The Newell Adventures Continue

2011-12-08T06:39:00.000-08:00

BACK TO BOLIVIA

Rugged mountains. Beautiful green fields of potatoes, corn, abba beans. Adobe homes hidden in the landscape. Fires coming out from darkened doorways. Dirty faces of children peering curiously. Weathered toes that look like animal feet. Potatoes served hot, cold, with homemade cheese, with pasta, in soup, with rice, peeled, not peeled. Campo life filled with hardship, toil, sickness, death and dirt.
These things have not changed in the last 8 years since we left Sorocoto, Bolivia. They were all so familiar to us as we drove into the mountains last Tuesday. At times, it felt like we had never left. But then when we made it to Sorocoto and began to visit our dear friends, 8 years seemed more like 20 years as our friends had noticeably aged and their children had grown from being children in our Sunday School class to being parents themselves with 3-4 children already. It was awesome to be with Simon again, the main church leader in our community. His hair had more gray, but his spirit was still young and full of the joy of the Spirit. He told us that we were like family to him and when he heard we were coming his heart was so happy. We felt the same way toward him and it was awesome to be in his presence again and be encouraged by his incredible faith. He is an amazing man of God whose heart for the Lord continues to grow even in the midst of hardship and sometimes being the only man who is following Jesus in his village. God’s timing was perfect as we were able to encourage him and also encourage other brothers who had left the church for various reasons. The church was full of young people who had attended the Sunday School many years ago and now were singing praises out of the Quechua hymnal and listening to the Word of God. We walked over to see our friend, Juan, who helped us build our house. As we sat and ate more potatoes we listened to him tell us how he now had 4 kids, how he had gone to the city to work but had come back so he could be home with his young children. He had also taken steps to follow Jesus, but for various cultural reasons had not yet made a full commitment. He came later to the church that day to help with the piñata we had brought out for the kids and he also participated in the church service. It was good to be with Juan. Our time in Sorocoto ended with Simon and the church making a circle around us and praying for us. Awesome.
We sadly didn’t see Fransisco (the other church leader) since he and his family had moved to another city a few years ago. We were also sad to hear that my dearest friend, Sinforosa was in the city and not living in Sorocoto. When I heard that news I was sad that we wouldn’t visit with her family in the campo, but I was hopeful that we could find her once we got back to the city. The next morning we drove back to Sucre and were able to call her husband Alejandro (a huge difference in the campo was that many of our friends now had cell phones!) and we picked him up and drove to their home which was a large room that they rent. Words cannot fully explain all the emotion that was felt during that time spent with Sinforosa and her family. We all cried a lot when we first saw each other and I couldn’t stop crying every time I looked at Sinforosa’s daughter Heidi (who is now 11 years old). My sweet friend Karina (Sinforosa’s daughter who was 11 when we left) was full of life and spunk, just like she was when we lived in Sorocoto. She pulled me to a corner alone after I began to ask more about her 5 year old daughter. She explained to me what had happened to her one night 6 years ago when she was walking home from school. I cried as I held her and heard about the pain she had experienced, but also about the love she has for her daughter, who’s father is unknown. We also heard of other accidents and hardships that had happened during the 8 years we had been gone. Our time that day was sweet and short and wonderful and sad. A day that I will always remember. The Lord blessed us those two days with incredible reunions with our dear friends… a dream come true. My passion for serving and loving the poor in other cultures was still burning bright and I even began to dream of what I would want to do if we lived in Sorocoto again. I jokingly told Pete, “Maybe it’s time for Sorocoto part 2.” We both had ideas of what we would do now if we were to go back… disciple the youth in the church, focus on strengthening the families in the community, encourage the brothers to love their neighbors and reach out to those who don’t know Jesus with the love of Christ and also focus on the abundant life we have in Christ… not just the cultural do’s and don’ts of Christianity. The Lord is faithful and is not slow in keeping His promises. Our friends are in good hands and we can trust the Lord to carry them on and move them forward. It was hard to say goodbye again to Sorocoto and to Bolivia, but we left with full and thankful hearts. Thank you to those of you who were praying for our time in Sorocoto and also for Silas and Joe who stayed behind with B and Grandad. They did great, had a blast, and stayed healthy. God is so good and He is faithful.
(Check out the pictures below)

2011-12-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

BOLIVIA: Lost in the Andes...8 years laterLet the journey begin! Here we are boarding the plane in Houston to begin our South American adventure. In all, we boarded 9 planes to get there and back. Lily was a trooper!
We first made it to Lima, Peru where we spent 5 days with the Smedes, including Thanksgiving. We were very thankful for the time we had with our dear friends.
We relaxed, laughed, played, went sightseeing, ate yummy food, shared and prayed.

This was one of Lily's favorite things to do while in Lima: play in the Smedes' backyard with Toby, Ellie and Gabe and take Coby, the neighbor dog, for a run.

We enjoyed seeing some sights in Lima including some Indian ruins and the beach, where the kids had fun rolling down a steep hill again and again.

Date night with Ryan and Angela! We had so much fun with our friends... once again. For the past 11 years the Lord has blessed us with rich, full, and fun times with Ryan and Angela. Many good memories have been made with these two dear ones. Can't wait till next time!

Lily, Ellie, Gabe and Toby had fun with Ryan and Pete one morning making a movie called, "The Pirate Kids." A must see!

We enjoyed delicious meals on the back patio in the perfect weather.

Lily with her buddies the day we left Peru.

Time to go to Bolivia!!! Here we are standing on the roof of our hotel in Sucre. Beautiful city!

Showing Lily all around our favorite city in Bolivia. Here's one of our favorite spots, the Recoleta, where you can look out over the city and enjoy a smoothie or iced cappucino. Yum!

Buying fresh veggies and fruit at the market before we head out to the campo!

The road out to Sorocoto. For some reason it seemed a lot more dangerous to me this time. Maybe because I'm older and wiser, or maybe because I'm a mother and one of my children was in the car with us!

Getting closer to Sorocoto(the excitement was building!). This picture was taken behind us after we passed Tomoyo. If you look closely at the river bed down below you can see a bridge. That bridge was not there 8 years ago and for those of you who remember our accident in the river... that's about where we lost our truck... right where that bridge is now!

First stop: Alejandro and Marcelina Pacaha's house. These were friends of ours from the beginning and their kids were little people when we lived there. The girl standing in the middle, Karin, was about 2 years old when we left.

We made a quick stop by our old house. It looks about the same from the outside. The community is renting it out to a few men who are working on the basketball court. They are putting a huge cover over the top to provide shade for the kids while they play.

Walking on the footpaths through the fields. Lily fit right into campo life as she skipped along the paths, played in the river and hung out with the kids.

Saira, who was Simon's granddaughter, loved Lily and followed her everywhere.

Pete and Juan(our friend who helped Pete build our house). It was great to spend some time with Juan and hear about his life. Lily with Juan's son, Moises. Moises was just 2 years old when we left. Kids sure do grow up fast!

We spent most of the day with Simon at his house and at the church. Here's Simon blessing Lily.

We had 2 services that day. Here's the worship service during the earlier meeting. Some additions were: a sound system with big speakers facing out the windows for the community to hear, young people helping with the instruments and leading the songs.

Lily and Lori praising God in Quechuan.

Pete had a great idea to take a pinata out for the kids to break. We had a little celebration with the pinata and then a few impromtu relay races that Pete and I taught the kids.

Pete preaching his second sermon of the day. It was a privilege to be able to worhsip with the "brothers" in Sorocoto/Soroscopa and to also encourage them in their walks with the Lord.

I also had an opportunity to "give some recommendations", as Simon would say.
After Pete and I both spoke and prayed for the church and Simon, the church gathered around us and prayed for us and sent us off with their blessing. It was awesome! A day we will never forget.

A family picture in the campo in front of potato fields.

It was an emotional reunion back in Sucre with my dear friend, Sinforosa. And she loved Lily immediately.

Little Heidi, Sinforosa's daughter (now 11 years old) sitting to the left of me. She was almost 4 years old when I left so she didn't remember me. Belen, Sinforosa's 6 year old daughter, is sitting to the right of me and little Katy, Karina's 5 year old daughter is standing in front of us.
I couldn't contain my tears every time I looked at Heidi. When we left Bolivia 8 years ago I had wanted to put her in my suitcase and bring her home with me.

With the whole family, minus their oldest daughter, Ilvia, who lives in Argentina and their son, Ivan, who is 14 years old and working full time at a shoe shop. Pictured from left to right is Sinforosa, Alejandro, daughter Karina holding her daughter Katy, daughter Belen, daughter Susie holding her 8 month old daughter Mayti, Lori, and daughter Heidi.

Pete and Alejandro

Lori with dear, sweet Sinforosa. Thank you Lord for allowing us to be together again!

With dear Karina in the pink shirt and Susie in black (and 5 year old Katy in front).

The trip was sadly over and it was time to start heading back to the United States. First, we took a plane from Sucre, Bolivia to La Paz.

