Clean and Sweet-Faced

Just a Run in the Park

This Sunday's warm weather had us itching for some family time outside and out of Stillwater, so we headed into Tulsa for the afternoon. Not surprisingly, we found ourselves at a great (and beautiful) park for a little running.

Nearly too fast for the camera

Wind in his hair
Running away from Mommy

Looking VERY happy!

Excellent form

3 Down, 7 to Go Celebration Dinner

Friday marked the official end to Eric's 3rd of 10 semester in his PhD program. I prepared, as has become a semester end tradition, one of his favorite meals to celebrate. We feasted on homemade spaghetti sauce, pasta, spinach salad and homemade bread. Simple meal, but always a big hit with Eric. I even set the table with real cloth napkins, chargers, wine glasses, and lit candles...this is not a normal occurrence in our home. Cheers to you Babe! I love you.

But lest you think it was an intimate, romantic dinner...

...this sweet, sauce-covered face sat between us and...

...this is what we stepped around to get to the dining room table.

Congratulations Eric!

Fantasy Land Becomes Reality Land

Its been in the low twenties and teens with cold, cold wind chills this week and so outside play has been but a fantasy land for Tobin.



Oh, but yesterday it was in the mid-30's and fantasy land, became reality land, at least for a little while.



By the look on his face, I think he really, really loves reality land.

Mastering the Spoon

Perhaps the word "mastering" is slightly strong when referring to Tobin's utensil usage ability yet. We figure its a skill we will be working on for some time to come. We'll also be wiping a lot of yogurt, applesauce, soup, etc. off that smiley face for some time to come as well.

Stockings in the Christmas Tree

We put our Christmas tree up last week and instead of decking it out in ornaments that I would cry over if a certain beloved boy got a hold of and broke them, we decided do do lights only. I miss the ornaments of course. They each are a memory and I love opening the boxes each year to remember and reflect. Before my Grandma Hermie's passing she used to pick out a Radko ornament for each of her children and grandchildren every year. I loved opening those and seeing which one she choose for whom. I miss that and I miss her very much.

So that none of those precious memories see their end, we have made the decision to leave them in the their boxes this year. I like the white lights only. Really I do. I love the simplicity of it.

Tobin is fascinated by the tree and the glow of the lights. It seemed something was missing though. He decided he would add his own ornaments, by removing his stockings and winging them up in the tree. He was so proud of himself.

Moments after the he added his decorations

Sweet Little Stockings

A Thankful Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year, and really, every year. On our way to KC for a Rapley Thanksgiving Eric and I wrote a list. It was a great exercise. When you list it out, you really begin to see the depth and breadth of blessing in your life.

We are thankful for family, friends, debt-free living, simplicity, NPR, eternal salvation, our Bob jogging stroller, short commutes, warm and sunny days, married parents, home cooked meals, Bible study, accountability partner, new neighbors with young children, a zoo pass, health, Eric's scholarship, Tobin's kisses, Psych, Farmer Basil cheese, God's provision, answered prayers, hot showers, funny and goofy spouses, belly laughs from a 16-month old, and marriage to each other.....among a whole slew of other things. This is but a smattering of the list we compiled.



We did have a wonderful Thanksgiving...one to be thankful for greatly. We enjoyed the holiday at Eric's parents home in KC. They were so good to us and loved on our son and pampered us as well. So good to go home.



Thanksgiving Fun included:

-Meal preparation and consuming...I love a Thanksgiving feast. The Rapley way is apparently the more dressing, the better. We had 3 different kinds. Yum. And Kathy's apple pie was utterly delicious.

-We got to see my sister Katrina and her husband TJ and their sweet twin punkins, Carlyle and Luella. They were in KC for the holiday from Colorado. We hadn't seen each other since April, so it was so fun to get my hands on those babies and catch up with Katrina.

-Went running with my husband without Tobin. I love running with Eric. Its freeing and lovely and the source of such wonderful conversation.

-Luminary Walk at the Overland Park Arboretum...very crowded, but beautiful.

-Great quality family time with the Rapleys. Jay, Ashley and their girls came for the holiday, so all the family was there. Really great! Love that Tobin got to see all his cousins.

-Date Night with Eric. Eric's parents kicked us out on Saturday night and told us we HAD to go on a date, while they babysat. (Thank you!) We enjoyed Indian food, a walk on the plaza, coffee and Uno at the Roasterie. And yes, I spanked Eric in cards...I mean it wasn't even close.

