Our crazy life...

Well, a lot has happened since our last blog post! In short, our family went to Louisville, KY, Calhoun, TN, and San Francisco, CA, and Matt has gone to Amman, Jordan, Singapore, Indonesia, and is now somewhere called Baubau. I still need to look that place up! I can't speak for Matt's trips, as he is still gone at the moment, but I will say that our family trips were wonderful! What a blessing for the three of us to go visit people from our recent past and go to a Missions conference with people who have a heart for Somali people living in the horn of Africa. After that conference, all I can say is that there is a great need beyond the borders of North America and that it would do each of us good to experience it for ourselves to realize how unimportant our "stressors" are day to day. In short, I will say that I gained a major perspective change! If you want to know more, please ask! I'd love to share what the Lord taught me that week! Enjoy the pics!

Happy September!

Hey everyone! Was your summer all that you hoped it would be? It always seems to go faster than you want it to, doesn't it?! Has all of the busyness of the season started? It just seems like we find ourselves too busy all the time. I'm learning that, at some point, we need to say no to some things for our own well-being and that of our family's! Although working at it, we still feel so tired and overcommitted, but are striving toward simplifying!

Well, our sweet baby boy turned one! We can't believe it's been a year since he came into this world! What a wonderful year it's been! One of my best years, for sure! These days, Gavin is crawling all over the place and getting into all kinds of things. One day, he actually crawled into a cabinet and just sat in there and played. I cracked up when I found him, just as happy as he could be! He's not quite to the point of walking, but if you'll just give him a little support, he's able to walk pretty well and has a huge grin on his face! He talks quite a bit. We love to hear his sweet voice! The only words we know that he's saying for sure are mama or dad. Other times, it sure sounds like he says words, like "cheese, all done, etc..." Not positive, though. He's eating many more finger foods. We've pretty much stopped pureeing his foods. There's not a lot of food he doesn't like. I think avocados are the only thing he can't get down! If we put food on a spoon, he can put it in his mouth. He's not consistently sleeping through the night, but is more than ever, which Matt and I appreciate! It's so fun to watch him grow! Well, that's it for now.

Love you all!

Enjoy the pics! They're mostly of Gavin playing around the house, a family photo shoot we had done recently and his birthday!

Happy Summer!

Hello friends and family! We hope you're enjoying the summer so far! We sure have been! The weather is so nice! There's just nothing like a sunny day! Love those blue skies too! Well, a lot's happened since our last posting, as Gavin is continuing to grow so fast! It's so amazing how much more enjoyable certain experiences are with a kiddo! We've gone to the swimming pool, Gavin got his first haircut, and Gavin started crawling! All have been an absolute joy! Matt got to celebrate his first Father's Day, and we got some Bradshaw family photos taken as well.

Matt's traveling has begun to increase much more as it usually does during the summer months. I've continued to work 2 days per week and stay home with Gavin the rest of the time. It's a great schedule. Otherwise, no real news to report.

Below are some pics from the last month!

Posting more pics!!!

Life is beautiful!

We are so thankful for the life the Lord has given us! My goodness. Matt and I have recently discussed how truly blessed we are! We've reflected and are amazed by the experiences we've shared over the last 12 years together! There was actually a point in time that we never thought we'd be together beyond high school, let alone get married and have children! Now, here we are...married for 7 years, and have a baby that's soon to turn one! Oh, what a beautiful life it is! We recently had one of the best weeks of our lives together as a family. Both Matt and I took a random day off of work just to reconnect...you know, get on the same page again (because as you all know, the busyness of life tends to mess things up and get you off track and, before you realize it, things get all out of sorts!) Anyways, we took some extra time to go for walks, go to the park, go to a baseball game, and go to the zoo! What an absolute blast we had! Lots of hugs, kisses, naps, and conversation between the three of us! We've decided that we're going to try to do that at least every quarter!

Other things going on in our world...Matt and I started leading a Small Group of young couples! It's wonderful! It's been a while since we led a Bible Study. We've missed this type of interaction with people, but are so glad to have started it up again! It's been a breath of fresh air! There's just nothing like opening up the Bible and having some discussion on what the Lord's teaching us week after week. Although it's hard and humbling at times, there are always things to celebrate! We're so excited to see what the Lord's going to do in each of our lives!

I guess that's the latest news! Will continue to keep updates coming! Love to you all!

Char

Well, Gavin is growing and going! These days, he's sitting unsupported, playing with toys, beginning to eat solid foods, and interacting more and more! He's been sick a couple times this month, which hasn't been too much fun. He had croup earlier in the month and now has a cold. It just breaks our heart to see him so miserable! Poor baby! Day by day, though, he continues to improve. As you will see in the slide show below, we got some professional pictures taken. Although you can't really tell, Gavin was quite unhappy the majority of the photo shoot. It was quite surprising because we made sure that he was changed, full, and well rested. As we found out, none of those mattered. Either way, he was not going to play! The pictures still turned out great, and we're excited to have them! Thanks, Josh! Also in the pics, you will see Gavin having some fun with mom and dad, bath time, eating solids (peas) sitting up unsupported, and our trip to Farmington to visit Gram for her 55th birthday! We had lots of fun with the aunties and cousins! Enjoy!

January Update

Hello everyone! Hope the new year is starting out well for you! Ours is going great so far! Gavin just turned 5 months old! Oh, how the time flies. Everyone told us that from the beginning. So, we've just been trying to soak up every single minute with Gavy since he'll be all grown up before we know it! So, let's see...where to begin. At Gavin's last appointment, he was 13.3 lbs and in the 25th percentile for kiddos his age. Everything checked out as good! His newest tricks are rolling over and playing with his feet! So, we find his socks in random places and his big toe in his mouth oftentimes. It's precious! He's started laughing lots more, which is such a joy. He really likes playing peek-a-boo and being chased by one of us while the other is holding him. He thinks it's hilarious! A kiddos laugh just melts your heart, doesn't it?! My goodness, we love this little boy so much! This last week, he's slept the whole night through which has been so wonderful! We're all happier about that! I think that's the latest and greatest about Gav!

I've gone back to work doing 2 twelve hour shifts per week. It's going pretty well. I love being a nurse! The hardest thing has been leaving Gavin! This last week, I had a pretty bad day at work. So, I wasn't so happy when I got home. I'll tell you what, though. Gavin greeted me with a great big grin and laugh. After that, what happened in the day just didn't seem to matter as much. The next day when I had to go to work, it was so hard for me to leave Gavin. I just wanted to spend the whole day with him. I went to work anyways, and his daddy sent me a precious picture of Gavin with the message, "Miss you, Mommy!" I just cried! It's hard to leave that baby boy!

Matt's doing well! Just plugging away at work mostly, making lots of plans for future trips to Mexico, Jordan, France, and possibly Haiti sooner than later. He's a busy guy! As far as home life, it's been fun to watch him be a daddy! Although it's not a surprise, he's great at it! I'm so thankful for him! I love my boys!

Enjoy the pictures!

Char

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!