Dancing to Old MacDonald...Shep Style

And by Shep style, I mean, wearing a backpack, one shoe and no pants.

Enjoy.

Can We Just Pretend...

that is hasn't been 5 months since the last post? Great.

Here's a quick recap of the top 8 things that you need to know to catch you up on months April-July:

1. Shepherd started walking at the end of May. Oh, and he turned 1 on April 16th (and, yes, I am pretty terrible for not posting a birthday post).

2. Dave got promoted at his job at NCI from a service connector to a lead service connector after only 6 months at his job! Needless to say, I was a proud wife.

3. We celebrated 5 years of marriage on June 25th! Marriage gets sweeter and sweeter with each anniversary.

4. In July, we finished our classes toward becoming licensed foster parents and are expecting to be ready to foster in later October. We are really excited and humbled at this opportunity to care for an orphan.

5. The Lord has been kind to Covenant Community Church (the church plant we are a part of). The church is growing and people are loving God and one another really well. We are blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group of people who know their need for Christ and each other.

6. Dave had his last day of work at Neighborhood Centers on July 28th and he started his first day of work as a high school Geometry teacher on August 11th! (He doesn't actually start teaching until the 23rd). We are SO thankful for this job change!

7. We had a wonderful trip to FL and visit with both our families last week. We even got to steal away from Shepherd and spend 2 days at the beach with just each other. It was so nice! Thanks to my mom and dad for hanging with Shep and for making the whole trip possible!

8. Shepherd is a talking machine these days. He will pretty much repeat anything we say and uses lots of words of his own. Some of my personal favorites are: "yeayow" (yellow); "poople" (purple); "bippo" (hippo); "neeze" (sneeze); "tuttle" (turtle). He also does a pretty mean lion's growl.


I think those are all the big ones. Hopefully, you feel slightly caught up and I will do a better job of updating the blog in the future:)

Pearland Has a Farmer's Market

It's true. Last Saturday was the first day of the Pearland Farmer's Market. We are really excited about this and went to check it out for ourselves. It's certainly no Bardstown Rd. Farmer's Market (complete with fresh omelets), but it has potential. It's still fairly small, but there was a great turnout of folks from the community and it seems like it will certainly grow.

Here's a picture of Shep and I on the way to the Farmer's Market:

He wore his new overalls from his Nanna in honor of the farmer's market :)

In other news, Shepherd is officially pulling up on things and has even stood solo for a few seconds by himself - without holding onto anything. That's big stuff around here. He also waves "bye-bye" and even says "bye-bye" although it sounds more like "diiieeee-diiieeee." And he doesn't just say it once. If we are leaving somewhere, it's not uncommon for him to still be waving and saying "diiieeee-diiieeee" while strapped in his carseat and driving away. We're working on that, but I guess I can't be too picky. At least he's trying :)

We also had one of our first "major" injuries just yesterday. Shepherd was crawling around playing with my keys (I know....shame on me) and basically did a face-plant on the keys, busting his upper lip. It looked worse than it was, but it was slightly traumatizing to see blood on my little man's face. He recovered by sucking on some frozen strawberries - much to his delight and my relief (since he wouldn't let me put ice on his lip). The end result was some minor swelling and a little crack in his lip. He's a pretty tough kid though and basically forgot all about it within a few minutes. That might be the end of playing with mom's keys though...but who am I kidding, those keys are a life-saver in the grocery store.

Nanna & Daideo Visit!

My mom and dad, known to Shepherd as Nanna and Daideo ("Dah-doh") came to visit us for my mom's birthday at the end of January. We had a great time with them and, of course, were sad to see them go back home to Florida. Shep was especially sad for his constant (and I do mean constant) playmates to leave. It's just not the same around here without them!

And even though Nanna played with Shep the whole time, she didn't fail to work him hard too. In fact, all her training of Shep to work for his toys paid off and he started crawling today! Too bad Nanna and Daideo missed it by just a couple days :(

Here are some pictures of the fun we had:

Shep checking out Daideo's beard. He decided it is real.

Just playing with Nanna.

