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

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?

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

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.