Fall in the Foster Household

Here are some pictures of the Fall Happenings in the Foster Household!

Emmanuel enjoys splashing in his funky rain boots! 

We visited this awesome farm that has one of the best corn mazes I've ever been to!  

Emmanuel got an itty-bitty pumpkin to take to his Big Myrt.  (Big Myrt is my great granny...I don't know if the name will stick, but I like it!)  

He loved climbing on top of the tires...

and running through the little kids' maze. 

Also, there was this cool "sandbox" that was filled with corn for the kids.  

After playing in the "corn box," we took some of the corn and fed it to the chickens on the farm. 

And, of course, what toddler would miss the opportunity to push the pumpkins off the ledge? (This was not a game...they were selling these pumpkins; however, Emmanuel could not resist the urge to push the pumpkins off the ledge.)

Grammy Judy came for a visit. 

And...Emmanuel's favorite Fall activity (or every weekend activity)....

helping mama make crepes.  

Emmanuel continues to be a great reminder to us of God's love and faithfulness to us...even through the difficult times.  He is such a joyful child--he's strong-willed (like his mama and his daddy), but he is playful nevertheless.  We are so blessed to invest in his life.  We consider a privilege from God to be entrusted with his care.  This parenting thing is hard and filled with surprises, but we are thankful for the call...we are humbled that God would trust us with His child.

A Day in the Life of an Elephant.

Last week, a lot of strange things happened in my life.  First, my mom dressed me up as an elephant...second, people kept giving me candy, and third...my mom actually let me EAT some of the candy!  (I told you--strange things!)  

My parents took me to the local grocery store and there were lots of other kids in crazy costumes, too.  Most of the girls were fairies and most of the boys were spiderman.  As you can see, I thoroughly enjoyed the lollipop that my mom let me eat as we were leaving the store.  

We headed over to my cousins' neighborhood, and mom said that we were going to get MORE CANDY.  At first I wanted to remind her that there was an awful lot of sugar in candy that she doesn't really like for me to eat...but then my instincts told me just to be quiet and consider it a blessing! 

After we went to the first two houses and the nice people gave us candy, I realized that this was the luckiest day of my life.  I didn't have to beg or plead or anything...they were just smiling at me and handing me candy. 

My older cousins were walking faster than me...but I did not care...I was determined to walk the WHOLE WAY and to greet every neighbor so that I could get my candy! 

At one house, my very thoughtful oldest cousin, James IV, said, "Here Emmanuel--I got the candy for you."  Although he meant well, I wanted to do it myself.  My mom says that I'm very independent and a bit strong-willed.  I'm not sure what those big words mean...but I walked right passed JIV....

and crawled up the steps to the house...so that I could get my own candy.  The lady at the door was just a laughing!  
All in all, it was a fun night with my cousins...and see...mama EVEN let me eat another lollipop!  

Farewell, Baltimore...Hello, Nashvegas!

It's been a long time since we've had a blogpost. 

We were a little busy packing, moving, unpacking, starting a new job, trying to put our stuff in storage, getting acclimated to a new city--you know, those types of things! 

Now that we have been in Nashville for about three weeks, we are beginning to get settled...and well, I (Carmen) am off from work this week (thank God for Fall Break), so I can spend some time updating you about our move and our newest stop on our journey. 

Some of my closest friends in Baltimore bid me farewell with a great "good-bye" dinner...I miss these girls so much...

As a family, we took a trip to the Maryland Zoo because Emmanuel LOVES watching the animals, and well, we had a buy one get one free coupon! 

Yes, Emmanuel got up close and personal with the goats...

And, no, I haven't lost my mind...the turtle that he is kissing is fake! 

I do miss seeing my dear friend carry her second child....but I have called several times to ask her to give the baby a kiss. 

Emmanuel was trying to attack Bella with a farewell kiss...she wasn't too pleased with this. 

So, they decided to try again...and he settled for just a hug. 

And, the women at my former job threw us a going away party.  I LOVED my job in Baltimore. My co-workers became a family for Eli, Emmanuel, and me.  God really used each of them in my life to help me better understand strong leadership and His amazing grace just a little bit better.  They were a source of healing for me on many fronts...especially throughout our last months in Baltimore.  And, by the way, they are some of the smartest and most professional people that I have ever encountered.  We were truly a power team in every since of the word, and I considered it a great honor and privilege to work with them.  

