Clarks in the Creek

David and Goliath

2012-01-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

Here is Titus telling the story of David and Goliath - his very favorite right now. We often sing the David and Goliath song, his favorite veggie tales movie is Dave and the Giant Pickle and every night before bed he reads this story with Daddy... so it is no wonder he's got so much of it memorized... still - pretty cute, if I can say that as his mom. His speech is a bit slurred at night, so Graham repeats what he's saying most of the time so you can still understand :)

The Presidents

2011-07-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

No one ever accused Titus of being forgetful -- the kid has developed some kind of memory already. Here's his latest: the presidents. Mom's got it down now too, but Dad is still struggling...

Memories I don't want to forget...

2011-07-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

Not that I expect anyone to read this blog anymore after such a long time of not posting, but at least so I don't forget - here are some funny thing Titus has been doing lately:

-- when eating our turkey bacon one morning, he had eaten parts of his bacon and made it into "shapes" and held one up and said "Alabama!" (and it actually did look like Alabama) - then, he'd turn it over and say "Mississippi." A few days later, he made a "South Carolina" as well. The kid loves his states - he carries them around in groups and plays with them - I've learned that Colorado and Wyoming must always go together, as do Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia.

-- Because we're reciting so much of the time these days, he does it while waiting in his crib after the night or a nap and will randomly just recite things... One morning, I heard this from the other room, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want... I SHALL not want, I shall NOT want, I shall not WANT, I SHALL NOT WANT" - if only we all could remember this in our days :)

-- When learning the books of the Bible he repeatedly had a block when it came to Esther (he usually has one like this in any sequence at the beginning). So after numerous times of going from Nehemiah to Job and me saying, "ah, don't forget Esther," I found myself saying to him one day - "Titus, poor little Esther." The next day, when practicing, it went like this... "...Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, poor little Esther, Job..." A few days later, he added "poor little Job" to which we had to agree, yes, poor little Job!

-- He's making some connections from our Bible reading at night to his books of the Bible and when we got to Jonah in the list, he kept saying, "...Jonah, Micah, Jonah and the fish!"

-- This morning, we had one of my favorite funny moments lately. Graham wanted to finish memorizing the books of the Old Testament as well so that when he quizzes Titus, he'd know if he was doing it correctly. So he was going through this list a few times this morning and it was so funny to me to hear our 23 month old helping him along when he'd forget one (it definitely has to be the first time Titus has helped Graham learn something!). When Graham completed it successfully after a few tries, Titus immediately responded with "Yay, Dada!" and clapped for him.

-- When doing the months of the year, he started adding some syllables in the last several months so they now sound like, "Septem-mem-ber, Octo-bo-ber, Novem-em-ber and Dismember!" So cute. He also decided to add some syllables to Cucumber lately, so that now sounds like "Cucum-mum-mum-ber"

-- He's also gotten quite the personality these days - more adventurous and always trying to make me laugh with funny faces or goofy comments about what I'm doing. Hopefully, Graham will post some pictures soon so we can remember some of these as well.

-- It must be hard-wired into a boy to be obsessed with death. After learning Romans 6:23, he started adding "is death" anywhere he felt like in any of his verses... or repeating it over and over... "For the wages of sin is death!" When Graham was trying to video him one day, he was doing it and just kept repeating that phrase and wouldn't go on to the rest of the verse... and then ran out of the room. Graham yelled after him, "Buddy, what about the good news??"

-- He also likes to finish the sentences in books lately, which is cute. His favorite book seems to be "Guess How Much I love you" and at the part, where the little rabbit says to the big rabbit, "I love you..." He pipes in with "m'is much!" He will often do it when telling Dada or Nonna that he loves them on the phone as well and will end enthusiastically with "THIS MUCH!" and arms stretched out wide.

-- He is quickly becoming obsessed with Thomas the Train (we let him watch this now during our home dates so we can eat alone) and BIG trucks that he identifies throughout our walks... of course, every truck or SUV is definitely a BIG truck so I hear it an awful lot each morning and everywhere we drive.

-- He's gotten very particular about what he is wearing - right down to the diaper and many days will tell me which order he wants his diaper covers... blue diaper, then green diaper, then yellow diaper then white diaper!

If you are reading this, don't get too excited that I'm going to start posting a lot, but who knows now that I have a little entertainer to provide some content... maybe.

What's Better: Eating of Feeding Someone Else?

2010-11-14T15:50:00.000-08:00

Well, for a kid, you might expect the answer to that question to be quite obvious. Titus certainly lets us know when it's time to eat and he enjoys it. But he's taken on a favorite activity that he finds amusing: feeding Daddy. Enjoy.

Humbled

2010-10-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

I have had the blessing of working as a partner, as a board member, as a volunteer and now I have the great privilege of working as a staff member of Changed Choices. Why is it such a privilege? Because it gives me a front row seat to see God work miracles on a regular basis.

I’ve now officially been visiting prisons for a decade. And I’ve visited a LOT of prisons and met many special people. One thing that always struck me though was the frequency that the song “Because He Lives” was chosen by inmates to sing when they were together. Even more was the passion I’d hear when they’d sing it. Well, the dots were connected this past weekend for me.

Several of our clients, volunteers, board, and staff went to Montreat this past weekend. We stayed in a dorm-style building with a shared common area – perfect for fellowship. For some of these women, it was the first time they’d ever climbed a mountain or even been to the mountains. It was an incredible time.

Our theme was “Changed by the Maker” and we focused a bit on Jeremiah 18:1-6 where the clay was marred and yet the potter could reshape that clay. How true it is of all of us! The clients further on the path in transition would give the talks, sharing the applications of surrender, moving forward and forgiveness from their own stories and then we’d break into small groups to talk about where we are now in those areas.

It brought me to tears over and over to hear their stories. Some of these women with backgrounds of years and even decades as addicts and in prostitution who were touched by the love of Jesus. Some who lived on the streets and slept under bridges. I can’t say it better than they can, so here are some quotes I wrote down throughout the weekend:

“My only fear of God now is that I would ever have to face a day without Him”

“Bless them; change me” – a prayer of one of the clients realizing that though many people have wronged her, it wasn’t worth the captivity she’d stay in to not forgive them and move forward.

“If you (speaking to Ruth – the founder of Changed Choices) can forgive me, then I can believe that God can forgive me, too” and piggy-backing on that, another woman said, “that’s true, and your forgiveness saved my life” because it led her to God and out of the lifestyle she was in. If that isn’t motivation to get in the lives of people and love them, I don’t know what is.

“There isn’t an area in my life I can find that He has failed me”

To a mom who left her children for the street life when they were 1, 3 and 5 – and returned 10 years later and slowly won custody…
“Thank you, Mom. Growing up, I never pictured you being here on my wedding day.”
And when she picked her son up for the first time to take him home to live with her and she asked – how are we going to get through this? He said: “If you drive this car looking in the rearview mirror, you’ll run off the road.”

How true that is… and how humbling. We must look forward, accepting His new mercies every morning – forgiving ourselves and others and crawling back up on the true Potter’s wheel daily to be molded, used and filled for His Glory!

Now I understand the passion in the song… “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone, Because I know, God holds the future and life is worth the living, just because He lives.” When you don’t have family or friends that are safe, when you are homeless, when you can’t see a better choice than to shoot up or drink, when you have suffered decades of abuse… the only reason worth getting up for in the morning is that Jesus loves you. Of course that’s true for all of us, but seeing this truth through the eyes of these women, I could realize and appreciate it all the more.

That then begs the question – why didn’t the Lord allow me to have the life that some of these women have walked? Why did I grow up in a loving, Christian home? Because I did something right? Because He was nice to me? Because I'm a lucky one who gets to take a break for this life? Absolutely not. He has equipped me and blessed me, not for me alone, but to use the compassion, love, joy, peace, talents, abilities, time and energy that He has given me to reach out to others and help them experience the same great, mighty, awesome God that I have. To whom much is given, much is required and so we must not grow weary in doing good.

Praise the Lord for women who are physically living each day simply because Jesus loves them, laid down His life for them and took the penalty for their sin. And Praise the Lord because He did that for me, too, and gave me this precious freedom to live in relationship with Him experiencing His joy, peace, love and so much more!!

