My Niece is One!

A couple weeks ago, we traveled to my sister's house to celebrate my niece's first birthday. We had a great time visiting. My niece is growing so much. She's almost mastered walking. I wish we could see her more often. It was also great to see how she and Wyatt interact. I think they really love and enjoy each other. They gave lots of hugs and they are just too precious together! Here are a few pics from the big day!

The happy birthday girl! You gotta love those big blue eyes!

Playing with her new toy from Aunt Tracy, Uncle Kev, and Wyatt!

She kept crawling in my lap to look at the camera instead of letting me take pictures of her.

Walking her new dino toy!

Lovin on SuperWy!

"Thank you for singing to me!"

This is the look she gives when she sees her daddy!

She didn't quite "dig in" like Wyatt did, but I think she enjoyed it as much as she wanted to. (Yes, that is a spoon in her right hand.) Her mommy had to help her enjoy the messiness!

Wyatt got some birthday presents from some out-of-town family and he was happy to share with his cousin E! Like I said, they really enjoy each other!

"He's sitting on my new toy!!"

Blog Challenge: Day 18

Day 18: Something You Regret

I've always tried not to regret anything in my life. I know there are things in my life that I look back at and think about how I could have handled them better, but then I might not be where I am today. I am so happy with where I am today. All of the choices I've made and things I've done have all worked together to make me the person I am today. I'm pretty satisfied with who I am and what I've managed to do with my life so far. I've learned from mistakes and have those experiences to look back on and I can see serious growth over the years. So in conclusion, I have no regrets and I hope I never do!

Blog Challenge: Day 17

Day 17: Something You're Looking Forward To

I am so thankful to have several things to look forward to. If you have nothing to look forward to, then what keeps you going, day after day?

First, I am looking forward to having Kev home all week next week! We have a couple plans in the making, so we'll see how they pan out! Second, next week is Thanksgiving! It's probably my favorite holiday after Christmas. I just love getting to spend time with family and enjoying all the yummy goodies abounding in every direction!

Third and Fourth are a couple of movies coming out. The new Harry Potter comes out this week and, even more exciting than that is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia) coming out next month! I've really enjoyed these series' of movies. We don't go to the movies much because we can't stand to pay to see something that we're not sure we're going to enjoy and most of the movies are just too dirty and filled with potty-language for our tastes. Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia have been great, clean movies with good messages.

I found this site that has some little clips and teasers to hold me over while I wait patiently for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader!

Blog Challenge: Day 16

Day 16: Dream House

Wow! My very own dream house! This could get very exciting! My dream house would be very similar to this Smart House! It wouldn't go crazy or anything like that, but it would cook and clean for me and my family. I would have a giant room with a ceiling like in Harry Potter (it changes to whatever you want it to look like) so I could gaze at the stars, watch the rain fall, sit in the sun (without getting burned), and whatever else I was in the mood for that day. In this giant room would be a big play house--similar to the indoor play areas at some fast food restaurants these days.

I think I'd also like for all of my kids' rooms to have a secret door in their closets that lead to my room so we could have fun meeting time. Of course, these doors would lock from my side so they can't come in without permission!

My bathroom would be a full-service spa with massages (prego massages!), manicures, pedicures, facials, and the like! I would have an exercise room...for my friends to come use. I'm sure we all know how much use I would get out of an exercise room! Hahaha!

Last, but certainly not least, there would be a 20 ft. perimeter around the house that zapped all bugs/pests when they tried to cross it.

What a cool world this would be if my dream house really existed in my price range!

Blog Challenge: Day 15

Day 15: Bible Verse

I guess the bible verse that comes to mind most often these days is Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.

This is my daily prayer, that I will be able to train up my children in the way they should go. I love this site that I've been going to from google whenever I'm trying to remember a verse. It gives all the different translations and has commentary from different sources. If you scroll down, I highly recommend reading a few of the commentaries. It just gives different insight into the meaning and history behind the verse.

