MERRY CHRISTMAS

Friends...

Andrew enjoyed his first Christmas party with our small group...minus the 2 Brendons. You've seen pictures of most of these folks before, but this semester, Caleb & Bre Beacham joined our small group and we've really enjoyed getting to know them. They have tender hearts for the Lord and Bre is becoming such a dear friend. I'm loving getting to know you, Bre!

Caleb & Bre Beacham, Elizabeth & Josh Audi, Caleb & Michelle Dulock
Andrew, Daniel, me, Josiah, and Nikki, Tessa, Craig & Jesse Comolli

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Announcing...

The birth of our son.

Andrew David Audi

Born on December 4, 2009

7 lbs. 7.8 oz.

19 1/2" long

As we talked about what we would name our 2nd son, we began throwing out names that we liked – oddly enough, not many of them were names we had seriously considered for Josiah. The name Andrew was one we both really liked. In the book of John, John records that Andrew was regularly bringing people to Jesus. Andrew was one of the first followers of Jesus and when he followed, he went to find his brother, Simon Peter, and brought him to Jesus. In John’s account of the loaves and fishes, Andrew is the one who finds the little boy with the loaves and fishes and brings the boy to Jesus. Our prayer is that our Andrew would be like the disciple – that he would bring people to Jesus. Another reason we liked the name was because of its meaning. “Andrew” means “manly” or “warrior.” Our pastor began a series a few months ago on the end times. As we’ve talked about what those days will be like and as we anticipate that living as a true disciple of Christ in this world will increasingly become more and more challenging, we really felt the Lord confirming in our spirits that our little Andrew will be a “warrior” for the Kingdom of God in the coming years. Finally, “Drew” is a family name in Kim’s mom’s side of the family, and this was an added special bonus.

As for his middle name, David. Well, we all know that David was called a man after God’s own heart. We pray that our son would be called a “man after God’s own heart.” That he would fulfill the meaning of his name, “Beloved.”

So, we pray over our son that he would be a perfect combination of his two given names – “warrior” and “beloved.” That he would be tough, yet tender.

Family Pics

Our good friend, Izehi, took some pictures of the 3 of us just before the arrival of our little Andrew. We had a great time with her and got some fun shots!

dedication

Josiah's first birthday fell on a Sunday this year and we decided to dedicate him at our church on his first birthday.

Our church doesn't have a group dedication, we just let them know that we'd like to dedicate our child, and they make a time for it during the service. Mom & Dad came in town for his dedication and one of Daniel's old roommates, Chris, came just for the dedication as well.

It was a really sweet time. Josiah of course performed for the crowd, smiling and clapping when they clapped, etc. We do have quite the social little man. Don Beacham was the pastor in charge of that part of the service, and if you remember, Don is the pastor who we trekked the mountains of Nepal with, so it was special to us that he was the one to be a part of the dedication. After all, Josiah hung out with him for 3 weeks before he was even born! ;-)

Daniel spoke sweet words over Josiah and shared about the confirmations we had received through other people guessing his name, through a dream our sister-in-law had about his name, and well, the bright red confirmation of his hair. You probably also recall that one meaning of "Josiah" is "fire of the Lord" and well, he came out with bright firey red hair! Daniel finished our time of dedication reading the passage out of 2 Kings about the King Josiah who became king at a mere 8 years of age. He was regarded as a righteous king and the Bible says about him that there was no one like him who came before or after him. Then we prayed over Josiah, dedicating him before our friends and family, to raise him as best we can in the righteous fear of the Lord. We are asking the Lord that our Josiah would be like the King Josiah - that he would walk righteously before the Lord and that there would be none like him before or after him!

Happy Birthday to....JOSIAH

Josiah will officially be one year old tomorrow! It's so crazy to think that on this day last year our lives were so different - our little man hadn't yet arrived. It would still be a day and a half before he would enter this world. And now, 364 days later, our lives are fuller and busier and crazier! But, a good full, a good busy, a good crazy! We had no clue just how much our world would turn upside down with his arrival. No preparation, no advice can really do justice to clue a new mommy and daddy in to what life is like with a baby. And despite the sleepless nights and the crying and all of the wondering if we're doing things "right," we couldn't be prouder and more thrilled! Josiah is a gift to us.

Somehow the Lord chooses to entrust us with a living, breathing creature. And somehow, by His grace, we learn to be parents. And Jesus teaches us more about Himself and more about ourselves as we learn how to parent Josiah. There have been many days and nights that the Lord has reminded me that I am a lot like Josiah in the way that I relate to the Lord. Those moments are often humbling, yet tender. And, it's just like the character of the Lord to allow me to learn so many things about Him through the ins and outs of daily life.

We celebrated Josiah's birthday a week early with family in Ruston. The theme? MONKEYS, of cousre! We had a monkey smash cake for him, and I made monkey-faced cupcakes for his guests, and we had banana splits. It was really fun!