Who's the Champion?

2010-10-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

Titus has a new "trick" that makes us laugh pretty much every time...

Visit from.... MorMor!!!

2010-09-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

My 89-year-old grandmother made the trek from New Jersey all the way down to Charlotte last Thursday and stayed here until this past Tuesday. What a trooper! And not only that; she then visited each family's house down here -- which had to be several hours of additional driving to the five different homes (not to mention staying with John, Keiko and Sammy in Stafford, Va., on the way!).

Of course, if you know MorMor (what we call her - it's Swedish for mother's mother), you'd know that she has always been extremely adventurous, and I'm sure I don't even know the half of it.

We had the privilege of spending Friday afternoon (she beat my mom and me in cards as usual - she is as sharp as a tack!) and Saturday evening with her at our house for dinner. Titus just loves spending time with her. She's so good with babies/toddlers. Here are some pics from our time with her.

(My mom took some great pictures of MorMor and Titus holding hands, walking down the sidewalk to our pond... I wish I had them here to show you, but maybe I can post them once I get them from her.)

Thanks for visiting, MorMor! We love you and can't wait to see you again!

Down on the Farm

2010-09-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

The Clark family went back to its roots today -- you know, like 400 years or so, when one of our ancestors was some kind of farmer. It was awesome! We went on a mini-tour of several farms north and east of Charlotte as part of the Know Your Farm / Know Your Food event taking place today and tomorrow. What a great idea. Have you ever met the man who cared for the cow that you had for dinner? Tonight, we did -- how cool is that??

We learned a TON about: organic farming, from a real-live organic farmer; the link between food and nutrition, from a homeopathic doctor; about the Cabarrus County Cooperative extension, from a nice host at one of the farms; micro-greens from a lady who just started a business (Lucky Leaf Gardens) four months ago and is expanding it; and the beef cattle industry from 5th- and 6th-generation farmers. It was quite the educational experience.

It is awesome to know that so many good people right in this area produce healthy food. Katie and I are going to sign up for a campaign -- North Carolina's 10 percent challenge -- to commit to buying at least 10% of our food locally. Join us!

Here's my wife and son in front of a tractor.

Alternative caption: wife, son, tractor. (Just sounds cool to put it like that.)

Here's father and son learning from farmer Jill, who did not run a hill nor fetch us a pail of water. (We didn't ask her to -- but maybe we should have? It was pretty hot.)

Brad, the organic farmer. Man, this dude was cool. He's totally certified USDA organic. And you'd think he'd be shouting that from the barntops, so to speak, but we kind of had to pull it out of him. He talked with us for probably half an hour as we peppered him with questions about organic farming and why he believes in it, etc.

Brad is the man. He told us he works 60-65 hours a week in the winter, and 100-120 hours a week in the summer. That is some hard work! And boy does it show. We bought organic apples from him afterwards and they were sweet - literally and figuratively.

We might go in on his CSA (community supported agriculture) operation. Anybody care to join us?

Titus, apparently imitating Ray Charles. I couldn't get over how cute he was in Katie's sunglasses.

Katie and Titus eating the organic apple.

Dad, son, tractor = awesomeness.

Here's Eric Deal, the 6th-generation beef cattle farmer at Circle D farm in China Grove. 6 generations!! This farm started in 1842. Yes, that's 18, as in the voting age. Crazy.

Katie and Titus again at Circle D. Great day to be out and about and learn from these awesome people!

Tough News for Parents - Installment #2

2010-09-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

Tough news for parents installment #1 was that Titus' leg was broken. His leg is great now and you'd never know. He's starting to walk now, as the previous post noted...

We just received tough news installment #2: Titus is allergic to peanuts. Also, sesame seeds, pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts. But a peanut allergy was really the one we were hoping against... as everyone knows, they're everywhere.

Wow, this is tough to hear... we have tried so hard to make sure Titus is eating well. Lots of vegetables, organic foods, breastfeeding him (he still feeds once a day in the morning). Things we thought would reduce the risk of things like allergies.

As I've been processing this the last few minutes, some of the immediate questions are: "Will he grow out of it?" "Does this mean we can't have any peanut butter in the house?" But then there's the defeating one I know we'd (inappropriately) love to dwell on... "What did we do wrong??"

This certainly means some changes around the Clark household. It will mean changes in the foods we buy. It will mean checking labels all the time; communicating to babysitters, children's rooms at church, other parents when we take him to his friends' houses; carrying two Epipens with us, etc. I'm reminded of Switchfoot's "24:" "Life is not what I thought it was / 24 hours ago."

But now the most important questions are coming to me: "How does the LORD want to be glorified in this?" "What is He trying to teach us through this?" The first thing for me is humility; the second is reliance upon Him.

I know these next few days will be tough for Katie and me as we settle into a new normal with how life needs to look now. And though we may deal with blaming ourselves, my hope and prayer is that we would not dwell there, but ask those important questions of the LORD and through this whole situation, continue to be shaped into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

I also think it's important to take a step back and realize: WOW, the Creator of the universe has seen fit to entrust us with a happy, incredible, handsome, wonderful little boy! He created him, for His glory, and has the very hairs on his head counted. He has a plan for Titus and that plan is GOOD. We are so thankful for little Titus. May our God be glorified through this situation and anything else Titus or Katie or I may face. No matter what, our God is always and infinitely worthy of all praise, honor and glory.

It's Off to the Races (or Paces)

2010-09-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

Despite the advice of some other parents, Katie and I have been trying for weeks to get Titus to walk. We understand walking makes things a little more difficult, but we're not at that stage yet. Right now, we're just thrilled to see him making strides (get it?).

Titus is One!

2010-07-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

Titus,

My sweet, smiley boy. I can't imagine a better first year than this one we've had together. Your laughter is so contagious and you make me smile at least 100 times a day. You are so expressive, so enthusiastic about life, so opinionated and so easily entertained. You have taught me so much in your first year of life... I can't imagine how much more I will learn when you start talking to me! I have learned to be more patient, kind, gentle, joyful, thoughtful, selfless, service-oriented and loving all from knowing you just one year of my life. Just by being you, you have opened my heart to experience so much more than I was capable of before I met you.

I am amazed by how much you think and feel already, even when you can't fully communicate. You laugh at and with me when I'm silly, you can respond with thankfulness and excitement to let us know what you like, you can express frustration and sadness, loneliness and even sympathy. I remember coming home the first day I heard about Nonna's cancer and I cried on the couch and you just stopped what you were doing and looked deep in my eyes with concern and leaned your head in to cuddle with me and you have done that several times. I didn't think babies could possibly understand how to be sensitive and compassionate until I met you. Your heart is so full of love and life that I can't possibly have a bad day with you around.

I wish I could preserve you in these days forever because I enjoy each minute with you so much, just playing and enjoying life together. But I know it is best (and inevitable) for you to grow up and that one day I need to start sharing you with others so that you can bless others as much as you bless me by loving and caring for them, by using your contagious laugh to cheer them up, by serving them. I hope that you will grow up to be a man of God and that you will influence many people around you. I am confident that the Lord has given you a very optimistic spirit so that you might motivate others and encourage them. I can't wait to see how He will continue to use you.

Thank you for all that you've taught me, for all the wonderful memories this year and for breaking me in easy as a mom. I can't imagine a more wonderful little boy than you, sweety. I'll love you forever and for always and I look forward to all the joy that year two will bring!!

Mom

Some Birthday Pics:

First time in the car seat facing forward!

Playing in the cooler (a new favorite activity) - was with Lane and Cullen, but I forgot to get a picture of them all together.

Lunch with some cousins

The Birthday Boy!

Smiley Face Pizza for dinner

Cake! (or a morning glory muffin with sweet potato frosting...)

Great 1 year pics of Titus

2010-07-28T04:46:00.001-07:00

Lindsey Turner (our wedding photographer) offered to take some one year pictures of Titus the other night. I'm really excited about them and can't wait to see all of them, but here are the samples on her blog:

www.LindseyTurner.typepad.com
(in the post called "thank you" dated July 26)

I can't believe he'll be one year old tomorrow!!