Blog Challenge: Day 13 and Day 14

We have had a pretty rough time lately. Wyatt has been sick (his allergies cause secondary infections and he currently has a little bit of a wheeze) and is currently on his second round of antibiotics. This time he got some steroids with it! I barely got any in him Friday night when he threw up...a lot! Lucky for this prego, I have a fabulous hubby who took care of it all! I don't know what I would have done without him here (other than call my mommy!). He threw it up Saturday too. So I called Dr. B and she gave me a new prescription yesterday at church. He seemed to manage it okay yesterday--one day down, four to go! Needless to say, I've been a little stressed and very tired, so I didn't blog this weekend. Here goes the make-up days!

Day 13: Your Goals

My goals are pretty simple. I want to be the best mom and wife that I can. I strive to follow God's plans and desires for my life and to raise strong Christian children who will glorify God in their own ways as they grow and, prayerfully, develop their own strong relationships with God. I want to support my husband and find ways to tell him and show him how proud I am of him and all that he does for our family. My family is my first priority. After them, I want to serve God however He calls me. Currently, I am leading our new junior children's church program at our church for 4 and 5 year-olds. This is quite an exhausting task, but so rewarding as I am constantly amazed by their questions and actions that show me how God is already working in their lives!

Day 14: A Picture You Love

Is there any question as to why I love this picture? There is nothing sweeter than the first picture of a father and his child! Kev was "wrapped," as one might say, from the moment we saw him on the sonogram and saw his heart beating. Wyatt was only a few minutes old when this picture was taken. I hadn't even seen him yet and it was a few more minutes before I was finally able to hold my sweet baby. My heart melts when I see the way Kev is gazing at our precious little man!

Happy Halloween!

I just realized that I have not put up the much anticipated pictures from Halloween. I've put a couple up randomly, but I haven't done an official post for it. So here we go!

We went to Kev's brother's house Saturday afternoon and spent the night. They've been hosting a Halloween party for years now and this was our first time getting to go (last year Wyatt was too little and I had a prior commitment that evening). We had a great time hanging out and visiting. Wyatt took about 5 minutes to take in his surroundings before making himself at home! He and cousin B were just about inseparable the whole time. They love each other so much. Cousin B even gave Wy some of his old toys. He's so sweet! Okay, here are some pics.

Carving the pumpkin with Nana, JJ, and Cousin B.

He's still more interested in things with steering wheels!

Wyatt wasn't scared of cousin B at all!

Trick-or-treat! Mommy and Daddy want some candy!

Wyatt loved the houses with dogs!

Blog Challenge: Day 12

Day 12: What You Believe

***Warning: I am a rambler! Do not read unless you want to know how rambly (I know rambly is not a word, but I couldn't think of one that fit my point) my mind really is!

Hmmm...where to begin. I guess I should start with the first thing that comes to mind: I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and that He died for my sins on the cross. I believe that I would be nothing and have nothing without His love. I believe "that if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).

When I was about 5 or 6 years old, I began my life as a Christian. Some people may say that when you're that young, you can't possibly make an informed decision as important as that. I believe that children have the most pure souls and when they make a decision that big and important, they do so with all of their being. It is much harder for an adult to make a decision like that because it requires so much faith and adults have generally experienced more let-downs and disappointments than children.

I also believe that I am right where God wants me to be right now. I will admit that we have been experiencing some financial difficulties lately. However, every time I start to pray and think about finding a job, God sends me signs telling me to just stay put. Do I want to go back to work and give up being able to raise my child at home? Absolutely not! I thank God that He continues to provide for us and allow me to stay home. I believe that being a mother is the greatest blessing God could have ever given me. With patience and faith, we'll make it through these tough times.

Okay, so I rambled a little, but this was what was on my mind so there it is. Man, these challenges have really made my blog a little deeper than what I originally intended. Some of my readers might be getting to know me a little more than you wanted to. Oh well! I've always thought of my life as an open book. I don't have secrets and I'll generally share my experiences with people who ask without much hesitation. That's just me!

Blog Challenge: Day 11

Day 11: Favorite TV Shows

This is a pretty easy one for me. Usually I can't pick favorites (like with the movies), but I know what I enjoy when I'm watching TV. I mostly like comedy, with a game show thrown in here and there.

