Aussie Mission team time

We were so blessed to be able to hang out with our teammates this weekend. We all went our separate ways in May. Shawn went on a campaign to Australia with Skyline, the Griffiths headed north to visit family in Michigan and Pennsylvania, The Mullins moved to the Ft Worth area to be with the Legacy church of Christ. And we moved to Austin to be with the Round Rock church of Christ.

So it was a good reunion and it even worked out for everyone to come to Austin! It was great to worship together, too. We swum in the pool (it has been QUITE hot here), and were blessed by time with our heart group.

A little synchronized swimming (attempted at least):


A little lovin' on baby girl:


Our team (and Maggie...the Hunter's dog):


Us - the day before we welcomed our daugther!


Thank you God for these times. On a sad note, we also learned that Jason's Grandmother, Venita Southern passed away suddenly in Oklahoma. Our family will experience the circle of life in a very real way this week. We are thankful for Grandma's long life and her good health throughout her life.

Here are some pics at 37 weeks (2nd picture) and 38 weeks (below).  Soon to come - pics of the little girl within!

Catching up with friends

The last couple of weeks have been a flurry of activity and travel. We drove to Waco to visit with the Shrocks. Seeing them again was the beginning of some wonderful reunions with friends from Memphis. Chris and Danielle are both Baylor doctoral students. We were neighbors in Memphis, and are almost related! Chris is close friends with some relatives of the Whaley family. We always enjoy our Shrock time and are glad to have a few more visits with them while we are state-side and residents of Texas.
Here's our Baylor Bears:


Our next reunion was with Danny and Katie. They are also expecting their first child, also a girl, in early September. They just got back from a survey trip to Angola, Africa. We really enjoyed visiting with them and hearing about their trip and future plans. They have been passionate about Angola for a long time. It was a target mission field for them even before the country was open! God has answered their prayers and provided visas for two visits there already, but especially for teammates. Amazing.

Following their visit and after learning that the arrival of our child was not about to happen any day soon - the doctor gave us the okay to travel to Dallas for the Global Missions Conference. We were able to see our entire team. What a great reunion. And lots of dear friends from Memphis. My heart felt full to overflowing with thankfulness that we could be there and spend time with our friends.

Corey put together a great Aussie Mission Booth:


Dinner with our team and the Hartmans:


Katie and Ileene:


And we ended the activity with a test to see how baby Girl was doing. She seems to ace these tests. We are so proud.

Habitat for Humanity and Heart Group

Last Saturday we had the opportunity to provide lunch for a crew working on a Habitat for Humanity house just north of Round Rock. A member of our Sunday night Heart Group works for Habitat. We met the home owner, and it was neat to learn more about how Habitat works.





Our Heart Group is our small group that meets each Sunday evening. Before we even arrived in Texas, they had already taken on the task of being our internal support system while here, and while we are in Australia. We feel very blessed by their support. They are willing to take on anything to help us. Last week we stuffed envelopes for a mailout. We are thankful for their tireless and cheerful support and service.

It's beginning to look a lot like a baby is on the way . . .

We finally unpacked and assembled some of the larger baby items we have received. We put together the pack-n-play, which will actually be her crib until someday in Australia we get her a real bed. We also assembled the stroller, got the car seat out, and the take along swing. For such large boxes . . . you'd think these things came pre-assembled, but . . . alas. I guess it is part of the 'are-you-capabale-of-having-a-baby' test. So far so good.





I'm thinking it is true what people have been telling us for the past nine months. "A baby changes your life". She's not even here yet, but has certainly changed our apartment. Every where you look there is evidence that a child is on the way.

Fun with the Cottinghams

Here's a few pics of recent happenings. We went out for Mexican with the Cottingham family. Jason went to OC with Nikki. I read with Hannah, and Jason reads with Julia at Buddy Camp twice a week. And Gracie, the youngest, just thinks Jason is cute. They are a neat family. After dinner we 'climbed' Mt Bonnell. In one of these pics I look like I might kill someone, but it was just a moment I was stuck in...catching my breath!

We've been in search of white cheese dip. It seems that white cheese dip (as we know it), does not exist west of the Mississippi. This is a pretty sad deal for us. But . . . in October, we hope to be back in Tennessee, at which time I will make up for the absence of white cheese dip in Texas.
This is what we got upon ordering 'white cheese dip'. Sure, its white...and its cheese . . . but . . . Sigh - we miss El Porton.





Climbing up to the top of Mt. Bonnell . . . I'm going for the worn out pregnant look.


Here's Jason and Gracie on the marble cow . . .

An answer to prayer . . .

We went to a doctor's appointment last week fully expecting to walk out with a date for the c-section. However . . . after almost four months of waiting and praying, we learned that the placenta previa is no longer an issue!!! It has moved up, clear out of the way, allowing us to proceed with a natural birth. We are so excited but I'll be honest - I was first shocked and taken aback. I had pretty much come to a point of acceptance about the c-section. While less than ideal (but we know necessary for our baby's health), and while still anxious at the thought of such a surgery, we had begun to find joy in the fact that she would be with us two weeks early and were eager to mark that date!

So we watched in disbelief, but with huge grins on our faces, as the doctor typed 'previa resolved' on the ultrasound screen. We feel like we have our own little miracle. We were dealing with a complete (not partial!) previa at 20 weeks. The previa migrated some to being partial at 28 weeks, and still partial at 32 weeks. We were well aware that the chances of it 'resolving' were pretty slim after 28 weeks. However, some time between 33 and 35 weeks, the placenta moved on up. Our little girl now gets to just hang out until she feels fit.

Many prayers have been offered for this specific situation. God answered these prayers and we are so thankful to Him

We celebrated with lunch at Taco Shack . . .

34 weeks

I realize the last few posts have been rather self-indulgent....pregnancy picture after pregnancy picture. Soon you can enjoy baby girl picture after baby girl picture.

Here we are at 34 weeks. Things continue to go well.




We're really enjoying Austin. Jason has been working some for a guy from church. Buddy Camp - a summer reaching enrichment program will continue throughout the summer. We enjoy reading with Hannah and Corey. There are plenty of opportunities for us to get to know people. We want to continue to grow the 'skills' we will need in Australia to reach out to people.