Eating a pickle at a New York style deli and not quite sure what to think about it.

Some fun floor time with daddy.

More playing with Nanna. Lots of that happened - to the delight of both Nanna and Shep.

Posing in front of the elephant habitat at the zoo. It was cold!

Lounging in PJs (from Aunt Nikki) on his lamb chair (from Nanna and Daideo).

And here is the breaking footage of Shepherd crawling for the first time. Pretty exciting stuff.

Lots of Travels

Since I last posted (way too long ago) we have traveled quite a bit. We had the privilege of seeing our dear friend Scott Daniel get married to a beautiful girl, Maria, in Louisville. It was so sweet to be a part of this wedding. Scott was one of our first friends in Louisville and we have grown to love him so much over the 4 years we've known him. We have also spent much time in prayer for a wife for Scott and the Lord heard our prayers! We couldn't be happier for him. While in Louisville, Shep and I got to spend some time visiting with our friends Shelly and Atticus. Atticus is just 2 weeks older than Shep and was his first "friend." We have missed our weekly playdates with them!


The picture above is Shep (left) and Att (right) in August right before we moved to Pearland. And the one below is of them during our visit in November. These boys are growing up so quick!



From Louisville we headed straight to St. George Island, FL for Thanksgiving. This place is very dear to me since it's been a tradition since I was a kid for my extended family to go there every Thanksgiving for a week. We had a great time. Shepherd got lots of fun grandparent and Aunt Nikki time, and he also got to meet lots of extended family who love him. Dave's parents came up to the beach for a day, so Shep got to see them as well. It's pretty much not an option for us to be anywhere in Florida anymore without seeing both sets of our parents. It's funny how having a baby changes that :) Here are a few pics from the trip:

Shep and dad after a sunset walk on the beach.

Shep, his Nanna and me. Me and mom don't look anything alike, do we? :)

Shep and dad at an ice cream shop in Appalachicola. Dave's mom made sure to give Shep a few bites of ice cream and fulfill her role as Grandma.

Ainsworth family picture

We headed back to Florida for Shepherd's first Christmas and stayed in Keystone Heights with Dave's family. My parents came up on Christmas Day and stayed overnight, so Shepherd had a great time being constantly played with and loved on by both sets of grandparents. He also made out good with toys (of course) and only a few of them are loud, noise-making toys :)

Shepherd got to meet Jenny, a very dear friend of mine, while we were in Florida. Jenny and I met for lunch and I loved on her new puppy Riley while she loved on Shep. It was a sweet time. Jenny has been a faithful friend since freshman year of high school and the Lord used her friendship to bring me to himself. I am eternally grateful for that!

Jenny, Shep, me and Riley. Riley got far more attention from passers-by than Shep did. Funny for the most part, but the mom in me wanted to be like "Seriously people, I know the puppy is cute, but look how incredibly cute this baby is!" :)

Some more pictures of our Christmas fun...

Shep and his cousin Caleb in their matching Christmas PJs from Aunt Courtney. So cute.

Showing off his loot. And pretty excited about it.

Resting with Daideo (my dad, pronounced Dah-doh) after a tiring morning of opening gifts (i.e., playing with wrapping paper and bows).

We had a great time in Florida, but we are very glad to be back home to Pearland, where it is truly feeling like home! We are glad too to have no future overnight drives planned for quite some time!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

My good friends Sarah and Joy and myself took our brood of little ones to a local pumpkin patch last week. It was actually pretty cool out (for Texas) and felt very Fall-ish which, if you know me well, you know made me very happy. I also got to dress Shep in his first sweater which also made me very happy. He looked pretty darn handsome as you can see for yourself in the pictures below.

Shep planting a big wet one on mom. Joy was careful not to get my shoulders in this picture due to the fact that they were covered in slober, snot, and who knows what else. Oh, the joys of motherhood:)
Such a big sweet smile!

I love this one of Reid and Shepherd smiling together. I know this sounds a little sappy, but I hope they will grow to treasure this picture as a glimpse of the beginning of a life-long frienship.
(Of course, well before that happens there will be a lot of Shep rolling his eyes at me when I tell him he will treasure this picture when he grows up).

