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.