A jaunt downtown

one evening in October. 

     We were still enjoying the light evenings that, in a good way (mostly), made it feel like bedtime would never come. For that reason, and to ensure Gray and I didn't lose our sanity, a stroll around Falls Park on the Reedy was the perfect family activity.

 We have been experiencing a drought this year. The Fall was not as spectacular as it usually is.

     We thoroughly enjoyed watching the ducks swim and eat. Tobias liked to get as close as was physically possible before falling in, aka. he loved to give me a fright. He would point and observe and point some more while repeating "Mommy! The Ducks!" more times than I could count.

 This poor goose was so ugly, we came to find out he/she is an actual specie that looks like this ... 

I felt slightly bad for mocking him.

 Little toes dangling too close to the water!

We made a loop around the park stopping at our favorite tea bar, Ocha. The cherry, almond, vanilla milk tea is my favorite thing on the menu right now! On our way back we gazed into the high end art shops and stopped again to admire the ducks. It was perfect, so much so that we had a meltdown in the car about leaving ...

Grate gazing. I'm pretty sure he spent some time dropping stones down there before I noticed.

Sexy butt dad wearing that Ergo like a model, hehe.

Watching football with daddy.

     If I didn't have so much laundry to do, so many projects left unfinished, a baby to feed or who knows what else, football season would be my favorite. I know that a lot of those are horrible excuses, but sometimes I'm guilty of letting the To Do List take priority over sitting down and watching a game with my hubby.

     Thankfully I had boys and among other things, football games are included in our "raising them right" theology. So when a games on and it's not nap time or bed time, we encourage Ty to join in. Right now he's engaged for maybe five minutes before getting out his toys, but that (and the fact that he's dressed in head to toe team gear) warms his daddies heart and mine too.

He's learned the art of being distracting, but not too distracting. 

Or maybe Gray is just that concentrated ... the juries still out. 

     Gray can't wait till he's watching the whole game and talking terms and stats and I am just excited to witness it all unfold. There will be many hours of watching football together in their futures.

"Tobias, show mama your game face!" ... Man oh man do I love these two!

Getting Away

     Gray and I were able to get away for a couple days in May thanks to Gray's parents. It was a quite little hotel near Gatlinburg, not too close to anything major, situated on a two lane highway in the mountains. There was a cozy fireplace inside and a stream with a hammock out the front door. Down the road was a little book/tourist shop with great coffee and books that were literally stacked up from floor to ceiling. The hike was short but fun, the food yummy, the shop gazing diverting and the conversation a blessing. No little one in site to entertain and wait on hand and foot.
     There was a lot of talk about names. Our list at this point included, Emry, Damen, Theodore, Reuben, Simeon, Jude, Desmond, and Julian, none of which made it to the end. There was dreaming about what life would be like once this new one arrived. There was talk about finances and praying that God would provide for our needs (because having babies isn't cheap). There was talk about the future and grad school and what we saw ourselves doing in five years. It was the kind of conversation you don't want to forget. In all, it was a great two days, a break from reality, and a wonderful connection point for me and Gray.

A Little Maternity Shoot.

