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. 
