last week...

okay, i've been meaning to get on here and update but we've been so busy! Aaron sent an email about Chris earlier this week, so I hope you got the update on him if you were praying. surgery went well and Chris ended up having insurance which is wonderful! they are flying him and his parents to Indy tomorrow. he'll be having surgery on his wrist, i believe, once he's there. God has blessed this situation greatly, but we still need to pray for his complete healing and also for his parents. PLEASE pray that they will have PEACE, that any strongholds in their minds will by loosed in Jesus name!

The Christmas event Saturday went well. I know Satan was working again to destroy this because some of the families planning to come weren't able to last minute. while we were a little disappointed, we enjoyed getting to know the families there and blessing them in Jesus name. One of the famillies who were expecting a baby girl, ended up going to the hospital instead and delivering while we were there! they called their friend who came to get their gifts after the baby arrived. It was so much fun to be there rejoicing with their friend. I got to purchase a stroller/car seat set at the local thrift store that was all pink and pretty much brand new, and the indian creek ladies loaded it up with some diapers and clothes. how fun! the family has two other kids but lost all their baby stuff from Katrina, so this was a huge blessing--all they had was a bassinet.

well, there are more stories i could share from the week, but it's way past bedtime. we will be getting our last newsletter of the year out this week. Here's a picture to end with, Everly enjoying spaghetti for the first time! enjoy :)

Prayers needed for Chris! (last 2 paragraphs)

okay, i've been meaning to blog on here for a while, but just haven't found the time. last week we had two groups here- one matt's parents and some other men from CCV, and the other three of our friends from ICCC: Shawn- our old youth minister and Abbey's old boss, Bart- aaron's old boss and buddy, and Monty--all who are good friends. This was kinda a reunion trip for the three of them, as well as a chance to see the ministry here and serve. It was good but went pretty fast.

Then, on Saturday a group of about 50 men arrived on a charter bus from the Creek. Actually, Ryan Sarver came earlier in the week--he works for the Creek doing creative things like video taping the sermon here in New Orleans and then sending it over the net so they could play it sunday morning! It was pretty neat, we got to watch it last night for our Gathering service. Aaron, Abbey and Matt all got to do a part in it. It looked at the discouragment that Joseph experienced when he first found out that Mary was pregnant--obviously not his child. But then an angel of the Lord told him that God was behind this and to marry Mary. hehe... Obviously, New Orleans has faced their amount of discouragment over these last couple years with Katrina. But we know that there is hope in the Lord! well, that was the jist of if. God is working--have hope in Him!

So, the guys arrived Saturday and got to work right away! They are working on three different places: the house of our future community center director and his family, Dennis's house (a man we know from the community who is on disability but works hard to help others that he hasn't had time to finish his own home), and the bowling alley. We are blessed to have professionals down who are overseeing the projects, even some roofers replacing the roof on the bowling alley. God is always blessing us, as we witnessed yesterday...

One of the young guys helping with the roof at the bowling alley, Chris Hendricks, stepped on an old patch and fell through the roof. It was about a 20 foot drop to concrete, however he was miraculously saved from the worst! The EMTs said that if Chris would have been a smaller guy that he would have died, and you might expect to find some internal, head or spine injury from such a fall. However, he has broken these things only!: both of his wrists, his pelvic bone and some small vertibrae bones off of that that I guess are not as serious. It truely was a miracle, but of course Chris is going to have a long recovery from this.

I just talked to Gary and they are still unsure of the time of surgery today for the pelvic bone to be set. His parents were able to catch a flight last night and arrived around 2 a.m. to be with him. We are making sure they are taken care of, especially since they may have to be here for a while. Also, Chris did not have health insurance so I know they'll be taking up love offerings, but Gary did find out that it is a Charity hospital where he is at so the costs may not be great? I don't know how those things work, but i know the Church will take care of their family!

So, please pray for Chris and his family. I will update the blog with more details as we find them out. Thank you and praise God with us for saving Chris's life!