     Photo credit goes to Melody Cato, she so kindly took these shots while she was here last week! I'm so happy with how they turned out, they will be fun to look back on no matter how big I look. ;) P.S. I'm not the most confident person in front of the camera, I'm sure many of you can relate!
     I'm currently 32 weeks which means I have roughly 8-10 weeks to go, thats considerably less considering the 40 you start out with. Am I nervous? Sure, but I try not to think about it. The nursery is coming along just fine and my classes are preparing me as best as possible. Knowledge is power, that's the mantra I keep repeating to myself. The more I know the more relaxed I feel about bringing this little boy into the world. Here's to hoping all that knowledge doesn't get thrown out the window when the day of reckoning arrives! Second mantra I keep repeating, women give birth everyday, and they live to tell about it. Concrete evidence right there that I can do it!
     I have a couple more projects to finish before Baby Cato makes his grand entrance, and I'm starting to get that nesting itch thats telling me to knock them out sooner rather than later. So hopefully this next week I will have all of my crib sheets sewn and all of the baby clothes washed, sorted, and labeled, and a good grasp on meal planning for the after baby months. I need to make returns from the shower and purchase cloth diapers (yes, I'm one of the crazy ones). I'm also trying to schedule relatives as best as can be done without knowing when this little one will arrive. I'm hoping to spread out the help as long as possible! A couple other things to take care of; find a pediatrician (I need to ask some Greenville mommas who they recommend) and create the birth announcement so that all that needs to be done is a quick picture insert and some easy printing, the stamps are bought and the address list is put together. Hmm writing this list is making me slightly anxious, I hope I'm not forgetting anything . . .
     In other news, Gray and I have decided to do something a little crazy. I've been giving into my sweet tooth a little too much (as in a lot too much). So in an effort to help myself and Baby Cato now, and my future postpartum self, I will attempt to fast from sugar for the rest of my pregnancy. Crazy idea? Most definitely. Attainable? I'm going to try my darn hardest. I am allowing honey for tea and for my morning oatmeal, I'm really just looking to eliminate all those ice cream runs and candy binges! Wish me luck!
     Anything else to tell? I think I've covered most everything. . . so without further ado, the happy expectant couple! hehe :)

This is real life.

     Real life is working three jobs and coming home exhausted. Real life is friend visits and relative visits and birthing classes and doctors appointments, unkempt houses, and dogs who require attention. And yes, real life is hating to mow and letting the grass get super high. It probably should have been mowed three weeks ago, but in real life, sometimes things like yard work get pushed back. Real life isn't perfect and I like to remember that because social media can sometimes lead you to believe the exact opposite.

Father's Day 2014

     Just another post playing catch up! Father's day with Jim here was a real treat and going to a Brave's game was definitely the icing on the cake! It threatened to rain on a number of occasions, but thankfully it stayed nice the whole time and the sky, well the sky was spectacular. It was such a fun day!
     I'm always encouraged when family come to visit. They seem to bring a slice of home with them that truly refreshes my heart. They might even make me a little homesick too, but only for a short time. And one of the many perks (especially when Jim comes) is getting pampered and spoiled! I definitely had sweet tea and ice cream that day. Baby was kicking like crazy from that sugar high. :)
     It was good for Gray too, just to relax and enjoy time hanging out with his dad. I love the relationship they have. I'm excited for baby to experience the same relationship with his daddy as Gray does with Jim. So much to be thankful for, so much to look forward to with great anticipation!
     Thanks for making the drive Jim, you are truly a joy to be around. I'm so blessed with a wise and loving dad, father-in-law, and my own Gray who is soon to know the joy of being a daddy to our little boy! I'm glad Gray and I got to celebrate Father's Day the way it should be celebrated, making much of the special dad's in our lives! You can never give dad's too much kudos!!

Biltmore

This post is less about Biltmore than it is about our two year anniversary which happened to be two weeks ago on September 17th. I'm just now getting to this post because one I feel like there is so much to say and yet I didn't really know how I wanted to say it. Two, Biltmore was the "formal" celebration of said anniversary, so why not wait till after our trip to write about it.

     At this time last year Gray and I were sitting across the table from one another at La Parpardella staring out the window at the cobbled streets in Spain. We were thoroughly enjoying our Italian food (because anything that wasn't Mercedes' food was amazing) while reflecting back on everything that had occurred during out first year of marriage. We counted ourselves quite lucky, we were living in Spain, taking every opportunity to enjoy our surroundings and to see other countries and we were finishing school in December. The world lay at our fingertips and our lives were just starting. Even though Spain had it's difficulties, that didn't mean we weren't optimistic about the future. 

