There's No Place like Dorothy's Home

Kansas that is. While I don't currently reside there, nor was I born there, it's still like home as that's where a good portion of my family lives. Both sets of my grandparents, my dad and Michele, my aunts, my uncles, a couple cousins. It's where my parents grew up. Where my brother was born. It's where I spent holidays as a child. So sunflowers and ruby slippers have a special place in my heart.

My dad pastors a church in a northern "suburb" of Wichita called Valley Center. And this church has recently done what very, very few churches have ever done before - a complete restart. They shut the doors of First Baptist and opened as Grace Connections. So... we  packed up and headed north for the Family Day portion of their Grand Opening. Plus... Cutler was in need of a Pappa D and Mimichele fix. Here he is visiting the newly remodeled church on that Sunday morning (before heading to the nursery to play).

C's holding the Bible he gave to Pappa D for Father's Day

And of course, he snagged some lovin' from his Great Aunts.

He was a total ham all morning. He was probably just loving all the attention, but I like to think that he loves being at church.
Later that afternoon, Dad and Michele invited the whole fam over for an early Thanksgiving dinner. Makes my heart happy to be able to spend some time with everyone. Days like that make me wish I didn't live so far away. Anyhow, his cousin Bowen came over a little early to play. They're buds already. And Ashley and I have great hopes of future hunting trips with their daddies while she and I can relax with a girls weekend. Soon enough! Soon enough! But until then, their adventures are as such:

The Great Paci Standoff.
It's a dilemma of epic proportions. Regardless of who it actually belongs to... who wants it more and who will grab it first? Cutler zeroes in with fierce determination while Bowen seeks aid from outside help, but sadly finds none with Uncle Doug/Pappa D.

So he turns to his right in hopes of finding someone else. But in doing so, he notices the camera and abandons his quest for the paci to pose with all the charm available to an 8 month old. (Meanwhile, Cutler refuses to be distracted from the mission at hand.)

Ultimately, the paci belonged to Bowen and he was awarded accordingly. As I will never live down the great Snow White Snatch, I could not allow Cutler to follow in my thieving footsteps. (I would say that's a story for another time... but I'm not really up to rehashing it. Besides, if you know both Ashley and me, you probably already know the tale. Not one of my shining moments.)

But I digress. The point of this blog is to say that we had a fantastic weekend in Kansas. We'll be clicking our heels and heading back in January!