Thanksgiving weekend

This weekend was quite different from our first 2 Thanksgivings together. We usually are driving and seeing lots of family, which is great but it was nice to stay home and have some good rest as a family. We had our meal with our church family--we brought the pies, one regular pumpkin, one gourmet pumpkin that Leah always makes, and one new apple-cranberry walnut that I (Shauna) read about in a book I read recently (pie making has been something I have gotten into a little).


Everly enjoyed her first Thanksgiving. She had a chair at the big people table! Next year I'm sure she'll be sitting with the kiddos and running around and playing with them... wow--running, that's a whole new level to think about! Here she is playing with the boys' trucks in her dress.

On Saturday we decided we would go see Santa. They had been advertising it on the TV that at 7pm it would snow there, so we made our plan to get to the mall early and leave right after the snow fell so Everly could get her sleep still. Before we got to Santa we searched many stores for a red bow for Everly because someone had already called her a boy. We had no luck, and decided she was cute enough without. Everly didn't cry when she saw Santa which was surprising since she hadn't taken her earlier nap in the drive as we had hoped. And we even got a good smiling picture!

We had some time to kill before the big snow fall, so we walked around (the Disney store is always fun), took some pictures and had some eggnog icecream.

Everly did watch the snow falling, though we're hoping for a better experience up North this Christmas!

The rest of the weekend we spent decorating the house for Christmas, watching Home Alone (actually we fell asleep not far into it!), drinking hot cocoa, and enjoying dressing Everly up in her Christmas attire.


It's exciting to be sharing the holidays with her, though I know she won't understand it for a couple years. Still, it's a lot of fun for us! :) Hope your weekend was as wonderful as ours!

time for some pictures!

Here are some photos from last week...

Aaron and Lucas with a minister from OH cut down our neighbors dead tree.


Here are Everly's first two teeth that are getting bigger every day!


And I thought this was cute- Everly playing with Daddy. :)


Yea! Winter clothes from Nana.


Everly after she eats a baby cookie!


A big oops! I accidently left the laundry room sink on while I went about doing other chores. Water leaked through to the living room but luckily our neighbor had a wet vac and blower (I don't know what else to call it?) we could borrow.


The living room finally back together after the blower was on for 48 hours! Ev thinks she can help me with my crossword.

The best week ever!

Aaron said last night that he is having the best week since we've been down here. That's pretty exciting. Why? He said there's been many volunteers say he's doing a great job. There were times when we worked with CrossRoads that would get a lot of negative feedback, some that would challenge us and help us grow, but others that would just tear us down. So it's good to see that we've grown, or just to have volunteers who are positive and encouraging! Another reason it's been a good week is that Aaron has been going in early and getting a lot done, which forces me to also get up early and get things done. So, I agree. It has been a good schedule this week, although I do like to stay in bed for a little longer while he takes care of Everly! And, another reason is probably our team. Yesterday we had an open house at the gutted bowling alley. It was primarily to let people know about the counseling program which will start in January at another location. I got to make a brochure about the Gathering, and it was good to contribute directly to the ministry. While there weren't a lot of people that came by, there were some important contacts made. One was an architect who said he would sign off on our floor plans (made by contractors in Indy) for free, which Aaron says is a very expensive thing usually. So, that's a blessing! And we have had Todd down who is going to be the director of the community center. He has been working on their house--please pray with us that their home in Phoenix will sell soon so that he and his family can move down here! I believe that the group of men coming from Indian Creek in December are going to do a bunch of work on their house here, so that will be good. And we've had Ron down for the last week. He's our counseling genius, :), and is also working on his house. Right now he stays at the middle school and will move December 27th with his wife following after school gets out (she'll be retiring from teaching).
Well, this is a lot of text that is kinda unorganized, but pretty exciting stuff. Oh yes, one more reason Aaron said this has been the best week--God providing for us through faithful supporters just at the right time. That gets Aaron choked up. We're both really appreciative when people sacrifice to take care of us, to know that the believe in what we're doing, and to see that God is caring for us, too! I feel like God will take care of us if he wants us in this ministry, and we've never been without. Thank you, all.

birthday at Navarre Beach!

