Summer of '16

Summer in KY has become somewhat of a slow time for us. However, we were able to bookend our summer with a trip to NC and a day out that offered a little change from our normal day to day.  In the meantime, we have been watching our little boy grow and loving every minute of it. Casey and I both have been thinking a lot during this summer about where God is leading our family and what to do in the waiting.

I often tend to focus on the things I cannot do or have right now in the waiting instead of the abundance of things and opportunities that my good, good Father has given me:

I cannot travel or live overseas right now: I can pray for and encourage my friends currently serving overseas.  I can encourage my husband as he learns and trains for us to hopefully go one day.
I cannot visit my family as often as I would like: I can FaceTime or Skype with them.

I get to love and live life with my sweet husband. I get to be a mom to my little boy.  I have a new life growing inside of me.  And those are just the earthly things I've been given! When I change my perspective and focus on His goodness, that changes everything. Casey and I have both been trying to focus more on reading His Word and trusting His plans for us.

This slow, summer season has mostly been filled with loving and caring for our little boy.  At times I hesitate to blog about him because everything doesn't revolve around him (or us for that matter), but as summer comes to a close, I am thankful for this season of our family of three.  I was so nervous about the two of us becoming three and it has been so wonderful. We both love this boy so much and are amazed that we get to watch him learn and grow.
This summer has also been a time of thinking about transitioning to a family of four. I will admit the idea scared me at first as I looked at my little baby in the crib and realized he wasn't the littlest baby anymore. But, we are thrilled Atticus will have a sibling close to him to grow up with.

Atticus at 8 months announcing he's going to be a big brother!

Me on 9/15/16 at 15 weeks with Baby Croy #2!

In May we were finally able to take Atticus to North Carolina for the first time.  He did so well with the trip and we had a great time seeing family.  My little boy got to meet my grandma for the first time--something I had been waiting for for a long time, even before we knew about him.  I just wish Jerry had been there, too.

Just last week we had our first day off as a family and we went to a place called Bernheim Forest about 30 minutes south of where we live.  We loved hiking the trails and Atticus was a trooper riding on Casey's back!  It was a great day to get out and enjoy nature.

Also, for the first time since we've been in KY, Casey stopped having to work on the weekends recently.  What a blessing for our family!  As we turn the corner to fall, we are looking forward to more family time together and more time enjoying God's creation.