April

In the last two months, we have had weather ranging from 80 degrees and clear skies to 20's and 30's and snowing. It's crazy how fast the weather here changes. The same is definitely true of our boys. It's amazing to see how quickly they grow and change. Both are a big ball of energy. It's hard to keep up at times. Carston has been learning so much and is learning a new word almost every day it seems. He has been talking so much. Joseph is getting taller by the minute and just loves to talk about things that he is excited about. Mainly, trains, semi-trucks, music (he LOVES music) and basically anything with motion. He's so much fun to watch when he is hypnotized by a big truck passing by on the highway. When the weather is warm, I plop the boys in their little red wagon (thanks grandma and pa-pa Marshall) and we go to a special spot to watch all the cars and trucks along 85, which is right by our apartments.

Carston continues to be his own little man, completely fearless. This boy will climb on, eat, play with, absolutely anything. Definitely have had to keep our eyes on this one. He loves to listen to music that he can dance to, playing with hot wheels cars, loves dogs, he can't get enough of playing outside, basically he likes almost anything.

Brannon and I have been doing well. We were able to get away to Colorado Springs last month to go to A Weekend To Remember marriage conference. Grandma and Pa-Pa Marshall came out to watch the boys for us and of course had a blast. Brannon and I were able to take some time to relax and learn more about each other. It was a sweet time. Brannon continues to work hard for Clark's Honey. He's made a lot more sales in the last few months and has really helped Clark a lot with his buisness.

Living Stones Community Church is going strong. We have especially enjoyed developing a great friendship with Brian and Jessica, the new pastor and his wife. They have three children, Titus (5), Micah (3 almost 4), and Kaylee (16 months). Joseph has espscially enjoyed playing with Micah and Titus.

Next week already we are heading to Morton, IL for our RHMA conference. Seems like last years wasn't that long ago. We are excited to see those we haven't seen since last year and excited to learn new things. After that we attend the missionary conference at Medinah Baptist Church, the church I grew up in that supports us monthly. It will be a nice two week getaway in a sense. Not exactly a vacation as we will be busy, but it will be great to visit with people and it will definitely be nice to see family.

It's been a full and fun few months and we are looking forward to the summer months. I personally am not a big fan of cold weather so I am especially looking forward to warmer weather.

A busy week

This past week has been quite an eventful one. One that had some great things and some not so great things happen. Monday Brannon, Joseph, and I, all got some kind of stomach bug. Joseph and spent some time in the hospital due to dehydration, but after a few days of laying around, we all felt much better. Carston thankfully did not get sick.

Wednesday night was GREAT!! It was around 9:30 and my sister called me. I thought it was a bit odd because she usually does not call that late. She said that there was supposed to be a package delivered and that I should go check the door. When I opened it, there she was. She had been planning the visit for a month. This past weekend Brannon was taking the youth group to a conference in Denver called Dare 2 Share. He would gone Friday night and Saturday so Tami had decided to come out and keep me company. That was a great surprise. We had a really nice time just hanging out at home and taking the boys out.

The Dare 2 Share conference was a blast according to Brannon and the kids who went. We had a total of 16 kids go and along with four adults. All of them had a wonderful experience and some even were able to lead a few people to Christ.

We are counting down the time to Christmas. We are driving out to Chicago to spend the holiday's with my family. Brannon's parents will be coming out for a few days as well so, we are really excited and looking forward to that time. We just need to pray for good weather for the drive and for good health.

Pumpkin Patch

It has been a full couple of months. To be honest I can't remember a whole lot of why it has been full, but it seems like they flew by without us evening knowing it. October is already about to come to an end. We have been keeping busy with youth at church, Brannon has been working hard at Clark's Honey Farm and is still making new sales, and of course the boys have kept us busy as well. Towards the end of August Carston started walking everywhere. It was so great to see him learn how to walk, but it sure does get tiring trying to keep up with him. He just can't seem to sit still. It has also been great to see him and Joseph start to play together, even wrestle sometimes. I see a few trips to the hospital in the future if they keep it up.
My sister, Tami, came out for a visit in September, which is ALWAYS fun. My best friend Jacqueline and her mom came out a little over a week ago for a visit. The last time I saw her was back in April I think. We had such a great time. The tour of the bathrooms was especially great. No need to go into detail on that one.
Brannon and I are continuing to learn more about what it means to be a couple in ministry and we are learning more about what it means to truly be obedient to what God is calling us to. It's certainly hard to "sit still" and be patient, but it has been good for us.
Yesterday we took the boys to a pumpkin patch where you can cut your own pumpkin off the vine. The farm is HUGE and they had other fun things to do. For little kids they had a few animals, a small hay bail maze, and a big slide that Joseph went down. He is getting more brave. Several months ago I don't think he would have tried it. It was a perfect day for it. The weather was wonderful. The boys love being outside so as you will see in the video, they had a blast.

He's on the move

About two weeks ago, Carston took his first few steps. Since then he has been cruizing around from the couch to the ottoman and between other peices of furniture that aren't too far away from each other. It's a neat thing to watch. I can always tell when he is going to give it a try. His arms go up to balance, takes one step, balances, takes another step, his face lights up because he knows he is doing something new. Eventually he either plops onto the floor or grabs the closest thing to hang onto.

Joseph sometimes seems a bit jealous of our excitment with Carston starting to walk. He will sometimes crawl around then stand up and imitate Carston as he walks then waits for us to clap for him. Crazy boy. He's been learning tons of new words and making sentences. Brannon and I have had to really watch what we say as he repeats everything! Not that we go around cussing or anything.

Brannon and I are doing well. Brannon has been kicking tush with getting some new accounts for Clark's Honey. (way to go Brannon!) I've been enjoying the cooler weather and enjoying spending time with ladies at church in our new Bible Study.

Today is another beautiful day so I think the boys and I will go on a picnic and run off some energy.
ps...HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON!!!!

Splashing around on a hot day.

I think both our boys were born to be fish. They both LOVE water. We have a pool at our apartment complex, but I (Mandie) don't really like to take both of them by myself so, this is a nice alternative.

Joseph's favorite movie, at least for the time being, is Ratatouille. (he can even say the name along with a few other names) So, when he got the Ratatouille coloring book from grandma Chiz, he was pretty happy.

Why can't time stand still sometimes?

The last two weeks have come and gone so quickly. I wish that we could have slowed them down. Brannon's parents came out for a week visit and my parents came out the week after that. It feels like they just got here and this morning we said our tearful goodbyes in the parking lot. Joseph blew many kisses and waved. Once pa-pa chiz was out of site, he asked "pa-pa back? pa-pa back?" wanting pa-pa and grandma to come back.
There is such a thing as good quiet and bad quiet. Right now, the quietness of this afternoon is not so great. The boys were spoiled with love and playtime from grandparents. We went swimming several times, took many walks, went to the Denver Aquarium, etc...It was a wonderful time and we made some great memories.
We were also able to be all together to celebrate Carston's 1st birthday. It's hard to believe that he is a year old already. I think that one day I will blink and both boys will be driving. (Hmm, Joseph behind a wheel driving) Carston has certainly been on the move. No doubt he will be walking in the next month or two. No steps by himself yet, but he can stand on his own sometimes. At least when he is not paying attention. Once he realizes he is not holding on to anything, he plops to the ground. Diapers serve more than one purpose. They are great cushions.
We are planning on driving out to Elgin, IL for Christmas time so only 5 more months till we can visit again. I'm sure it will come quick.