This past weekend we got to see our good friends, Jen and Joel Searby, and their 10 week old baby Evan for my 25th birthday. The Searbys live in Gainesville and we were blessed with a condo halfway between us and them at Navarre Beach. It was so much fun hanging out, playing with the kiddos, and just being on the beach! Here are some pictures.


This is definitely one of my favorites--Ev is so cute in her bikini!


We are now 1/2 way to 50 and 1/4 way to 100!


On the board walk with Jen and Evan.


Hanging out in the beach tent.


Evan is only a few inches shorter than Everly! Aren't they cute?!

There are more photos on the Searbys blog if you're interested: www.thesearbys.blogspot.com.

Happy Halloween!

Here's a treat for you!


Here we are as pirates and our award winning pirate ship at the town's trick-or-trunk. This is our core group, minus Mike, from left to right: Adrianne, Abbey, Amanda, Matt, Lucas, Everly, Shauna, Aaron, and Andrea.


Handing out candy--Lucas (in the ship) did a great job talking to the kids like a pirate as they walked by.


We also helped with the pumpkin decorating--what a cute little Dorothy with red curls!


Everly was a fairy princess and got so many oohs and ahhs. A grandma next to us held her most of the time. :)


Here's the family afterward, a little tired from the day.


Halloween morning--we started this tradition when we got married, making a special breakfast for each holiday. Today it was jack-o-lanturn pancakes with pumpkin, orange coloring, and chocolate chip faces. :)


Here's Evelry in her bee costume from our friend Jayme that she'll wear tonight, maybe minus the crown Aaron says.


Hope you have a fun day!

-------------
Trick-or-treating Fun!

Ready to go!


Rrick-or-treating Chalmette style! Everyone is outside and set up for the kids with lots of fun stuff.


Someone had a popcorn and cotton candy machine. Ev liked tasting the cotton candy!


We ran into the Woodwards and their Buzz Lightyears!


And here's our stash.

rebuilding

aaron and i are reading Nehemiah right now. it's interesting to read about Jerusalem being rebuilt as New Orleans, specifically Chalmette for us, is being rebuilt. after the wall around the city was rebuilt, the homes still needed rebuilding. hmm... well, our town and parish doesn't have a wall, but we do have a sheriff force unlike any other i've seen and only a few ways into our parish. there has only been one murder in st. bernard parish since hurricane katrina. it's the safest parish in the metro area. but, there is still destruction everywhere! homes still sitting empty, some still not gutted, waiting to be demolished most likely.

anyway, the israelites gathered to worship God after the wall was complete. it is a different group of people than those who grumbled after being freed from captivity. they read the Torah and wept at its words. they recognized how Yahwah had performed a miracle--protecting them and equipping them to rebuild the walls of jerusalem in only 52 days while other nations plotted against them! their lives were being changed.

after we had helped families with their home, gutting or rebuilding it, they too recognized God's hand blessing them. the city in general has recognized that it is the Church that has helped the most after Katrina. but will they turn to worship God? i realize that we have a great responsibility and privelage to teach them God's word now. God doesn't only want to rebuild their homes, but their lives. God has rebuilt all our lives through the power of Christ! i think about how my life is different. in my sin, in the darkest of times, i turn to Christ and their is life, hope. i want for the people of Chalmette, for New Orleans, for all the world, to know Christ.

shrimp, Scrabble, sippee

Last night we enjoyed our first shrimp broil with our church community and a church from Minnesota. They are here working with Journey Christian Church and want to help support a church plant here. It was a lot of fun. A local man and his wife from Journey came to broil the shrimp, and while that was happening I got to play Scrabble with his wife and a couple other really smart ladies. I knew they were going to be good so I said I would just watch but they would have none of that. So, I played and got a very lucky move--I used all my Scrabble letters to make the word BEETLES, hit three double word scores forming two words, and scored 104 points! I told them I had never done that before, but they joked about it the rest of the evening. It looks like I'll have to play them again in the future. I'm sure I'll lose! :)

