halloween

ok, a few pics from halloween. elli made it an entire block. by the end of the night she was dragging her pink plastic pumpkin, but she had a lot of fun. the weather was good here. we went to a party for dinner before we went trick or treating. it was a great time to spend together as a family. i am not sure that elli has eaten any of her candy, but daddy is quietly making sure it does not go to waste!

singing

elli and courtney working on their singing skills. also, a nice taste of elli in her halloween costume. in case you could not tell, she was a butterfly. not a bug.

another on the way

in case you have not heard, we are expecting another little one. it is great to see that some friends have been checking out the blog, sorry i have not updated more often. there will be a few new posts coming shortly. in the meantime, check out the widget to your right to see what the baby currently looks like.

Stickers

i never remember stickers being so much fun. we received a bunch for free in the mail recently and the pictures below tells the rest of the story...

elli being funny

elli is learning how to pose for the camera (make sure you have your volume turned up)

a few days away

courtney, elli, and i went for an overnight last weekend to traverse city. a few pictures from our two days away...

pyramid point, where courtney and I were engaged (it was a great surprise)

more pyramid point which is part of sleeping bear dunes national park

a nice family photo

a cool place to have lunch in Leland, MI

elli's first lolli pop

books

the irresistible revolution by shane claiborne

check out www.thesimplyway.org for more information. a great book that will stretch your concept of modern Christianity. shane will challenge you to put your faith into action every day in all that you do. while I do not agree with everything that is said, it is really good to get another perspective that is given in a positive and challenging way.

better late than never

some pictures from when my brother jeff, his wife jessie and their son ian visited this summer. we had a great time seeing them. they live in south carolina.

Backpacking

I developed an appreciation for backpacking while in college. This is the first trip I have been on without Courtney. We went to North Manitou Island, which is near Traverse City. I took several college students on the trip. We almost received a ticket from the National Park Service for being close to the water, luckily Rick and Dave saved the day. They moved their tent back earlier in the day and that is what spared us. It is good to get away from the routine. It is also good to carry everything you need on your back. Backpacking helps balance the message the world continually sends us of needing more of everything.

our first entry

elli, what more can you say! she is the center of attention and courtney and i are continually amazed. what a challenging thing it is to be a parent. it has been so rewarding. i hope i do her justice.