A shot of La Paz below... a huge, dirty, busy, crowded city. (can you tell I'm not a big fan of La Paz?)

Sitting in the airport in La Paz, showing off her new hand made coin purse and her pink, crocheted back pack that Karina made and gave to Lily as we were leaving.

The day we left for Bolivia, Silas turned 5 years old! Here we are celebrating with Quinn and Olivia for lunch before we headed off to the airport.

The day we got back from Bolivia, Dottie turned 95 years old! Here is the beautiful birthday girl with her beautiful daughter, B.

Here's Dottie at her birthday party with 9 out of her 14 great-grandchildren.

Dottie sitting with her sister, Gladys, who turned 102 years old the day before! Happy Birthday Dottie and Aunt Gladys! We love you both!

2011-11-14T19:42:00.000-08:00

Trips, Fall Fun and BOLIVIA!!!!

The trips began in June when Silas and Pete drove to New Mexico with Grandpa Newell to help Uncle Andy with his cabin in the woods. Silas had a blast on this special trip with Daddy.

The next trip took us all to Mexico for my cousin Julie's wedding. My brother Ron and his wife Katie and their 4 kids, my mom and dad, and all of us stayed in a beach house in a little town called Akumal. Every day we enjoyed beach time with my extended family, pool time, and relaxation time. It was a great week! Then we headed up to Indiana for our annual summer visit in the midwest. We were able to spend time with all of Pete's siblings and their families. We took many hikes in beautiful green places (which was super refreshing as we were experiencing a horrible drought in Texas)
and all the kids searched for bugs and frogs on each hike. Lily with her sweet cousin Ada, who is showing us her freshly caught frog. We are looking forward to spending Christmas with Pete's family here in Austin!
Pete's next trip took him over the ocean to Africa, to the country of Sudan. He was working with an NGO to bring long term solutions to their water systems. You can see Pete meeting with community leaders in this picture.
Little Joe Joe stayed in the hospital one night after his tonsils and adenoids were taken out. He ate more popsicles that week than he probably will for the rest of his life. It was all worth it because he now does not suffer from sleep apnea. Praise God!

I have been blessed big time by my sweet friend Emily who has encouraged my silly side to come out again. It has been super refreshing to have fun and be goofy for different events. We will basically take any opportunity that comes our way to dress up and have fun.

First day of school!...In our dining room/play room/ now school room. After much prayer, we felt the Lord guiding us to homeschool Lily and Silas this year. We have found our "groove" and are really enjoying being together, living life and ministering together, and of course learning together. It has been a blessing!

This year we had 3 family members on the soccer field at one time. Silas and Lily were on the same team and I helped out coaching. It was so fun this year watching Silas and Lily have so much fun together on the field, passing, dribbling, and scoring goals.

Our sweet friends Zoe and Erik posing with Lily and Silas. Their family was a part of our Bible study before they moved away about a month ago. We are missing our times with them. We have prayed more specifically this year that the Lord would use our home as a "lighthouse" in our community where people can come and feel safe, peaceful, comfortable and hear the "Good News".

We have enjoyed some hikes and camping trips this fall. We were able to go camping twice in October and this picture was taken as we hiked up "Enchanted Rock" . We had such a great time camping with our pastors, Ron and Janine Parrish and our friends Billy and Jude. It was special to spend that time with Ron and Janine since they are moving at the beginning of the year to Indonesia. We will miss them greatly!

Lily and Silas led the way up the "Rock" and once we got up to the top we experienced some beautiful views of Texas hill country down below.

On another hike near Pete's office one evening after he finished work.

Pete and I travelled to Phoenix for the weekend at the beginning of this month for our dear, sweet friend, Katie Olmstead's wedding. She was a beautiful, radiant, and joyful bride as she joined her life with an awesome man, Tim Hoiland. It was such a gift to be able to be a part of their celebration and to experience such a Christ honoring wedding. We also were able to see some of our dear friends in Phoenix which was also a gift and refreshing to our souls.

HERE WE COME BOLIVIA!!!! After being back in the States for 8 years, the time has finally arrived to travel back to Sorocoto, where we lived for 3 years. It feels like a dream that we get to go back and see our sweet friends again. Please pray that Sinforosa (pictured above) will be in Sorocoto the day we visit. Since our friends don't have phones or the mail system there has been no way to stay in touch. We are praying the Lord allows all of our friends to be in the campo during our 2 day visit. We will first travel to Lima, Peru where we will spend Thanksgiving with Ryan and Angela Smedes and their kids. (super excited about that!) Then we will travel next door to Bolivia where we will make our way back out to our community. Lily is travelling with us so we are excited to show her where we lived, let her meet all of our dear friends and also allow her to experience a third world country. Please pray for Silas as he stays in Texas, that the Lord would help him have a great time even though he will be apart from his best friend Lily. We are so excited for this opportunity to go. For those of you who followed us back in 2000 when we first left for Bolivia, we are especially excited to give you all a report on life in Sorocoto. A blog post with pictures and an update will soon follow our visit.

2011-06-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

Spring and Summertime Fun

Lily and Joe looking very smart.

I loved my birthday date so much last year that I did the same thing this year... go for a canoe ride at Town Lake in downtown Austin. It was awesome!

We were blessed with a visit from Grandma Newell. We had a nice and relaxing time with her as she joined us in life in Austin.

My dear friend of 18 years (wow!), Kirstin Rascher, came to visit us from California. It was wonderful having her with us, laughing, playing, sharing, hanging out, hiking and loving Austin.

The boys: cheek to cheek.

Joe turned TWO on April 23rd. He was so happy to receive 2 stuffed animal mice as gifts.

The first official NAC (Newell Adventure Club) outing. We went camping with our friends the Zaunbrechers and Browns to a nearby park on Lake Travis. Pete was intentional in giving the kids camp chores to teach responsibility and he planned a few studies to learn more about God through His creation. NAC is a fun and intentional way for us to enjoy the outdoors while we train our kids. Fun times!

Story time before bed in the tent. This was an interesting night as Joe had never slept outside of a crib or pack and play. The world was too wide open for him as he rolled around the tent until midnight!

Worship time around the campsite. The Newell kids on percussion.

Joe leading a few of us in a good hike through the park. Thankfully Pete had his compass with him that day because the cloud covering was playing tricks on us and we would have have been lost for a while.

Lily having a blast at her school's "field day". Here she is helping in a relay to fill water in a 2 liter bottle over her principal's head.

Enjoying an afternoon at the "Peacock Park" (Mayfield Park) with B and Grandad. This beautiful nearby park is the home to about 20 peacocks, lovely gardens and ponds, and a great wooded area to hike.

Lily and Silas checking out the frogs on the lily pads at the Peacock Park.

The last few months have been fun for us to watch Lily learn to ride her bike without the training wheels and then...

Silas soon followed just a week or two after Lily! They are both cruising up and down our street without help from dad.

What do you think? Maybe Joe should wait a year or two.

Lily and her dear, sweet teacher Ms. Wellen on the second to last day of school. Ms. Wellen gave "character blocks" to each student... a block of wood with their name, a character trait and a verse from the Bible to go with it. Lily was given "gentleness" and Ms. Wellen spoke powerful words of encouragement over her (and each child) as to the way she saw her exemplify that particular trait throughout the year, and then she prayed for Lily. What an awesome first year of school Lily had and we are so thankful for the godly, loving and gifted teacher she had! We'll miss you Ms. Wellen! (Lily wants to have you over soon:) )

To celebrate Lily's last day of school the kids had an all afternoon party starting with party games inside followed by relay games outside and ending with a water balloon fight (not one balloon hit the other person) and then jumping on the trampoline as they dumped water on each other.... it was a fun day!

Our 2nd NAC outing: a canoe ride on Town Lake. It was the kids' first time in a canoe and they loved being right in the water, checking out all the wildlife and hearing about trees planted by streams of water.

A normal evening in the Newell household. We got a phone call from a friend saying he was going to stop by with his kids, so we thought it was a great opportunity to dress up.

What's up dudes!

The annual Edge Family Reunion (Dottie's family). Here is Dottie's 101 year old sister, Aunt Gladys, enjoying being with family and still healthy and strong.

We are praising God for Dottie's recovery from a fall she had the week after Easter. She broke some bones in her leg, but she is now walking again and doing great... and as always has an amazing attitude. Here we are hanging out with our outfits on for our special plays we were performing for her that day.

We had some sad goodbyes this past week as our friends, the Sitzmans, left for a year long trip through the western United States. They have become some of our dearest friends here in Austin and we are going to miss them A LOT!!! Joe and Ella are 2 months apart and have become good buddies. And Silas and Adrian are also 2 months apart and have also been good buddies these last 2 years.

Lily has enjoyed playing with all the Sitzman girls (there are 5 now) and here she is with sweet Marina.

Lily and Abby hugging before they had to say goodbye.