And, he loved being the center of attention. If you've seen him in pictures, you know that he has a smile that lights up a room, but one thing you couldn't know just by the pictures is what a social butterfly our little man is! And his party was quite the social event - 8 little cousins, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles and big cousins filled the house.

He wasn't too sure what to do with his smash cake. He was mostly mezmorized by the flame of the candle. And the fondit icing was just too thick for him to figure out. He just poked his finger in the nose of the monkey for the longest time. I dug into the cake to give him a taste or two. He liked it, but could take it or leave it.

Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us! Josiah loves all of his new toys and his Mommy loves all of his new fashionable outfits! A special thanks to Josh & Elizabeth for driving from Arlington to Ruston to be at the party, and to Uncle Sonny, Aunt Evelyn, and Donna for driving from Houston.

4 years ago...

Four years ago today I was teaching an ESL class of Somalis in Arlington on Collins Street. This guy who I worked with at Catholic Charities had been volunteering to help me in my ESL classes some after he had worked a full day. I was oblivious to the fact that volunteering in an ESL class after having already worked 8 hours that day with refugees was probably a sign that this guy had some interest in me. Until....he started emaling me pretty regularly - like, every morning before work and sometimes in the evening, responding to whatever I had replied to him, or inviting me to play tennis with him, or inviting me to hang out at the house where he lived with 7-8 other guys who were a part of a discipleship program at his church. And then, he invited me to meet him at Starbucks on Hulen in Fort Worth. Originally, we were supposed to meet later that weekend because his brother was moving to Arlington that particular October 13th. However, his brother was gonna be late getting in, so he asked if I wanted to bump up the coffee date a couple of days. YES! I did! I was fascinated by this guy. I hadn't really figured him out to this point (and even 4 years later, I'm not sure that I have either!) but I was interested in learning more about him.

That October evening he invited me to dive deep into the mystery of knowing him. He asked me to be his girlfriend! And, I said yes...and the rest was history!

3 months and 3 weeks later, he asked me to be his wife...

Almost 5 months later, we stood at the altar and promised our lives to each other...

Now, 4 years later, we have an 11 month old and I'm 7 months pregnant with our 2nd child, another son.

Tonight we returned to that same Starbucks and enjoyed another coffee together. Daniel worte me a note 4 years ago asking me to be his girlfriend. Tonight I got a note again, an on it were his thoughts of the past 4 years, his wonder at the Lord's works in us these past four years.

How could we have ever known 4 years ago all that would be in store for us at this point? We couldn't. But, the Lord has filled our lives, our marriage, with many, many blessings. And, today we celebrate that great day when He began this story - the story of the Audis!

a visit to the pumpkin patch

The weather here has been amazingly cool and delightful the past couple of days. Today it averaged about 55 degrees throughout the day. We took advantage of the nice weather and went to a pumpkin patch that is just down the street from us. We discoverd it about a week or so ago and wanted to go last weekend, but the rain never let up. Today, though, was perfect! Here are a few of my favorites from today....

oh so close

Josiah wants so badly to walk. He started out by cruising - pulling up on furniture (usually the coffee table) and taking a couple of side steps. That progressed into cruising around and around the coffee table. And then, around and around his exersaucer his music table. Then he began pulling up and side-stepping using just about anything - the wall, any furniture, our legs.... He used to need to hold on to our hands with both of his hands in order to have the balance he needed to walk. Now, he's completely content and balance with just holding on with one hand. I attribute this to recent practice with a hand-me-down push toy from his 2 1/2 year old friend, Caroline. Now, Caroline being a girl means that her toys sometimes have pink on them. And, yes, this push toy has a pink and another pinkish wheel. But, since Josiah doesn't care and we don't care for now, we're just content to get such a great toy from a friend! And, Josiah LOVES it! He pushes it back and forth in our living room until he runs into something. And, often he's able to figure out how to maneuver the push toy in order to get started again. So smart!

Of cousre, we didn't get this next thing I'm reporting on video - who does actually get a baby's FIRST anything on video - would anyone be so lucky??? Well, Josiah took his first step this past Thursday! He's been transferring lately from holding onto one object and grabbing another one, but this past Thursday, he clearly let go of the push toy, took one step, and grabbed onto his baby rocking chair. Daniel had just gotten home from work and we were both watching him, so....Daniel says this DEFINITELY counts as Josiah's first step! He' s such a proud Daddy and was so glad to get to be here for a "first."

our little noise maker

Josiah has proven himself to be quite the noise maker - I know, I know....WHERE in the WORLD would he get that from? ;-)

Anything that he can shake or beat together or bang on a table, he discovers and with a huge grin on his face and excitement in his expression he makes lots and lots of noise!! ....that's our boy!!

what happened to us - part III

Josiah pretty much has the freedom to crawl about our house and play with whatever is in his reach - though there are some things we left out to try to help him learn boundaries. One thing that we can't put away, though, is toilet paper. And well, once he discovered it, he decided he loved it! So, sometimes when he's been playing and all of a sudden he is missing and it's quiet, we know where to look! When he hears the pitter patter of our feet, he gets excited and knows he's being found out. This is what we generally find has happened in our absence...

a long hiatus

Since I last wrote...

