Asher's Eating Like a BIG Boy!!

Kind of...we started him on rice cereal about 3 weeks ago. So far Asher's had rice cereal, oatmeal, applesauce mixed into the each of the cereals, and last night he just tried mashed bananas for the first time and he LOVED them! He ate a whole banana! This morning we had all things stinky going on in the Apel home. That nanner cleared him out...and I could see the banana remains in his diaper! How come I wasn't ready for this?

He'd only been eating solids at dinner each night, but this morning he ate breakfast, so we're beginning to phase him into two meals. By the way, Asher is still "drinking" plenty of breast milk. (I had some hilarious inquiries from Hayden and Ashton about feeding Asher the other night. And I stand corrected, Asher does not eat--he drinks my milk. And when he wants a meal-he's not hungry-he's thirsty. Thanks, precious boys, for setting me straight!)

A video of Asher taking his first bites of cereal. We didn't want yall to miss it!



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For those of you who can't watch videos...here are some pics of the big event:



Quite the little helper we have.



So pleased with his first "real meal".




Asher holding his own bottle while Daddy watched him one morning! Since he doesn't take bottles very often I was SO shocked when I first learned that he could do this about a month ago!



Other moms have told me this would happen. He's growing up WAY too fast! Our lives truly are but a vapor.

We Buy Ugly Houses

The rejection of the first house ended up being such a blessing...we are buying a house 5 houses down from that first one that we put an offer on.

Get this: this home is a little bit bigger, is on the same size lot (just under 1/2 an acre--this is the thing we loved about the first home), has one more toilet than the other one (which makes Charlie very happy), beautiful refinished hardwood floors, and is $35,000 less!

Our ugly duckling definitely needs some work, but we are so excited about our little fixer-upper...we love to do this kind of stuff! And with my husband-the brilliant artist, ex-architect, and handy-dandy carpenter-pretty much anything is possible.

The sellers accepted our contract last week, the inspection went really well yesterday, and we close August 1st! With a lot of paint and a few updates this home is going to be perfect for us. So, if any of you like to paint let me know-we close a week after my surgery, so we'll take all the painting and moving help that we can get!

We're still playing with color options but look at what my husband did with just a few minutes in Photoshop. A little paint plus one amazing man can completely transform a house!

Asher's First Trip to Rockport

Two weeks ago we went to the beach with my entire family. It was so fun! We've got tons of pictures and videos to share. Here are a few pics, but you can see the rest of the album here.
This wasn't his first time in the pool...but he had a lot of fun kicking around on that kickboard.



I think he's going to be a little swimmer like his Daddy.



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This was on the way to the beach...



His first time to feel the ocean...



But this is what most his trip to the beach consisted of...



But the beach got better...on the way home he tried some peach snowcone.



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Asher had lots of fun playing with his Daddy...especially when Daddy blew bubbles.



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He also really loved playing with his cousins...we tried to get a photoshoot of all 4 of them...but that didn't last long.



Just the boys:



And the babies:




Talking to his cousin, Stella. It's a rough life stuck between two girl cousins.



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Rejected...

Well...we got rejected on our initial offer, but the seller invited us to bid again, so we bid the highest the we would pay for the house (it is WAY overpriced!) and they said NO again. That was good enough for us...we know the Lord has a house for us somewhere and maybe he was protecting us from making an unwise investment. So for now, as of July 31 we are homeless. There is nothing else that we have seen on the market right now that we would want to buy. So tonight we go looking, I guess. Looking for houses for lease or houses to buy that we haven't yet seen-I guess a house listed for sale by owner, since I check BCS Realtor everyday. If you know of anything let us know...ideally we would like to stay close to campus! Thanks!

Changes for the Apel's

This has been a crazy busy, yet exciting week for us. Charlie started his new job at Texas A&M on Monday and is loving it! His first four days as the new graphic desiger for the Engineering Communications department has been filled with a lot of paperwork and computer set-up, but he's already been assigned 5 projects. He is excited about the opportunity to continue to develop as a print designer. It will be a change from designing mostly websites, that he is looking forward to!

For those of you who don't know, about 5 months ago Charlie knew that the Lord was calling him to get a new job. His last company, Vantegis (who is based out of Boerne-where I'm from), was wonderful. His hours were flexible-as long as he worked 40 hour weeks; he worked remotely from home, so somedays he would go to work in his Pj's; and it allowed us to travel easily and go to Boerne often, so that I could visit my family! On top of all that, the men he worked for are generous men, with much integrity, who love Jesus...it was such a blessing for Charlie to get to work with these guys and grow as a designer during his time at Vantegis. But he knew that God was telling him to get a job where he would be outside of the home, and in contact and relationships with people other than just Asher and me.

I'm so proud of Charlie. This has been a long four months of waiting on the Lord. Charlie interviewed for this position back in March and the department has undergone a lot of changes since then, which delayed the hiring process...and sometimes made us (mainly me) question where he really was supposed to be. Charlie had peace about this the entire time, trusting that God had another job for him...I'm so glad that I am under his leadership! Thank you to all of you who have been praying...we are continually reminded that God is so faithful to answer prayers. (If you need another reminder this is just a commercial to what God has done in our Neighbor's lives!)

Charlie will continue doing contract work for Vantegis until they find a new graphic designer. So, for a while he will still be pretty busy working a fulltime job with A&M plus anything else Vantegis needs him to do.

And the next exciting new thing is we are in the process of seriously looking at a house to buy! We have to be out of our house by July 31...yikes! There is a home that we really love that we put a contract on last night! I can't believe I just typed that sentence. This is such a major commitment! So, you can be praying for us through this process as well...we are pretty much asking for a miracle! More on this later...

The Best NEW Daddy

Asher, you have the best Daddy that I have ever known. I am so proud of him. He loves the two of us so much. He serves us with all that he is. We truly are his favorite things. And above all this...He loves Jesus through all that he does. That's what makes him such a good Daddy to you and husband to me.

I love him even more now that he is your Daddy...I didn't know that would happen when I had you, but I love him in ways that I never even knew that I could before you came.

And I love to watch you look at your Daddy. When he walks into the room and starts talking, you look around, searching the room until you find your Daddy...his voice is one of your favorite sounds.

When you smile at Daddy, your eyes light up and you smile with your eyes as well as with your sweet face...and sometimes even your eyes tear up.

No one could take your Daddy's place. You know what I love when I watch you adore that Daddy of yours? The sweet reminder of this beautiful picture. Just the way you look at that Daddy...with all that love and all the trust-is how we're supposed to be looking at our Heavenly Daddy. Maybe that's one of the reasons God gave us Daddy.

I'm so thankful that he is your Daddy. I can't imagine trying to do this parenting thing with anyone else. You're going to be the most incredible man, husband, and father one day, because of the way that you see your Daddy love me. And I know that because your Daddy loves the Lord so much...one day He will be your first love, too. And that's the most important thing a Daddy could ever do for his son.

Asher's First Easter

Go check out the new pics!
We will hopefully have videos up of our smiley little guy in the next week, so check back soon!