Tuesday, March 27, 2012

1st Birthday!

Sorry it's a few weeks late, but here's some footage from Lydia's first birthday party. She had a cake smash and was a little timid at first, but once she hit her stride, it was sheer chaos. We hope you enjoy...


Sunday, January 1, 2012

1st Christmas!

I won't lie. I was tempted to not get Lydia anything and just give her the boxes to whatever Audrey and I got. After all, she's more consumed with crinkly paper than her mountain of toys. But she did great. She played with each and every toy she got, and no one threatened to call CPS for Christmas negligence.

She's developing at an unprecedented pace, it seems. I'm still trying to get my head around 6 months, and she's already almost 10 months. Incredible. She's standing, crawling, babbling (but she can say "dada" and "mama"), and she's even started walking a little with some support.

Here's some footage from the Christmas weekend:

Hopefully, we'll have more for you to see before long.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Singin' in the Hurricane

Well, Irene's almost here. She might even be here by the time you see this. So far, there's not much to worry about. Nothing more than some steady rain (not even pouring) and winds you might see on a normal windy day. In the grocery store yesterday, the shelves were getting kind of barren. Especially the bottled water aisle. I decided not to brave Wal-Mart as I heard it was a zoo, so I went to one of the local stores instead. But I think more than anything, people are a little jumpy from the earthquake and hurricane being so close together.

It's tempting to think that God is punishing us, but there's no way we can definitively make that call. It's always important to be right with God, which I think was Jesus' point in Luke 13.1-5 more than him focusing on God's judgment on certain people. But more than focusing on that judgment, it's important to remember God's promises in the face of danger and hardship. He sent a pretty nice reminder of that yesterday:


Anyway, the news is saying we won't get hit with it too hard because it's moving straight up the coast, and we're a bit further inland. It's not supposed to get really far inland until it moves further north, around the NY area. If nothing else, it's been giving us some nice sunsets:

So to anyone worrying about us, don't worry too much. We'd be happier with some prayer. And we look forward to letting you know how we made it out. God's peace.

-Andrew-

Saturday, August 20, 2011

In Like Flint

We're in! everything's unpacked! Not everything is in its place yet, but the boxes are out of the living room at least. Out of the living room and into the garage. It's actually looking pretty nice. Audrey's good at making it homey. I'll have some pictures up before long.

The only problem is that we came from a pretty cramped apartment into a 3-bedroom house with a living room big enough to be 3 separate rooms. Everyday it feels less and less like an auditorium, but its hard to arrange your furniture when you have no TV to arrange it around.

Lydia's started going to bed early, like 6:30 or 7, so we have an excuse to check out early. We can put up the hammer and nails, stop moving stuff and relax. It's nice, but it makes for a really slow settling in process. So we've started watching Mad Men on Netflix to pass the time. On a related note, the no TV experiment is going swimmingly.

The congregation where we've landed has been fantastic. They helped us get all our boxes off the truck, we've been invited to a few get togethers, and Audrey's made friends with a high school girl and her mom, who adore Lydia. In church, I looked down to grab my bulletin off the pew, and when I looked back up, this girl had snuck up to Audrey and was standing beside her, holding Lydia. She moves like a ninja. Still it's good to have the support.

Pray for us as we continue settling down (as much as a family can settle down in a year's time), and we look forward to giving you more updates in the future.

-Andrew-

Friday, August 5, 2011

Moving

Well, there will be more to come shortly, but for now, we're in the process of getting settled. Just wanted to let everyone know that I previously gave you the wrong address. If you sent anything, I'll still get it, but I gave you the church's address. Our home address is 11102 Donita Ct., Fredericksburg, VA 22407. Sorry about that. Look forward to hearing from you!

-Andrew-

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Vacation is awesome. For the last three weeks, we've been on the road, taking Lydia to see friends and family we don't get to see as often as we used to. First, we spent a week in Colorado visiting Audrey's grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins. Then, we went to Walburg for a week to see my family, and as many of you know, to have a family reunion. I also got a chance to preach in Walburg. Here's the sermon if you haven't heard it yet:

Lastly, we got to see Audrey's parents, staying a night in San Antonio, a couple of nights in Boerne, and a few nights in Lubbock, from where I am currently writing you. It's been a great break from the stress of classes and packing.

However, it's also put a bit of a strain on poor little Lydia. Her routine has been interrupted almost the entire time, so she's been a little more fussy and tired than usual. But in a couple of days, we'll be back to the instant sweat-drenching humidity of good ol' STL. Then after a day or two of packing, it's off to Fredericksburg. We get in our house on Aug. 4th, and for those of you who don't have our address up there, it's 5120 Harrison Road, Fredericksburg, VA 22408. Send us some mail!

Probably the next time we'll be writing you, it'll be from the dreamy landscapes of Virginia. We look forward to hearing from you!

-Andrew-

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Catching Up

Wow... It's been almost a month since our last post. Sorry to leave y'all hanging. I know you've just been biting your nails to know what we've been up to. Well, rest assured, it hasn't been much. Let me rephrase. It hasn't been much of anything interesting. We've been steeped in tedium.

Moving is a pain. Essentially, we have to be packed up and ready to move by July 8th because of all the time we'll be away from home in July. And Audrey will be gone the 1st through 4th for a wedding. It's a little stressful. And between dealing with Lydia, laundry, dishes, summer class, work, meals, and standard cleaning duties, there's not much time left to stuff boxes. Not to mention the fact that all the boxes lying around somewhat prohibit the aforementioned menial tasks.

I keep telling Lydia she needs to start pulling her weight, but she just retorts she doesn't have much to pull. She's only 12 pounds.

Other than that, the only things of interest are a few new projects. For instance, we've really been getting into Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace. And I thought a new baby took discipline. Sheesh.

Also, I've given a couple of sermons. I've preached twice at a small church in almost non-existent Elk Prairie, MO. It's literally a blip on Google maps, surrounded by a sea of uncharted gray. It's a congregation of 4 people. No fake. So leading worship is interesting when no one sings except me and my melodious wife, and all four congregants sit in the pew farthest back. Awkward.

Also, I've been working on a new blog. Diverge. Feel free to check it out, comment, etc.

And finally, for your viewing pleasure... The Lydia Segment.

-Andrew-