Here I am with one of the sweetest women I know, Alison Sitzman (the mom to all the sweet girls). I am going to miss this gal so much this year. She has been such an incredible example of a godly woman, wife and mom to me. Love you Alison!!! Another sweet dear friend, Anna Mears, came back to Austin to visit, and it was such a blessing to be able to hug her and hear about life in Rwanda (where they are living for the next 3 years as her husband Lane serves with International Justice Mission). Love you, too, Anna!!!

Our kids LOVED seeing the Mears kids and we were so thankful for the time we were able to have with them! Thanks for coming Anna and the gang!

Lily has been working hard lately to gather things to give to the poor as well as making things to sell in order to make money to give to the poor. She has been a weaving machine the last few days as she makes potholders to sell. It has been awesome to see her heart for the Lord and for the poor grow more and more. She has some amazing ideas that I pray will only grow as time goes on. You can ask her more about it if you see her. :)

Our three little chicos. Life is fun and full right now.

2011-02-16T19:37:00.000-08:00

Winter

It has been a good year so far(all 6 weeks of it) for our family. Many things have been going on in our hearts and we would love to share these things with you. Maybe in a later post I can share more of what the Lord is doing in each of us and around us. Pretty exciting!

This winter has come and gone here in Austin. Only in Texas (maybe Oklahoma, too) can it snow one day allowing you to enjoy a snowball fight with your next door neighbor and then 2 weeks later it's warm enough to wear shorts and a t-shirt outside. Personally, I would love more of that cold, snowy weather... it puts a smile on my face! I have a feeling the coldest days have come and gone. I guess I'll just have to enjoy these beautiful days outside playing with my kids with shorts and t-shirts and barefoot. Come on down all you Sycamoron friends! Escape the icy, snowy, freezing blast of the North. You are all welcome anytime! We celebrated Dottie in December. We are so thankful for her life and we are especially grateful that we live only 1 1/2 hours away so we can see her beautiful face often. We love you Dottie!

A Christmas Eve stroll around the block in the Foxes neighborhood in Bryan. We enjoyed a quiet, peaceful Christ-centered Christmas with B, Grandad and Dottie.

Christmas smiles! On our way to the Christmas Eve service.

Love

Snuggles on Christmas morning.

Lily and Grandad at Jesus' Birthday party.

Can you recognize the cast? It's hard to figure out who is who with these incredible costumes on for the nativity play. My personal favorite is the shepherd and his staff(a plastic golf club) and his sheep (a white stuffed animal dog).

The "wisegirl" getting off her camel to give Jesus gifts.

Silas and Lily love spending time with Grandad in his shop working on fun projects.

An evening of reading in front of the cozy fire. We enjoyed a couple of weeks of cold nights warming up in front of the fire.

The ONE day of snow this year in Austin. Yipppeeee!!!! It was like waking up to a winter wonderland with a centimeter of snow on the ground. We felt like it was Christmas as we played outside, made a yummy pancake breakfast, then went outside again to have a snow ball fight with Mitch, our next door neighbor. Lily didn't have school and Pete stayed home from work for a couple of hours. All because of a little snow... can you believe it Northern friends?!

Not sure what the theme of this outfit is, but Joe sure looked cute with Lily's school shoes on, Lily's hat and red sweater and a superman cape. Nice!

Lily turned 6!!! Yesterday (Feb. 16) was her birthday and she had a great day celebrating all day beginning in the morning with a little party with the family, then off to school with a little party at recess with cupcakes, then another party for dinner! We can't believe 6 years have gone by since we held this little one in our arms for the first time. She has been a beautiful gift from God and we are so blessed by her sweet spirit, her love for God and others, her kind heart toward her brothers, her compassionate ways and her sense of humor and readiness to have fun. We love you so much Lily!!!

Daddy posing with Lily and Silas before the birthday lunch to P-Terry's, a local burger joint. Lily was kind to invite Silas to her special date with Daddy.

2010-12-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned lately that my favorite season is fall?

Without a doubt, I love the months of October and November. This year has proven to be another winner when it comes to those months. We have enjoyed many hikes in Austin, picnics, wearing jeans and sweatshirts, putting out our fall decor, fires inside and out, drinking hot drinks, and finally a road trip up to Indiana for Thanksgiving. We have MUCH to be thankful for this year. The Lord continues to amaze me by His goodness and grace on our family. Lily and Silas recently decided to make Jesus Lord of their lives. What an incredible privilege to be able to disciple our own children and I am so thankful that I get to do this job with Pete. He has become an amazing spiritual leader to our family and spiritual father to our kids. Life is truly an adventure when we live each day to honor and glorify Jesus.

Now, please join me as I share some highlights of my favorite season! Pete surprised us and came home early one Friday afternoon in October so we headed off to a nearby state park and spent the rest of the day exploring, fishing, hiking, and playing. It was an awesome day!
I was very proud to catch the only fish that afternoon.

Silas and Lily "collecting" as we hiked along.

We entered into a cave on the hike and tried to guess what creatures had been there... maybe a dinosaur?

Joe loves hanging out on Pete's back as we explore the woods.

Our hike led us to some water where the kids enjoyed throwing rocks. Ahhhh.... what a relaxing way to spend the day.

Lily: the soccer star. She defintely became more aggressive this year and ended her season with a goal. Way to go Lil!

Silas and Lily set up a tea party in the sun room for them and Daddy. It was complete with little name tags at each spot and a sign around the corner that directed you to the right location.

If you are ever in trouble at the Newell home, just call on Super Joe. He will come to the rescue!

Up, up and away!

Lily is fearless when it comes to creatures. Here she is with a gecko she found in the playhouse.

No, it's not 4th of July. The kids just happened to all be dressed patriotic and I thought it was cute. :)

Lily dressed up as an "Indian" for her Thanksgiving party at school.

Hip Hip Hooray! We made it to Indiana! The day we got there, Grandpa put Lily and Silas to work raking the yard. This was actually one thing Silas had been wanting to do all season but there hadn't been any leaves in Austin to rake.

Here he is living out his dream: to jump in a big pile of leaves.

Joe looking like a little handsome boy here.

A trip to Indiana would not be complete without a trip to Brown County State Park (atleast not for me). We started with breakfast at the Hob Nob, then a hike, playing on the playground and a picnic to finish it off. It was another perfect day in my book.

Aunt Jess (Ben Newell's wife) and her two kids Jonas and baby Cora joined us for the fun outing. Lily and Silas LOVED hanging out with their sweet cousin Jonas.

Happy Birthday Silas!!!! While we were in Indiana, Silas turned 4. Here's Lily, his biggest fan, ready to cheer him on as he opens his gifts.

2 days after his birthday Silas was happy to celebrate his birth with more cousins. Jamie (Pete's sis) and her husband Josh came to Indiana with their 4 kids. The fun never stopped!!

Joe enjoyed celebrating his brother as he ate his cupcake.

After the birthday party we all headed to the local gymnastics club where they were having "open gym". Fun was had by all. Pete is preparing to sprint down the trampoline runway and jump into the pit of foam blocks.

Here's Pete after he jumped into the pit. Notice who he took out on the runway. (poor little Joe)

Let the feasting begin!!! Our Thanksgiving was spent with 130 people who were all somehow related to one another (on Pete's mom's side). This is an amazing family tradition that was started years ago to celebrate Barb's grandpa's birthday which fell around Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving was spent with Pete's dad's side of the family which is another big gathering with lots of yummy food. It was great to be able to reconnect with family.

The picture is sadly smudged but the content is funny. All the grandkids were calling Grandpa "King James" and treating him royally. I'm not sure what all was role played down in the basement, but several times a grandchild would come upstairs to get the king coffee or food.

We made it back to Austin and to Lily, Silas and Joe's delight there was a huge amount of leaves in our front yard waiting to be raked and jumped in.

Lily recently recited the first chapter of Genesis at school. She's the 3rd from the right. She did an excellent job!

There are plans in the making to put up the Christmas decorations this weekend. Sadly I will take down my fall decor and carefully put them away in their special box until next year. Sigh....

2010-10-11T19:16:00.000-07:00

Life has really picked up speed during the last month and a half. Lily started school for the first time at the end of August, we all started back to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) at the beginning of September, our Small Group started up again in September, and Lily started her soccer season again in September, as well. We have to be careful not to become too busy with these good activities that we lose focus on what we believe are the most important things: spending time together as a family(laughing, eating, wrestling, dancing, hiking, and picnicing), spending time with Jesus, and loving on other people. As our kids get older, especially with Lily starting school, we are more aware of the busy lifestyle that can very easily creep into our home. With God's help and guidance, we hope to continue the simple life that we have learned to love.

End of Summer and Start of FALL

Happy Birthday B!! We had fun celebrating B's birthday in August with the cousins. We continue to thank God for allowing us to live this close to family. What a blessing!
Joe has become better acquainted with Dottie. He and I had a special 2 on 1 visit with her a few weeks ago. He enjoys playing cars, ball, and high five with his sweet great grandmother.

