it, but no contract yet. Maybe the perfect family will come along who enjoy taking their baby up to the park as much as we do.

Your weekend wasn't as cool as mine.....

...because you didn't go to a sop fest.

What is a sop fest you may ask? Well, truthfully, I don't know. Yes, I did go to one this weekend, but I still don't think I have truly grasped that power that is the sop. From what I could tell it was a syrup soppin' festival and you could buy biscuits, sop them in syrup, watch a mule make syrup, and buy some fantastically kitschy crafts.

We didn't intend to sop. We were actually going to Atlanta with our friends Phil and Corey to the mecca otherwise known as IKEA. Phil just got married and needed new furniture for his house. His wife was having a girl's weekend, so we volunteered to take Phil. You know, tryin' to squeeze in all that quality time before the big move. So, we loaded up our rockin' mini van, grabbed our friend Corey who is always up for an adventure, and headed east. However, Corey informed us that there was sop on the way.
And so we did. Sop that is. And it was good. Oh, yeah. And so was IKEA.

My Great Uncle loves me

LOST Season 5 promo!!!!!!

LOST Season Five Official Trailer #1 - video powered by Metacafe

I've ruined her already

So my same friend Jen who told me to lay the kid in the front of the shopping cart got on to me again for feeding her Gerber baby food. She told me to just feed her off the table and to stop the expensive insanity. I told her that would only work if I cooked. Which I do. When I feel like it. But I can't mush up Bagel Bites every night so it might not work in our house.

But anyway, I took her advice to heart. I squashed a banana. She hated it. I pureed an apple. She turned up her nose. I mashed up some peas. She stared at me in disdain. I gave her some left over potatoes from last night (See, I actually cooked!!) and she looked at me and said, "Where the crap are my Stage 3 chicken and dumplings, Mom?"

So anyway, most of you are aware of my struggle with processed Gerber over au natural. I have declared a victor and I don't want to hear anymore about it.

Proof...

...of the post below

He tries

I am posting a picture of the world's dumbest dog. I mean it. What you see him doing in this picture is all he does. He stares. Oh, and he might sit for you. Maybe. If he feels like it. Sometimes I try my best to get him to shake and his eyes get really big like, "Oh no. The human is talking to me again. I just. can't. understand. what. she's. saying!!"

When talking about Kirby's latest adventure (or lack thereof) our friend Shane said it best when he said, "I never believed that a dog could have a learning disability until I met Kirby." Rob did discover him in Texas so we tried speaking simple commands in Spanish to see if anything rang a bell, but no, that wasn't the problem either.

We love Kirby. We really do. But I decided to post this because I sat down at the computer after working all day and I told the dogs to go outside. Meg picked up her toy and ran to the backyard and Kirby stared at me. I told Kirby again and he stared at me. I drug him by the collar to the backyard and watched him relieve himself. I told them to come back in. Meg picked up her toy and ran to her bed. Kirby stared at me. He is now in the backyard wondering still what that human meant with those crazy words.

Anyone need a drummer?

Click here

Pumpkin Patch

I guess every person with a child is supposed to visit a pumpkin patch. How I lived thirty years without knowing this is a mystery to me, but there you have it. I knew that my sister went every year, but little did I know that even if you have a 2 week old, you take a picture of them in a cornucopia. This was revealed to me by visiting all our friends blogs and by every single person at our church either inviting us to a pumpkin patch or telling me which weekend they were going. We were never invited until we had Bennett, so all of you couples there without kids- be prepared to go even if it is raining and in the middle of your child's naptime. Oh, and be prepared to stand there while your spouse takes 563 pictures. Oh, wait. That's just my spouse.

But despite my ignorance to the ways of the fall world, pumpkin patches are a lot of fun. Hey,it's cool with me. I already loved fall, hayrides, pumpkins, and family time, so why not combine it all into one fun afternoon? Here are our requisite pictures. Well, here are a few of my favorites from said 563.

My family shot (Oh, all of the comments are from Bennett's perspective. Just didn't want you to be confused. So there.)