Well, we prayed for no rain that night and God blessed us with that! But it got dark quick and Aaron and others scattered for lights. There were over 70 of us all together in the Woodward's (our lead pastor) yard! It was a good time fellowshipping with people--some of them had come down last November and worked with us at CrossRoads, so that was neat. It was also amazing that the food lasted--each of us in our group prepared a side dish and dessert, but I was sure we were going to run out. I think Matt mentioned that in his closing prayer, that it was almost like God multiplied the food like when Jesus fed the 5,000!

Another neat thing was that our friend, and the Woodward's neighbor, Walter came over. It's always good to catch up with him. We mostly talked politics. He's a Sheriff's deputy and we have a huge election race going on right now. I have seen about three debates on TV- for our Parish president and for governor. It's crazy how big of a deal this is here! Well, preliminary voting is Saturday. It's going to be a big deal--I'm not sure how to pray for it. Well, now that I said that I'm sure I'll update you with how it turns out (Adam- I'm sure you'd like to know).

So, that was our fun evening. Everly stayed up late- til almost 9:30. She's asleep now and Aaron is on the road. He and the rest of the staff and our intern are going up to Cincy and Louisville to talk to a few churches who are supporting us. So, pray that that goes well. I'm sure it will cause these are great people of God. As a final note, a high for me today was seeing Everly figure out how to drink from her sippee cup! We tried to teach her a couple weeks ago before we went to Indy and today I got it back out. I was so excited and could tell that she was, too. She even held it a little and got some in by herself. ...she's growing up too quick! :(

here's a cute picture from today to end on...

our little stander

Every time I turn around Everly is standing, holding on to something new! It's crazy, but she loves it and wants to explore everything. here's a couple pics!


under the kitchen table


the newspaper basket--i have to put her bumbo seat on top of it so she won't eat the paper!

7 months today! Indy and work update

well, it's been a while and i have been meaning to update this with some pretty exciting stuff. Ev started crawling a few weeks ago, and then standing a week later! She can pull herself up in her crib and on other things. i often find her standing up holding on to things and am amazed! everyone says she's really strong for her age and that she'll probably walk early. she sure is going to keep us busy!

crawling


standing for the first time- on her music box!


and today she is officially teething, i think. how can you ever be sure? but she was pretty fussy and i bought some baby oragel which seemed to do the trick. but it could be that we had a crazy busy, and fun, time in indiana and am still trying to get her take longer naps again. aaron and i got our naps in after an early morning flight and late night to see his grandparents and a friend 2 hours north of Indy. our schedule while we were there was packed! during the week aaron had training from 8-4 and everly and i got up early to take Leah to work and to get to seeing people before we picked her up at 3:45. it was good to have that time structure though.

all smiles with great grandparents cooks!


now we're trying to get back into the swing of things here. Aaron worked the day we got back, Sunday and today with a team from Georgia Tech. They had about 180 students here working with us and CrossRoads. today I got to make a quick stop at the bowling alley to see the progress. they tore down old brick walls inside, gutted the rest of the duct work and other scrap metal, and were cleaning up all the debris. tomorrow some guys from Indian Creek are flying in to look at that buiding as well as the Flechsig's house--Todd will be the community center director and a group from Indian Creek will help him with his house in December. It's exciting to see continued physical progress!

the bowling alley- the igloo looking entrance on the end will be the day care area where one used to be before Katrina.


one last thing- everly had her eye appointment today and all is well. poor little baby had to even have her eyes dialated but the dr. said she was a really good baby. and since i developed a cataract when i was born, he's going to see her again in a year, but said he doesn't expect anything like that to happen.

so... that is our life right now. we really did enjoy being in indy. we sure do love and appreciate our friends and family and wish we could do life with so many of you daily! but this is home to us now and we anticipate similar deep relationships here too. :)

what a morning!