Loving the Giggles

2010-07-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight Titus was in rare form... at one point, he couldn't even breathe because he'd lost control from all of the laughing. I love seeing him get like this and enjoy life so much. It just never gets old to me...

Our Little Chopin

2010-06-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

After Katie and I bought this awesome new piano, Titus discovered a new big toy on which to display his musical talents. Not only does he like to hit the keys on Mommy's or Daddy's lap; he can play it all by his little self (thank you very much). Here he is in a typical scene in our house, with Mommy looking on.

In all seriousness, we really hope he develops a love for the instrument that we both love!

Daddy

The Art of the High-Five

2010-05-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

Clearly, every little kid needs to know how to high-five, and as Titus' Dad, I feel a particular burden to help him learn this crucial social skill at an early age. How about less than 10 months? Not bad, Baby T!! Daddy

New furniture... or toys??

2010-05-14T07:46:00.001-07:00

We had two major deliveries yesterday that we've been planning to purchase for over a year now...

Graham and I are excited for the look and the chance to finally play a piano again! Titus thinks we got him some HUGE toys!! He loves to play the piano and to hear it be played and he loves to pull himself up on the chairs and bang away like they're drums. Pretty cute. He is loving them almost as much (or more?) than we are. Furniture purchases for the house are hopefully complete now... now we just have to finish decorating the last couple of rooms :)

Gardening

2010-05-14T05:32:00.000-07:00

One of the most exciting things about buying a house for me was knowing that one day we could have a garden. We moved in a bit too late to start one last year, but we got on the ball this year... If you've been following the Dreschers' blog, you've seen James detail out the steps. Basically, we decided to go with the Square Foot Gardening method and so far are happy (but it's a little early to tell what the harvest will be like ;))

The hardest part was probably getting the supplies and then building and filling the boxes. My big, strong handsome man did most of this work for us - here are some pics of the beginning stages:

The box:

Mixing the soil and filling the boxes:

After several weeks of planting (spacing them out for a longer harvest), here are the boxes now:

And our herbs (and some flowers):

And the newly mulched back yard - thanks to my dad:

Celebrations

2010-05-11T13:32:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to go to Clifton Forge this past weekend for many celebrations. The original intent was to surprise Graham's brother, Chris, for his birthday (at the end of May), but since we decided on this weekend, we realized we could also celebrate his dad's birthday, Mother's Day AND Ben's (our newest nephew) dedication. It was a lot of partying in 24 hours :) We had a great time. Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Brothers and sons:

Titus' tree (Jerry has named a tree on their property after each kid, spouse and grandkid - they have that many trees!):

Titus and Grandma:

The Taj Garage (this is the newest addition to the Clark home - it gets its name because the garage alone is probably bigger than most of the homes on the block :)):

And some family shots by the mountains:

Nine Months

2010-05-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

On April 29 (Karin's Birthday), Titus turned 9 months old! I can't believe he's already nine months old. This is my favorite stage yet - I love chasing him around and seeing him discover so many new things... even just little things like drawers, cabinets, windows, mirrors, etc. What a joy. And the best part is his little giggle every time he finds something or pulls himself up on something or learns how to squirt something or make something make noise (especially music) - his giggling starts when he wakes up and continues until his next nap - it's such a wonderful background noise :) I honestly can't imagine something else I'd rather listen to so often.

Here are his nine month pics:

First Haircut

2010-05-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

Titus had his first haircut a couple of weeks ago... the toupee had just gotten to me and I had to take care of it. I have to say, I expected it to be much harder to cut a baby's hair than it was. With Graham to hold him and using the same settings I use for Graham, I was able to do it quickly and easily. Here is a before and after shot:

Before:

After:

Look What I Found

2010-04-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

And here he was a few days ago (April 19)... ready to go!

And this is how I have found him after every nap and night since. We tried taking the bumpers out and lowering the crib, but first time back in he was still up in less than 60 seconds. Oh well...

An Award?

2010-04-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

My sister, Amy, tagged me as a "Sugar Doll Award" recipient... which basically means I'm supposed to write 7 things about myself that are true that have nothing to do with husband, kid, etc. so I'm going to do my best and then tag some more people to do it next. The key, I guess, is to write 7 things that are true, not necessarily things I would like to be true... so here we go:

1. I'm obsessed with efficiency. No matter how efficient something might already be by the time it is in my hands, I want to make it even more efficient :) I'm not defending this, but it is true. In fact, I think the word "efficiency" uses too many letters and takes too long to type and thus should be shortened.
2. I actually like being a mom... I never thought I'd say this 5 or 10 years ago, but it has been much more rewarding and worthwhile than I ever imagined it to be.
3. I long to be in Heaven, be with Jesus and have everything right again - no more pain, no more relational strain, no more having to apologize for every other thing I do or don't do :)
4. I'm a penny pincher, not just a dollar pincher, but an actual penny pincher (I'm sitting here now enjoying pinching a penny in my hand). My sister commented recently that I came out of the womb cheap. I was offended at first, but then realized she's probably right. I don't like to be perceived as cheap when everyone is chipping in for something, but I do find fulfillment in discovering new ways to save money and stretch the dollar to accomplish more.
5. I love to budget. I love creating budgets, maintaining budgets, reviewing budgets, changing budgets, anything to do with a budget - even the word "budget". Crazy, I know. I've always been a math nerd and this seems to be the only real life application for math that I've found so I cling to it :) True story: the night I met Graham, he brought up his budget (and we talked about it for a long time) and I was thinking the whole time, "hmmm... I might like to date this guy!").
6. I love discipleship/mentoring. I love to be a mentor and to be mentored. Individually, as a couple, etc. - one on one teaching and learning is an incredible joy that I hope I can do for all of my life.
7. When asked for a list of top ten places I like to spend time, prison actually ranks in there. For whatever reason, I just really enjoy being in a prison and interacting with the wonderful people I find there.

Okay, so here are my tags to do it next:
-- Jessica Smartt
-- Becky Darling
-- Marty Owen
-- Lauren Horton
-- Zoe Sandvig
-- Faith Brobst
I look forward to reading them!

Mobility and Motility

2010-04-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

Just like the nurse said, Titus was right on track and barely missed a beat because of the broken leg. As previously reported (how formal does that sound?), Titus showcased his feat during the First Annual Clark Family Day program on Monday, April 12. We were all lying on the bed, relaxing from our grueling 2.5-mile hike at Lake Norman State Park, when Titus saw an opportunity occasioned by Katie putting a grape about 4-5 feet away from Titus on a pillow. He seized it, and I looked up at Kate: "Did he just crawl!? I think that's a first!"

So as any good father/family chronicler would do, I ran down the stairs to find a video camera (an old digital camera backup since we lost the Flip!), which I of course couldn't find. And we subsequently put Titus through a series of "let's-make-sure-this-is-the-real-thing" tests, which he passed. It was confirmed: our little man was now mobile!

And so he is. It has been remarkable in the days since how Titus has gone from 0 to 60 in under two weeks. Clearly an explorer, the kid is putting the Clark back into "Lewis & Clark." We're so proud. His favorite activity to engage in with his newfound mobility is to crawl over to the desk drawer and pull it in and out -- repeatedly.

While I am not-so-silently and reluctantly watching him grow out of infanthood and into toddlerhood -- missing the days of holding him and knowing that all he could do was look up and squirm a little bit -- I love the fact that he can now come to us. Up to now, it had always been us coming to him. It warmed my heart one day last week after coming home from work when I called him and he actually came to me. He's our little puppy. :)

Just one of the million little blessings that I never expected because you'd never read about them in a book. At least now, you can read about them on a blog. :)

P.S. In case you're wondering what "motility" is, I had to look it up too (dictionary.com): –adjective. Biology. moving or capable of moving spontaneously: motile cells; motile spores; motile infants (my addition).

Broken Leg, Resolute Spirit

2010-04-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

Admittedly we're catching up on posts here since this news is more than a month old now... But we just wanted to chronicle Titus' recent injury. One night back in March (Saturday, March 6, to be exact), Kate went out to have some personal time at Panera (a rare occasion these days), I was left home alone with Titus and I always bask in the opportunity to show Kate, "I've got it! You can go away and know that everything will be fine when you come back." Well, I failed miserably at that goal on this night...

