First Birthday!

I know everyone always says this, but I can NOT believe that Marcus turned one last week!! This has been such an incredible year! We are so thankful that the Lord trusted us with the raising of this sweet child.

Marcus opening his first gifts from his Grandpa and Grandma Klaiber before we left for Omaha. They sent his gifts since they didn't know we were coming there because of the surprise!

He was so proud of himself he gave Cory a high five.

He really loved the tissue paper and being destructive.

His Auntie Dawn wrapped his gift so nicely.

And got him some of my favorite childhood books. I am so excited to read them with him.

He probably had the most fun opening this gift. He just crawled around the room pushing it around for about 10 minutes before someone opened it for him.

And of course no birthday is complete without Funfetti Cupcakes! To say that he loved them would be an understatement.

He was more excited about the balloons on the cupcake then the actual cupcake at first.

Eating the icing first...

And then digging in!

We couldn't be happier, he is truly amazing.

Picture with his Godparents...but he was more interested in finishing the cake.

One last gift from Grandma and Grandpa Klaiber- an awesome Puma tracksuit, which was perfect for the plane ride home!

Bookworm

The nerd in me is so happy that Marcus loves to read so much and loves books! I am so excited for him to get a little older so we can start reading some great book series together like Narnia and Harry Potter!

He starts out by taking down all the books he wants to read.

His 2 favorite books are: The Hungry Caterpillar by Erik Carle and Dr. Seuss's ABC book

Jacksonville

Last week Marcus and I traveled down to Jacksonville to meet up with my sister Dawn who was going down for a teaching conference. Since Jacksonville is much closer than Minnesota we decided to meet up! She came down a day early with a couple of her friends so we could hang out and go to the beach. Of course I didn't think that we would go swimming because it was so "cold" but coming from Minnesota that is all they wanted to do! We had an awesome time and Marcus loved the beach. It was so fun to see them and get to meet some of my sister's friends!

This freezing wave came right up on him while he was playing with the sand!!

Dylan built Marcus a sandcastle. Marcus squashed it.

He would crawl right up to the waves coming in.

Crazy Minnesotaans.

Yes that is sand on is face because yes he did eat several handfuls of it.

All wrapped up after sitting in the cold water!

Messy Eater

Marcus has started eating "real" food with us at dinner time. It has been so fun to watch him "eating." He makes a HUGE mess but loves it and usually has both fists full of food.

Fall Retreat

So I have totally been slacking on blogging lately, I can't believe how quickly our fall has gone by and that it is almost November! A few weekends ago we joined USC's Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) and went up to the mountains of North Carolina for an awesome weekend of fellowship with our students!

Here are some pictures and quotes from student's who attended the weekend:

"I have been running from God for almost 4 years and this weekend really helped me see that even though my life isn't pretty I can still come before Him. This was hard for me to accept because I have been a Christian for so long and I was consumed by shame. This realization provided me with such peace & relief. Thank you for praying for me." -Senior

"God has taught me new ways to be in awe of Him and not be bored by the cross." -Junior

Marcus watching football with the "big kids"

"God has really put a fire back in my heart for missions and for talking with people who don't know Him. Thank you for praying for all of us!" -Senior

"This weekend, God is teaching me to throw away foreign gods in my life that are taking His place (school, control, anxiety about future) and to yield my heart fully to Him. Joshua 24!" -Senior

"God has taught me that there should be no difference between my spiritual life and the rest of my life." -Sophomore

Thank You Cru for letting us be a part of your awesome ministry at USC!!

Guest Post

My friend Danielle asked me to write a post for her blog series about our adoption. I was so honored to be included! Danielle and her husband Esteban were such an encouragement to us as we started the adoption process, organized a great fundraiser for us through her blog, and have been such an encouragement to us since! They are awesome parents to two girls, who were adopted from Ethiopia, and are also foster parents to 2 more girls! Their lives are crazy, but they still take time out to focus on what the Lord is doing in the lives of their friends and family! We are so thankful to be walking beside them during this stage of life. Check out the post on Danielle's blog!!