Lily learned to swim!! This past summer was the year for Lily to learn the front crawl, the breast stroke and the backstroke. She was finally ready and caught on fast. Way to go Lil!

Silas improved his kicking this year and informed me that he would go under the water more when he's four. Maybe next summer will be his year!

Lily was SO excited to start kindergarten. Here she is on the front porch the first day of school. Lily with her teacher, Miss Wellen. Can't you just feel Lily's excitement? She still loves it.

Silas and Lily showing off their "Kingdom Award" after they memorized Matthew 6:33 and learned more about Kingdom living.

Our superhero children. They are amazing!

Lily's lost her first tooth in September after she let her mom pull it out, then two weeks later she lost the one right next to it after she pulled it out. She was very excited to lose her teeth.

It's YMCA soccer time again. Lily (in the red shorts) is strategically watching her teammate throw in the ball. Her coach in the red shirt(who happens to be related to Lily) has been working with the team on aggressiveness, a very important part of the game, but a very hard thing for 5 year olds to learn.

Silas likes to dress like his siblings sometimes. This particular day he came out with his outfit on and asked if Joe could be twins with him. Here the cute brothers are... camo shorts, 4th of July muscle shirts, maroon hats and flip flops. Nice!

It's fall!!!!!! My favorite time of the year. Lily and Silas also love the fall and loved picking out pumpkins (sadly at the grocery store and not a pumpkin patch) and painting them for our front porch. We love eating anything pumpkin and we dream about raking leaves and jumping in them. And of course I dream about Edward's Orchard and eating apple cider donuts. Where are the apple orchards in Texas????

2010-08-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

THE MIDWEST TOUR '10

We began our tour on June 24th and arrived in Columbus, Indiana on June 25th to celebrate Pete's parents' 40th wedding anniversary. A surprise party was pulled off at the church where they were married and all of their kids and grandkids were there to honor them as well as other family members and friends. It was a fun day and a fun week to all be together. Pete travelled home to Austin on July 4th and Lori and the kids stayed in Indiana another week enjoying time with grandparents. Lori was also able to see some dear friends... the Mathisons, Kristy Conrad, Michele(Nowicki)Prible, and Amy Mathison. Then we travelled up north to Lori's beloved Sycamore, Illinois where she spent time with dear friends who are like family to her. Even though her parents sold 541 Lincolnshire last summer, Sycamore still feels like home because of the people and the familiar places. Lori's parents flew to Chicago to join Lori and the kids on their trip up to Washington Island, Wisconsin with Ron and Mary Floit and their grandson, Miles. We had a great week on the Island relaxing, enjoying the cool weather and lush, green trees and being with dear friends. We made our way back down to Indiana where Pete flew back to meet us, ending our month at a family reunion and then into the van to drive down to Austin on July 25th. We're already looking forward to next summer's midwest tour and scheming how Pete can join us up north. Ahhhhh..... the midwest.... until next summer.... The happy couple celebrating 40 years of marriage together, surrounded by their 4 kids and spouses and 10 grandkids (11th due in a month) and Barb's 93 year old mom.

We made many fun memories together that week. Here are 5 of the grandkids having fun in Uncle Ben and Aunt Jess's backyard.

A trip to Indiana would not be complete without a visit to Nashville, IN and Brown County State park. Here's Grandma and Grandpa Newell surrounded by their sweet grandchildren all dressed alike.

Silas and Lily loved hanging with their cousins. We miss you boys and girls!!!

Time for sparklers!

After all the cousins left, we enjoyed another trip to Brown County with grandma and grandpa to hike, swim and ride the ponies!

Lily enjoying her pony, Doodle.

On our way to Sycamore, we stopped near Wheaton to spend the night with my dear friend Heather (Griffin) Gosling and her family. Lily and Silas immediately hit it off with her two girls, Abby and Kylie.

Lily and Silas also enjoyed playing with Nolan and Mila Baumgartner (children of Debbie (Pagan) Baumgartner who lives at JPUSA) in Sycamore. They were staying with Kyle and Barb White (friends from Sycamore who also visited us in Austin) and we were staying with Cheryl and Dave Lienhard (more friends who also visited us in Austin). We all got together a couple of times for some fun and fellowship. We also got to connect with Lily and Mason Depauw, children of Anna (Reardon) Depauw (who has plans to visit us in Austin in the near future. :)) Lily and Silas LOVED playing with all of these sweet, dear midwest friends. We can't wait to see you all next time!

And finally they were reunited with their good friend Miles Minard. They all loved being together last summer on the Island, and they quickly reconnected and played like best friends.

Here they are playing in the water outside the Floits' home.

Throwing rocks into the lake on Schoolhouse Beach with B.

The grandparents with their grandchildren on the morning we left. We love you all! Thanks for a great week on the Island!

GOODBYE MILES!!! WE'LL MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-06-25T07:39:00.000-07:00

LET THE FUN BEGIN!!

Our summer has been filled already with fun activities like: swim lessons with mommy, a neighborhood sprinkler/lemonade party, visitors from Illinois, a trip to Sycamore for a wedding, hiking, camping and hanging out as a family. We are getting ready today for a month long trip to the midwest beginning in Indiana, then Illinois, Wisconsin and back to Texas. We are excited for what is still to come this summer. Let the good times roll!!!! We had fun celebrating Grandad's birthday in May with all the cousins.

Lily with cousin Olivia.

Lily took this picture. Nice.

Our end of year cookout with our small group. Here are 5 out of the 15 kids in our group. Cuties!

We had a fun camping trip to a nearby State Park with our friends Clark, Natalie and Sammy. The kids had a blast. And we loved being out in God's creation enjoying the simple life.

Lily and Joe hanging out around the fire.

We went on a nice, long hike and after Silas ate a little chocolate he was ready for a nap.

Our really cool kids.

Wow!! Joe is growing up and looking more like a little boy... not a baby.

Joe has recently found his nostrils. Dig it Joe!

Our good friends Maddie and Keegan posing with Lily and Silas. They came with their awesome parents Kyle and Barb White to Austin to visit us. We had a wonderful time with them. Here the kids are at the Salt Lick after a delicious meal of BBQ.

Joe really bonded with Barb. "I miss you Barb"- Joe

Maddie and Keegan babysat our three kids so the adults could go on a date. What a great night! and a great week with the Whites!!! Thank you guys so much for coming to see us!!

Pete stayed home with the kids while Lori flew up to Illinois to go to Ingrid Floit's wedding. What a great weekend I had with mom and dad, hanging out with friends, seeing the Floit family, celebrating Ingrid and Bob's marriage and having a break from motherhood. Thanks Pete! By the way... does anyone notice anything different about Lori's face?

Ingrid, the beautiful bride, with her new husband, Bob. What an awesome wedding, despite the thunderstorm that blew through before and after the ceremony.

Here are 2 more Floit girls, Anna and Mattie with me at the party. It was so fun to see you all!

Mom and Dad showing off on the dance floor. You guys are such an handsome, amazing couple!

Lily and Silas playing out in the rain and having a blast.

2010-05-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

IT'S SPRINGTIME!!!!

Lily and Silas enjoying the sprinkler for the first time this year.
This was the perfect birthday date ever. Pete and I rented a canoe at the lake downtown Austin and canoed for a couple of hours while the kids were with B and Grandad. I had an awesome birthday this year and this date was one of the many blessings.

Grandma and Grandpa Newell came into town for a few days. We loved having them here as we enjoyed the Austin Zoo, ate yummy BBQ at the Salt Lick, and of course we had a project day working out in our yard planting plants and trees. Thank you Newells and Foxes for all the work you did for us!!! We love our yard now!

Lily and Silas showing off their certificates for memorizing the Lord's Prayer. Every two weeks they are learning about a new Biblical truth, concept or character trait of the Lord, putting that word into practice and memorizing scripture that relates to the word. They are both excellent students.

It's cousin time! We enjoyed having Easter brunch with my brother, Ron and his family. Here's Silas with his cousin Jordan Fox.

Joe enjoying time with his sweet cousin Evan.

Lily sharing some giggles with cousin Quinn.

The whole gang: Joe, Jordan, Silas, Quinn, Lily, Evan and Olivia.

Superhero Siblings

Sweet little Lil

We loved seeing our old Wheaton friends Seth and Maggie Dietrich, who now live in Milwaukee. Seth is from Austin so whenever they come to visit his padres, we are blessed by a visit with them. Loved being with you guys again!!!

So, here's Silas happily playing on the swing in our backyard. A few minutes later he was playing on the little playscape structure that Pete built and.....

here he is showing off his cast that he got from falling off the playscape. It hasn't slowed him down one bit. Silas is a trooper. Two weeks before this happened he had pink eye and woke up with both eyes shut for an hour. During the time of his "blindness" he was singing in bed and making Joe laugh. He has a great approach to life!

There truly is never a dull moment with Silas. Two days after he broke his arm he was supposedly working on artwork with Lily at their little table. Lily came to me and said, "Mom, Silas cut his hair." When he came to me I touched his head and clumps of hair fell out. He had given himself a haircut to the scalp! I immediately took him to the bathroom and gave him a buzz cut. Lily and I couldn't help laughing at him and his new look.

