A nice long visit from family

Dear friends and family,

I've still been struggling some with my health, but things have been much better then they were. We are so thankful as we continue to work on support raising! Doug is also still working some and we are sorting through belongings, trying to figure out what to take. So many decisions!

The main event in February was Doug's brother, Keith, his wife, Sarah, and their three boys coming for a visit for 10 days. They normally live in Boston, and this was our chance to see each other before we leave for Germany.

Samuel and Aaron playing together

Sarah and I made maultaschen, my favorite German dish

Walking in the woods

The boys watching Sesame Street before bedtime

One of our dear friends from St. Andrews, Amy Hamilton, came and took some family pictures for us. Here is just a couple, we put a few more favorites in our update letter: 

Such a happy boy!

Happy Grandparents
We are so thankful for them and how much they help with Samuel!

Another favorite picture of Samuel

Amy's blog is: http://photographybyajhamilton.blogspot.com/ in case you want to see more of her wonderful pictures!

Surprise!

As of today, I am 14 weeks along with our second baby!!!! 

We were totally shocked and surprised! Unfortunately, I've been pretty sick, as I was with Samuel. The mornings esp. are very difficult for me to function. Thankfully, while Doug is still working, his job has been flexible, so he has been able to take care of Samuel often. We are still working on support raising too, so balancing all this with me being sick is definitely a challenge. 

However, the current youth worker in Baumholder leaves in April, so we are trusting God to get us to Germany by late March. This new little one is due July 22nd, so we are anticipating this one being born in Germany! 

Please pray with us that this 'morning' sickness will not last very much longer so that I would have enough strength and stamina to pack and get us ready for Germany. Please also pray that the remaining amount of our support would come in.

THANKS FOR YOUR LOVE AND PRAYERS!

Pictures from our travels in December

A wonderful couple we stayed with in Sarasota, FL

Visiting a dear friend in Sanford, FL

Heike and a friend went to a manatee park

Visiting with Heike's 9th grade French teacher from RVA in Seminole, FL

Samuel playing with one of his cousins in Boston, MA

Samuel loving being outside

Family picture at a New Years parade in Boston

A few pictures from when we were home in December

Samuel loves being outside regardless of the weather. Pushing the stroller around is his latest fascination.

Doug and Samuel working side by side =)

Samuel on Christmas morning

Christmas and New Years

We can't post pictures right now, so here's a brief written summary of what we've been up to. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

--We wrote and printed our bi-annual paper prayer letter and sent them out.

--For Christmas we went down to Columbia and spent the 24th with Heike's family and the 25th with Doug's family. We had a wonderful time and are so thankful for our families!

--New Years we were in Boston with Doug's brother and wife and their kids. We went to the New Years' parade and had a great time!

--We've also been struggling with being sick (Heike esp.) and are currently passing around some kind of stomach virus. =( Please pray for our health.

Thanks for your love and support!

A few recent events

What we've been up to:

 We got dressed up for a Harvest festival at Doug's parent's church:

Samuel in his giraffe costume

Even little giraffes have to sleep =)

The three of us at the harvest festival

Then we went down to Columbia, where Heike's dad is back from Africa and we got to meet his new wife, Yemi:

We took Yemi to the Columbia Zoo. The Australian Parrots loved her =)

Samuel decided he liked the Ethiopian food Yemi made

Samuel was in desperate need of a haircut, so we got out the scissors and put on some Elmo to distract him:

The final product! I can't believe our little one is over 15months old!

We will be in Florida December 1st through the 8th and look forward to seeing some of you!  We so appreciate all your prayer and support, please continue to pray that God would bring in the rest of the support we need soon.

October happenings

I can't believe it's almost November! This month has flown by!  Here are some of things we've been up to this month (besides settling in to our temporary new home with Doug's parents here in Greenville):

Speaking at wonderful church in Rising Sun, MD. Samuel is trying to eat a pager. =)

Samuel started taking more then a passing interest in books--which really helped the long car rides go quicker

Weekend fun trip in NC with some college friends

Samuel loving pasta

Samuel discovering the joys of Daddy's nose

Samuel showing off the big scrape on his forehead. He is truly a toddler now!

God also provided for us to visit another church in Columbia and speak there. It has been a busy month, but a good one!

Coming up, we have another speaking engagement this Sunday in Columbia at another church that just started supporting us. It is so fun to see God provide for us! We are also looking to travel to FL the first or second week of December, so if any of you are there and want to see us, let us know.

Doug is still working, for which we are grateful, as we still need some income. I, Heike, have officially resigned from my nursing job in Columbia and am focusing on Samuel and support raising and packing. Too bad I don't get paid for packing, that seems to be a job in itself! =) We are so thankful for the support that is already coming in. THANK YOU for your love and prayers!