November and December Highlights

Here are a few highlights from the end of 2007! It's hard to believe that our little baby girl is almost 8 months old! Check back soon for even more fun!

Audrey loves her reflection... and we love her in hats. :)



Give me that camera!!!...Sweet baby girl...



Goodnight Moon is one of her favorites...especially the page with the kitties!



Reading with dada...Happy girl!



Fun at mealtime... :)



The long trip home to TN.... Why are the holidays so exhausting?!?



Owen, Autumn & Audrey... and Great Grandma & Grandpa Owen
and all of the Owen grandkids!



Audrey tried to eat all of her presents! She also has a cute trick where she puts a toy in her mouth and drops her hands...tada!



Snuggling with Grammy... and Audrey's new 4-wheeler! Not really...
It just so happens that Owen's new remote controlled toy was just her size!



Finally, something I am supposed to chew on! And hang out time with
Gruncle (Greg + uncle = Gruncle). She looooved his goatee.

More blog to come... check back soon!!!

[AC] Advent Conspiracy

If you're like me, you've probably already given your ambitious Christmas list to someone in your family or a good friend. And those of you who would give the very clothes off your own back may almost be complete with your Christmas shopping already! However, this is one of those rare times that procrastination plays into our favor. If you haven't already jumped into the largest consumer rat race, you may want to consider taking a different approach this year.

Last year, in America alone, consumers handed over nearly $455 million to cashiers and credit card companies in "celebration" of Christmas. And I highly doubt the majority were purchasing Bibles, Jesus action figures, or David v. Goliath for the Playstation 3. A large portion of this money more than likely funded quickly-forgotten, plastic-molded inanimate objects. I think we'd all agree that this seems grossly inadequate considering the origination of the Christmas holiday.

In order to help shift our focus back to Christ, four churches/organizations conspired last year to steal back the focus of the Advent. This fledgling group was able to redirect nearly $450,000 to help others in much greater need than ourselves. In particular, the money was donated to Living Water International, whose charter is to bring clean drinking water to the world. Their concerted effort was labeled the Advent Conspiracy.

This year, almost 1,000 churches/organizations are committed to this conspiracy. The idea is simple: spend less, give more. This is realized through our reduction in over-consumption, over-spending, and selfishness and an increase in our giving to those in need and spending quality relational time with our friends and family. Think of the possible impact!

I hope you've saved your receipts! Actually, I am quite kidding. My intent is not to guilt anyone into ditching their gift exchanges altogether or rob anyone of the joy of giving (I truly believe that God can bless us through giving gifts). I am simply asking us all to wrestle with this idea of blessing the poor this year instead of the big-box stores. Elizabeth and I have definitely struggled with nearly 30 years of consumer tradition, but we are most definitely participating on some level. Let's qualitatively spend time with friends and family this Christmas, and make a difference by passing on the "simple" blessing of clean water to the world!

I've most definitely rambled way too much. For the complete details and a much more effective description of their vision, please check out their site at www.adventconspiracy.org.

Fourth and Fifth Month Fun!

We'll skip the apologies (for taking so long to update our blog) and get straight to the good stuff!

It's hard to believe that Audrey was in my tummy just 5 months ago, yet she is doing SO many fun and amazing things! Since we last blogged, Audrey has become quite the vocal/social baby! She talks non-stop and loves interacting with people (although sometimes she gets embarrassed and burrows her head into my neck- one of my FAVORITE things!). She also loves her doorway jumper, watching TV (a couch potato in the making), and chewing on her toes. Mommy and Daddy particularly love her precious belly laugh and her sad, pouty bottom lip that will absolutely melt your heart. She is well on her way to getting ANYTHING she wants. :)

Recent firsts include Audrey's first football game, first trip to TN (first plane ride!), and first Halloween!

Enjoy the pics... more to come soon!

That same look we get on a regular basis- she still thinks we're weird. :)

She loves experimenting with different sounds and facial expressions- I caught this one at the perfect moment!

Always has her fingers (or toes) in her mouth!

Another silly face- this was just as she was starting to say "Babababa..."

Chubby cheeks!

Out of control silliness! :)

Snugglin' with Nana at Coolidge Park!

Snugglin' with Grammy on Auntie and Gruncle's front porch, watching her cousins carve pumpkins...

Why are babies SO CUTE in hats?

Our little punkin!

I'm embarrassed to say that we are THOSE PEOPLE- you know who I'm talking about- the ones that use their babies to get Halloween candy. :)

Check back soon for our 6 month update! :)

Featured Film: Audrey Speaks!

3 Month Highlights

Oh how time is flying by! We can't believe that Audrey is 3 months old already... it seems like just yesterday that I tapped Jeremy on the shoulder (while he was in a deeeep sleep) to tell him I thought my water had broken. By the way, for those of you who don't know this story, he said "hm." and went back to sleep. After I told him the second time, he flew straight up in bed and said "WHAT?" :) It's hard to believe that was 3 months ago!

Anyway, here are a few photos to give you a glimpse into our daily routine with Audrey! She gets CUTER by the day!

Pretty girl!

One of our favorite things to do is go on an evening walk, usually to Blockbuster to get a movie or Randalls to get Starbucks. It's good exercise, but I guess it doesn't count if we are walking to get a frappucino. :)

You'll notice that Audrey is wearing a bib in most of these pictures. That is because she spits up all day long! We go through atleast 3 outfits a day! Some days, as you see here, it's easiest just to keep her undressed!

We looooove to watch Audrey sleep. We check on her at least 2-3 times per nap, and we ALWAYS peek in on her before we go to bed! She is so sweet when she sleeps (and when she's awake too!).

Happy baby!

We get this look several times a day... I think she thinks we're weird.

Don't ya just want to pinch her? :)

Shout out to my Tuesday Morning girls! :) Thanks for coming to visit...Audrey misses you!

Check back soon for some fourth month fun!

Likes and Dislikes

As the days go by, Audrey is developing such a fun personality! She already has several things that she likes and dislikes... Likes include piglet and bunny, being naked, spitting up, taking baths, diaper changes, and all of the silly noises and faces that mommy and daddy make! Dislikes include being burped, being taken out of the bath, putting on pj's, and when she isn't the center of attention. We tried to capture a few of these moments for you... enjoy!

I love my bunny!

Silly piggy!

In the bath, and out of the bath... Notice the difference?

Again, see how quickly we go from happy baby to unhappy baby?!

My mom is a nut!