Silas with his new hairdo.

We celebrated 2 birthdays a couple of weeks ago.... Josiah turned ONE!!! and Pete turned...a little older than he was last year. This year sure did go fast. It's hard to believe that Joe is a 1 year old now.

Enjoying his cake.

He was pretty proud of his birthday gifts, even before he opened them. We love you Joe and we are so thankful the Lord placed you in our family!!!! You are a special blessing to all of us.

2010-03-09T18:52:00.000-08:00

Fun-Filled FebruaryIt's project time with Dad. Pete trimmed out the doorway into our "sunroom" and Silas was working hard to help him.
We had a BLAST at "The Ranch" one weekend with our dear friends Joe and Jessica Honegger and their kids and another family, the Nevlands. The girls took the Polaris out for a 1 1/2 hour spin through the mud, water, cow fields, ditches, and ravines. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Thanks Jessica and Amy for an awesome ride!!!

It's hard to believe Lily turned five in February. We are so proud of her and the mature, loving, and sweet girl God is making her to be. Here she is before her birthday lunch date with Daddy for burgers, fries and a shake.

Road trip to Phoenix!!!! We had a wonderful week in Phoenix reconnecting with our "family" there. It was a jammed pack week full of people and we loved every minute of it. We were able to go on our favorite hike at Squaw Peak. Lily and Silas were enjoying their walk together hand in hand as they talked about what they were seeing. Very cute.

We were so thankful that we were able to see Angela and Ryan while we were in Phoenix. They have been in Peru for over a year now but were in the States for a month. Ryan had a conference in Phoenix and Angela flew down from Seattle to see us while we there. It was awesome to spend time with these incredible friends. Love you guys!

Lily was so happy to reconnect with Bella. They were able to spend an afternoon and evening together and they celebrated their birthdays together at Bella's house with a little party. Lily loved being with her special friend. Come see Lily in Austin Bella!

We also got to go to the annual AimRight Auction that is held at our church. It was so fun to be able to be at the auction and support the ministry that we grew to love while we lived in Phoenix. We have missed the teens, the young adults and interns we were able to work with. Here is Pete with his buddy Angel.

Lori with sweet Flerida.

We were so thankful to spend time with Julie and Darrell, our pastor while we lived in Phoenix. We love you guys!

A huge highlight from our trip is that we got to stay with our friends Bob and Rachel Oxley. It was wonderful to spend time with them, and Lily and Silas especially loved being able to play with Zach every day for a whole week.

Pete and Bob enjoying being together again. It was hard to say goodbye to you guys. Please come see us in Austin. It's not that far away! :)

Joe is growing up and getting cuter every day. The big news about him is that he learned how to crawl. (10 months old) Now it's time to explore the world.

Joe's brother and sister truly adore him. Here's Lily and Joe snuggling.

Lily and Silas were recently invited to their friend, Megan's birthday party. She wanted the theme to be Peter Pan so the girls could be fairies. Lily is dressed up like a fairy with wings on and Silas went as Peter Pan. They looked pretty cute.

2010-01-18T19:45:00.000-08:00

the holidays

A nice family shot for the holidays. Joe didn't hear us say he needed to make a funny face.

We spent a weekend in San Antonio with the Foxes in November. We had fun touring around the city and visiting the Alamo. This picture was one of the highlights as we walked around the city: Lily and Silas standing over an airvent in the sidewalk.

Silas turned 3 in November. Wow! time sure flies!! We love you buddy!!!

Our little hams. Lily and Silas both keep us laughing with their countless adventures together. Reinacting the first Thanksgiving.

We enjoyed a week in Indiana for Thanksgiving. Taking a hike with Grandma at one of our favorite places... Brown County. What a great day we had!!!

Taking a break during the hike. We loved being in the woods and in the cooler weather.

Silas and Lily showing off some new hats Silas got for his birthday and Grandpa showing off his hat from the Navy.

Fun times with cousins. Lily and Silas had a good time hanging with James (Andy and Autumn's firstborn) and Jonas (Ben and Jess's firstborn) while in Indiana.

Even though Joe is twice as old as his cousin Sam(Andy and Autumn's), Sam is as big, if not bigger than Joe. No big deal...Joe wasn't too intimidated... yet.

The four generations on Christmas day. We had a nice, relaxing, peaceful Christmas this year. We headed over to Bryan to B and Grandad's house in the afternoon of Christmas Eve and then spent a wonderful weekend with the Foxes. Christmas with B, Grandad and Dottie included... a yummy lunch, birthday party for Jesus, reinactment of the first Christmas (starring Joe as Jesus, Lori as Mary, Pete as Joseph, Lily and B as angels, Grandad as a shepherd, and Silas as a wiseman)... Silas ended the play saying, "I'm going back to Herod's house", opening gifts, then decorating gingerbread houses. Great memories!

The Newell family posing with their beautiful, sweet grandmother, Dottie.

2009-11-09T18:52:00.000-08:00

MILESTONESThis past month has been a big month in our household. One Sunday we dedicated all three children to the Lord in church and the next Sunday Pete was baptized! So much to be thankful for and praise God for...(ask Pete more about his baptism if you are interested).

Silas did it!! He is officially potty trained and we are definitely praising God for this accomplishment. He's showing off his dry diaper after a good night's sleep.

We finally found a dress up outfit for Silas... Woody. He hasn't worn a dress in a few weeks now...another big accomplishment.

Look who has 2 teeth and started eating solids! Josiah is almost 7 months old now and learning all sorts of new things. He's eating, sitting up, laughing, and looking very cute.

Joe even slept through the night 2 nights in a row...14 hours straight to be exact! Holy Moly!

What a cutie!

Lily finished her first soccer season this past week. She had a lot of fun running up and down the field, occasionally kicking the ball and I had a lot of fun coaching all the kids.

Lily, Kate and Sadie showing off their soccer medals at the end of the season party in our backyard.

We have enjoyed getting to know these two families who both have cute little babies. Darius(who is sitting next to Pete and holding Ella) and his wife Alison are leading a small group with us at church and it's been great getting to know their family. Clark (next to Darius holding Sammy) and his wife Natalie have also been awesome friends to us since we moved to Austin. You guys all ROCK!!!

This is my sweet friend Krista Enoch who I have known for 16 years. We ministered together to innercity kids in Rochester, New York when we were students at Wheaton. I got to hang out with her for a couple of days when she was visiting in Dallas. LOVED every minute of it!

2009-10-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

Enjoying life...Yes, this is me (Lori) back when I was 12 years old and I wore braces for 1 year. My teeth needed a lot of work but they came out looking perfect. They stayed looking great until....

Five years ago when my two front teeth decided to grow apart again. After a few years of trying to get use to "the space", I decided to get braces again and get rid of the space. I feel like a junior high kid again with my braces. In this picture you can see a small ear ring in my ear. The same week I got my braces put on, I got my ears re-pierced. EXCITING!

The three kiddos looking cute and enjoying one another.

Lily posing in B and Grandad's beautiful backyard. We sure have enjoyed being able to drive over to their house for the day or an overnight.

Pete had a conference for work in Seattle so he took me and Joe along and we made it into a mini vacation. We spent the weekend at one of our favorite spots in the world, Olympic National Park. We had the perfect date that day: a hike around Lake Crescent, dinner at the Historic Lodge, then dessert by the lake while watching the sunset. What a refreshing break!

Here we are on top of Hurricane Ridge soaking in the amazing views.

We spent 3 days in Seattle for Pete's conference. During that time, Joe and I explored Seattle and found some great coffee shops, bookstores, parks, and enjoyed cooler weather.

Here's Joe hanging out at the yummy bakery in Pioneer Square where we ate lunch.

Lily is playing soccer! She is having so much fun making new friends and learning how to be aggressive. She was a bit timid the first two games but then something clicked for her during the third game and she was on fire! She went after every ball, made break aways down the field and even scored a goal! Her coach was sure proud... do you recognize her coach in the picture?

Here's Lily on the sidelines with one of her new friends, Kate.

Daddy playing lincoln logs with his cute kids.

We have enjoyed being a part of a new small group at church . We(five families) meet in a different home each week, eat dinner, worship, then the adults have a study while the 16 kids all play together. Here's Silas and Lily before they went to the play "The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe" with other members of our small group.

We are also enjoying getting to know our neighbors. And we are especially excited to get to know a young couple down the street with a daughter, Emma, who is Lily's age. Here's Silas and Lily after we went to Emma's birthday party. Lily got her face painted like a cat and Silas was a tiger. They ended up looking like twins.

2009-08-31T12:35:00.000-07:00

STARRING: JOE

our superbaby
with his favorite sister Lily

with his sweet cousin Evan

with his adoring siblings

twins with Lily
with his beautiful great grandmother Dottiebeing his cute, sweet self. We love you JOE!

