Elias and Josiah

I had a few pictures of Elias and Josiah that I have been meaning to put up because they just bring such a smile to my face as these kids are just too funny! As I was going through my pictures I ran across this picture of Jess and I with the boys before they were born and then the one of us with them now. It is crazy to look at this and see how much our lives have changed in a year!

This was Elias and Josiah at Josiah's first birthday a few weeks ago. I love this picture of them! I am sure this is a picture that will show up many years from now that they will thank us for! :)
This is another picture a while ago that just cracks me up. They are both getting into mischief.... I am sure this is only the beginning with these two!!

Day at the Park

We had a nice long weekend and enjoyed spending time with family and friends. On Saturday the weather was wonderful. We went on a bike ride and headed to a nearby park for a picnic. Todd and I used to do this a lot before we had a kid in tow and this was our first time to take Elias with us. We all had fun and enjoyed being outside in the wonderful weather. Then on Sunday Todd went to the Indy 500 with some guys from church and I hung out with the wives and thier kids. Todd was off again on Monday and we had a nice day relaxing and went to a cookout. It is such a blessing to spend time with our wonderful family and friends!

It is hard to believe, but Todd's last day of school is tomorrow!!! We are so excited to have him around more for the summer! After finishing up things and taking some of the kids on a trip to Kings Island we will be heading off on a family vacation. When we get back Todd is looking foward to his hobby and side job of carpentry. He has several jobs lined up throughout the summer that he is looking foward to doing.

Cole's First Birthday Party and "First Steps"

Cousin Cole had his first Birthday party this weekend and it was fun to celebrate with him here in Indy. He was so cute opening his gifts and eating the cake! It was also very cute to have Elias and Cole interacting again together. We are wondering who will be the leader and follower of these two---does the stair picture tell us?!? :)

Some Big News---Elias starting taking severa;l steps at the party, which was so fun! It was especially neat to have some of our family witness it for the first time too! He was so proud of himself and even stopped and turned directions while wallking across the room. With that said he hasn't taken this many steps again. He is starting to stand on his own quite often now and will occasionally take a few steps to us or to get to something. With all of this said he will probably be "officially" walking sometime soon as we know he can do it. It is so fun to watch this progression! Then on Sunday we went to hear Keet preach at a nearby church. It was neat to see how God has gifted and using him in this way. While we were in the service Cole and Elias enjoyed being in the nursery together. Cuddling with Great Grandma Redden

Cute Cole!

climbing the stairs...

Trying to get pictures of them together is getting harder and harder---but they are such cute pictures anway!!!

Elias Crusin'

This is Elias' favorite to do for the time being. He does laps around the kitchen and family room. His speed is increasing daily, and he loves to be chased. Check it out.

Welcome to My New Blog!

I am currently striving to raise my son and family in a way that promotes the best possible health for now and our future. The most important aspect to our health is our relationship with God. I will spend time writing about principles of being a Godly mother, wife, disipline issues, the joys and struggles of raising children in a Christian home, and ultimitely directing our children to know and love God as thier personal Savoir.



I will also spend time writing about being a holisitc mom in today's world. I will be very vulnerable as I share my life and many personal experiences as I go through this journey with my family. I feel that it is very important to take care of the bodies God has given us.



The Bible says that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit:.... Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 1 corinthians 6:19. Honoring your body and caring for it shows your respect and honor for the One who created it. Your immune system is a strong and ready defender for your body, the magnificent work of a divine Creative Genuius, and it's up to us to take care of it.



I must first admit that over the first year of my son's live I have definitely not made the best choices for his health and evironment. I have learned from my mistakes and maybe by the 10th kid I will get it right! ;) Anway, I am also glad to say that I am gradually making small steps to better health for him and our family. So far from the changes I have made in our lifestyle there has been a transformation in his health. I still have a long way to go and I am continously learning. My hope is that this blog can help others find answers quickly and easily as many times I was running around in circles trying to figure out the best way to handle situations. I wish I would have known the place to find answers and guidance with a person I knew and trusted. For don't we all want our chidren to be healthy and happy!?!



God Bless and come back often.

Elias playing....

Here are some picture of Elias enjoying his slide we got at a garage sale a few weeks ago. We decided yesterday to put the ball pit underneath it and he loves sliding into it. Rough landing into the pit...

giving bear rides down the slide...

crawling under his piano and getting stuck...

Elias loves his walker. He pushes this thing around constantly all around the house and has now mastered monouvering it around everything. It is so fun to watch him fly around the corners to us with a huge smile on his face.

He still loves to crawl too--He loves to be chased around and finding us when we hide from him.

Happy Mothers Day Trisha!

Look! I got you flowers!

Well typically I would say that Trisha writes about 90% of our blogs. However, since this is Mothers Day, I thought it would be fitting if I wrote a blog about Trisha as a mother.

Trisha as been a mother for a little over a year now and in my opinion doing an oustanding job. It is amazing to see the transformation from woman to mother. From day one the maternal instincts were at the forefront. Trisha has that instinct (as I am sure all mothers do) where she just knows how to take care of Elias best. She always seems to know what he needs or wants, lightyears before I can figure it out. She is on top of everything, where as I often find myself wandering around in circles trying to figure out how I can help, but not be in the way.

From day one Trisha has sacrificed so much to dedicate her time to raising Elias. I have never seen with my eyes such a sacrifice. She always puts Elias' needs in front of her own, and is so humble about all of it. She has a plan for our she wants to raise him which invovles many details; from nap schedules, to what he eats, to keeping him healthy. This whole plan that she has implemented requires an enourmous amount of thought process and a tremendous amount of work. She takes it all in stride though, as she works long days seeing that Elias has all his needs met and then some. I am not saying all these things to brag on her, but I just wanted to publicly let her know how proud I am of her, and that I appreciate all the time, effort, and devotion she is putting into raising our son.

Mothers Day is a day to honor all our mothers for the years they have put into us, that shaped us into what we have become today. I am so proud of my wife for the great start she has gotten on shaping Elias into a young boy. Be sure to wish your Mothers a happy Mothers Day!