Swim Trunks!!!

...and funny faces.  We are ready to hit the beach. 

Our Little Cowboy

The little man turned One... This has definitely been a milestone year for me.  Much like my first year of marriage, it was a year I will never forget.  Its funny, I feel as if Owen has been with us for so much longer than a year, yet the year flew by way too fast.  He is definitely grown up... in the way he understand, the way he jokes around, the way he walks from here to there, and especially in his new independent streak (yikes!).  These days Owen's new loves are dancing to music, saying mom and dad-aaa, eating berries, and being around kids whenever possible.

We celebrated Owen's first birthday with family and friends this weekend... western style.  I must say he is the cutest little cowboy I ever did see.  Here are a few pics... okay maybe more than a few.

Our Church Verse

Every year Mariners seeks the Lord for a verse for us to claim as a way that God is going to reveal himself throughout the year.  For the past 10 years that we have been going to church at Mariners, God has used each verse to speak to us, use us, or heal us throughout the year; both as a church and in our individual lives.  I love the verse this year.  It speaks so incredibly intimately to me in this season for our family and for our country.  Praying we can all soak this truth in.

Lamentations 3

Yet I call this to mind and therfore I have hope:

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,

For his compassions never fail.  

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "the Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him."

grooming.

Is 11 months too young to start grooming a child for sports?  Talk to my husband and dad.  From day one they have been whispering in this boy's ear about sports and handing him balls to put in his mouth and throw on the ground.  Owen has recently become obsessed with footballs... picking them up, placing them just so in his right hand, and throwing them with a "YYAARRR"!  Its our nightly entertainment.

And here is the walker!  He has finally learned to slow down and walks on his own around the house now.  Its really fun to watch him cross the room and look back at us so proud.  He is an ACTIVE one.  His new thing is pushing chairs and our leather cubes around the house.

This is usually how I find Owen in the living room next to his toy box.  He loves turning pages in his books and being read to... its his only down time these days.  He has lost interest in his other toys and only wants books or balls.

I cant believe he is going to be a year soon.  Sometimes I just look down at him and think "you look so big"... I think Im the one going through separation anxiety.

Malia Timmons and Owen on Balboa Island.  We walked the island last week on a sunny day... the kids love the boats and all of the people and usually want to get out and play on the stairs.  Owen thinks Malia is so great...  I think she will appreciate him more when he learns his social boundaries and personal space etiquette.