I was walking down the stairs with him and somehow just lost my footing - not holding on to the railing - and slipped 6 or 7 steps down to the bottom, while Titus slipped with me. He obviously cried, which is to be expected, but after several hours of fussiness, we were getting concerned because you would think if he weren't injured, he'd be over it by now. We also thought, well, it must not be broken because he'd be in constant pain. The most troubling thing to me was that he wasn't his normal smiley self. As a parent (I'm sure many of you have gone through this), everything awful goes through your mind. "Did he hit his head? Does he have a bad head injury? Does he have brain damage? Is it permanent? Did he hurt his spine?" I felt awful. Definitely the most significant trial we've been through as parents.

Then, I was shocked to learn on the following Monday from Kate that he had broken his leg (more accurately, I broke his leg). Then some of the same awful questions go through your mind. "Will he be able to crawl and walk? Will he be normal like other little boys?" Oh man, what a rough piece of news to get. But I have to say that in the days since I've learned that there is so much more to be thankful for than there is to be concerned about.

I met Kate at the ortho doctor's office and they gave him a splint and me a lot of reassurance, believing he would be fine. They said 2/3 of kids break bones. Crazy. Maybe Titus has officially gotten his out of the way? I hope so...

But praise God that he has healed so well the last few weeks. It was a rougher period, especially on Kate, both because he was higher maintenance emotionally and higher maintenance physically, by virtue of the fact that it was more difficult to place him somewhere, like in one of his toys where he sits up. He is an extremely resilient kid. After about a week, you would have had a tough time knowing he had a broken leg from the waist up. Towards the end, he was banging his splint on things, presumably because he liked the sound. He's a boy all right...

For those of you thinking that I'm still beating myself up, I'm mostly OK. I know God will take care of him. It's one of those things I'll relive again and again in my head. But I know these things just happen sometimes. And God has a great purpose in it all! One cool thing will be Titus telling the story years hence about how he broke his leg before he could even crawl, much less walk.

The splint is off now and the bone healed really, really. The nurse said she was less concerned about the fracture extending into the growth plate than she was when he first came in. So hopefully that won't be an issue.

Praise God for a happy, healthy little boy. We rejoice in the joy that he has been and is to us. What an incredible gift from our heavenly Father.

Here he is on the day he got his splint - two days after the fall: Monday, April 8, 2010. I mean, is that the cutest kid you've ever seen with a broken leg or what??

And here he is with me just before he got his splint off (March 29, 2010):

Clark Family Day

2010-04-07T12:52:00.001-07:00

So we've started our own new tradition/celebration day. While taking my mom's parenting class, Graham and I were working through an exercise that led us to the idea of having a family day each year to celebrate and thank the Lord for what he has given us. This will be much easier to accomplish in the early days before the kids realize how uncool it is to hang out with the family, but we hope to make it a fun memory and tradition for them nonetheless...

There are a few components that we'll do each year on Clark Family Day:

1. Have a family picnic and during the picnic we'll take time to give each of the kids a blessing and pray over them (idea taken from my parents who do this each year for all of us at Christmas) and write down in our family journal various ways the Lord has blessed us throughout the year and ways we've seen him at work so we can reflect back over the years and remember the great things He has done.

2. We will do a new activity the kids have never done before so they can try something new. this year was easy since Titus hasn't done much - so we went for a hike at Lake Norman State Park.

Titus got such a kick out of this - he giggled for about the first 20 minutes - I think he loved being able to travel on daddy's back like that.

3. We have a "feast" of celebration in the evening... this year's consisted of Graham's request of white chicken chili, salad, breadsticks and leftover German chocolate cake for dessert :)

And then we have our program in the evening before the kids go to bed - you can see below for details, but the major components are a talent show, a sing-along, family appreciation time and an awards ceremony for the kids.

Mommy's talent: playing "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" and "Minuet" (both by Bach) on the penny whistle:

Daddy's talent: playing a newly learned scale (from guitar lessons) and "Hosannah"

Titus' talents: Patty cake and.... Army Crawling! He learned about an hour before the talent show how to do it - just in time!! (another post on this later)

And then the awards - the Mommy's and the Daddy's - so Titus earned the Cuddlies Baby of the Year from Mommy:

And the Giggliest Baby of the Year from Daddy:

Talk about two peas in a pod! Of course, they were so excited, they couldn't get a shot of both of them and the award at the same time... so here is the award:

After Titus went to bed, Graham and I had some wine and danced in the living room - a great end to a great day! We're already looking forward to Clark Family Day 2011!

8 Months Old

2010-04-07T12:51:00.001-07:00

Titus turned 8 months old about a week and a half ago... so here is our monthly chair shot and a couple other favorites of him that I've taken lately. He is such a joy. Were definitely in a stage where he wants to be with his mommy ALL of the time... so while I can't get anything done, I do treasure this stage as it will probably be the only time in his life that he'll want to be with me this much :) I think my favorite part of all are all of his hugs. He gives me hugs about 100 times a day... just to be sure I'm close by... he'll be playing or in a shopping cart or something and every couple of minutes he grabs on to me and pulls me in for a hug. I love it. At the same time, he's so curious and wanting to explore EVERYTHING he can find... he just wants me right beside him while he discovers it.

Getting to be a MUCH better eater :)

Getting some exercise on a hot day...

Patiently reading his book, waiting for us to be ready to go...

And just being cute in the mismatched outfit daddy gave him ;)

4 Generations

2010-04-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

A little over a month ago, I had the chance to bring Titus to visit his MorMorMor and we had a great time. My mom and I traveled up and stayed with John and Keiko for a night on each end of the trip and two nights with MorMor and Grandpa in between. We had a blast. First Uncle Mark and Aunt Rita came for the day on Sunday.

Then MorMor and I went to her water aerobics class... I was on the younger side of the ladies and she was on the older side, but she still swims circles around all of us. I'm very proud to be her granddaughter - I hope to be as in shape as her when I'm her age!

Titus was a big hit - especially in his UVA outfit (which we brough in honor of my cousin Mike who is a student there right now - Uncle Mark's and Aunt Rita's son).

We also had a chance to watch some (very, very) old videos of MorMor and Mom from when they were growing up... even one of my mom when she was in the first couple of weeks of her life. It is interesting how much I see her in Titus' face now that I saw those videos!

And probably the absolute highlight for me was hearing lots of stories about my mom's dad from MorMor - how they met and all about their relationship. They sure were a pair - both were quite adventurous and daring.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip and one I hope we can repeat again soon!

Titus' first syllables

2010-02-17T17:16:00.000-08:00

Titus is right on the cusp of starting to verbally communicate, and here's how it sounds. Note the practice rounds of opening his mouth before actually letting a sound come out.

A Solid Day

2010-02-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

So I finally caved in today and gave Titus his first solid food... rice cereal. It was an exciting time and went much better than I anticipated... and by better, I don't mean that he consumed very much... I only spooned out half off what I made, and I would be willing to bet that less than 1% actually made it to his stomach. In fact, I questioned towards the end of this "meal" if I should have just dumped the bowl of food over his face and down his shirt right off the bat so as to have been more efficient in achieving the result :) It was better in the sense that it was actually a lot of fun and not a lot of stress (which is what I had pictured).

So here are a couple of pictures from our first adventure with rice cereal:

And if you want to see more detail of our fiesta, here is a video to chronicle the event a little more (it's less than a minute long - don't worry, I didn't record the whole meal :)

6 months (a couple of weeks ago)

2010-02-10T09:58:00.000-08:00

As Strider kindly informed you earlier on our blog - Titus had his 1/2 birthday on January 29. Graham and I have been a bit nostalgic at the idea of Titus getting bigger and no longer being an infant... so I've been putting this post (and other things) off in hopes of keeping him tiny forever. It's not working though and in the last couple of weeks, Titus has had some big things to celebrate. He's now almost completely self-sufficient in sitting up (he still tips from time to time), can stand with an inanimate object and he has two teeth! He's such a joy to watch as he grows and discovers all kinds of things. It gives you such a great appreciation for things in life to see the pure joy and delight in his eyes as he sees things for the first time.

