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. 