Game Shows: Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Wipeout, and American Gladiators (the newer one that's not on anymore. Kev and I loved watching that together).

Regular Shows: Friends is my all-time fave and I've recently come to love Everybody Loves Raymond. I also enjoy reruns of According to Jim and Yes, Dear. Current shows that Kev and I have been enjoying together include Modern Family, The Middle, and No Ordinary Family.

Kev's faves: anything sports related!

Wyatt's favorite is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He especially likes to watch it with his own Mickey Mouse that he got for Christmas last year from his Auntie Lindsay.

Blog Challenge: Day 10

Day 10: Something You're Afraid Of

I could just tell you I'm afraid of spiders, snakes, and bugs in general. That's all pretty true. If the world didn't have any of those things, I'd be perfectly fine with that! However, I figure I could probably go a little deeper and give my readers a little more insight into my life.

Here goes: I have a pretty big fear of failure. I'm not talking the kind where I "sweat the small stuff." I'm talking about the bigger things in life. It's okay if I burn the dinner or I forget to do something. Those things don't reflect on me personally. It's doing things that require me to step out and prove that I'm capable of doing something that a lot of people wouldn't do. Sometimes it keeps me from stepping out at all and I wind up missing an opportunity to do something that I would have really enjoyed. In high school and college, it kept me from reaching my full potential to be a better student. You see, I was always a pretty smart kid and I didn't have to work hard to prove it. However, when the work did get harder, I was afraid that I wouldn't measure up, so I did the bare minimum to get by and made grades that were good enough. Had I put forth a little more effort, I could have made strait A's and gotten a lot more out of my school experience. That's just one example of how my fear has affected me.

It's taken me many years to be able to fully see how I let my fear affect me and to be able to admit it. The good news is that God is continually showing me how to overcome this fear and He's working in me to step out in faith that He's always in control.

Blog Challenge: Day 9

Day 9: A Picture of Your Friends

I have been truly blessed to have these friends. I've known several of them for most of my life and they are some wonderful girls! We love to laugh and have fun and just be goofy! We've been through a lot over the years and we've had the best times together! Their all like extra sisters and Wyatt will definitely think of them as his aunties.

This is Lindsay! We've known each other since first grade and we've been best friends since fourth grade. We've been through everything together. We've laughed, we've cried, we've fought, we've made up. I was her maid of honor and she was second in line to be mine (after my sister of course).

This is Ashley. We've known each other since about 4th grade and we've had some pretty good times as well. This is us at youth camp one year after I smushed her cake in her face. I let her get me back...pay no attention to John in the background (there's something about high-school guys that makes them jump into random pictures).

This is Kim. We've gone to church together since we were young'uns. We became a lot closer in college and have had some very interesting times (many of which I can't tell you about...hehehehe)!

This is Shallon. So many things I could tell you about her. We've been friends since her family joined our church when I was in middle/high school. Shallon's one of those people that you just can't help but love. She's got more personality than anyone I know and she's one of the most amazing girls I know!

This is Abbie. We became pretty fast friends when I started babysitting for her oldest daughter, who was my flower girl in my wedding. She and her hubby, Mark, are like a big brother and big sister to me. Whenever they would go out on a date, Mark would make sure to get her home in plenty of time for us to talk and gab for an hour, since I was babysitting. She's given me so much advice and is always there when I need to vent some frustration.

I love all my friends dearly and I can honestly say that the Lord has blessed me more than I deserve with these ladies. To my friends--thank you for your friendships over the years. I would not be who I am or where I am without your love and support.

Blog Challenge: Day 8

Day 8: A Place You've Traveled To

I've not been to many places, so Ill share the place I've been most recently that was fun...okay it was 2 1/2 years ago for our honeymoon. We were fortunate enough to go out of the country to Jamaica. Let me just tell you right now: If you go out of the country, stay at an all-inclusive resort for the most enjoyment (unless you're severely adventurous and and want to see a lot of different things on your own). We stayed at a Sandals resort in Negril (it has the best beach). It was fabulous. Everything (minus excursions) was paid for and it was so relaxing. We did go zip-lining through the jungle and to this place called "Rick's Cafe" (it's been featured on the travel channel as a place to go if you're in Jamaica--some locals jump from very high places into a little cove for tips). At "Rick's," Kev actually jumped from a ledge that was about 25ft from the water. Maybe one day we'll go back.

