Stobs in GR: Goodbye Summer

It's been awhile since I posted mostly because we were busy enjoying the last bit of summer. Now we prepare for the cold winter ahead.

Paisley is now 8 months old. Overall, she is a happy baby who loves people and loves to show off her smile. She's not crawling yet and no teeth yet but both are on the verge of happening. It seems she has been teething for months with no results. We think this has caused her to start waking up again during the night but its all a guessing game. The toughest part lately has been putting her down to sleep in the evening. She either doesn't want to go down at all or will only sleep for 20-30 minutes and then wake up. Here she is the other night with Horton the elephant.

Staying up late with mom & dad

Last month Art Prize filled the city of Grand Rapids so we were able to take a few hours with Bethany's parents to enjoy the art scattered around downtown.

Paisley slept through most it

In the past month or so we attended two of our college friends' weddings. Both of the guys that got married stood up for us in our wedding. The first wedding was in Chicago and it offered us the opportunity to have our first night away from Paisley as my parents watched her. It went well and Bethany and I felt like we were back in college as we made our way around the big city without our little one. The second wedding was in west Michigan and Bethany's parents helped us watch Paisley as we both had responsibilities in the wedding. Many of our college friends came together and we had a little reunion the day after.

Fun times with lots of babies/toddlers

We also have enjoyed the start of football season as we usually get together with friends to watch the Bears game. Here's Paisley intently watching the game with us.

Stunned as Cutler walked off injured

These past few months Paisley and I would go on daily walks around the neighborhood, typically going through one of the parks nearby. She would try her hardest to stay awake to see everything but sometimes she wouldn't make it. During these walks I enjoyed engaging people in conversations about faith and pointing them to Jesus. I would not always get very far especially if Paisley wanted to keep going, but it's always on my mind to share Jesus and to see where people are at. I encourage you to take the next week to be intentional with a co-worker, a family member or a stranger and attempt to share the gospel with them. Step out in faith and the Lord will honor your faith and give you the words to say. You'll be amazed at how your faith will be built up even if people show no interest.