I realized there was a lack of pictures of Joe in the last two updates so he's the star of this update. He is now 4 months old and doing great. We are so thankful for this sweet boy... what a blessing he is to our family!

2009-08-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

JULY

A month to remember

"We're ready for take-off"... Lily and Silas looking like pilots in the backseat as they listen to one of many movies on our roadtrip to the Midwest. They did a great job on this 21 hour drive that we decided to drive straight through.

Our visit started in Columbus, Indiana where we enjoyed 2 weeks with Pete's family. Silas is helping Grandpa catch some fish.

Lily having fun with Grandma.
Celebrating the 4th of July with some sparklers.
We loved hanging out with Ben (Pete's bro.) and his wife Jess and son Jonas. Here we are on a refreshing hike in Brown County. We went on the hike after we ate a delicious breakfast at the Hob Nob, an all time favorite spot for us when we visit Indiana.

Silas enjoying the ride on Daddy's back.

Lily and Silas both LOVED hanging with their cousins. Here's Lily with Jonas.

Since the kids never get to go to their cousin's b-day parties, we had one big birthday party for everyone. Here they are blowing out the candles on their cupcakes.

The main activity for the birthday party was playing with this ball sprinkler. Fun times!

We all spent an afternoon at Aunt Jess's house playing in their BIG backyard.

Lily and Silas standing with Ada, Allie, and Lucy Glaser (Pete's sister Jamie's kids).

One evening the grandparents babysat the kids and the siblings went out on the town. We found that Columbus has some fun night spots. We ate dinner at a restaurant where there was wonderful live music. Can anyone recognize who the musicians are?? Ben and Jess Newell... they ROCK!

Ahhhhhh..... I love my Newell sisters! Here I am with Jamie when we said goodbye at Wheaton College campus where she was joining her husband Josh for a conference. We sure had fun with Aunt Jamie!

After we dropped Aunt Jamie off, we drove on to Sycamore, IL where we spent 2 more weeks. Lily continues to love anything that moves. Here she is showing off her frog that she caught in the backyard.

Having fun in the driveway at 541 Lincolnshire Dr..... this will be the last time to visit 541.

We enjoyed the county fairs in the Midwest: one in Columbus, IN and another one in St. Charles, IL. The kids loved seeing all the farm animals. There was a great petting zoo at the IL fair.

Lily's favorite was this little chicken. She was ready to take it home with her.

This was garage sale #2 , only 6 days after garage sale #1 at 541 Lincolnshire. Mom and Dad sold their house in Sycamore the week before we got there so we spent the time getting it cleared out for the new owner.

After a week of clearing out the Sycamore house we were ready for a break, so we accepted the Floits offer to visit them up at Washington Island, WI. What a wonderful few days we had with them (Ron and Mary, Ingrid, and Gretchen and her husband, Mike and 2 boys). We loved relaxing at the beach, touring around the Island, enjoying the sunsets, watching the boats go by, and visiting with our dear friends.

Lil and Silas loved hanging out with Miles Minard, Gretchen's oldest son. They were very sad to say goodbye when we left.

Enjoying an island sunset right outside the Floit's back door.

Saying goodbye.... until next time. Love you guys!

Playing ping pong one last time in the garage at 541 Lincolnshire. This was a favorite pastime growing up.

And one last picture taken in front of the house. Mom, Dad, Ron and I with our 7 kids. It was an emotional 2 weeks, as we realized it would be the very last time to be in the house we loved.
God sure did bless us big time in that home and we are so thankful for all of the awesome memories we have from there. I am especially thankful to mom and dad for giving me such an incredible childhood. The words that come to mind when I think of growing up in that house are: good memories(from the day I came home from the hospital after being born to the day I got married), home, consistency, safety, warmth, love, acceptance, rest, welcome, familiarty, always there, dependable and fun. I'm going to miss that place a whole, whole lot, but as my mom reminded me, heaven is my true home and I will look forward to the day when I spend eternity there with Jesus.

Time to go back to Austin after being away for a month. Our road trip home was a little more leisurely and we stopped in Tulsa, Oklahoma to visit their zoo. It just happened to be the one day out of the year when admission is free.

WOW.... what a GREAT trip!!.... fun memories of our times with family and we also got to see many, many friends who we love so much. Thank you everyone who made the effort to see us and spend time with us. We loved every minute of our time with each of you!!!!!!!!!!! Now it's your turn to come and see us in Austin. You are always welcome.

2009-05-31T14:05:00.000-07:00

Celebrating Life

We had much to celebrate the week after Josiah was born. We were thanking God for the delivery of a healthy baby and we also were thanking God for a wonderful grandmother. We travelled to Bryan to the Foxes house to celebrate Dottie with all of her children, grandchildren and great-greatchildren. It was a fun day to all be together again.

Lily LOVES Dottie!

Lily and Silas both had fun with their first, second and third cousins. (Lily is the one flying on the far right).

Lily and Silas with the younger crowd.

The kids love being out in the backyard and they have many adventures together there. Here they are learning how to climb up trees.

Just sitting in nice green grass is fun.(we didn't have much of that stuff in Phoenix)

Swinging in the backyard is a definite favorite of both kids.

And the sprinkler is a special treat now that the weather is hot.

This has been a normal sight in our yard: B and Grandad working hard at making it beautiful. We are so thankful for all the hard work they have done and we are enjoying a beautiful backyard because of them! Thank you!!

Looking cute.

Josiah at 5 weeks old. He's a good baby: eating and sleeping well, getting along well with his siblings and making his mom and dad proud.

Lily adores her baby brother and is already proving to be a very good babysitter.

We are loving the outdoors here in Austin and have visited the nearby state park the past two weekends. This past Saturday we had a picnic, fished and went on a hike in the woods. It was very refreshing for all of us and the kids loved the fishing part of the day. Here's Lily learning how to cast a line.

Lily helping her daddy put the bait on the line. This is one of her favorite things to do... play with worms!

Lily and Silas both caught a fish.

Our new favorite spot to go and hang out... by Onion Creek at McKinney State Park.

Our most recent family picture.

2009-04-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

Introducing Josiah David Newell

Born at 1:54 am, April 23, 2009

Weighing 8 lbs 9oz

We were praising God for a quick labor and delivery Wednesday night. Josiah arrived on the scene 2 hours after we arrived at the hospital. He missed being born on Pete's birthday by 2 hours.

A very proud big sister came hours after Josiah was born to meet her new baby brother.

B and Grandad had arrived the night before when Lori was having contractions 10 minutes apart. The contractions stopped after 6 hours, but B and Grandad stayed for the excitement the next night.

Our first complete family photo... a happy fivesome.

Lily holding her brother for the first time.

Josiah will be well cared for and loved by these two little ones.

Lily and Silas posing for an Easter picture before church.

Silas showing off our beautiful garden that B and Grandad have planted for us. We already have squash growing.

Lily and Silas helping Pete celebrate his 35th birthday hours before Josiah came into this world. We are thankful for you Daddy and the blessing you are to all of us. Thank you for being such a GREAT daddy and husband!!! YOU'RE THE BEST!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

2009-04-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

SPRINGTIME MEMORIES

Fun times in Oklahoma. Our dear friends Joanna and David, who we know from Phoenix got married at the end of March. We were blessed to be able to travel up for the wedding and participate in all the festivities of the weekend. It was a much needed break for us.

Here we are hanging with the Phoenix crowd who made it to the wedding in Oklahoma. We had so much fun reconnecting, laughing and eating really good food. We love you all and miss you!!!

Lily and Silas were invited to a very special birthday party. It was Amelie's 3rd birthday and she had a farm animal theme with a real petting zoo. Amelie is the daughter of Jessica and Joe who we have known for almost 10 years through Food for the Hungry. Jessica was with us in Bolivia during our first 6 months and she was a huge blessing and we have stayed close friends through the years. Now, to our surprise and delight, we all live in the same city.

Lily's favorite animal at the birthday party was the 4 week old sheep named, "Ba-Ba". She could have petted that sheep for hours.

Silas is loving his new room with his big boy bed. A huge praise regarding Silas is that he has transitioned well to sleeping in the new house. For three months, while living at the apartment, he cried every night when he went to bed and he woke up early. Now we are once again experiencing peaceful evenings and he's sleeping later in the morning. Praise God!

Lily showing off her new room with a big girl bed and sparkly, pink walls. For the past 2 years she has shared a room with mommy and daddy and she is now very happy to have her own space, and so are we! :)

The "new" kitchen, minus the countertops (what you see in the picture is a temporary plywood countertop). Pete worked very hard putting in new cabinets, scraping off the popcorn ceilings, putting in new lights and fixing the broken appliances. Well done Pete!

We are loving all this space in the family room. The kids have so much room to run and play chase and we are looking forward to hosting friends, family, small groups, etc.

One more look at Lori's belly: 1 1/2 weeks away from the due date.

Lily and Silas reinacting "Palm Sunday".