WE HAD A BABY SHOWER FOR ASHLEY

Ash was my roommate before Daniel and I became roommates - Ashley and I both traded each other for a husband! ;-) Ashley and Austin are expecting their first, a girl, in mid-October. The newest Perry's name is Charlotte and she's gonna be here before we know it!

JOSIAH LEARNED NEW TRICKS & GOT MORE TEETH

"I can pull up on furniture and cruise around!"

"I got cuter!" - (does that count for a trick?)

"I can drink from a sippy cup!"

"I'm getting bigger! And I have 7 teeth at 9 1/2 months old!"

WE HAD A 6 HOUR TRIP TO RUSTON

We went to Ruston for the long Labor Day weekend. Normally Ruston is only a 4 hour trip, but...not this time. Nope, not when your child explodes OUT OF HIS DIAPER not once, but TWICE, on the trip home. The first time was incredibly stressful. Daniel and I all but cussed each other out in the midst of it. Did I mention it was stressful?? I had to ask the lady at the convenient store for a hose to hose Josiah down - that's how bad the explosion was. Not to mention that his car seat was dirty and we had to clean it up. Yuck!! The second time, though, we pretty much just laughed and got Josiah cleaned up and rested a bit at the big Texas truck stop near Tyler.

We finally made it to Ruston and all crashed for the night - hoping for a better day in the morning! And, it was. Josiah loves playing with his cousins. And, they play so well together! Mornings at Papa and Gran-Gran's house are super special with all of us (minus Brian and Daniel) crawled up in my mom and dad's bed. The kids laugh with one another and play as they are waking up and we just enjoy family time. But, like I said, it's a little much for the sons-in-law to participate. They'll sometimes come in and stand around the bed, though. Or, just take the opportunity to sleep in a little! It's always nice to have some extra hands around to play with the babies!

Saturday morning in Papa's chair...

Saturday night at Mamaw & Papaw's - Josiah was learning the ways of a good southern red neck - deer in the back of a pick up truck!

Sunday afternoon playing with Annie & Allie (my cousin's girls)

I GREW

Here I am at 25 weeks...

MOM & DAD CAME TO ARLINGTON

We gave Dad tickets to a Rangers game for Father's Day. He and Mom came a couple of weekends ago during the rainiest week we've had in Texas in FOREVER! But, the weather was dry for the Saturday night game (until the 9th inning when they stopped the game for rain - who stops a game for rain at the top of the 9th inning? It was almost over!) Josh & Elizabeth kept Josiah so we could have a night out with my parents - it was so nice!

FOOTBALL SEASON STARTED
Josiah is ready for football season with this great Redskins jersey his aunt and uncle gave him last Christmas!

they tied the knot

We made a weekend road trip to Oklahoma City to be a part of Andy & Laura's wedding last month.

We stayed with good friends Ryan, Adriane, and Graham Smith.

Ryan and Daniel were buddies when Daniel lived in Turkey and Daniel met Andy through Ryan when he moved down the DFW area. Andy and Daniel were roommates when Daniel first moved here. Anyhow, Josiah became good buddies with Graham for the weekend. And, Graham was so sweet to share all of his toys with Josiah. They started a band...

And, Graham even taught Josiah how to work puzzles!

Daniel was a groomsman, and may I add, he was the most handsome of all of the groomsman. The ceremony was absolutely beautiful - just so tender and intimate. The LORD's presence was definitely thick in that room! I thought I'd take Josiah home right after the ceremony, but we decided to get some grub at the reception, and Josiah had his latest night ever! He stayed up until 10 at the wedding and pooped out at our friends' house at 10:30 after his bottle. He was quite the trooper. It helped that at the reception there was loud music, lots of people, and dancing. But the biggest help of all was the strobe light. He liked following the lights on the floor!

We always have such a fun time when we're in Oklahoma City. When the LORD closed the door on our moving to Turkey in the summer of 2007, we had considered moving to Oklahoma City to build community with Andy, Ryan, and Adriane. But, the LORD led us to stay in Fort Worth and at Grace. We sure do love our visits to OKC and although there is often a pretty long span of time between visits, once we're there, it's like we've seen them all year long. Isn't God good the way He blesses friendships and causes His children to encourage one another, challenge one another, laugh with one another and cry with one another? We love it that Andy & Laura and Ryan & Adriane are those kind of friends!