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!

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

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

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.

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

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.