Here is a 6 month photo (same chair as always) and some others of him learning to sit and stand:

We had his six month appointment yesterday and learned that while he's still growing like a weed in height (92nd percentile), he's not so large in weight (only 16th percentile) and so I must force myself to enter the realm of solid foods with him. Stay tuned for the first feeding post - coming next!

Titus the Tiny Tiger

2010-02-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

Some of you know that my favorite name for Titus is some variation of his full nickname: "Titus the Tiny but Titanic Titan of Titanium." I may have to change that now to "Titus the Tiny Tigrous Titantic Titan of Titanium" -- Tigrous being an adjective I just made up that means "(1) of or like a tiger; (2) having teeth." So there you have it: the announcement that Titus has teeth! We just discovered this last night while hanging out with our friends Jessica and Todd Smartt. Pretty cool discovery.

I hear in baby circles that this is a pretty big milestone. Titus and I have already agreed (albeit, his consent is tacit) that he won't grow up to be a little boy, so I have a feeling Titus is already defying our agreement. Oh man... all at once, I'm 1) so excited to see him as a little boy, where we can start to converse with him and watch him learn so many things; and 2) so not looking forward to him being bigger than he is right now, where we can just hold him all the time and he doesn't want to be put down. So we cherish these moments, because before we know it, he'll be off and married and talking about the same stuff regarding his children. I know, I know -- getting way ahead of myself. But parents are allowed to be sappy about their own kids. :)

Being 6 months has its perqs

2010-02-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

Now that Titus is 6 months old, I'm feeling more liberty to use and defy gravity with him. This will in later months take the form of me tossing Titus in the air, with Katie having to hold her tongue amidst tensing with fear and sighing with relief. But for now, it's just me bringing him quickly up and acting like I've dropped him. He seems to like it:

P.S. For those English police officers out there - or those who think they are - think before you correct my spelling of the word "perqs." :)

Graham / Daddy

titus

2010-02-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

titus is 6months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STRIDER

Candid Shots

2010-01-30T09:08:00.000-08:00

Kate's sister Karin took a bunch of incredible photos the other day, just for fun. She hasn't charged us yet, but when you see these photos you're going to think she should. :)

We haven't taught him yet that sticking your tongue out isn't polite; so for now, it's just cute.

Look at that smile...

Classic - it wouldn't have been an authentic photo shoot without drool!

Are you hiding?

Titus gets this face from Mommy and Daddy about 63 times a day!

One of my favorites of Katie and Titus.

Titus (right) and his cousin, Branson, who's almost 2.

Giggles Before the Evening Nap

2010-01-04T14:40:00.000-08:00

Like an old outfit that comes back in style, coughing is back in as being funny! When we realized he was laughing hysterically, I rushed downstairs to get the camera before he stopped laughing and we grabbed this. What a giggly boy.
Daddy

5 Months Old

2010-01-03T13:31:00.000-08:00

This kid is growing fast! You can see how he's aged...

Just out of the womb...

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months - what a happy kid!

All bundled up

2009-12-22T21:16:00.000-08:00

It's getting rather cold down here in Charlotte (I know, I know - cold for the South), so we've been making sure Titus is warm in his car seat. Two gifts from our friends are evident here. First notice the matching gloves and hat - man, what a cute kid. This was a gift from my brother's wife's parents, Dale and Brenda Muterspaugh. The 2nd is this deal called a Bundle-Me, a gift from a former coworker of mine, Kellie Hotz and her husband Jeff -- so awesome. It fits in the car seat and now is just in there for good until or it starts getting warmer. Turns out this thing is also good for bundling him up when we need him to sleep in the car seat!

Apparently coughing is funny

2009-12-16T16:41:00.000-08:00

Katie coughed one day around Titus and discovered that - who knew? - coughing is funny. So we had to get Titus laughing at it. He doesn't as much anymore. He keeps us on our toes, constantly having to test and learn what will make him giggle. It's fun. :)

Graham

"The Ultimate Parent"

2009-12-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

My mom's church (Grace Covenant Church in Huntersville) has an amazing women's ministry called Morning Grace on Tuesday and Thursday mornings... somewhere around 600 women come from week to week. This past semester they offered 16 classes between the two days and they lasted 12 weeks.

I had the privilege of taking my mom's class called "Charting a Course For Your Family's Future." (I figured I better take it and buy the book before it becomes a best seller and costs a lot more :)) For any of you who know my parents, you probably know they are very good at their roles and are terrific parents. So I figured that as I started this journey as a mom, I ought to learn from the best.

The class was broken into 8 sections with an array of principles and hands-on, practical tips for parenting. It is designed to help you develop a strategic plan for your parenting so that you can be purposeful and on a track towards your goals rather than aimlessly approaching parenting as it happens circumstantially from day to day. We developed personal mission statements, created a family purpose statement, set goals and evaluated our health, personalities, giftings, etc. so that we can continue to improve and work as a family team.

Here are a few of the takeaways and ideas that were generated as a result of the course:
1. Pray for the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) and for submission, servanthood and stewardship to be developed in each child we have (daily ideally).
2. Face my fears - I need to stop focusing so much on hoping certain things don't happen and instead walking through the fear and determining what I will do if ______. As a complementary point, I was also reminded that Titus (as with any other children we have) is not mine -- he is the Lord's so I need to remember my role as caretaker and steward and not as being the one ultimately in control.
3. I would like to institute some form of regular family time that would incorporate learning and praying together (to include discipleship, oral presentations, reading texts, etc.)
4. I hope to teach the importance and joy in giving by incorporating it in everyday life and holiday time periods -- and to do it in a variety of ways to expose the kids to lots of different opportunities and venues.
5. Building teamwork. I'll confess when one of the girls in the class brought this up as a priority, I didn't get it, but over time I've become more and more convinced of the importance of doing this. I want our family to act and feel like a team -- that we would be there for each other -- fighting for each other, helping each other, caring for each other -- and this must be consciously pursued. I'd like to see us do family runs or triathlons (working to improve family times from year to year by helping each other achieve goals) and perhaps start a family business to practice working together and along the way learn various business and financial principles.
6. Grading ourselves each year. This sounds like overkill I'm sure, but Graham and I have decided to rate ourselves individually and as a family at the beginning of each year in all areas of health (emotional, intellectual, physical, spiritual, relational and financial). We've broken this down further into sub-areas and we will pick our weakest 12 areas and spend one month working on each one throughout the year. Admittedly, when we have more children that are older, this may no longer be realistic, but we'd like to do it as long as we can.
7. Starting a Clark Family Day, where we celebrate being a family. We're planning to do this the first Saturday of March and there are several components that will be incorporated each year, but different activities. This came out of our dreaming about a "perfect day" as a family (one of the exercises in the class).

So while I am not the "ultimate parent" (and probably never will be), I do have a better sense of purpose and some plans for intentional parenting that I didn't have before -- so here goes nothing!

For anyone who actually reads this blog and is on the great adventure of parenting (or will be soon), I do highly recommend this class. My mom is now reworking the class to be more of a conference style so that couples can do this together. It helps you set a solid foundation in the Lord and gives lots of practical ways to navigate the calm and stormy waters of life that you and your children will go through over the years. This class was such a blessing to me -- thanks, Mom!

A Boy's Rites of Passage - Installment #1: A Trip to Lowe's

2009-12-11T09:38:00.000-08:00

"Which Lowe's," you ask? Titus is insulted by the question! Lowe's home improvement, of course. (Seriously, why did they have to name a grocery store Lowe's as well?!?)

Lowe's home improvement is a man's dream come true. Power tools, hardware, lumber, grilles. The guy who invented Lowe's is a genius. I'd like to have him over for dinner sometime.

Anyway, so Titus took his first trip to Lowe's. Admittedly, Dad was more excited than Titus was, but it just may have been that his growing little brain just could not handle the full glory of it all. In time, my son; in time...