phew, i'm so glad we're home.
everly had her 6 month check up today. her pediatrician is in uptown- the area just west of downtown new orleans. anyway, the appointment went well... except that the doctor wants us to go to the eye doctor cause ev's eyes were doing something funny... we sure hope and pray it's nothing! well, i have to park in a parking garage and didn't have any cash. luckily there is an atm right outside the building.
after the dr's we went to Walmart--this is our monthly ritual since we're so close to a Walmart by the time we've driven downtown. we just needed a few things, and we just signed up for WIC and needed milk. Everly was getting a little sleepy/cranky at this point, so i was having a time trying to make sure i got the right stuff and keeping her happy. when we got to the cashier i found out that i did get something wrong. so, me and ev take the cart to go get the right thing. then, when we get back to the cashier, she informs me that I have to get cereal when i was told by the WIC lady that she thought i didn't get cereal. so, we had to go back again, and i'm trying once again to find what's on the list. finally, we get back in line and are done.
at this point, i was so ready to get home. i'm talking to aaron on the phone about the dr. appointment and accidently get on the highway the wrong way, which means we're going across the Mississippi bridge to the West Bank only to have to turn around and pay a toll to go to the East Bank. okay, no big deal. I've done this before! only, this time, I accidently got into the wrong toll lane! I kept reading the signs and thought i was in the right one, but when i got up to the window i realized that i was in the toll tag lane.
i look behind me and cars are already there, including a cop car right behind me. i come to a stop wondering what to do now. the cop starts making noises at me, not the sirens but some other cop car noise. everyone else has backed up and got in other lanes, so i think he might also and put the car in reverse. no, a honk and more noises at me. so i get out of the car and start walking back. He yells at me. "Go talk to the attendant" in an angry voice. I'm not so happy with my first new orleans cop encounter. i walk up the the lady in the toll booth with a dollar bill and she just yells at me. "You can't stop, you have to keep going! You can't stop!" I don't have a chance to say anything. She leaves the booth--where she's going i have no clue. She just tells me that i have to go inside (to pay?). I had no clue what she was talking about so I just got back in my car and drove away.
i was overwhelmed and tears came as i drove away. some people can be so rough. is it because they are having a bad day? are angry in general? don't like their jobs? in such a hurry that they don't care about other people? writing these words makes me think of how selfish i can be. i want Christ to make a difference in me. i want to be the caring person who looks at others with love and not so caught up in my own life. those people bless lives, create love and life. God, i want to honor You.

good things happening...

today everly and I (Shauna) joined the rest of the church plant crew at the middle school for a lunch meeting. we are planning a Christmas outreach with Indian Creek Christian Church from Indy and we were trying to really think how to do something in which we can get to know people better and not just give handouts. then, after a nap and another meal, everly and I walked down to our neighbors, the Wilsons, to chat. Rachel is stay at home mom with an almost 2 year-old girl and a 6 and 8 year old in school. Cliff has a lawn care business. they were the first ones back in their home on this block--they must have "hit the lottery," a.k.a., had flood insurance. anyway, they're Christians, in their 30's, and are very hospitable--i went to their labor day cookout when Aaron was gone. today I was excited to find out that Rachel is going to open a Christian book store in town. she said they had two before the storm and there's nothing right now. I told her I would love to help her get things set up and even asked if I could sell gift baskets in the store. she loved the idea and is going to sell some embroidered things herself. so, i'm pretty excited. this was actually an idea i had a couple weeks ago and didn't think further about it until today, so i think God is putting this opportunity together. i love days like these!

Passion, K-ville, and crawling!

