One more thing...

Ok-- two more things:

1. I have to give a little praise for my little sister-- she gave such a great testimony at her baptism. At 16 she was able to stand up in front of the congregation and talk about (rather have our dad read about) her faith being tested when my family moved to Tulsa. She said she was so angry with God for pulling her away from everything she'd ever known-- family, friends, school, youth group....and then her faith was strengthened as God showed her a new life in Tulsa. She's found that God's plan is always better-- and for that I am thankful! Now...let's all try to catch up a little!

2. I just have to share our Sunday School lesson with you from yesterday-- basically along the lines of what I posted above. What can you identify as a "turning point" in your faith? When did you know that God is real and faith is necessary? Live like you mean it. Change is the only thing constant in life so you better hang on to your faith because it might be a wild ride!

MORE PICTURES!

So far the pictures I've posted are from our trip to Tulsa for Aunt Maranda's baptism and a few from Christmas. The rest of these are of my makeover (thanks, Travis!), Brenton eating his first teething biscuit and some sweet potatoes (his favorite), and his first trip to Chuck E. Cheese with some of mommy's cousins! Oh yeah-- and let's not forget his new John Deere cowboy boots-- you've heard of the naked cowboy, right?! Uncle Tim got him those boots....all he needs now is a hat! There are also a few of Brenton just being...Brenton. He is sitting up really well, but still doesn't seem to mind crashing over to the side or on his face...maybe someday he'll start picking himself back up! Brenton is weighing in at about 17 pounds, 10 ounces now and is over 26 inches long. It is getting harder to get a good measurement of his length because his legs are moving constantly! He is squealing like crazy now and chattering up a storm. He loves peekaboo, the itsy bitsy spider, I'm a little teapot, twinkle twinkle little star, the abc's, and his favorite is when I sing him "sugar pie, honey bun". Too bad I only know 4 lines to that song! :) He has been having a great time with Daddy while he was on break from school, but Travis started classes again today so we are both missing him.

On a different note-- Travis' senior art show is this Friday evening at the Firehouse Gallery (just east of the NuWay on Douglas in the Delano district-- yes, above the liquor store) here in Wichita if you'd like to come support him. I am pretty sure it starts at 7. Unfortunately it is only up for one night- we'd love to see you there!

PICTURES!

5 months!

Brenton is 5 months old today and since the last time I actually got a few minutes to post on here a LOT has happened! Brenton's first Christmas was a blast-- he successfully made it through like 5 million Christmas-es and ended up with some great stuff. Thanks so much to everyone who listened to our requests-- Brenton now has clothes to last us until he grows again! Oh yeah...and of course like a billion new toys! :) Brenton is sitting up really well now, but still falls over when he gets too excited or tries to lunge for something. He doesn't quite seem to have the "I have to pull myself back up when I fall" reflex yet. He NEVER wants to be laying down now, though-- he insists on sitting up or standing all the time. He is so cute! We can already hold his fingers and stand him up and he will move his feet to take a few steps toward something that he wants....or start jumping up and down (probably because he loves bouncing in his rainforest bouncer). So many things (as I always say) are changing....he doesn't like his "baby" car seat, he wants to sit up and look around even when he is eating, he is picking things up, etc... wow! I still can't believe it! A couple of weeks ago we were at Great Grandma and Grandpa Hinkle's eating dinner and as usual Brenton was sitting up on my sister's lap as he refused to be left out of the 'action'. All of a sudden as we were talking he reached out, put both hands around my sister's cup (full of water), picked it up, and put it to his open mouth!!!!!! INCREDIBLE to watch-- he is so smart.....and obviously ready for some new challenges. Brenton also had his first taste of one of the greatest foods in the world that night-- mashed potatoes! He did great...so we started feeding him baby food shortly after. We are still trying to get consistent with a routine at this point, but he is getting better with the spoon all the time (with the exception of wanting to do it himself) and definitely prefers the good stuff- like mashed potatoes- over the baby food. I don't blame him! He is definitely starting to eat more as well....so we are trying to add more options than just milk.

Travis and I had a great Christmas as well....of course most of our attention was on Brenton....and for some reason Santa couldn't fit us a new house into his sleigh-- I guess we'll have to wait for the Easter Bunny. ;) Travis' time off from school has been great-- Brenton is enjoying having both of us around-- when the new semester starts I think we are going to have some more adjustments to make.

Today was a great day for me-- I got a makeover! Travis nominated me for a makeover at a salon and spa here in town and out of a whole stack of applicants I was selected! I had a great time, it was really nice of Travis to do that for me. Oh yeah...I forgot to mention that you can see the before and after of my makeover on KAKE News at 5pm next Monday, Jan. 14th. hahahaha....try to "miss" the before picture....it's not so great!

Now for the good stuff....let me see if I can get some more recent pictures up soon! We misplaced our camera between Christmas Eve night and Christmas day night so I will have to have our parents email us their pictures. Everything else is still in the camera waiting to be uploaded.......

Brenton was so cute in church this morning! A lady in our sunday school class had on this wild suit jacket that was black with neon colored plaid and Brenton kept leaning over my arm trying to grab it....the jacket even had fringe along the edges of the sleeve so when the lady (who was sitting in front of us) put her arm up on the back of the chair next to her he grabbed it! Anyway...here is another picture that we took of him to remember 4 months.

4 Months

December is finally here!

Wow-- December is finally here and flying by just like the rest of life. Brenton will be 4 months old this week-- I can't believe it. That means we've enjoyed him here with us for over 100 days now...and he has experienced probably well over a million "firsts". I can't help but think in everything that we do together it is the "first time" for him. Not just first holidays, and first milestones, but first time he moved his hand just like that, first time he saw that wall across the room, first time he felt the cold Kansas wind, first time he wore a coat, first time he saw animals, first time he made that sound....ok I'll stop because obviously this list could go on forever. I am so thankful for this little miracle of life, though-- he has shown me that life truly is a blessed miracle that we should not take for granted. Although his "firsts" are so exciting and wonderful to see happen, I've found myself experiencing "firsts" of my own because I have begun taking the time to realize the value of the little things in life. Try it-- you'll be blessed.

So...on Brenton's list of firsts in the past few weeks: Thanksgiving, meeting more friends and family, making all kinds of chatter, going to the zoo, getting a Christmas tree, visiting Chick-Fil-A like a hundred times in one week, rolling over with the help of the couch cushion, giggling, eating cereal....and like I said...the list goes on and on. Here are a few pictures:



This is mom's cousin playing with Brenton's play gym!