We had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa Newell. They helped us with lots of projects, but we were also able to do some exploring around Austin. Here we are enjoying a hike through the woods. Thanks for coming to see us Newells!

2009-04-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

ALL MOVED IN AND ALMOST OUT
ALL MOVED IN and praising God that we are feeling settled already. There are still project lists floating around but for now we are happy with what has been accomplished. We are super thankful for both sets of parents who have helped us tremendously the last few weeks. The Foxes came through like a whirlwind and cleaned, set up our house and planted a garden in a day a half. Two days later the Newells flew in and fixed things, mowed a jungle of a yard, painted and blew bubbles in the backyard. We are truly blessed by wonderful, caring, servant-like parents. Thank you Foxes and Newells for all the work you have done.
The kids are loving the house and the space it provides inside and out. They routinely run through the house like they are participating in track and field events and the backyard is a world of exploration. Praise God for the home He has provided.

ALMOST OUT. Yes, this next Newell baby is getting very close to coming out. Unlike the first two babies, Lori is ready before the due date to meet this little one. April 18th is coming soon and we wouldn't be surprised if she/he comes before that date. Then again, maybe we'll have another late one. We'll keep you posted.

HOPE IN THE CITY is the name of the church we have begun to call home. After visiting a few churches during the first month we were here in Austin, we decided to become regular attenders at Hope which is located directly across the street from the apartment we lived in. We are loving the spirit found in this body of believers, which is open to new people like us and desires to see the city of Austin and the nations come to know Jesus. God, in His perfect timing, allowed us to attend a marriage course at the church that lasted 7 weeks and it was just what we needed in the midst of this busy transition. Every Thursday we went to the church, dropped the kids off with a babysitter in one of the Sunday school rooms, went to another room and sat down to a candlelight dinner, then off to another room where we watched an excellent video series that taught us valuable lessons and encouraged deep discussion on how we can grow in our marriage. Tonight was the first Thursday in a couple months that we didn't have the marriage course and it was a sad night.
We are now looking forward to plugging into a small group and growing in relationship with other people in the church and finding places where we can serve and minister. Praise God for His continued faithfulness and goodness on our lives!

Praise God for loving us so much that He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross so that we can live!!!! May you experience His love especially this weekend as you celebrate Jesus' resurrection.

Love,
Lori, Pete, Lily and Silas

Exploring and Celebrating

2009-03-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

EXPLORING AND CELEBRATING

We have loved exploring Austin and all the great places to hike and picnic. This hike was up to an overlook of the city and it was also down the street from a park where we had a picnic, hiked through the woods and enjoyed the company of about 20 peacocks!
Lily turned FOUR in February! We can't believe how fast she is growing up. We had fun celebrating her birthday here in Austin and then we travelled to Bryan, TX where we celebrated with her four Fox cousins, Dottie, Grandad and B.

Here's Dottie helping Lily and Jordan celebrate their birthdays. Lily's cousin Jordan also has a February birthday so we had a doubly fun party. The four Foxes and the two Newells surrounding their wonderful, beautiful Great-Grandmother, Dottie! We love you Dottie!!!

Another reason to celebrate: we bought a house! We have been saying since we moved away from Phoenix that we didn't want to buy a "fixer upper"... well, we did. This house has lots of potential and it is in a great neighborhood and it is super convenient to everything we are involved in so far. We are really missing all our Phoenix friends who helped so much in fixing up our little house there. Does anyone want to come and help Pete put in a new kitchen this week???

Pete working hard at one of his many projects in the new house. We have 2 more weeks to finish a few big projects before we move in. The main one is the kitchen and also painting most of the rooms. Lori is busy working on slipcovers, reupholstering, and pillow covers. For those interested in seeing Lori's growing belly. She is now 5 weeks away from her due date and there is MUCH to do before that baby shows up... lots of projects and then move into the new house.

Badger Bend

2009-02-25T19:55:00.000-08:00

Badger Bend is the name of our new street. We are officially homeowners once again and are very excited at what the Lord has provided for us here in Austin. The house is located just a few minutes from our apartment which means it's a great location for Pete's work, the church we are attending, the Bible studies we attend, and the major highways that can get us anywhere in Austin pretty quick. The house needs some TLC but we have 3 more weeks to work on it before our lease is up on our apartment. Pete has started in on the house projects and has about 10 more to go. We are having fun brainstorming, planning and praying about this new home and how we want to create a peaceful and restful atmosphere for our family and for all those who walk in. Which will hopefully be many of you who are reading this newsletter!

Four years ago February our first child was born. We can't believe our little Lily is a big four year old now. She is growing up and maturing fast and we are so thankful for her life and how the Lord has blessed us through her. She is a joy to be around. She amazes us with her abilities, soft heart, great sense of humor, and a general love for life. Our prayer for her is that she would fall in love with Jesus, hunger for His word and use all of her gifts for His glory.

Trusting in the Lord and His timing,
Pete, Lori, Lily and Silas

2009-01-05T14:26:00.000-08:00

BLESSED by YOU

Flerida, Hilda and Lori after Lori's last girls' Bible study. She loved being able to participate in this study with the teen girls and she misses them already!

We LOVED having Gabe, Toby, Eliana, Ryan and Angela Smedes come to visit during one of our last weeks in Phoenix. The timing was perfect and we enjoyed our visit immensely with them before their big move to Peru. The kids especially had fun getting to know one another. The first of many visits for these growing families! :)

Bob and Pete at our last small group discussing water models, optimization, general flows, sewage systems and Tim Keller sermons one last time. Pete is going to miss Bob big time!

Pete with Angel, who became like another son to us this past year. We are going to miss him coming to our home to visit.

Our wonderful small group, which doesn't look so small here. It was a night to remember as they honored us and loved on us. We miss you guys!

We couldn't have survived the last few days in Phoenix without these two beautiful servants. Lisa, who was visiting for the week, and Amy came and helped Lori finish up the packing while watching the kids. Then, last minute, they graciously hosted us at their house the last two nights we were in Phoenix and watched our kids for those two days while we finished up the packing and cleaning. Thank you two SO MUCH!

After a busy month in Phoenix, we enjoyed the slower pace of life once we made it to Texas and spent some time at B and Grandad's house. The kids especially loved hanging out with their sweet dog, Annie.

Here's a happy bunch the day we moved into our apartment in Austin. Thankfully, B and Grandad were able to come and help us move everything in and get us settled. Thanks you two!The kids have made themselves at home in the apartment and are thankful we remembered to bring a current favorite, "Fiddler on the roof." Is it weird that a 2 year old enjoys watching this 3 hour movie?

2009-01-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

PERFECT TIMING

We could not have planned this move to Austin better. We thought we had a good plan when we first started thinking about moving to Austin. "We'll move in January, Lori will go with the kids first to Texas for a week and find a place to live, then Pete will pack everything up and follow the next weekend, starting his new job that next Monday." Nothing worked out this way. First of all, as we told you in another update, our house sold in 5 weeks, praise God. The closing date was December 11th which made our plans fast forward about a month. Our friends, the Smedes, came for a visit that same week and left Phoenix Dec. 11th and the buyer graciously allowed us to stay in our home until Dec. 22nd. We were able to host our dear friends, and then focus on packing up our belongings the next week. Our plan to move in January was changed to December and the Lord's hand was very evident in this change because the Christmas break in between the move from Phoenix and to Austin was very much needed. We spent a restful week and a half in College Station with Lori's parents and grandma, spending Christmas and New Year's with them. Pete and Lori were able to find an apartment together in Austin which we will live in for 3 months while we look for a house. The apartment is 5 minutes from Pete's work, 2 minutes from Lori, Lily and Silas' Bible Study and 1 minute from where Pete will attend Bible Study. We couldn't have planned all of these details better if we had tried. The Lord is guiding us in all our decisions and we are trusting Him in guiding us to the right home and the right church(definite prayer requests). We were able to move into our apartment and settle in this past weekend since our belongings arrived early (another blessing from the Lord) and Pete headed off to his new job this morning. We have explored the city a little and are impressed by all the "green" places to go and hang out. We are looking forward to many good picnics, hiking adventures, and peaceful breaks in the woods right outside our back door.

UNAVOIDABLE HEARTACHE

While we praise God for working out the details concerning this move to Austin, we also praise Him for the heartache we felt as we left Phoenix. It reflects His many blessings He showered upon us while living in Phoenix and for this we are grateful. We had an emotional last week while in Phoenix (some more than others :)) as we said goodbye to friends who had become like family and attended our "lasts" for everything including our last small group and last church service where we felt completely loved and honored. Praise God for the wonderful friends He gave to us in Phoenix and how He blessed us immensely through them.

Our new address until the beginning of April is:

4600 Monterey Oaks Blvd., Apt. #318, Austin, TX, 78749

Our e'mail addresses remain the same so please feel free to stay in touch. We would love to hear from you.