-Play date with my friend Anne and her son Grayden. Grayden is only 2 months older than Tobin, so they are great playmates. I loved getting to fellowship with Anne and wish we were in the same city, so we could do it every week.

-Jenny bought me an early birthday present and so I got to celebrate with her and our dear friend Natalie by going to one of my favorite restaurants, Lulu's, and to the Swell Season concert. It was divine! The Swell Season is way more than swell!

-Family pictures, filled with lots of "Hey look at the camera" and cookie bribery for Ava and Abbey. Hilarious!

-Tobin's first tea party with Grandma and Ava and Abbey.

-Lots of smiling, laughter and conversation.

I just love this picture of Tobin.

Can't you see Abbey thinking, "Daddy, please don't squish me?"

Such a cute shot.

I love my little family.

We took this with a remote.
How we got us all to look at the camera at once...miracle!

Loving Grandparents and the grandchildren they adore.

Tobin is showing Luella how to open your mouth real big.

Cuties! All the Schmitz cousins.

Haven't you been to a tea party with straws?

Sharing a laugh with Aunt Jenny, or maybe giving her one.

Oh, we do indeed have so much to be thankful for this year and always.

Not Quite As Planned

This weekend did not occur quite as planned, but we still consider it a success.

First and foremost, Eric completed his 10th marathon and 4th this year by running the Tulsa Route 66 Marathon. He served as the 4-hour pace group leader and did great! I am so proud of him. He had so much fun that he has already researched other races who may need a talented, good-looking, encouraging, consistent pacer. We'll let you know if he has any other offers...other than me that is.

We had some mishaps of sorts before the race could take place. When we checked in to our hotel Saturday evening, I had a raging headache and all I wanted/needed was a hot shower. Wouldn't you know that our hot water didn't work. I found this out by getting in and waiting, waiting, waiting for the water to warm up. I mean, surely it would, right? No. So we called the front desk and they sent someone up to fix it. And they did, but it wasn't a fast process. So I finally got my shower and eventually after 30 minutes in the steamy warmth, my headache subsided.

Our next mishap begins with bedtime. Tobin would not go to sleep. He would however, cry and cry and cry. Seeing that we were in a hotel room, we couldn't just let him cry it out. I repeatedly tried to snuggle him to sleep, only for him to start screaming when I tried to put him in his crib. I eventually brought him to bed with us (which I have never done). He would fall asleep on me, but would wake himself up when he moved. So not a lot of sleep for him and I am not sure I got any sleep at all. Luckily, Eric can sleep through anything and was not bothered at all by the crying boy in his bed.

In the morning, Eric went down to catch the shuttle from our hotel to the starting area. He had to be there 45 minutes early, since he was pacing. Unfortunately, the shuttle location was changed the night before, but wasn't announced. After half an hour, someone finally came by to tell all the runners waiting that the stop had been changed to a location 2 blocks away. Eric finally caught the shuttle. He was about 5 minutes later than he expected, which thankfully turned out fine. It was just a little nerve-racking for him...he did not want to slack off on the job.

Once the gun went off though, mishaps aside, Eric ran a great race and enjoyed himself! And Tobin and I had much fun, tooling around downtown Tulsa cheering on our favorite pace leader! We also, drove south of downtown and saw him a couple places, as well as at the finish. As a pace leader Eric had to run the race carrying balloons to identify himself as an official pacer. I am not sure if Tobin was more excited to see Daddy along the course or the "ball"oons.

Our friend Jim from KC ran the race and so it was fun to hang out with Jim, Anne and their son Grayden at the expo on Saturday. Also, thanks to the Beyer clan for coming over from Stillwater to cheer on Eric. Tobin and I loved having friends with us along the route!


We were all very tired last night and went to bed very early. I told Eric, I wasn't sure who was more tired...me or him. Hard for me to beg for sympathy when Eric ran 26.2 miles, but I sure felt like I had.

No, the weekend didn't go quite as planned, but that is okay, even great. That is how life usually goes. We loved it nonetheless and enjoyed our time as a family. And it builds character. Would we do it again? A resounding of course! We love marathon weekends.

Before all the sleepless drama

Before the race...notice Tobin is VERY interested in the balloons.

Looking GREAT at mile 21!
He looked great the whole race.
Okay, I think he always looks great.


Still looking GREAT at mile 26.1!

After the race.

I think that Eric looks more refreshed than either Tobin or me.

Our fans and friends, the Beyers

Postrace meal: Daddy's head

Not James

Eric and I decided not to find out whether we were having a boy or girl when I was pregnant with Tobin. (I loved the surprise and its definitely the way to go.) I held no strong feeling either way, but Eric was positive we were having a boy...most of the time. So he began to refer to our child as James. So in many ways, Tobin's first nickname, which came way before any agreement was made on his actual name, was James.