Reid is making his not-so-subtle move on baby Eliza. Well played, Reid.

This is about the best we could do with all of them together. Shep only looks slightly confused in this one, which is better than bewildered and downright angry as in many of the others shots.

Thought I'd leave you all with my favorite shot. Is it possible for this kid to be any cuter? I mean, seriously! I don't think so.

What's New in Shep's World

I figured it was about time for me to post some recent pictures of Shepherd. He is officially 6 months old now, which is crazy to think about! The time has truly flown by. Here is what he's been up to recently...

Eating yummy baby food like a big boy!

Playing with his B.F.F Eliza.

Hanging out with dad and his favorite stuffed doggy.

Showing off his sitting up skills. He is really getting to be a very sturdy little sitter-upper!

In other news, Shep's first tooth starting coming in last week and the second one followed just a few days later. He now has his front two bottom teeth coming up, and he's starting to look like such a big boy!

Job (and other) News

Dave has a job! He will be working as a case manager for an organization called Neighborhood Centers. He'll be working primarily with homeowners who were affected by Hurricane Ike last September, helping to get them the services they need to get back on their feet. He's not totally sure what to expect, but hopefully he'll get some good training when he starts next week! Thank you for joining us in prayer for this need. Your prayers were answered! We are so thankful for the Lord's provision of a job for Dave!

In other news, Shepherd is officially sitting up by himself these days - of course, mom or dad is close by to catch him when he inevitably tumbles over after about a minute or so. He is also eating lots of "real" foods these days, including peas, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, prunes, carrots, and apples. He doesn't seem too picky yet, but it's apparent he's not a huge fan of squash. It is crazy to think he will be 6 months old in a couple of weeks! The time is seriously flown by.

We're still living with our dear friends the Gangers. With Dave's new job, we are beginning to look at other housing options, but truly aren't in too big a hurry to leave. It has been such a blessing to live with Tim, Sarah and baby Eliza. Every night is like a big family dinner. Shepherd has Eliza as a buddy to learn from and be entertained by. We both have built in babysitters in each other, so we take turns going out regularly. Basically, fun things are more fun and hard things are made easier when you live with your friends. I highly recommend it! It certainly helps when the friends you live with are as hospitable and generous as the Gangers have been to us. The Lord has blessed us immeasurably in this move to Pearland through Tim and Sarah. Who knows...maybe we'll just stay put in their house for the next few years! (That was a joke Sarah - if you're reading this :)

Covenant Community Church is still meeting together weekly and our body is growing. We've already outgrown our first meeting home and are now meeting in a larger one. Although this can be logistically tough, this is good news for a church plant! Dave has been working on updating the church's website, so hopefully I can show off his hard work soon. Until then...

Update

We've been here in Pearland now for 2 weeks, so I guess it's about time I updated the blog. I am just now starting to feel like we actually live here and are not just on vacation. Nothing much has changed since we first arrived. We're still living with our friends Tim and Sarah and Dave is still job hunting. He's had a few good leads on jobs, the most exciting of which is for a librarian position in the local Pearland Library. We are prayerful that this is the job the Lord has for him (since it is pretty much his dream job to be surrounded by books and book lovers), but while we wait to hear back about this job he is continuing to apply to others.

We have loved getting to meet and spend time with the "core group" of people involved in Covenant Community Church. These are the people we have heard about and prayed for over the last couple months, so it has been very sweet to be able to put faces with familiar names. We spent this past weekend on an "Elder's Family Retreat" with the Davis' and Gangers in Campwood, TX. It was such a treat to spend a restful weekend with these friends that we love so much. Shepherd even had his first experience swimming (i.e., splashing his feet) in a river.

Shep also started eating rice cereal since we've been here (as you can see from the post below). He's taken to it quite well, except for the past couple of days since he's had a cold and can't breathe through his nose. Poor guy. A 5 month-old with a cold is about the most pitiful thing in the world.

That's about it for us. I'll try to be more regular about updating but, as you know, my track record is not very promising. We would love your prayers for Dave's job search, and specifically for this librarian position!