Trusting Him,

Pete, Lori, Lily and Silas

2008-12-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

November Highlights

We were able to travel one more time to Gallup, New Mexico to visit Pete's brother Andy and his wife Autumn and their sweet son James. It was fun to see them in their new home and Pete enjoyed helping Andy put in a wood burning stove in their dining room.The girls' Bible study got together for a Mexican feast where they cooked together and then enjoyed eating homemade sopes, tamales, enchiladas, chimis, and flan. Yes, we were stuffed after that meal!

Digging into the yumminess!

Silas turned TWO on November 22nd. He had a fun day celebrating, especially since B and Grandad came from Texas.

We ended Silas birthday that night by going to our church's fall party/ ho down complete with hay bales, pumpkins, delicious homemade soups and a square dance with an official caller. It was a fun night. Here's Lori with her dear friend Flerida.
Lily and Silas LOVED having B and Grandad in town for a week to play with and read with and Pete and Lori also loved having them in town because they were a huge help in getting over half of our packing done. Thanks so much B and Grandad!

2008-12-01T11:28:00.000-08:00

The westward journey moves eastward (about 1,000 miles)

Our move date to Austin, Texas is official. We will have everything packed and out of our house by December 21st and we'll be on our way to Texas on December 22nd, just in time for Christmas. We give all glory and praise to our Lord who brought forward a buyer for our home. It was on the market a little over a month before it sold! We are praising God for this huge blessing. Now we don't have the burden of owning a house in Arizona, while living in Texas, or the stress of renting our house long distance. Also, we have the option of buying a home in Austin if we find what we want. We were not anticipating such a quick move, but because of the early closing date of December 11th, we needed to adjust our plans. We are trusting the Lord with every step and He has definitely shown His faithfulness and goodness to us.

We are quickly realizing the short amount of time we have left here in Phoenix(three weeks from today)and are trying to fit everything in before we leave... a yard sale, last coffee dates with people, dinners, peach cobbler for the youth, and letting people know how much we have loved and appreciated them. It will definitely be a sad day for us when we do leave. Which is amazing for me to say because five years ago when we drove into town I was dreaming of the day when we would be driving out. The Lord has changed my heart and thankfully I am now very sad to leave the dear people here.

We would appreciate your prayers as we begin this new chapter in our lives in Austin. Pray that we would continue to trust the Lord with every detail, knowing that He is in control and He has a plan.

We will be in touch via this blog or feel free to write either of us at: lori.newell@gmail.com or plnewell@gmail.com

Enjoy these few weeks before Christmas and take time to sit, relax and praise God for all the GREAT things He has done... including sending Jesus to save the world from sin.

Trusting in Him,

Lori and Pete and Lily and Silas

2008-11-05T21:13:00.000-08:00

FALL FUN

A weekend in the mountains of Arizona with Pete's family was super fun as we celebrated Pete's mom's birthday in September. Lily and Silas had special times with their cousins.A very proud grandmother with 5 of her 7 grandchildren. It sure is fun to see this Newell family grow.

For all of you out there who were curious about Pete's musical career after the Whipple Tree Band, I am proud to say he still knows how to play the harps. He and Nathaniel had a small jam session one night at small group.

We enjoyed having Silas for one week by himself while Lily spent time with B and Grandad in Texas. The little boy in him really came out that week.

We have loved having visitors in our home including the Jonathan and Christine Lightner family. This was our first time to meet baby Lauren and Lily and Silas enjoyed getting reaquainted with Emma.

What do you think... does Lily need a sister? or does Silas need a brother? We'll find out in April...

It was great to see Mark, Heidi and Eli Blomberg before they head off to the mission field in a few months. Heidi lived in our guest house for a year before she and Mark got married.

Silas is sure proud of his red hat and he's especially proud of his daddy. Minnie Mouse and a lion posing for a picture. These were the outfits they wore to their first Halloween party.
We made it to Illinois for another wonderful visit to Edward's Orchard. Many of you know this is one of Lori's favorite places in the world. She is trying hard to make it one of her children's favorite places as well. Silas loved his first pony ride. Lily has become a pro now. She even knows how to talk the pony's language.

There was no apple picking this year at the orchard, unfortunately, but we still got to ride on the wagon out to the pumpkin patch where the kids picked out their own pumpkins.
The Pumpkin Festival was a hit and the kids especially enjoyed the Pumpkin parade. We were die hard fans and sat through the whole parade even when it looked like it was about to down pour.
While in Sycamore we were able to visit with our dear friends, the Floits. Lori was able to catch up with all the Floit girls, which was a highlight. This one's for you, Mattie.
Lily and Silas enjoyed their time with B and Grandad in Sycamore. Lily was very happy she was able to hunt for worms again with Grandad in the back yard.

Lily and Bella at the party. Two beautiful brides.

New Newell News

2008-11-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

The first news that has been in the works for almost 4 months now, is that another Newell baby is on it's way. #3 is due April 17th, 2009. We are all excited for the arrival of this baby, especially big sister Lily. Both Lily and Silas kiss mommy's tummy and tell the baby they love him/her. Unfortunately the first trimester of this pregnancy wasn't as smooth sailing as the first 2 pregnancies, and I finally can relate to women who talk about their hard 1st trimester. 24/7 nausea is no fun, especially when you have 2 other little ones to take care of. Praise God those months are over, and I am feeling much better now. I no longer hate the kitchen or the thought of preparing food and I don't have to chew gum non-stop to help keep the edge off the nausea.

The other big news is that we are moving away from Phoenix and to Austin, Texas. If you had told me this 2 years ago I would have been jumping up for joy, but the Lord has given me so much contentment here and a love for the people that my heart is heavy and sad about leaving. The Lord has made this our home and we love our friends and church family so much and are so thankful for each of them. BUT, the good news is that we will be close to my whole family in Texas and that makes our hearts glad. The timing is right to move and Pete is going to transfer from the HDR office here in Phoenix to the same company in Austin. It looks like the move will come as soon as January.

God's timing is perfect and we are trusting Him and His timing with the sale of our home. It has been on the market for 3 weeks now and there has been lots of interest and numerous showings. We are confident that the right buyer will come along soon.

Our adventure continues and we are excited to see what the Lord has for us in Texas and beyond. Going overseas is still on our radar and we will see where that fits into the future. First, we need to sell our house, move to Texas, have another baby, and enjoy being near family for a while.

2008-10-09T17:33:00.000-07:00

A few shots fr0m this past year... more to come soon.

Pete had the privelege of travelling to Chad in March with Food for the Hungry to help with a water assessment project.

We had fun helping the youth plan a Sunday service where they sang, shared testimonies and performed skits. We have loved getting to know these young people.

Lori and Pete spent a week in July in Northern Wisconsin, on Washington Island, without the kids to celebrate their 10 year anniversary. It was amazing!!!

Lily and Silas hanging out on the back patio in Sycamore, IL this past June.

In August we combined Pete's work with pleasure in Seattle, and Lori tagged along to hang out with our good friends the Smedes. The Lord has allowed us to stay connected with them through the past 8 years in 3 different countries. They are on their way to Peru with Food for the Hungry in January. http://smedesonline.blogspot.com/

March '08 Newsletter

2008-10-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

CRAZY That’s the word used to describe this past year. We are thanking God for His goodness and grace on our lives as He helped us through one of the hardest, most stressful, and fastest years yet. It was Pete’s final year of graduate school and so that meant LOTS of hours studying, deciding on a thesis, researching for the thesis, writing the thesis, and defending the thesis (all done during his last semester). Pete finished school in December, getting all A’s in his classes, passing his thesis and at the same time working 32 hours a week. He did awesome and we are so proud of him. His degree has equipped him with knowledge that has already been incredibly useful here in the states as he works for HDR, an engineering firm assisting them in their water resource department. He is also looking forward to using his skills overseas to help bring water to those in need.

INCREDIBLE That’s the word used to describe life now…with Pete NOT in school. It is absolutely amazing to have Pete around us more and not have schoolwork and studying and thesis research hanging over us. We are loving our evenings with him and our weekends are especially awesome. We have enjoyed hiking, picnics, a roadtrip to New Mexico, Sunday afternoons with Daddy… the list goes on and on and the possibilities are endless now. It’s one of those things that you look back and you are so thankful for as far as the “hard times” because it makes life so much sweeter and you are so much more thankful for the time you have together rather than taking it for granted. Pete is definitely enjoying life as well, as he is able to hang out with us and he doesn’t have to drink two cups of coffee every night in order to stay up until midnight studying. He is enjoying his job, gaining lots of experience, and working with lots of interesting people from all over the world.

EXCITED Yes, we are excited about our growing involvement with the youth at our church. We continue to teach the Sunday School class and for the past 6 months we have been going through the material that the late Pope John Paul wrote on the “Theology of the Body” which mainly deals with love, relationships, and sex. It has been a great study that has challenged the students and has challenged our thinking as well. Getting to know the students better through this study as well as having them in our home has been a blessing to us. It’s exciting to see the Lord work in their lives and to be able to encourage them and pray for them is an absolute privilege.