     Fast forward to this past weekend as we made our way to Asheville, not quite the celebration trip Gray had imagined, but that in and of itself truly represents out relationship at this point; learning. There's a give and take we are still trying to figure out. We've officially moved past the honeymoon phase and this past year has presented new challenges we have had to learn how to overcome as a couple. 

     We arrived home from Spain and had two weeks with our sweet families before loading up the u-haul and moving all of our crap (which we have too much of ... how did we collect so much in one year or marriage?) to South Carolina. Gray had gotten a job at Summit Church as one of their campus worship pastors so with that taken care of, it was time for me to follow suit. But it wasn't that easy. We knew Gray's income would make due alongside the funds that we had saved up, but it wouldn't cover us forever. For Gray, this knowledge was slightly more stressful than for me, you could say I'm not the most money conscious person. So we made the smart decision to get a dog during that time. [Rabbit trail ...We always knew we wanted a dog, maybe two, so why not get started while one of us was at home? That way it could be quickly crate and potty trained. Eh, it sounds logical but no one tells you how stinking expensive man's best friend can be. We lucked out in that Riggs has a great personality, but jeez the allergies! Those doctor visits really add up.] So with three mouths to feed instead of two we were hoping for something. On Valentines day our stress was eliminated, I started work at a great company. Obstacle one down! 

     Come March we had gotten into the swing of things and we were super excited because our best friends were getting married in Cleveland. It was our first time seeing friends and family since moving. The positive, it was a great refreshing trip, the negative, it made us realize how much we valued and how much we were lacking those types of relationships in Greenville. So we started praying that God would provide people we could connect with. I know you have to give this time, but for someone as socially wired as Gray it can be a hard wait. Little by little through Monday Night Crew and through sheer will power to stick ourselves out there, we are making strides. I wouldn't say we've overcome this obstacle, but we're working on it!

     So moving through to May, the grind and normalcy of adult life finally set in. My heart was in a rough place and I started to grumble and complain. My free spirit felt trapped behind a boring desk at an eight to five job, so I became a constant thorn in Grayson's side. I couldn't say one positive thing about my job, it was all "horrible," I hated everything. I quickly learned if you're always looking for the negative, you will find it (something Gray learned last year). I don't know what it was that finally kicked me in the gut, but slowly I started dying to myself. I realized that God had provided this job for our family and even though if might be for an indefinable season of my life, he was calling me towards more than a life of protest. Cue the apologies. Obstacle three down!

     Around the same time, Gray decided to go back to school. If anyone were to tell Gray more school was in his future I would have laughed. He was so adamantly opposed which is why it came as such a surprise when he decided to get his MDiv. It definitely added a whole new layer to our lives but in thinking about the future and how we plan on supporting ourselves and future kids should we have them, he wanted to make sure we were moving in the right direction. So he learned to manage two jobs, a dog, his sanity and after all that he still finds time for me. Obstacle four down!
     It probably seems like this year has been an endless challenge (I use that word loosely knowing that others have faced way worse), but there have been so many good things in the midst of the muck. Gray and I have continued to grow. Moving away from family was one of the best things for us. It was kinda like spreading our wings for the first time since being married. The decisions we made were our own and the challenges we faced we faced together. We had to have the important discussions without relying on anyone else to carry the weight of  tough decisions but each other. It's made me extremely grateful. I've realized just how selfless Gray can be and just how selfish I can be (and vice verse). I don't think Gray and I went into marriage with fancy illusions, but a realistic attitude doesn't necessarily save you from everything. There will inevitably be issues uncovered and eventually your flaws will be unmasked. So thank goodness for grace!
     I look back over this past year and feel empowered, Christ revealed himself to Gray and I in so many ways. I've continued to learn so much about myself and our relationship and I've continued to grow. I think I'm just as excited if not more excited to continue along this road. I love you Gray, life would look bleak without you in it! Here's to 80 more years (ha, maybe for you, but not for me)!

     This post wasn't meant to be so extremely long, but because so much happens in a year I guess it was unavoidable.