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.

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.

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!!!!!

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!

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

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

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