We took the opportunity on this momentous occasion to snap a quick Dad/son photo before we went inside:

After an hour or more of looking around for all kinds of stuff, he emerged unscathed. We should have had a before AND after photo, because you just might have found that Titus sprouted one tiny little hair on his chest.

Way to go, T-man. You make Daddy proud. Next, Daddy will show you how to act like you know what you're doing when trying to fix the sink. :)

My Very Own Handyman

2009-12-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that when I married Graham, I wasn't choosing him for his handyman skills so now that we have a home, I am pleasantly surprised with this new side of him that I am seeing. He has been quite ambitious and much more capable than I realized. He has done several projects around the home that I would not have expected him to even consider doing himself. Most of these have been "improvement" projects for the home or yard, but last week we had our first significant "fix it" project. Our garbage disposal was leaking and we didn't know why. He diligently called his brother, did some research and took it apart, went to Lowe's (not that this was any hardship for him :)), found the part and reassembled it. I was very impressed with what he did... You can see some pictures from his work below.

And amazingly enough, here is the picture with him after he completed the job (only 3 short hours later - I thought it would certainly be at least a few days...)

Now - the disclaimer here is that I waited so long to get around to posting this that it is now leaking again... but I am completely confident in my husband and know that he will get it to stop leaking again soon :)

I'm so thankful for a hard-working, teachable, determined husband who is a great handyman!

Dressing Up

2009-12-09T18:18:00.001-08:00

Graham despises Halloween. I don't like the concept, but I do like costumes (really any chance to dress up and be silly) and I know it can be a lot of fun for kids, so I'm a bit torn on it. Fortunately for Graham, we had some unexpected circumstances that prevented us from going to the Halloween party we had planned on attending. Since I love costumes and we were given four of them for Titus this year, I decided to take the opportunity to dress him up in each of them while Graham was at work and took some pictures... feel free to vote on your favorite would-have-been costume for him :)

4 Months Old

2009-12-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

Titus is growing much faster than we'd like to admit - every day is such a joy. I had no idea how much I'd enjoy being a mom. He smiles and laughs so easily and loves to play and be held. He is a true extravert if I ever saw one :)

We had his four month appointment the other day... he grew a couple more inches and is in the 95th percentile for height. He is now only in the 50th percentile for weight though - a tall, thin boy... hmmm, that reminds me of someone ;) He had a great visit and seems to be right on track for everything... despite our doctor's frustration with me about not starting vaccines yet :)

Here are some favorite pictures from the last month:

Daddy and son love playing together...

Graham took a sick day last week to take care of me because I somehow hurt my back to the point of having trouble walking (fortunately, it only lasted a day) - so I took advantage of the care and took some naps with my precious son - here is one of us on the couch (I love these moments).

Titus is always very alert - I thought this was a fitting picture of his most common face. He's always looking around and discovering whatever he can find.

One night he was having a hard time going to sleep and had gotten a bit fussy... in desperation, I looked over and saw this cute stuffed elephant that Nita Youngblood got for him and thought maybe this was a good time to introduce him to it so I put it on his tummy. Unfortunately we didn't have a camera in hand right away so you'll have to take my word for it, but as soon as we put the elephant on his tummy, he looked at it and his tears went away and he immediately started laughing hysterically at it. Now he doesn't like to sleep without it... he loves to hold its trunk up next to his face and cuddle as he falls asleep :)

Thanksgiving in Clifton Forge

2009-12-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

Titus had the chance to celebrate his first major holiday with Graham's family in Clifton Forge. We had a great time! Thanksgiving Day we all got together with Erin's (our sister-in-law) family for one huge Thanksgiving meal. Erin did a great job decorating their garage and several people brough dishes for the meal - it was terrific. I was particularly impressed with Erin for doing this since she is in her third trimester!! Here is the beautiful view from their house looking out over the river and the mountains:

We also had the chance to have a smaller family meal at Jerry and Judy's on Friday night - and we can't have a family meal without our text readings... as usual, we had very stimulating conversations as a result.
Here are some pictures of Titus with Aunt Erin and Grandma Judy (three generations):

Where We've Been

2009-12-07T07:12:00.000-08:00

Admittedly, I'm a bit of blog binge writer rather than the typical day-to-day or week-to-week writer, but we've also been away because our lives were altered slightly over the last several weeks... the Lord gave us a terrific opportunity to learn some things and so we've been busy with that and I've been catching up a bit on "normal life" since :) I have to say though, I can't wait for the next opportunity He will give us - and I hope it will require more sacrifice than the last so that I can grow deeper in love with Jesus. This experience helped me to peal back a layer (if you think of an onion) to glimpse more into His love and to His transforming power in my life, but now it just leaves me yearning for more. So while a lot of what I'll be posting in the next few days is a bit out of date, I do want to write and post anyways so we have records for later.

First, I want to chronicle some of the big things God has taught me in the last few weeks:
1. His love for us is so far beyond what I could've imagined. Thanks to Karin's and James' recommendation, my family is reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan for a family discussion at Christmas. As I read it (and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good shot in the arm!), I am convinced over and over of how little I really love - at least in the way I've been loved by Jesus and how He calls us to love in response.
2. I am far more judgmental than I'd ever like to admit, but as the Lord reveals this and softens my heart, I just pray like the apostle Paul, that He will carry this work that He has started to completion so that I might live free from judgment and self-deception.
3. I am blessed beyond what I could ever ask or imagine - and I mean that to the nth degree. To have an exceptional husband, a healthy and happy son, incredible siblings, parents and in-laws, a job for Graham that provides for us and even allows me to stay home with Titus, a wonderful home to live in, and the list goes on...
4. I really am spoiled. I know they always say that the last born is the most spoiled and they're right - but I've been spoiled even in my adult life with incredible siblings and spouses who continually amaze me with their deep love for the Lord, each other, their children and others around them. It has been so cool to have a front row seat to see how sacrifically they love and with such ease. They have each been blessed with different gifts, but they each use them in wonderful ways... I stand amazed and challenged to follow in their footsteps and again thankful beyond expression that I was placed in this family and not another. Over the last month or so, I was faced over and over again with how different my life could have been if I had been born to another family that didn't love the Lord and each other, or didn't respect girls, or didn't have the basic needs provided for, or didn't have a safe environment to live in, or any number of other things.

I've thought a lot, felt a lot and learned a lot in the last month, but what I am thankful for above all is that being faced with my selfish, sinful, fearful self has prompted me to run to Jesus and seek His face all the more. I pray that He will continue to reveal Himself and challenge me through the examples of my siblings and parents, through our friends and our church and through special opportunities like the one we had in November.

Sick But Still Smiley

2009-11-24T16:52:00.000-08:00

Kate and Titus both weren't feeling well yesterday, but I caught a moment with Titus where he was just looking at me and smiling, then laughing when I made a face. It warmed my heart. Kind of reminds of my Dad when he would say, "Ticky-ticky-ticky!" while tickling us. All sons pick up things from their Dads. Maybe Titus will do that for his kids some day!

Vocal Boy

2009-11-16T17:05:00.001-08:00

We're not exactly sure why Titus is so vocal (yeah right - he probably feels like he can barely fit a word in edge-wise!), but he's starting to make his needs known. We're not sure what he's talking about, but perhaps a baby across the street does?

Month by Month

2009-11-09T15:23:00.000-08:00

Kate and I thought it would be cool to do a time warp of Titus - sitting in the same chair of our house. We didn't think of it right when he was born, but you can still see how he's aged. What a cool kid!

At birth

1 month

2 months

3 months

27 years?

Second Ann-i-versary

2009-10-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

On October 7, Graham and I celebrated two years of marriage. In some ways it seems like it has been so short and in others I feel like I've known him forever and can't imagine life without him in it. It's been such a great couple of years - we've learned so much about each other and how to love and respect each other better. So we decided to spend the evening at Bonefish to celebrate and then we'll be going away Friday-Sunday this weekend to Davidson (I know - quite a long trip!) to celebrate some more :) So we got all dressed up to go out and found that Titus must have overheard us and got himself ready, too... here he is:

And here we are:

As part of the evening, we spent some time reminiscing about our favorite memories from the year and then we picked out our top 10 pictures (not necessarily highest quality, but symbols of some of our favorite memories) to put in our anniversary album. So here are our top 10 from the year:

Bentley's on 27 - my birthday last year

Our anniversary trip to the Virginia Creeper in Damascus, VA

Our anniversary dinner at home

Christmas at our apartment

Our first day in our first, new home!

