Building Blocks

Building Blocks
Uploaded by emersonstogo
Brett found these unused building blocks while helping the interns clean out our team's schoolhouse. He washed them off and brought them home and Caden immediately began playing with them. He is trying SO hard to put them together himself but will often ask for "huh" which means "help". So cute!

Check Me Out

Like my new scrape? I got it from falling on some steps at the local hotel pool. I was so excited to see the parrot they have that I wasn't watching where I was going and completely fell down these two steps. I cried, but I'm o.k. now. This isn't the first time I've fallen this week. Earlier, I fell down some steps at our house. I really was trying to be careful that time and just lost my balance. Oh well, I guess these little bumps and bruises are what becoming a little boy is all about. It definitely won't slow me down any!

Sleepy, Sleepy Boy

We have now transitioned Caden to one nap a day. However, some days he barely makes it through lunch. Here's what we caught on video one day....hey, what parents don't have a story about their child falling asleep while eating lunch, right?!

Sleepy
Uploaded by emersonstogo

For the Grandparents...

...but the rest of you get to enjoy it too! On hot days in Togo, the only way to beat the heat is to be in the water. I may find myself "swimming" with Caden more often as my belly grows and my tolerance of the heat diminishes.

Swimming
Uploaded by emersonstogo

Making Pizza

Yes, this is another post about Caden helping in the kitchen. No, he does not help with every meal...but it sure does make for some good photos and blog posts, right?!


Making_Pizza
Uploaded by emersonstogo

Cooking with Caden

While Brett was in Accra, Caden and I decided to venture into the world of making cookies. Since I was by myself, I wasn't able to get any action shots of the process. Here's a few of the aftermath...

Our workspace.

Caden's first taste....mmmm, yummy!

Let the frosting begin.

Finished product.

Caden's taste of homemade frosting. He wasn't too sure what to do with it.

The World Is Shrinking....Again

We have faster internet again...and it seems to be faster than last time. The best part is the unlimited access we have through DSL. OK, it's more of a DSL lite....but we love it! It seems to be fast enough to run Skype, so call away friends and family (334) 239-3109. You can call us in Africa for whatever it would cost you to call Montgomery, Alabama. We haven't tried out the video feature of Skpe yet, but we'll let you know how it goes.

18 Months

Our little boy is 18 months old! Mattie the bear has traveled great distances to be with us here in Togo for these pictures, and as you can see Caden has just about outgrown him!
Caden is special in everyway. He is smart, outgoing, playful, sweet, and loving. You can see his little heart just broken in two whe he has to be disciplined, but he takes it well and always gives us a hug afterwards. He currently loves dogs, puzzles, books, swimming, being outside, watching movies and spending lots of time with his mommy and daddy. We praise Caden's Maker for the precious gift that he is to us, and we thank Him that He has given us everything we need to bring him up healthy, happy, and full of His Spirit. We love you Caden Darrel Emerson!

New Furniture!

We are blessed to live in a part of the world where we can get cheap exotic woods for all of our furniture needs. We also have lots of skilled carpenters, guys who work with simple tools yet make beautiful pieces (think Jesus' job way back in the day).

Here are a few things that our carpenter, Mr. Germaine, had ready for us when we came back. All of this stuff is made of teak, which we could never afford in the States, but it costs a fraction of that cost over here. Thanks Mr. Germaine for your hard work and dedication. May God bless your work!


New_furniture
Uploaded by emersonstogo

12 Weeks

Here is a pic of my beautiful wife at 12 weeks with our 2nd child! How is it that the larger my wife gets during pregnancy the more beautiful and radiant she becomes? Must be a part of God's plan...We'll be updating every 4 weeks or so from now on, more often as she gets closer to the December 3rd due date. Please keep my princess in your prayers as she deals with the burdens that come along with being pregnant. Right now you can pray that she will have the energy to keep up with Cade and me, her two boys who require lots of attention! She has been tired alot during this 1st trimester, and we're hoping that her energy during the 2nd trimester will be "normal", if I can even use that word. She has been doing her exercises, her appetite has been good and she has otherwise been very healthy. Thank you for blessing us with your prayers and words of encouragement!

