Bath Time

Bath time...oh how we love bath time at the Staples' house!

It is our favorite time of day! After dinner we immediately go into the bath tub, that way there is less clean up! We could spend forever in the bath tub...but I make them get out once their fingers are wrinkled and the water is getting too cold.

Baker can sit up on his own now so he goes into the bath tub with Jacob...what a difference that has been...so much easier! Baker is a CRAZY man! He dives straight onto his belly and begins to splash! Therefore we do not put much water in the bath tub! Jacob constantly asks me "what Baker doing?" I just reply..."He is crazy!"

It is so much fun watching them play in the tub! Their favorite toy is a plastic spoon, who would have thought something so inexpensive would entertain for so long. Thats how everything goes though... buy them a present and the box it came in is way more fun! Jacob has a cup with his spoon and makes soup...yum yum! "Mommy try it!" he says!

After bath time we have clean diapers, soft skin, warm snuggly pajamas and a smell that I could breath in forever! That is my favorite time of day; two boys that smell wonderful and have skin that feels so soft...

Sundays...

I LOVE Sundays! Especially when you are able to spend time with your family. Today was extra nice because Dave didn't have to go to campus. Usually on Sundays he leaves in the afternoon to lead 2 Bible studies and attend student supper...today he was able to stay home. It was the start of CU's spring break...so we actually get all week with him... After Mass this morning we went to breakfast together, we don't do this often but we make a point to do it once a month. We then came home and all played together for 2 hours...then nap time arrived. I took a nap when the boys did and 2 hours later I was a well rested women. We then enjoyed the beautiful weather, taking advantage of our backyard. Leftovers for dinner, bath time and bed. We then sat on the couch...Dave slept, with a glass of wine in one hand and popcorn in the other. A wonderful end to a beautiful day!

Not that it will be a complete vacation...he still has class at the AI, which means studying and we still have lots of MPD (mission partner development) to do. But it will be nice having him home in the mornings!

Mornings are actually my favorite time of day. I love the kiddos in their pajamas, morning breath, warm cheeks, bed head from a good nights rest, a nice, BIG warm cup of coffee in my hand, nothing beats it. This week will be really nice!

Here is a picture of what I get to see every morning...

New Adventures at the Staples house!

Baker has decided to try his hands out at crawling! He is getting the hang of it and is EVERYWHERE! It is so great watching him discover his new found freedom!

Jacob started crawling at 8 1/2 months and Baker is crawling at 8 months. I never thought Baker would be crawling this early...it took him forever to roll over. I guess he wants to keep up with his BIG brother.

Check out the video below to see Baker in action.

Halloween

On Halloween we took Jacobean trick-or-treating! It was the most fun we have ever had on Halloween! Jacob was hilarious...he was a puppy that my mom so graciously made for him. When we would go to a neighbors house Jacob would ring the door bell and when the door opened he would walk in! After he realized thats not how it was done he got the hang of what he should be doing. When the doorbell was pressed he would wait patiently for the door to open, yell trick-or-treat, put his hand out for candy, place it in his pumpkin pail and put his hand out for more. He lasted for almost an hour and would have continued to go on if it wasn't for mom and dad getting a little to cold. Baker was content in the moby the whole time! We can't wait till next Halloween with two running around!

I can do it too!

So today during nap time I was supposed to be doing a work out video when I got distracted by my friends blogs. I got to thinking I can do it too, if other moms can do it then what is keeping me from blogging...so here I go!

Leadership in the Mountains

Late January became a time for us to retreat to the mountains with all of our student leaders, give them some time away with their heavenly father, and give them some uplifting formation and evangelization/scripture training.

We began on a Friday leading off in prayer and talks on "Leaving the 99 for the 1," our theme that expresses the need for us to be going outside of ourselves and thinking beyond our friends to meet new students in need of our Lord. The next day was a time of prayer and the Sacraments again, and then a series of talks focusing in on the early Christian community and creating community (which I gave), being men and women (I addressed the men), and being leaders on campus, in Bible study and in Discipleship. Of course we gave the a little time to play in the afternoon. That night was a talk on the Mission of FOCUS, given by the FOCUS Director of Campus Ministry.

Sunday we were joined by our very own Denver Archbishop, his Excellency James Connelly, who prayed in an our of adoration with us and then celebrated Mass and joined us for lunch. It is great to see just how much the two Archbishops of Denver (Charles Chaput as well) care for the young people on college campuses and our efforts to reach them.

I've included some extra photos that were not in my most recent newsletter. Peace!

Young Man Joins Bible Study and Soon to be Student Leader?

I was having dinner with some students after a Sunday Mass. In my mind I noted one young man's zeal for Christ, his apparent strength as a man, and that I hadn't seen him before - he obviously wasn't involved in a FOCUS Men's Bible study.

As dinner came to an end, I asked him about his faith life, only to find out that he was a fallen away Catholic who had just started coming to Mass again (praise God!). He didn't know much about the Faith, and didn't seem to trust it much either, but was more than eager to learn. I lead a couple of senior Bible studies that wouldn't have been the best situation for him, so I told him why I thought he should join a study and what he would get out of it and then put my partner Chris in touch with him. He has since joined Chris's study, he came on a FOCUS Corporeal Work of Mercy this past weekend, and Chris is now considering inviting him into Discipleship (which would consist of mentoring him the rest of the year, and then having him start a Bible study next fall).

I'll let you know what our Lord continues to do in the heart of this young man.