One Month

Our First Home Project

We have been talking about putting hardwood floors in our house for a couple years. We decided to put our talk into action in January. 

 So we enlisted a couple helpers. :)

 Our neighbor helped also

 After all the carpet & tile were ripped up

 One of the most frustrating parts turned out to be getting the new baseboards at Home Depot. They were in 16' sections and wouldn't fit in or on top of our van. So we had to rent a truck, but it took so long to get situated that Trent had to leave to go do a funeral. I ended up maneuvering the 16' boards, the truck & my super pregnant belly. 

William ended up being born before we finished. We came home from the hospital and Trent went right to work trying to finish. We got the finishing touches when Trent's parents were here visiting.

 Here's the finished project, complete with William and our regular mess. :)

We did the dining room & hallway too, but I guess no pictures of those.

This girl seems so much older now that she's not the littlest. 

 William at 2.5 weeks

Madly In Love!

Sights Around Our House

I kept hearing Hudson & Anna Kate telling each other "let's go check on lion & bunny." I wasn't sure what they were talking about until I went into William's room & found this in his crib. :)

 This is what happens when you have an older sister.

 And lots of this...

She loves to stick out her tongue when you take her picture

 Nana & Papaw (Trent's parents) came to meet sweet little William & help out! They were a huge help! And we all had a great time visiting with them! Come back soon. :)

Miami Marathon

On January 27th, Trent ran the Miami marathon. We drove over to Miami the day before and enjoyed some family time. At the expo

At South Beach

This is about 36 hours before I had William. I started getting nervous before we went that I would go into labor while we were traveling or in Miami. I'm SO thankful this didn't happen

It was an early (6:15am) race (hence the yawn as we waited for Trent).

 Hudson was trying to write "Go Dad" on his first sign and wrote the letters too big and ended up with "God". Anna Kate was very excited to hold up a sign for her Daddy and the other runners that said God. 

 Trent at Mile 15 looking good

looking a little tired at mile 22

 

 He finished in 3:06 (his best is 2:59). Even with starting early, it was hot and made everyone's times slower. Trent finished 55th out of 3787 full marathon finishers. Awesome job!

William Ellis

On Monday, January 28th we welcomed sweet little William Ellis Casto to our family! 

 Much to our surprise, he arrived 3 weeks early. We are SO thankful he's here!!

 7 lbs 5 oz

18 1/2"

It was a very quick labor & delivery! I'm thankful we were at the hospital and Trent was there.

Less than 24 hours before we were in Miami for Trent to run the Miami marathon (more on that soon), but we're so glad that I didn't have the baby while he was running or we were driving back.

 Hudson & Anna Kate were so excited to meet their baby brother and love giving him kisses on his head, taking turns holding him and helping in any way we let them.

 This awesome couple watched Hudson & Anna Kate while William was being born. They even got to spend the night at Ms. Martha & Mr. Bob's house. They love our kids well & our kids adore them!

 We chose William after the great Christian missionary William Carey (Hudson is named after missionary Hudson Taylor) and Ellis after my paternal grandfather. My grandfather was a respected man of character & virtue. 

"Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God." -William Carey