Aaron spoke at the Gathering last night. We're going to go through our ethos- core values. Our lead pastor, Matt Woodward, taught our staff and interns these when we worked for CrossRoads and all lived together. It's interesting to be going over them again and to be thinking about what they mean for us now living in Chalmette and trying to minister to this community. There's six: passion, servant-leadership, communication, creativity, confrontation, and humility. Aaron spoke on living a passionate life for Christ. He looked at Luke 9 when Jesus sent the 12 out and told them to take nothing--relying on God; and verse 26--being unashamed of Christ; and willing to suffer--what all the 12 did for Christ and where the word passion originates. it was a good discussion with our group. i know the Holy Spirit has been helping me to grow through our community, and also through the times of growing in our marriage, or should i saw struggles. aaron and i are definitely learning and growing. we both recognize it.

on lighter matters, we watched the premier of K-ville tonight. did you happen to catch this new drama series about cops and crime in New Olreans? well, it was strange to watch and think that we have driven and walked some of those streets. at the end, we decided that a show that highlights the dim realities here is kinda depressing. i'm not sure if it's going to be a weekly watch. it will be interesting to see what the Times Picayune has to say about the show tomorrow. it will be interesting to hear from some of you if you happen to see the show (says aaron from the couch).

oh, and the highlight of our evening, Everly made it up our little step from the living room into the kitchen! last night after the Gathering we placed her on the floor and all watched her move. though we had not officially decided she was crawling--she was getting up on her knees and could make one or two movements forward before she'd fall, everyone decided last night she was officially crawling. and tonight when she made it up the step, we agreed! it was such a wonderful thrilling moment, though now our life is only going to get more crazy as she gets more mobile, right? here are some pictures--hope our little everly mae blesses you as she gives us great joy!

crawling tonight


eating a banana--yum!


she likes to squish her face and make funny breathing noises--it's dang cute!

look at those blue eyes!

i had to put this picture up on the blog because i think it's so precious. i got it yesterday when we were outside watching it rain.

a trip to the canyons...

this is my first post on here, hope you enjoy...

just returned yesterday from a trip out west with 6 guys from indianapolis, including my dad and brother and three other from indian creek. we went to zion national park and the grand canyon- both places had incredible views and great hikes. we enjoyed camping in both spots, but it also reminded me of acts 2:42. we've been discussing this verse as a theme for our group in new orleans- we eat together, hangout, pray and teach. the week was full of those things but i was challenged to think about how the trip and our new orleans community differ from groups who try to do the same thing. the difference is Christ- He's our motivation, He has to be our reason for the work in new orleans, and He blessed us each with the tremendous opportunity to go on this trip.

so- the specifics... at zion canyon we hiked to the emerald pools, angels' landing, and hidden canyon. the big hike there was an overnight trip to the Narrows. this 16 mile trail was basically a river walk- it stretched from a cow pasture through waist-deep water at times. it was tough, technical, but unique to anything i had ever done. from there we sped off to the grand canyon and zipped down and back up the bright angel trail on thursday- including a dip in the 45 degree colorodo river at the bottom. this pic is of us on our way out to a shower and steak dinner.



i'm home now, ready to jump back in the saddle.

"present riseness" and proposal memories

does Christ's resurrection affect our daily life? do we only think of the resurrection as a past and future event? this is what the chapter is about that i'm reading right now in Abba's Child. Manning refers to when Christ says he is with us always and asks if we live in this reality. it is making me think. i can never read a full chapter cause i have to stop and chew on it! (it's a great book if you haven't read it and are looking for something fresh to read.)

besides that, 3 years ago today aaron proposed. that's a wonderful memory in my mind. i honestly have the best husband ever. he is so faithful, thoughtful, and loving. if you've never heard our proposal story, i think i'll take a walk down memory lane...