Brett

Back in Africa

We've been back for e few days now, and things are going well. We had a couple of days at WAMR, the West Africa Missionary Retreat, and now we are in Accra. We are going to do some much needed shopping in the next two days and then head back home to Kara. We have to stock up on all kinds of food items beause the 12 summer interns from Harding will be arriving in just a couple of weeks. Should be a great and crazy time!

Here are some pictures from WAMR. I was an amazing and uplifting time for our family and for the rest of the missionaries in attendance. Thanks to Joe McReynolds for speaking God's truth to our hearts and to our colleagues in West Africa for making us feel like a part of the family (for a group pic of all of the missionaries at WAMR, check out our Africa blog http://emersonstogo.blogspot.com ). We love you all!

Caden sitting on an elephant

He thinks he's so cool

Caden helping out the tour guide at the Elmina Slave Castle

Brett and Caden enjoying a beautiful day outside

To All of His Family & Friends...

Caden would like to say, "Thanks for love, the kisses, and the fun times while I was in America. I wish I could give you all a big hug!!!"

Introducing...

Baby #2 !

due to arrive December 3rd
(sorry for the poor quality, I was too anxious to post it to wait for a scanner)

What?! That little strip of paper means I'm not going to be the baby anymore?! Are you sure?

The Looches Came to Town

We are blessed with so many great friends in life! Erik and Sonya came from Knoxville to visit us here in Montgomery for 2 days, and we had an amazing time as usual. We laughed until or faces hurt, talked about life and the future, prayed together, and just enjoyed our friendship.

We are just 4 days away from our return to Togo, and we have had a fast but amazing time with so many friends that our cup is overflowing. God provided the reconnecting and encouragement that we truly needed, and for that we are thankful... TheEmersons and Luchauers at the Truman Show


Sonya loves Caden so much that here eyes are popping out of her head!Playtime!Word

I've Got the Best Nephews

One of the best things about being back in the States is spending lots of time with my nephews. I've been blessed with 4 little guys to love on and play with, plus a precious little baby niece. Today I went searching for animals with Owen and Dawson around my brother's neighborhood, and we didn't find anything besides some dead fish and some drunk fishermen, but we still had a blast. Owen discovered that he could step on my shadow and that I would pretend that it hurt me, and we wore that game out for almost an hour. Good times...

As the years go by and the boys continue to change, I know that I will cherish these times when they are young more and more...

Spoiled Rotten...And Loving It!

We are discovering what it means to have a child who is spoiled rotten...thanks to grandparents! Caden is quickly learning who he can go to to get his way. But don't we all remember those days?! Isn't that what God created grandparents for...to spoil our children?! And of course, we love it! This picture is of April's grandmother....Caden's great-grandmother, GrannyDot. Her grandparents, parents and brother are all visiting this weekend in Montgomery. We are

so thankful for this time with family while we're back in the States. That is the biggest sacrifice of missionary life...family.

Our Little Gardner

If you have any plants that need to be watered, or even if your grass is a little dry, please give Caden a call. He's taking appointments now for our time in the States.

Look What I Can Do!

Any 17 month old can stack blocks, but it takes some serious skills to stack film canisters...

Wait till you see him...

This is upside down Caden. Why is it always more fun to look at people upside down?

This is Caden playing with a kitchen set. He is putting his wooden animals in the microwave. What this picture doesn’t show is that after he stretches on his tippy toes to get the animals in there, he shuts the door and proceeds to push the buttons as if he is really starting the microwave.
You think these pictures are cute…just wait till you see him in a few weeks! We can’t wait to show off our little guy. Caden will celebrate his half birthday while we are in the States. That’s right, he’s one and a half….a very fun age.

Working Hard

We have lots of workers around our house everyday. Caden wants to help each of them in any way he can. We found him climbing the ladder just yesterday and would have climbed to the top had we not stopped him. Sorry for the lack of posts...we are really busy. We look forward to seeing most of you in about three weeks!