Shepherd Laughing

This is a quick guest post by Dave, Maggie's husband. She asked that I post this video of Shep giggling. We had just fed him Rice Cereal for the first time, and I think he was a little tipsy.

The Waiting is Over

Well, it's official. We are moving to Pearland, TX in 2 days. Dave and two other guys pull out with the moving truck on Monday morning, and Shepherd and I hop on a plane a few hours later. It's been a whirlwind of activity since I last posted. Dave does not yet have a job in Pearland, but many circumstances, the wise counsel of others, and the Lord's leading has encouraged us to go ahead and make the move. Some of these above-mentioned circumstances include the giant hole in the ceiling that fell in Shepherd's room, as well as the breaking of the air conditioner (both of which occurred within about 3 hours of each other). The combination of these events caused our apartment to be unlivable, at least until the air was fixed, but more importantly, they caused us to consider going ahead with the inevitable move to Pearland. We are grateful to the Lord for these events because through them, we believe He pushed us out of our apartment and out of Louisville sooner than we would have gone on our own. It was not the most fun way to be pushed along, but sometimes we need things like this to get our attention and move us in the direction the Lord wants us to go.

I'll try to post most regularly in the coming weeks as there will be lots happening and lots of new things to post about. Right now, we are heading out for one last Nord's Bakery and Sunergos Coffee trip in Louisville. I will miss this wonderful city!

Waiting

As most of you readers know, we are planning to move from Louisville to Pearland, TX any day now to help with a church plant there. Or at least that's what we've been saying for about the past 6 weeks. And we are no closer to knowing when we will move now than we were 6 weeks ago. We are just waiting. Specifically, we are waiting for Dave to get a job there.

It's a very strange thing to be in such a waiting period. Everything feels temporary. It's hard not to completely disengage from life in Louisville, even though we may still be here for a bit longer. It's hard to fight against discontentment when we want so badly to be somewhere other than where we are. (I know it will be equally hard to fight against discontentment when we finally do get to Pearland and begin missing Louisville.) Each week that passes with still no news on the job front provides fresh temptation for discouragement and restlessness. This is fresh on my heart today because the church plant, Covenant Community Church, is having a core group meeting tomorrow night with the biggest number yet of people interested in being a part of the church. This is very exciting evidence of the Lord's grace! And yet, Dave and I are sad to not be able to be there and participate in this meeting of this new community. Our hearts are in Pearland but we are still here in Louisville.

Because we trust in a sovereign and good God, we know that He has purposed to keep us here in Louisville for now. We know that we are not ultimately waiting on a job, but we are ultimately waiting on the Lord. We are waiting on Him to provide the means for us to move, and if He desires for us to be in Pearland at Covenant Community Church, He will indeed make a way for us to get there.

Waiting on the Lord does not come easily to me. I want to take matters into my own hands and charge ahead, in effect, communicating to God that I know better than Him and my ways are better than His. How foolish this is! Rather than give full vent to my discontent heart and take matters into my own hands, my prayer is that I would do as the Psalmist says, and "Wait on the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait on the Lord!" (Ps. 27:14) May the Lord give Dave and me mercy and grace to wait on Him today.

3 Months

Shepherd is 3 months old now. It's hard to believe. Here are some recent pictures of our little man.

Stylin' in his chocolate and baby blue cloth diaper. Mom's personal favorite, although it does make him look somewhat like a Sumo wrestler.

Shepherd has found his thumb and I often find him in this position when I get him out of bed (minus the look of fear in his eyes - that's the result of the camera flash).

Shep is apparently ready for college football season to begin. Although at the rate he is growing, he will not be able to fit in his Gator gear when it does.

Just hanging out on the changing table talking with mommy and looking handsome as ever in his Ralph Lauren outfit courtesy of Aunt Kellye.

Shepherd is treating mom and dad really well these days, sleeping 9.5 hours at night and napping consistently well during the day. He's a very happy baby and gives us lots of smiles and giggles. Although dad is apparently much funnier than mom - maybe because he sees me all day everyday. I have to work pretty hard for giggles, while dad just seems to elicit them with his presence. That is probably going to be the case for a long time, so I may as well get used to it!