The whole family came out for the party!  (My mom came up to Baltimore to help us with the move.)

We jumped right into life in Nashvegas.  After unpacking and storing our items, I started my new job the very next day (this is not something that I would recommend).  And, we all have been going non-stop since.  

Here is Michael, posing after his football team won their game on his 8th Birthday. 

Here is my mom, posing after we participated in the Breast Cancer Walk/Run.  

Yes, yes, the babes was there, too.  

And you may be asking yourself, "How has Emmanuel adjusted to life in Nashville?  I mean, this blog is really supposed to be about him, so how is he doing?"

Emmanuel has adjusted AMAZINGLY!  He loves spending time with his cousins, and he loves all of the land in my mom's backyard.  He hasn't missed a beat...He truly is a gift to us and gives us awesome perspective on life.  "Be thankful in all circumstances..."

We had a pumpkin carving, caramel-apple-making, pumpkin-seed-baking, apple-cider-drinking party last week.  

Here's Mia with all of the decorated pumpkins. 

Here's Joshua (and, yes, he is wearing a heavy coat because it is THAT cold in Nashville....)

And, I guess James IV didn't get the "wear your heavy coat" memo. 

Emmanuel had more fun messing with his Uncle James (courtesy of daddy telling him to "get 'em, get 'em) and running around than he did playing with the pumpkins.  

I posted this picture so that you could see how much Emmanuel loves Michael (well, really so that you could see Lil' E's curls...)

Emmanuel does love hanging out with the big boys.  Most days I am thankful for their influence in his lives....most days...

And, as James IV put it in his SOUTHERN DRAWL, "Aunt Carmen, we love you, too....but we just like hanging out with Uncle Eli more."  

Well, our last three weeks has been jammed packed with activity.  We are still finding our way and our place here in Nashville.  Eli and I keep looking at ourselves and asking if this is really real...is this now really "home."  For now, it is, and we are thankful to have a place to come to where we are loved and supported and cared for unconditionally.    

Smile, smile, smile....

This blog post is very exciting for me because there are actually pictures of Emmanuel SMILING!!!  Our little guy is such a silly boy--but when I say "cheese," he looks at me like I have five heads!  So, I hope that you enjoy the pics of our little man smiling away!

On the days that Eli watches Emmanuel, they typically end up dressing alike or at least similarly (notice the orange shirts and khaki pants!)

Smile #1--in the high chair! 

Smile #2:  This was taken at the Towson Library in their toddler play area.  I love this picture. Emmanuel and I were playing a game that ended up with him falling on this big, colorful turtle.  
Smile #3:  He loves going up and down the slide--any slide...any size...any location.  

A dear friend invited us to her club so that we could take Emmanuel to the pool.  This place was like a resort north of Baltimore City!  --it was awesome.  It had 4 baby pools...Emmanuel loved the baby pools.

Posing with papa!

Okay, so I'm a little overprotective about the skin stuff--I just don't want my baby to burn!  In addition to lathering his body with sunblock...we have this cute little sun hat that matches his swim trunks.  He kept it on for most of the day in the pool, which is a HUGE accomplishment for him because he hates hats! 

Notice the two shovels in his hands...he loves to have something in at least one of his hands at all times! 

Mama and son...enough said...I love my boy.

Emmanuel has learned to feed himself a popsicle.  Well, in this case, a fudgesicle.

My fabulous friend, Brooke, hung out with me and the babes at the Barn (those of you who are close know where that is!)  We had a ton of fun....Emmanuel even let Brooke hold him and read to him. 

Smile #4:  A little blurry, but a smile nevertheless. 

And, Kelly Marie Benda Earnhardt, this is for you--thank you for the St. Jude T-shirt!  Of course, it's a little big (we have a small guy), but Emmanuel has fun wearing his "T-shirt dress." 

That's all, folks...Emmanuel is growing by leaps and bounds...hopefully we'll get some more smiles on camera for the next post!