Me and my cousins

Ridin' a horse with my grandaddy. Well, he's not ridin' but you know what I mean.

Mommy and Daddy Suttle

My bestest cousin for-evah. I spent the night with her and she told me that all night.
My Aunt LiLi

Thank you

I just wanted to thank everyone for their well wishes. I have received more e-mails and calls this week than any other week of my life- except maybe the week of my wedding. I have been pretty busy this week between work, cleaning out closets and cabinets, packing, taking care of a 7 month old, and trying to spend every spare second with friends and family. I will do my best to keep the blog updated as much as possible, but I do ask for your continued prayers. I have never felt more encouraged in my life than I have this past week so thank you all so much.

A quick picture of me and my girl. My calm in the in the midst of all the chaos.

There's no place like home

I have been wanting to write this post for about a month now, but I also wanted to wait until Rob had announced it to the church. Many of you heard this morning that we will be moving to Kansas and so I have finally felt like I was able to write about it. I didn't want anyone hearing about it on our blog before we had let our church family know.

Rob has taken a position at the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. It is right outside of Kansas City and Rob will be serving as the director of video production. I cannot say enough good things about this church. When we flew out for Rob's interview I really didn't know what to expect. It had all come about so quickly and leaving Montgomery and Frazer at this point in time had never entered my mind. But Rob and I were both floored by the people we met, the church itself, Kansas City, and the unique opportunities to follow God's leading in a new place of ministry. We also heard amazing things about the school systems and I loved how much there was to do in Kansas City. I grew up in northern Virginia and I saw many similarities between the two areas and that made me very excited for Bennett and for any future children we may have. Rob loved the church and is excited to be a part of a dynamic team that will challenge him and help him grow his creative abilities.

This was not an easy decision. We love Frazer. We love Montgomery. We love our friends and our family. My entire family is here or very close by. On the plane ride home I prayed over and over for clarification and wisdom. During the week in which we wrestled with this decision I would cry one minute and then be so excited the next. The verse that calmed me and gave me so much peace was James 4:13-16. "Look here, you people who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog-it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, 'If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.' Otherwise you will be boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil."

After reading that verse over and over and spending much time in prayer, we decided to go. I am going to be honest. It's hard. The reactions I have gotten from my friends and family have been difficult. The e-mails, phone calls, and messages of support have almost been enough for me to rip the For Sale sign out of my yard and re-consider. You all have been so kind and it means so much to me to hear how we have been so appreciated and loved. Thinking of taking Bennett so far away from her grandparents and cousins who see her almost every day and adore her is a very hard thing. Leaving the Contemporary Worship service that we have helped shape from day one is almost unbearable.

But, we are so excited about this opportunity and the chance to serve where the Lord is calling us. It came to a point where I felt that we would be in direct disobedience to God if we didn't go. James goes on to say in the very next verse, verse 17, "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."

We will keep everyone posted as we go along. I do humbly ask for you to keep us in your prayers. Please pray that our house will sell. Things couldn't be worse in the economy, but God is bigger than all of that and how can I say that I trust Him if I never attempt to do so? Pray for our final days with my family. Please pray that we will create many memories and that Bennett will be able to soak up the time with her grandparents, aunt, uncles, cousins, and Nana. Please pray for our replacements at Frazer. We know the the Lord is leading some amazing people to that church. I am so excited for the future of Frazer and I can't wait to come back during the holidays and marvel at the progress being made.

Thanks for putting up with such a long post. And thank you for your prayers and well wishes. Although we are sad, we can't wait to see what God has in store.

Happy Fall, Y'all

So we know that Bennett looks like a boy in these shots, but that's okay. She needed to unveil a new look to go with our blog's new look? Do you like it?