Picnic at the whitewater center on our Stay-cation!

Bonclarken for the FHG retreat

Thanksgiving in Clifton Forge

Celebrating numerous events with the whole Wray family

Grove City reunion

Titus' 2 month appointment

2009-10-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

This is now a bit out of date, but just so I can remember with future kids - I'm going to make a record of Titus' two month appointment. Turns out he really is a big baby - living up to his name of "giant" for sure! For height - he was 25 inches (97th percentile), for weight, he was 12 pounds 13 ounces (78th percentile) and for head size he was 15.5 inches (36th percentile) - aww poor guy - big body, little head :) Not sure what happened there!

His only two conditions were his belly button (which the doctor fixed there - I think it was called granuloma or something like that) and his curly toe (we call it his crooked toe) which we learned will likely have to be fixed surgically. They won't even consider it for at least a year because he's too little to handle the anesthesia and our hope is that by taping his two toes together each day in the mean time, it might naturally straighten out over the next couple of years... but only time can tell. Fortunately, it isn't bothering him at all for now.

Other than that, he got lots of praise from his doctor for his growth, eating, sleeping, etc. We're so thankful for such a healthy and happy little boy.

Some more favorite pics of Titus

2009-10-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of Titus that I like from the past few weeks...

With his Aunt Amy at Strider's football game

In his 2009 outfit (Amy got this for Miles, Titus and Addie to all wear since we're having such a big baby boom this year in the Wray family)

Titus' first time in his bumbo seat

Titus is 2 months old (Sept 29)

The new king of the house :) He decided recently that he would like to sit on his throne with us during dinner.

Grove City Reunion

2009-10-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

The next weekend, we all packed up and went to Grove City for my 5 year reunion. It was a wonderful trip. Titus proved to be an excellent traveler! He cried once for about a minute and other than that loved his time in his car seat for 8 hours each way. We had a great time hanging out at the Griffin's house on Friday night with Nick, Jenay, RJ, Marty, Kate, Chris and Kelly. We went to campus on Saturday and wandered around a bit at the alumni lacrosse game, the reunion luncheon and up at the new Gee and then we went to the McClelland's farm for dinner and a bonfire with the old gang - a great time as usual!!

Here are some pictures from the reunion:

Class of 2004

Bible Study reunion (minus Jessica and Meghan)

Snug as a bug

Meeting Valerie Mackey

We also had a chance to walk down around the campus and through town. It was interesting to see so many new things:

Yes - this beer store is next to the Coffee Grove!

And some things that just never do change - which is what gives Grove City such charm. We had intended to get a picture of the new Rainbow Bridge... but alas, there was a creeking going on (when a couple gets engaged while at Grove City, the guy gets thrown in Wolf Creek as a "congratulations" :)) -- but we did get some other pictures along the way.

This is a new little gazebo down on lower campus.

Graham's 10 year reunion

2009-10-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

We did the tour of reunions the last couple of weeks... First we went to Clifton Forge for Graham's 10 year high school reunion (he was the president so he had the luxury of being in charge of planning it). He did an excellent job putting it together and the reunion was a success. There was a dinner event for the adults Saturday night and a picnic for the families (so he could show off little Titus :)) the next day. Of course, the event Saturday was a bit too much of a success (if you know what I mean) and a lot of folks didn't get up in time to come to the picnic... :)

Here is a picture of the reunion planning committee and one of Graham and his best friend Theron:

Here we are at the picnic:

We also had a great time with Graham's family celebrating Judy's birthday.

And Titus got to meet Aunt Suzanne and Theron for the first time!!

Swiss Memories

2009-10-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Graham and I have decided to commemorate our trip to Switzerland each year by spending a weekend in late September eating Swiss foods and/or doing Swiss activities... Since we couldn't easily go hiking in the mountains this year, we decided to stick to some Swiss meals. So we started off by making French Onion Soup (the French Onion Soup Graham had in Gruyeres was his favorite ever...) for Ethnic night with our friends (we each made a food from our ethnic background - quite fun if you've never done it). The next day was our true Swiss day though - we made a Rosti (which is a very common Swiss dish). Check it out:

Here are some favorite pics from the real Swiss trip:

Graham's favorite French Onion Soup and Gruyere Fondue

A real Rosti (Graham's plate)

Having breakfast on top of the Schilthorn

Names Have Meaning (Most of the Time)

2009-09-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Turns out, however, that most of our names for Titus don't mean anything. All the same, they might provide a little entertainment. Like Katie's Mom, who has called her everything from "Katie" to "Boo" and "Bopper" (and calls her husband Bruce "Ralph"), we have carried on the fine Wray Family tradition of calling our son whatever comes out at the moment. A few of them:

The Boop (the definite article is key here)
Doodle-bop (taken from one of Titus' nurses in the hospital)
Butterball (also taken from the nurse)
Bubber (origin is obscure)
Mr. T (you know where this comes from)
Little Baby Titus (I mean, come on, that's pretty cute - plus, it has good meter)
Bro! and Dude! (Graham's terms of endearment)
Mr. Man (Graham's personal favorite)

He takes it all in stride. Another one we don't have time to say, but that I still like, is "Titus the Tiny But Titanic Titan of Titanium." I'd also like to add a "Maximus" and "Aurelius" in there somewhere.

--Graham

My Favorite Photo of Titus

2009-09-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

Man, how adorable is this kid. (Rhetorical question - which is why I didn't put a question mark. Although, feel free to answer it. :)

This one's definitely going in the wedding rehearsal dinner slideshow. I know, I know, thinking too far ahead here. :)

--Graham (Daddy)

"Are you a smiley little boy?"

2009-09-18T12:33:00.000-07:00

Titus hears this question about 52 times a day because we often get a very cute reaction... he has been smiling a lot more in the last couple of weeks. I love seeing these smiles. Here are a couple of pictures of him just before bed about a few days ago... you can see a few of his big smiles.

And here are a couple of pictures when Titus got to meet his new, adorable little niece, Audrey Jane (Addie) born September 9. She is absolutely wonderful. It was fun for us to see her for a lot of reasons, but one unique one was to see a flashback to six weeks prior when Titus was born on the same floor, in the same hospital, in the same way (c-section) weighing the same and being the exact same height. Pretty bizarre! These two already have a lot in common!

My Wonderful Husband

2009-09-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

Over the last week, I've been reminded over and over how wonderful my husband is so I thought I ought to chronicle some of these things about him so I can remember in years to come (realizing my brain is less than functional these days and my memory is even worse :)). We had a great weekend together last week starting with the receipt of a sweet (and long!) love letter from Graham that I received about an hour before he came home. We had a great evening just talking (several full conversations!), walking, eating and playing with Titus. The next morning we had our very first outing post-baby while my brother-in-law, James, bravely took on the task of being the first babysitter for Titus. Graham has been so faithful to have a date with me every single week since sometime during our engagement... we still haven't missed a single week! About a year ago, we started having a relationship inventory one week out of every month and that week in September happened to fall last Saturday. As we went through our various questions (things we appreciate that the other person has done in the last month, something for the other person to think about moving forward, self-evaluation, relationship evaluation and favorite memory from the last month), I was struck by how pleasant, yet incredibly helpful, these conversations have been for us. It has allowed us to preempt a lot of fighting and be purposeful in relating to each other and preparing for parenthood. I'm so thankful for a husband who would do that with me. After breakfast at Denny's and the inventory, we had a chance to go play tennis, which was so fun. It was great to have a little freedom and fun together for a couple of hours - but we were very excited to get home and see Titus again just the same.