Now, its hard to imagine Tobin by any other name than Tobin.

Our good friend, Dave Lyons, made this shirt for Tobin and gave it to us in the hospital. That was fast work, seeing that we didn't announce gender (obviously) or names prior to delivery. It seemed like this shirt would NEVER fit Tobin, but alas that time has come.

And as always, he's darn, darn cute. Thanks Dave!

Our Great Love, Revisited

Outside. Picnic. Homemade Soup. Bananas. Daddy, of course.

Happy Boy.

Happy Mommy.

Our Great Love

Oh, Outside, our great love, we have missed you!

Due to rain and colder weather, Tobin and I have been banned to the indoors the last several days. Let's just say, that Tobin makes for a much happier, pleasant, content child when he gets a taste of the great outdoors. The same can be said for his Mama as well.

Its been a challenging week for us, but we have nicer weather today. Already, Tobin has been on an early morning run with Mommy and Daddy and then his happy Mommy took him to the park. I think he fell in love all over again with the outside world. We are meeting Daddy for dinner at the park before his class tonight, so this kid isn't going to know what hit him.

This has been Tobin's pleading face all week

Trying, trying, trying to get out

Yes, we keep all doors to the outside locked now.
Looking longingly at his great love

Lift Your Hands Up!

Half-naked praise and worship time!

16 Things

On November 14, our baby boy turned 16-months old. Huh? What? How? I know, I can't grasp that reality either and I live it each day.

In honor of the 16-month milestone, here are 16 things about or that we love about our Tobin.

1-He loves balls. Actually, if you can think of a stronger word than love then it applies. I mean it, he LOVES balls. All kinds.

2-Related to his love of balls. He loves to throw balls. And unfortunately, everything and anything else. The upside is that he appears to have a very good arm.

3-He is beginning to develop a vocabulary that we can understand. Current words include: ball, bath, dog, beep-beep (for belly button), Dada, nee (cheese), bee (banana).

4-Tobin can, and willingly, show us where we keep his toothbrush when we ask him to brush his teeth.

5-Most days Tobin walks to the garage door first thing in the morning and points to it, indicating that it is time to go outside. He does this before he eats, drinks or has his diaper changed. Kid has priorities.

6-I am quite sure Tobin possesses the best looking rear end ever. Its so cute!

7-Tobin likes to bring me his shoes and socks then sit in my lap, so I can put them on him. Usually the first thing he does after getting his shoes on is walk over to the door and indicate that he wants to go outside.

8-If he doesn't have his shoes on, then Tobin pulls and pulls until he has his socks off. No shoes, no socks. I love watching the effort he puts into this endeavor. His face gets really red and he huffs and puffs and gets very satisfied with himself once completed.

9-I love his belly laugh and he laughs often. I wish I could bottle it up and give it as a gift to others. I mean you can't stay down, mad or sad when you hear it. Pure pleasure.

10-Tobin follows Eric around constantly. He just wants to be where Daddy is all the time. I love watching this and I love watching them together. Be still my heart.

11-He gives me open mouth kisses and hugs with a smile. I love to see him barrelling towards me to plant his wet (sometimes snotty) face on me and wrap his arms around me.

12-I love nursing him. Truly, it is one of the best things I have ever done in my life. We still nurse twice a day and I treasure those quiet moments. No one else can do that with or for him and I am so glad it is ours.

13-He cut 3 teeth in 4 days last week. Definitely the explanation for his cranky behavior. Poor kid, I would have been cranky too. I have a theory that he is still working on another tooth, because he still owns a running nose and excessively drooling mouth. For those keeping count, that is a total of 10 teeth now.

14-Tobin still loves bath time. One of my favorite things is to watch Tobin tear out of his room naked, run down the hall and wait impatiently for one of us to put him in the tub. Oh and he is squealing with delight the whole time and occasionally looking back to see if we are following.

15-Tobin and I play "chase" and "hide and seek". I run around the living room and he runs into me, giving me a big hug around the legs. Sometimes I run behind the drapes and he pulls them back with relish to find me and again hug me. Its as close to cuddling as I get from this child. Its so fun.

16-He still loves going on runs with Mommy and Daddy and we still love running with him.

Perhaps the Next Nolan Ryan

Falling Leaves

Our front yard (and back) is full of leaves and more fall daily. They are a delightful, frugal toy.