This is the view from our back porch--it couldn't have been any more perfect!

Here we are at Rick's Cafe--before Kev's daring leap!

Blog Challenge: Day 7

Day 7: Favorite Movies

So many movies, so little time to write about them! I love movies...well, maybe not all movies. I like action/comedy, romance/comedy, chick-flicks, feel-good movies, musicals (I L-O-V-E musicals!--mostly the older ones), and just about anything disney or pixar! I love kid and family movies: you know the kind that make you just happy at the end! So here's a few of my faves:

All time faves growing up: The Sound of Music, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, My Fair Lady, Gone with the Wind, McLintock, and White Christmas

Newer faves: Rush Hour (1, 2, & 3), Blades of Glory (Kev and I saw this on our first date), My Fellow Americans, Facing the Giants

Cartoon faves: Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, Monsters Inc., Cars, Mulan, The Emperor's New Groove, Toy Story, and this list could really go on forever!

Blog Challenge: Day 6

Day 6: A Picture of Something that makes You Happy

Okay really? How much of a challenge is this? I've only got a million-plus pictures of what makes me happy! I guess the challenge is picking just one picture! Here we go:

Here he is rocking the skeleton pajamas Nana got for him. Could he be any sweeter?!

Blog Challenge: Day 4 and Day 5

I decided to go ahead and do 2 days together. That way I'm caught up with my fellow challenge-bloggers and I'll be finished at the end of the month!

Day 4: Your Parents

There are so many things I could say about my parents. Don't worry Mom and Dad, I won't! (insert mischievous grin here)

June 17, 1978--their wedding. They're my goofy parents!

June 7, 2008--my wedding. They haven't changed too much!

My parents met at a McDonald's where Dad was the manager and Mom was applying for a job. They've always been there for my sister and me. They still are. They help however they can and I couldn't ask for better parents.

Day 5: Your Siblings

I only have one sibling: my older sister, Allyson.

My sister is almost 5 years older than me. I've always admired her for so many things. She's smart, well-liked, and dresses way better than me. I used to want to be just like her. We haven't always looked alike. It wasn't until I was a senior in high school that we finally started to look like sisters. We've never had much in common...until recently.

We're fortunate enough to be mommies together! Little E is 3 months younger than SuperWy. This picture is from March after E's baptism. They were 3 and 6 months at the time. It's been a great experience for both of us. I love my big sister (and the clothes she gives me)!

Blog Challenge: Day 3

Day 3: Your First Love

This may sound cheesy, but I am lucky enough to be married to my first love. I didn't date in high school and I didn't date much in college either. Dating was just never high on my list of priorities. I had a lot of fun just hanging out with my friends and I still did a lot of babysitting too. Add that to school, work, and church, and there just wasn't much time for anything else in my life. I knew that God would bring me a man in His time and I was content to wait for that. My friend Vickie shared a verse with me that I've always loved, but never really put it to good use. It has, since then, become my life verse: Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 God knew that I desired to be married and have a family above all else. I prayed that He would grant me patience to wait for His perfect timing and He has given me more than I could have ever imagined in Kevin and our growing family.

Now for our short story: We happened to be on a rafting trip together about a year and a half before we actually met and we vaguely remember each other being there. We really met when I had a teaching lab at his school. You know that old cliche about the PE teacher and the lab student? Okay so it's probably not that common, but that's us. He was really good friends with my lab teacher and we found ourselves in the same vicinity enough to strike up some conversations. He asked me out on my last day (in hopes that he would never have to see me again if I said "no"). Of course I said "yes" and after our first date, I knew he was different than the other few guys I had dated. We dated from April to December when he proposed and then we got married that June. We've been married for almost 2 1/2 years and I continue to thank God for him daily.

We went to the beach with some friends of ours after 3 months of dating.

Kev proposed at his school. I was completely shocked! I honestly had no idea. He tricked me by making me think I was going to have lunch with the teacher I had done my lab with. I was the most amazing surprise ever!