Bennett's Big Brothers

My side of the family consists of all girls. I have one sister. I have two female cousins who were as close as sisters growing up because we were practically raised together. My sister has three girls. I have one girl. You get the point. Thank goodness for our friends, The Segars. They are some of our closest friends and fortunately for us they have four boys. Three of them absolutely dote on Bennett. The youngest just stares at her and wonders who the new kid is. But the older three argue over who gets to hold her and the one that wins is so kind and gentle with her. They were there when she was born and were some of the first to ever hold her.
Just last Sunday when I picked her up the lady in the nursery told me that one of the Segars boys had been by again to make sure that she was okay. He also told her, "Don't forget. She likes her paci. And be good to her, okay?" Isn't it great to be looked after like that?

TAYLOR

RILEY

BEN

All four boys with Miss B. Cade decided to join us for the group shot.

Ummm... can you put down the camera and come play with me?

Why....

....do I get tired just from watching episodes of Jon and Kate Plus 8? I mean exhausted. How lazy is that?

6-0, baby!

We didn't sing Rammer Jammer on Saturday because, well, we didn't give 'em you know what. But a win is still a win, right? We had a great day in Tuscaloosa on Saturday and even though Bennett stayed behind and spent the day with her grandparents and her cousin, I made sure that she dressed appropriately and was practicing her "Roll Tide" for next year. Some of my very earliest memories are watching my Grandmom and Grandad yell at the screen for Alabama. I think I have been wearing crimson since I was in the crib so I have loved passing on that heritage to my sweet girl.

We met my brother-in-law and niece at the game. It was her first time to Bryant-Denny and she got a chance to wear her Nick Saban hat!

We start 'em young in these parts

Rob wasn't allowed to be in any group pictures because he was cheering for Kentucky. Granted, he graduated from there, but I don't think that should count. If you never watch a game, don't know anything about the coach, the players, or the stats, should you still cheer for that team? He says yes. I just scream "Roll Tide" even louder when he protests.

Sweet Home

She My Cousin.....

....and I love her. That's what my sister's youngest daughter has been saying all night. She is spending the night tonight with her Aunt LaLa and so Rob snapped these shots of them an hour ago. All night my niece would look at Bennett and say, "You my cousin. You my bestest cousin for-evah!" Then she would look at me and say, "She my cousin, and I love her." What a great night.

I tried

I went into my salon with a picture of this:

but I came out with this:

Oh, well. I guess I will go to my gym next with the same picture.

Just another day

I went to Target this morning. I decided to try and experiment and see if Bennett was old enough to ride up front in the cart. You know that little section up front where you normally put your purse? Well, apparently, that is meant for children and produce.

So, I unpack her little shopping cart cover, because I am an official germaphobe. I strap her in and head inside the store. Guess what I found out? She's not old enough. Well, maybe some kids are at 7 months, but my girl was sliding all over the place. At one point her head was in between the leg holes, one arm was stuck in the bar, and one leg was near the handle. Don't ask. Oh, and don't ever ever shoot mothers a disapproving look when you see them doing this. We're trying.

I quickly became very moody as I stopped to adjust her every 5 minutes to avoid those disapproving looks. Then my mood turned even darker because I was buying $50 worth of baby food. Hadn't I promised to make her baby food myself? I only work part time and I had planned this for so long to save my family money and to provide healthy meals for my daughter. However, she has been eating solids for 2 months and the most I have done is mash up an apple. Dangit. So I got more and more annoyed as I put Stage 2 chicken and dumplings in the cart and then stopped 3 more times to sit her upright.

As I am walking out to my car I see my friend Jen coming in. My friend Jen who NEVER updates her blog. Oh, and our children are betrothed. So I am trying to avoid her. I don't want Bennett's future mother-in-law to see her slumped over with her hands caught between the slats. She might change her mind about her son's future. But then Jen almost wrecks her car because she is trying to park, wave to me, and eat Chick-Fil-A all at once. I feel a little bit better.

Jen sees my dilemma. Not only does she not condemn me, she tells me just to lay the kid flat in the front compartment. "Who cares?" she says. "They're happy, you're happy, enough said."

I love Jen. I hate shopping carts. And I hate (because I am secretly jealous) of women who puree their own food.