Happy Birthday Sweet Aspen Belle

YEAH - we had to add one screaming picture

Aspen has given us so much joy over the past year. We honestly cannot remember enjoying life without her. It is funny how such a huge responsibility can bring such fulfillment. There are many verses in the Bible that refer to children being a gift and those who have many are blessed. I always thought that being married to Guy was just the greatest thing ever. I never could understand why adding to what we had could make our lives better. I actually thought children would just get in the way of us. WOW - was I wrong!! My goodness...GOD IS RIGHT and I am wrong. Children are a blessing and those with children know that you see God better through your children. THANK YOU GOD for giving us Aspen!

Where did the time go?

This is the last night my baby will be a baby. Tomorrow she turns one year old! Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks!My pretty girl in her outfit from France(Thanks Jessica Smith)

This picture was taken tonight. We have a tradition that started when I was kid that when we put the Christmas tree up, we eat donuts, drink hot chocolate, and watch a Christmas movie. So, tonight Amy Shaw came over and we all had so much fun putting up the tree. This was Aspen's first time to enjoy it. She was so helpful with the tree limbs. This is my baby's last picture before she turns one! :-(

She was really fascinated by the tree. Yes we have one of those annoying ones with all the limbs that never go in the right place. Major FUN!

This is Aspen's Christmas dress her Mimi bought her.

Cousins Alison and Christian came to visit and we had so much fun. Mimi bought all the kids matching Christmas outfits!

Quality time with Uncle Chris

You've heard of HAT HAIR...well I call this NAP HAIR! Every time Aspen goes down for a nap this is what she looks like. She happened to be in a good mood this day and so I took the picture!

Life is changing

Aspen is about to be ONE year old. Everyday she learns new things and surprises us with her sense of humor that is quickly developing. She is the biggest ham and likes to smile and make faces at people during church. At home she teases me to chase her by crawling up to me...smiling...and then crawling as fast as she can while squealing really loudly. I get on my knees and crawl around after her. She loves this and loves her DADDY even more. All day all I hear is DADADADADA! She sits at the door when he leaves for work and positions her hands like she is asking a question while saying DA? DA?

Officially she now has four teeth. Two on top and two on bottom. This makes for interesting kisses. She tries to eat our faces when she kisses us and now she just bites really hard while saying, "AHHHHH" It is so cute, but I know I need to stop her before she bites other kids!

I love this time of year because I remember when Aspen was getting closer to being born. I am so excited to experience Christmas with her without the shock of having a new baby and late night feedings! I may actually remember this one!

She is definitely a Daddy's girl!

A few random photos
This is our living room. We live on the third story of a huge apartment complex. There are no elevators and so we have a nice hike up and down the stairs each day. I think my arm muscles are growing from carrying Aspen up and down. We live in a two bedroom/two bath apartment and we absolutely love it. I see no need for a house because apartments are so convenient and we do not have to pay when things break! YEAH!

Here is another lovely picture of our fireplace and mantle. I really wanted a fireplace because I like the way they look, but of course it is so hot in Houston that we never really use it. I actually wonder why there are even fireplaces in our apartment building. Oh well..it looks so pretty! We also have a picture of Paris above the fireplace because I have been all over Europe but have never managed to see Paris and I really want to!

Here is my girl at night time. She just had a bath and was messing with my picture frames. She particularly likes a picture of Katie's wedding. She always grabs it and says "Puppy". We aren't sure why she does this. My nephew was down from Mexico this week and when she saw him she gasped and said, "PUPPY". I am not sure where we went wrong but hopefully this problem will get straightened out!

Aspen's First Halloween


Aspen was Tinkerbell for Halloween. Our dear friends Robby and Carla bought Aspen her first Halloween costume. We went to Trunk or Treat at the church and had so much fun taking her from car to car to get candy!

We had a face painting booth and Aspen had a smiley face painted on her cheek, while I had a heart painted on mine. The lovely artists were Kayla and Chelsea.

All in all we had a really great time trick or treating with our girl. She carried her little basket and was really excited when people put candy in it. She did get tired towards the end of the night and so I let the teens hold her while I helped Guy clean up the parking lot. Guy did a really great job helping to organize this event. Many people around our community brought their kids to 'Trunk or Treat' and we are hoping that this will result in them coming to worship with us. I hope all of you had memorable experiences as well.