Fall Tour Part 1 - September

End of August, we left home for our Fall Tour!

First stop was in Independence, KS and Lighthouse Baptist Church with our dear friends Pastor and Mrs. Bill Munson!

Then it was south to TX! We had fun finding ways to stay cool in the intense heat!

Jonathan loved the water sprinklers at this park in Decatur!

Caleb and I taught split sessions in a Christian school in Decatur, TX a couple days that week.

We got to meet up with my parents as they were headed home from their long road trip and passing through Texas!

Pastor Mosely and his wife took us on a tour of the Water Gardens in Ft. Worth!

David LOVED the huge waterfalls!

Caleb got a chance to preach college chapel at Lone Star Baptist College in the Ft. Worth area.

We headed back to Kansas for a couple days and got to stop in quick and visit Caleb's older brother, Jason for lunch!

We had a fun Stars and Stripes themed youth rally in Leavenworth, KS!

Great meeting with our dear friend, Pastor Randy Taylor, Jr in Gainesville, TX in mid-September.

We were blessed to get to stay in the guest house on a the property of a sweet couple from Pastor Taylor's church in Gainesville! We spent many fun hours in their beautiful pool! We even had David's 3rd birthday party here! Check out that special post here.

Little water baby!

Sunday, September 20...David is three!!!!

That day, we had great services with Lakeland Baptist Church in the Ft. Worth area.

A mommy/son date :)

Sunday, Sept. 27, we enjoyed being with our dear friends Pastor Hector Rodriguez and family & Trinity Baptist Church in Texas City, TX in the morning and afternoon...then that night, we were with a Spanish church in Baytown, TX (where Caleb preached through a translator). Busy long day, and I wish I had gotten pictures of our wonderful time with Trinity. But I do love this one of the boys on Sunday night, chilling and having a snack before church!

Park fun!

Little sweetie!

Our final meeting in September was Weds. night at Victory Baptist in Baytown, TX with Pastor Cripps!

David's 3rd Birthday Pool Party!

We were staying in the guest house of a sweet family in Gainesville, TX and they offered to let us use their pool and back patio for David's birthday party (we held his party 2 days before his actual birthday). It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day, perfect for a party! Our friends, Pastor Randy Taylor, Jr., his wife Joy, and their 6 kids came and celebrated with us. It was such a special time!

PHOTOS! Jonathan's 13-month shoot//David's 3-year shoot

The month of September was a big one - Jonathan turned 13 months old and David turned 3 years old! Life is sure busy with our travels, meetings, and raising these two little fella's, but we are loving it! Enjoy these photos I took in Decatur, TX (on the front porch of the mission's house we were staying at that week!) of our boys :)

September 14 - Jonathan is zooming into his second year! 13 months old now! He's learning so much lately and loves being on the move!

David is definitely a toddler now...really becoming a little person! Can't believe he's 3 (as of Sept. 20)! A couple months ago, he decided he was ready to be potty-trained and learned SUPER fast! That was a huge blessing for us! He is always learning and discovering new things and he loves to play and act out stories (he has a crazy imagination!). I started working with him on memorizing a few short Bible verses and he now knows many little songs and loves to sing! It has been so much fun to watch our little guy grow up!

Gotta have some action shots thrown in the mix :)

"I'm THREE!!!!!"

Typical David...collecting sticks and growling like a tiger while Mom tries to get a "normal" picture! At first I was frustrated, but then I realized this IS normal...and these are the precious moments and memories I'll want to see one day when I'm old and gray! 

So I just went with it :)

Family Photo Shoot - August 2015

When you are usually the photographer shooting other people/families, what do you do when it's time to get YOUR family photos taken? Pay big bucks for someone else to take them? NO WAY! We already have the camera and post-shoot editing skills. We just needed someone to use our camera and take them for us...and someone ELSE to get the kids to smile!

Step in.....PopPop and Grandma!

When we realized we hadn't taken a nice family photo in months, we really wanted to get them done in August during our break at home before leaving for our fall tour. THANKFULLY, my parents were in town so we asked them to help us (my dad would take the pictures and my mom could bring toys and be silly and get the boys to smile!).  It started out a bit rough (we had promised a lollipop to David after the shoot if he smiled nice the whole time...so for the first minute of photos he had the BIGGET and BRIGHTEST smile. Then, he demanded his lollipop, thinking we were done! Whoops! We had a tiny meltdown, got him cheered up, and then continued with the shoot - I think we ended up giving him the lollipop for a few licks in between pictures or something...as kind of a "meet in the middle" resolution!). Anyway, despite the bumpy start, we are so thankful for how well the pictures came out! As any of you with small children know, it can really be a challenge to get them to cooperate, look in the right direction, look pleasant, not get dirty/wrinkled/untucked/slimy(from drool or runny nose)/sweaty ETC!!!! during the shoot...so yeah, with all of those things working against you, you are VERY happy when you get pictures that end up looking like this! :) Enjoy a few of our very favorites!!

I'm so in love with these two sweet smiley little guys!!

His smile lights up the room! I almost can't take this much cuteness in one little chubby face!!!!

Love David's "wink smile"! He has gone through so many phases of smiles (there was a long phase of not really smiling for pictures at all!!)...it's been so fun to see his developing personality shine through in these expressions!!

The little goofball!!

With my man <3

This was a quick snapshot of Caleb and the boys, as he kept them happy while I took some pictures of my parents! :)

Love the lighting in this one!! Didn't get a big smile out of David but still LOVE this shot!!!!

My absolute FAVORITE!!!! Ear to ear smiles on everyone! Jonathan is clapping :) David's little hands are folded so sweetly! The stone wall is gorgeous and makes for a more unique pose. I just LOVE IT!!!!!

And boy am I thankful for mine!!