Our wedding day! 06-07-08

Sky Fest

My parents took us all to the Bo-Shears (sp?) sky fest a couple weeks ago. I've never been in all the years I've lived here so this was a first for me. It'll probably be more fun in the years to come when Wyatt can actually take part in all the activities they have for kids, but we had a good time this year anyway. It was a gorgeous day and the weather was perfect! The air show was definitely cool to watch. Wyatt even watched the planes when they were close enough for him to see. I think his favorite part was the dippin' dots though. The boy loves his ice cream! He also got to sit on some tractors and we got to look inside some airplanes. It really was neat stuff. Here are some pictures to enjoy!

I know his eyes are closed, but it was the only one where we were all looking the right way.

Wyatt loves anything with a steering wheel and knobs to play with!

He's still not quite sure what to think of bubbles.

This plane was used for one of the wars (or something like that). Those are real bombs above their heads. It was really neat.

There were a lot more planes, but this looked like one of the best pics I took.

Daddy's Day Off

A couple weeks ago, Kevin had the day off. We decided to just relax and enjoy the time together. I let him sleep in and that afternoon, we took Wyatt to the playgrounds. We went to the church one first because I needed to get a few things done for church that coming Sunday and then we went to the big park in our area and just enjoyed letting Wyatt get a little more practice. Wyatt had a blast, and we enjoyed watching him have a blast!

I love that smile!

Peeking through the hole!

A driver in training! He's a Carr that loves his cars!

He wasn't quite sure what to do with the pedals, but he liked sitting on it anyways!

Climbing up!

Sliding down!

Check out that static!

Practicing his moves!

On the see-saw with mommy (you just can't see me--hehe)!

It was a gorgeous sunny day and he loved every bit of it!

Blog Challenge: Day 2

Day 2: Meaning Behind Your Blog Name

Today's should be really self-explanatory. The name of the blog is "Life as a Carr." My last name is Carr, and my blog is all about what my life is like...any questions?

Blog Challenge: Day 1

Day One: Introduce yourself, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

My name is Tracy Carr and I'm 26 years old. I've been married to my wonderful husband Kevin for almost 2 and a half years now. We are the parents to the most amazing little boy, Wyatt, and we're expecting baby #2, a girl, in early March. I have the most important job in the whole world: staying at home to raise our children in Christ.

This is our most recent family picture. It was taken Sunday night, right before we took Wyatt trick-or-treating for halloween. He was the most adorable little dinosaur ever!

15 facts (interesting is in the mind of the beholder!):

1. I just had my 26th birthday on October 24th. It was really great because my hubby let me do whatever I wanted (and didn't complain too much)!
2. This is my natural hair color. I've never dyed it--EVER!
3. I don't tan. I used to be quite sad about it, but now I've accepted it as a fact of my life. I get freckles and I get a pretty pink/red without sunscreen, but I will never tan.
4. I love that I can go to work in my pajamas everyday without getting hassled by the boss!
5. My work is being a SAHM and it is the best job ever!
6. My favorite outfit is jeans and a t-shirt. If I could wear that everywhere (church, weddings, special events, etc...) without guilt, I would.
7. I enjoy getting dressed up occasionally...if it's in something I already own and makes me feel pretty!
8. Next to Him dying for my sins, I consider my family to be the best gift God has given me.
9. I could enjoy fall and winter weather all year. I just love the crisp cool air and wearing sweaters and a scarf and hat!
10. I've only been out of the country twice--once for my sister's wedding in Mexico and the second time was to Jamaica for my honeymoon.
11. I consider children to be God's most precious creation!
12. I secretly hope that I'll never have to go back to work and I pray that God will continue to provide us with ways to make that possible. (Okay, so it might not be a secret! teehee!)
13. My favorite reading material is children's literature.
14. The main thing I miss from being a kid/youth playing competitive sports. I love basketball and volleyball!
15. My secret to happiness is trying not to take anything for granted and always looking for positives in the negatives. (It doesn't hurt that I try to communicate my desire for happiness to God daily.)