we both were in chicago for labor day weekend- me for my friends birthday and aaron and his family were showing a friend from Ukraine the sights. we decided to meet at the Sear's Tower on Sunday night. i had no clue anything was going to happen because aaron had led me to believe it wasn't coming soon, which was good because i was very surprised. driving through downtown chicago for the first time with one of my best friends, Jayme, was sweet enough! then, when we arrived there i didn't see aaron and thought he might be inside getting tickets. as I looked around his brother called for my attention and started speaking jibberish, well, french actually, but i didn't know what was going on! he handed me a yellow rose and his wife translated, "he wants to be your friend." then gary speaks spanish, leah hands me a white rose, "he wants to have a pure relationship." and Olga (Ukrainian friend) speaks in russian, "he wants to serve God with you" and hands me a purple gerber daisy--no rose means service :) then Gary tells me that Aaron is waiting in the park across the street--he had wanted to be at the top of the tower, but it was a long time getting up there and thought i would have too much time to think! but this was perfect, like a movie only real! there's a beautiful little park there, just grass and trees and maybe some flowers. i remember there was this asian family having a picnic on a blanket- aww. and there was aaron, in a t-shirt i had given him, a vintage one of the smokey mountains found at goodwill. i still had no clue to this point-- i thought he was just being sweet and it happened all pretty fast. but as soon as i got to him we hugged and he quickly said these words to me, "shauna, i love you, i want to love you 1-2-3 (which means God first, you second, myself third- something we picked up from our friends jake and melissa's wedding the summer before), and then he got down on his knee and pulled the ring out-- this was the best part-- and he asked me to marry him! that was when i realized what was going on! i was so giddy, laughing and smiling the whole night. of course, i said yes, we hugged, the asian familyl clapped for us, and the ring was perfect-- more than i had expected and a sign of how much aaron loved me. he worked hard all summer doing extra work to save for it. it was all paid off--he's so good like that.
anyway, we tried to call people but no one answered, so we went up the tower. i flashed my ring about to the workers with the biggest smile and excited "i'm engaged!" they didn't even know me, but i had to tell someone! my friend Jayme of course figured what was happening the moment it started and teased me for not knowing. but i liked it that way--it was aaron's dream to surprise me and he did a great job at it. he had spent a great deal of time thinking it out, too. the three languages were the ones i had studyed as i traveled abroad and in school. missions, culture, language--some of our passions. flowers- i love to get flowers! and having our family and friends there. it was a perfect, and unique, proposal. out of all of it, though, my favorite part was when he got down on his knee and said, "will you marry me?"

new neighbors!

our neighbors, across the street diagonally, are moving in today! i'm sitting at the computer watching furniture being delivered. earlier today one of the guys working on the house helped jump my car and told me that i needed a new car battery--with aaron gone it was a blessing to have some help, and he used to be a mechanic for 20 years! they are very nice... but i haven't met the homeowners yet, just their son and other guys from the firehouse who have been helping out. once everly is up from her nap we'll go see if they're there. i thought about taking cookies over that i baked last week, but they're healthy oatmeal dark chocolate chip so i don't know if they'll like them. oh, i see the wife, carrying drinks in. yeah! neighbors :)

Everly update

I thought it might be time to do a general update on Evelry cause people are usually interested in her! She'll be 6 months old in a week! It seems like it's gone by fast, but she still seems like a little baby to me. I was just looking at some old pictures of her trying to hold her head up. Of course, now she can roll all over, scoot backward, and is trying very hard to crawl forward! The toy she likes the best is her exersaucer, I think because she can stand in it and it has lots of fun toys that make noises, move, and she can stick in her mouth. That's where everything goes these days, especially paper. She's eaten a little paper here and there and Aaron (shh!) let's her. I let her play with her spoon after I feed her cereal and lick my dinner plate sometimes... Okay, that sounds weird, but she did it one evening on her own and it was hilarious! Aaron says he doesn't know if he can handle the future messiness with baby food, so I read to him an article in my parenting magazine about how that's how babies explore.
Well, here are a couple recent pictures of her. Aaron has our camera at the Grand Canyon with him or I would take some new ones today. Enjoy!


Here's one of Ev at the beach in Clearwater, FL. She and I went with some of our interns after the summer was over.


Isn't she cute in her jellies! They're still a little too big and never stay on, but I couldn't resist!


This was when she first discovered her stuffed animals. I laid her down on the blanket, left, and when I returned she was playing with them.


Here she is in her exersaucer.


This was taken down town by my friend Jayme.