Geyser in our Laundry Room

On Sunday night on our way out of church, I got a frantic call from our downstairs neighbor, Kristin, saying, "There is a waterfall in our apartment coming from upstairs. Something crazy is happening in your apartment."

Great.

Dave and I raced home and when we opened the front door to the house (the downstairs door) the sound of rushing water was deafening (okay, maybe not deafening, but seriously loud). Dave flew up the stairs as I braced myself for a completely flooded apartment and made my way up with Shepherd in tow. (Shepherd was not phased, in case you were concerned). Upon entering our apartment I quickly learned that it was not flooded (praise the Lord), but gallons of water were spewing out of the busted washing machine hose and shooting straight up into the air in the laundry room. Dave was back there frantically trying to turn the water off, which is not an easy thing to do when being sprayed in the face. Unfortunately, the faucet was also broken, so he sent me to find the wrench. After a few more minutes of trying to turn the faucet with the wrench, with me holding the flashlight, Dave successfully turned the water off and the geyser dissipated - unfortunately, not without getting a little wet...

Dave post battle with the washing machine.

Thankfully, the laundry room is about the best room in the house the be doused with water. A few shelves collapsed because of the soaked drywall (see pic above), but we had minimal damage. I can't quite say that about our downstairs neighbors, the Perrines, though...

This is a picture of the Perrine's ceiling where a portion of it collapsed due to the waterfall from our place above. Thankfully, they were able to move things out from under this spot before it actually collapsed. Sorry guys.


Dave's first Sunday to not have to work at Frito-Lay was not quite as restful as he had hoped, but I am so glad he was home and not at work! Can you imagine if this had happened when Shepherd and I were at home by ourselves? There would be a lot of squealing and racing around frantically and calling people...and probably a pretty wet house by the end of it. The Lord is kind to give me such a capable husband who was home to deal with this!

4 Years

Today, Dave and I celebrate 4 years of marriage! These years have been the happiest of my life, and I can truly say that I love my husband now more than ever. The Lord has been immeasurably kind to give me Dave as my husband. I don't deserve him.

Sadly (and ridiculously), we don't have any electronic copies of our wedding pictures (it's not like we got married in the early 90s...just didn't pick the most up-to-date photographer), so I can't post one here. Instead, I've posted a chronological picture timeline of us throughout our marriage. Do we look any older than we did 4 years ago?

First Christmas, 2005.

Summer trip to Florida, 2006.

Fall 2006 trip to Callaway Gardens. This is the chapel where we got engaged in November 2004.

Summer visit to my parent's house, 2007.

Trip to Chicago for Dave's 25th birthday, April 2008.

First visit to Houston, TX, summer 2008.

Maternity pictures taken in March 2009, right before Shepherd was born.

Family of 3 photo taken when Shepherd was 2 weeks old, May 2, 2009.


Happy Anniversary, Babe! I hope for many more years and many more family pictures with you!

Sweet Smiles

Shepherd has been smiling for about 2 weeks now. Here are the pictures to prove it:


I never thought a smile could melt my heart quite like his does. I mean, seriously. Look at that sweet face. Hopefully, there will be lots more smiles to come!

Introducing: Shepherd Thomas Ainsworth

Well, it's been 6 weeks since Shepherd was born, so I guess it's about time I updated the blog. Too much has happened in the last 6 weeks to write it all here, so I'll attempt to tell it through pictures.

At the hospital...

Prepping for the C-section.

Shepherd's first moments.

First family photo.

Shepherd Thomas Ainsworth. So handsome!

Leaving the hospital.

The proud daddy driving his son home for the first time.

At home...

Shepherd after his first bath.

Shepherd meets his Nanna.

Hanging out at home with mom.

Dad's new favorite activity - reading with a baby on his chest.

Meeting Grandma and Grandpa Ainsworth.

Daddy took this picture while hanging out in the bed with Shep. Look at that sweet face!

I'll do my best to keep the pictures coming. Stay tuned for pictures of the first smiles!