Owen's 10th month.

Owen was 11 months old on Tuesday! I feel like he's grown up so much in the last month. Here's a recap of his 10th month of life...

• Busy is an understatement...you always prefer to be standing up, cruising along the furniture, & you've already taken a few solitary steps.
• You say "bye", "hey", "dog", "mama", "dada", "cookie", & "Jesus" (so sweet) & you say many other things that we just can't translate yet.
• You love to read. You turn the pages & will sometimes sit with a book open in your lap & "read" it to me.
• You imitate most everything we do...you brush your teeth with your little toothbrush when we do, you brush your hair, & you try to put your own shoes on.
• You've learned to stack the rings on your ring stacker, to put some of your toys in the basket when we clean up before bed, & you've learned to clap your hands (precious!) so you love to clap for yourself when you do something good!
• We had been giving you water in a sippy cup for a couple of months, but started giving you milk in your cup. You took right to it & have now transitioned off of the bottle to the sippy cup...what a big boy!
• You've tried a few more new foods-tuna, mini pizzas, spaghetti, & an Oreo.
• You wear 12 months clothes. 

You're just growing up so fast! It's so hard for me to believe that it's less than a month until your 1st birthday!

Christmas with the Tarrs

 Our Christmas countdown calendar, says it's almost Christmas!

Here are some pictures of Christmasy things around our house...

The Unimaginable

The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School has left me and many others dealing with so many questions, emotions, and fears. No doubt I would have been touched by it at any point in my life, but now being a mother I know that I have even more affected by the event.

I cannot even begin to imagine what these grieving families must be experiencing. I pray for them daily.

Although there is so much about the tragedy that we can't possible understand, I can be certain of what I do know-Those sweet children are resting in the arms of God...God is mourning with us...Our God is a great comforter...evil has been overcome by good, not in this world but in the world to come...our world needs Christ and his love more than ever.

Our Tree.

The 1st weekend in December we trekked out to Country Cove Christmas Tree Farm for the 1st Annual Tarr Family Christmas Tree cutting. 

It wasn't until we go there that we discovered that the only trees we could cut ourselves were white pines (Charlie Brown trees) or Leyland Cypresses. We wanted to cut our own tree enough that we opted to forgo bringing home the Fraiser Fir we had imagined & settled for the cypress. It has a beautiful shape & doesn't have needles to shed (a great plus!). 

We had a great time making family Christmas memories!

Pictures of our decorated tree to come.

Balance.

Life is all about balance.
We have to eat, but we can't eat too much...We have to work, but we also have to sleep...We have to laugh, but we also have to cry...We have to have fun, but we also have to be serious...We have to save money, but we also have to spend money...

If you asked me a year ago, I would have said that I felt like I had a good grasp on how to live a balanced life. Then, my life changed! Life is so different for me now than it was this time last year when we were making the final preparations for Owen's arrival.  Now, with my new priority, I feel like I am constantly attempting to find a sense of balance in every waking moment.

I am slowly learning that I can't do everything that I was doing a year ago. I can't keep our house as neat as it used to be...I can't cook 4 or 5 nights a week...I can't put as much time into wrapping Christmas gifts for friends & family...I can't be involved in every opportunity that comes my way.

Yet, my life has changed for the better! God is teaching me about what really matters in life...It's not a neat house, gourmet meals, or the best wrapped presents. Life is about love.

As the Christmas season fast approaches & my to-do list grows longer & longer, I am praying to keep love & family as my focus. Everything else can wait.