Here are a couple of things I appreciate about my wonderful husband:
1. His dedication to the Lord - he is faithful to spend time with Him and to lead me and Titus in the same (even if Titus doesn't understand yet... it's a cool pattern to set with him).
2. His faithfulness, kindness and gentleness towards me - he is so thoughtful and careful to find out what I'm feeling, what I need, how he can love and serve me more, etc. I'm so thankful for his continuous communication and dedication to fulfill the vow he made almost two years ago.
3. His integrity - even when he's really frustrated or exhausted, he is faithful to maintain the commitments he has made and to stand by his word.
4. His enthusiasm - anyone who knows Graham knows how incredibly excited he gets about EVERYTHING. I think this amuses a lot of people (and it amuses me, too), but it is such a great quality to have in a husband. I never have to wonder how he's feeling about me and Titus - he's very clear about that ;)
5. His love for Titus... I've never known anyone to be as excited about having a son as Graham was and is. He loves spending time with him and even treasures the opportunity to change his diaper over and over. Now that is dedication :)

Alright before I make everyone reading this a little nauseous (if I haven't already), I better stop :) Suffice it to say, I couldn't be happier to be married to Graham Patterson Clark and I don't think there could be a better life partner for me anywhere in the world. The Lord has blessed me richly.

Our Thai Neighbors

2009-09-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

Graham and I have been making an effort to get to know our neighbors more now that Titus has been born. We met several of them ahead of time, but just didn't have a lot of time to get together with them... So recently we've had some great opportunities to hang out with them more. Nye and Lek live next store to us and invited us over for Thai food (because they are from Thailand). Apparently we are the first neighbors to come for Thai food in 10 years of them living here... so they pulled out all the stops for us. You can see the spread below... from the far end of the table the dishes are: Jasmine Rice, Chicken Pad Thai, Thai Salad, Tilapia in a sweet, sour and salty sauce, and pork in a pineapple curry. We also each had a bowl of soup to eat throughout the meal on the side. Fortunately, they toned down the spiciness for us - it was absolutely amazing!! We really enjoyed every bite! And we loved our culture lesson on Thailand as we ate. It was really fun to get to know Nye and Lek better... now we just have to figure out what to cook for them when they come over here - it will be a very hard act to follow.

Sorry the picture is so fuzzy - Graham had to take it with his phone.

Some More Firsts...

2009-09-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to write down the various milestones that Titus hits so I'll have a record of them later. A few days ago, he had two big firsts in a row... He slept in his nursery overnight for the first time (it took me a while to be comfortable with this... I really was afraid he'd think we were abandoning him or something... but he had no trouble at all) and the next morning he ate from his first bottle. He sure took it like a champ! I think he was done in about 15 minutes with no crying or frustration! Here's a picture of Graham feeding Titus for his very first time, Titus in his pajamas and just a cute picture of him in his Baby Papasan that I just think is cute :)

Right On Time

2009-09-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

Titus has been ahead on some things and maybe behind on some things, too, but he was right on time with his first 6 hour segment of sleep... last night was his first time and he is six weeks today. My sister, Amy, told me that the old wives' tale is that they should sleep six hours at six weeks and in this case, I guess it is right :)

He's also starting to smile all the time now, which I guess is about right as well (maybe a bit late). What a joy! I love seeing him smile up at me. I read online earlier today that at about six weeks your baby can recognize the parents and will often smile when they see you to socialize. I love it!!

Our Little Giant Can Flip Over!

2009-08-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

So Titus seems to be living up to his name - not only in size, but in strength. At 6 days old, he flipped himself from his stomach to his back... we thought it was just a fluke, but he continues to do it just about every time I put him on his stomach now. For the doubting Thomases out there... here's a video to prove it :)

And while this has nothing to do with his strength, here's an adorable picture of him showing his softer side with the stuffed dog from my mom... she's getting him started early :)

Titus is One Month Old!

2009-08-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

How did that happen already? I can't believe it has been a whole month!! It has been such an incredible month though – I am loving all of it – even when he cries or wakes up in the middle of the night. It is a joy to get to know this sweet little treasure – what makes him happy and sad, satisfied and frustrated. Here are a few of my favorite things about Titus:

his sweet smile – I love seeing him smile as he doses off and now just a couple times in reaction to Graham or me, too
his sneezes – I know this sounds funny, but there is nothing I’ve experienced that is as cute as his little sneezes
the way he holds my fingers so tightly when he’s upset and trying to calm down while he sucks his pacifier
his beautiful eyes
how cute he is in his little white outfit (this is our favorite color on him)
the way he reaches up after a nap and grabs my neck when I pick him up
how he waves his arms around like he’s conducting an orchestra when he’s hungry
how he looks all swaddled up with his hat on at night
how strong he is – I continue to be amazed by this kid’s strength (rolling over on day 6 and continuing to do it – even multiple times a day now, doing his squats that even feel like jumps now, and holding his up so well when he’s on his tummy)

Our New House (a few months ago...)

2009-08-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

So we’ve been a bit negligent on the whole blogging thing for a while – wish we had a good excuse, but we don’t. I’m going to try to be better about it moving forward because I really want a chronicle of our sweet boy’s life so we’ll see how this goes… First, I’ve been meaning to put up pictures of our house now that it is a bit more settled… these are pictures pre-baby as you can tell J

Less than 3 weeks!

2009-07-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our little guy is about to make his debut here in just a few weeks!! He's due on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - but any of you who have kids know that he could come any day now, or even a couple of weeks after the due date. Either way, we can't wait.

We have his crib and room pretty well set up, the Pack 'n Play is in our bedroom (took me only a couple of minutes!!), and the car seat is in the car. I still need somebody to check that to make sure it's in right - any takers?

Titus and I have been working on the APGAR the past couple of weeks. I think he's making great progress. I told him his nephew Colsen got a 10, and he immediately started working harder. The only one he's struggling with right now is the G, for Grimace. While we were working on it together last night, he was like, "Dad, seriously, if you new what the chemicals and stuff tasted like in here, you'd know why I have a hard time with this one. Besides, what does 'grimace' mean anyway?" OK, maybe we'll give him a break there.

Welcome, Baby Titus, to your first breath! We know you'll take ours away...

Our Good Friends the Slagels

2009-06-25T17:13:00.001-07:00

Recently, Kate and I had a wonderful weekend with our dear friends and brother- and sister-in-Christ Zach and Noelle Slagel. In addition to be treated to a wonderful Mediterranean shrimp dish (inspired by their trip to Italy), we shared different things on our hearts, what the LORD has been teaching us, visited downtown Greenville (really nice, by the way), hung out on Furman University's campus in the rain and had an incredible lunch at Welcome to Moe's (that's what our niece Ava calls it. :))

Zach and Noelle will be missionaries to a to-be-named country, probably leaving in 2011. But one thing's for sure: we will remain good friends across thousands of miles and throughout decades. We are so blessed to know them and call them friends.

If anybody out there is looking for a worthy Christian missionary effort to contribute to, I can tell you this couple is worth investing in. No matter what country or what their ultimate aim, their goal will be to proclaim the Name of Jesus Christ with fully surrendered lives to Him. I am grateful our family will always have a part in their ministry!!

Overheard in Charlotte - Episode #2

2009-06-06T15:27:00.001-07:00

Recently, we heard of a friend who was being considered for a prestigious position at one of Mecklenburg County's women's clubs. While sitting in the backseat, she overheard this conversation:

Lady 1: I have to drive down to Columbia next week.

Lady 2: Oh, could I come to Columbia with you?

Lady 1: Sure... why Columbia?

Lady 2: Oh, that's where my furs are stored.

Apparently, people "store furs." We'll let you figure this one out.

Overheard in Charlotte - Episode #1

2008-03-30T07:25:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the first post on our new blog! Katie and I are "keeping up with the Wrays" by starting this blog.

This is the first part in a series we're calling "Overheard in Charlotte."
Kate recently heard a conversation that went something like this:

Lady 1: So I went to this consignment store, and they had the BEST deals--you would not believe it!
Lady 2: Oh really? Where was it?
Lady 1: In South Charlotte. Check this out: I bought a pair of jeans--JEANS--for $50. And a Kate Spade purse for only $50. So I literally walked out of the store with a pair of jeans and a purse for $100. I feel like I need to go back and apologize.

Really? Kate and I can't ever remember paying that much for any pair of jeans... Welcome to Charlotte--the New South.