Sneak Peak at L's Newborn Photos!

We had professional photos taken last week of L while he's in this teeny tiny newborn phase which so quickly passes. The photos are gorgeous. You can look at the photos UNTIL TOMORROW NIGHT (Thursday, July 23) when the slideshow expires. I hope you get a chance to take a look!

Go to www.bluecandyphotography.com. Click on the image to enter the website then go to the "Clients" link. Our password is "____" all lower case. Enjoy!!

2 Weeks Old Already...

Today is L's 2-week birthday. It's hard to believe 2 weeks have gone by already! We are living in a bit of a time warp. Three days will go by & we can't remember when a given event happened. When did we last go to the grocery store? When did so-and-so stop by? What day is it? It's like the Twilight Zone. But it's all been going well. 

L is adjusting to life just great. He's sleeping in 2-hour intervals (or so), which may not sound like a lot but is greatly appreciated by K & me! L is really cute. He loves to have his hands up by his face...just like in his ultrasound pictures! When he sucks his thumb, he inserts his thumb palm facing his chin with his index finger & pinky gouging him in his two eyes (think hook-em-horns). He's learning to like his pacifier, which is awesome. He has a goopy eye which the doctor thinks could be the result of a small tear-duct. We're watching it. At his first doctor's visit, he weighed in at a whopping 7 lbs 9 oz! So he's officially past his birth weight! Yea!

We've had a few small outings here & there. Today being the 2-week mark, I am now officially allowed to drive & I think go on short walks though I'm still laying low for the remainder of the weekend until I talk to the doctor's office on Monday. (My tendency is to try to do too much when I feel good even if I shouldn't. So I'm trying to be a good patient!!) But today we decided to grab some sandwiches & take them to a local park to enjoy the weather. Then we went on a short walk with L. The dogs even came with us!

Here are a few more photos for all of you. He's a cutie!!

Love K+M+L

Introducing...

Hi all!

K & I want to thank each & every one of you for all of your thoughts, prayers, emails, calls, and patience as we welcomed the newest member of our family into this world last weekend.

Without further adieu, it is with great joy that K & I introduce you to:

L I B J

Born July 4, 2009 at 5:43pm

7 lbs 5 oz, 21 inches 

L was delivered via C-section last minute. We experienced something called "arrest of decent." Thankfully he was never distressed; his heart rate remained steady & healthy.

We are back home & are both doing very well. L is awesome. He is a champion eater & has alert, curious eyes. He's perfect.

We can't wait to introduce him to all of you!

All our love,

K, M, and L

False alarm!

Well, yesterday was a crazy day. Without going into too many details, I woke up in the middle of the night Wednesday night with some concern that I might be starting labor. I had my 39-week appointment at 10am the next morning so because my contractions were not getting more intense, I went back to sleep. 

At my appointment, the doctor ran a test & said that I should come back at the hospital around 4pm to get checked in and get things going. "Oh my gosh!" I thought. This was it. Our son was on his way! 

While I was very excited, I was also a little bummed that my labor could potentially require more medical interventions such as Pitocin, which I have been praying we avoid. K & I both were also a little daunted by the thought of a potentially long hospital stay waiting for things to progress. 

But then again, I thought, this is God's show & he knows best how to bring this child into the world. Let's go for it!

So K & I used the next five hours to finish packing, figure out how to get the car seat secured in the car, make arrangements for the dogs, letting our families know what was going on, and of course eating some lunch! 

At 4pm, we rolled into the hospital. My contractions, though regular & coming at 5-10 minute intervals, were still not very strong. I was still laughing & talking right through them. We got checked into the hospital & I was sent to triage where they would run some additional tests before getting me settled into a delivery room. Thankfully, my doctor was there to guide the entire process. 

They strapped some monitors on me (we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat regularly for about an hour!) and took a test to see what was happening. The test they ran is apparently over 99% accurate. Apparently the test from earlier that day was wrong! So my doctor sent us home!

After the adrenaline rush of thinking our son would be home with us by the end of the weekend, we were both grateful knowing that the baby will come when he's good & ready. And we are grateful that people all over the world have started praying for the safe arrival of this little boy! 

My due date is next Thursday, July 9. So we will get to meet him soon!! My contractions are still coming regularly! Stay tuned for more updates!

mb

The Home Stretch

It's June 9 today which means we are in the home stretch with this pregnancy! Baby J could arrive anytime now in these next four to five weeks! (My doctor induces at 41 weeks so we don't have to wait too long after July 9!) It's crazy to think we'll meet him so soon!

We still don't have a name picked though we're narrowing it down. Just when we get the list more manageable, one of us thinks of entirely new names to add to the list! Sigh. He WILL have a name. And you all will find out what it is after he's here!

K just returned home from 12 days of traveling internationally. It's good to have him back. Now we're both settling in for this major addition in our lives. 

Below is a more recent photo of me taken Memorial Day weekend. I was 34 weeks in this photo. I'm still feeling good though shaving my legs & tying my shoes is becoming increasingly difficult. I can actually feel the veins popping in my forehead as I bend down! But all is well. Starting this Friday I will see my doctor every week until Baby J arrives.

Stay tuned! We have internet access our hospital room so we will be sure to post news of his arrival!

M

Preggo Photos

So many of you have asked to see some photos of me pregnant so here are a few! These are from a trip to Texas four weeks ago (already!) so I'm bigger now than in these photos! It's hard to keep updated photos... I'll try to post more recent ones soon! It's hard to believe I only have 10 more weeks to go. Time is flying by.

mb

It's a...

...BOY!! We just found out on Monday morning that we are having a little boy! Woo-hoo! Below is a picture of our kiddo (and a picture of his foot). Not so sea-monkey looking anymore! I am now 21 weeks pregnant. Our due date is still within a day or so of July 9 according to how he is measuring. Thanks for all of your fun emails & posts! And the adventure continues...

Surprise!!

Well, by now most of you should know our happy news that we are expecting a baby!! WOW! We are still in disbelief. As of today, I am exactly 16 weeks and 1 day pregnant. I am due on July 9, two days before K's birthday! I go in for my 16 week appt on Monday where I'll get to hear the heartbeat again. I've already heard it twice...music to my ears! I actually was able to see the baby at 7 weeks, which was awesome though the bean looked just like...well...a bean. (See image below.) Our 20 week appointment is at the end of February. K will go with me to that one. It'll be the first time he'll hear and/or see the baby first hand! 

It's crazy. We never thought we'd be here. But this baby wasn't an accident or a surprise. We were trying. And here we are! I've felt great. No nausea or morning sickness. No excessive tiredness. No pain. I am very grateful and thankful to God. 

I'll do my best to keep you posted on the pregnancy, including images when we have them. Thanks for any and all prayers & well wishes as we are on this journey.

TVP Video

Here is a video that we recently completed to help tell the story of The Viewfinder Project. We partnered with Taylor University's Producing for Clients' class to produce the video. The students did a great job. I hope you enjoy the video and that it helps you better understand The Viewfinder Project! (The video was shot on location at Shepherd Community here in Indianapolis.)

You can click on the title of this blog entry which will link you to YouTube or you can simply go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jtzOyMfLmM. 

Here we go again...

This is a bit embarrassing... I haven't blogged since last October (when we got home from our 2007  trip to South Africa) and here we are on our way to South Africa again in a week. Geesh. So here is my quick what-we've-been-up-to-in-the-last-8-months summary before we go to SA again:

We went to Thailand (Nov 4-16) for a big sports conference. This was my first trip to Thailand. We were in Pattaya on the coast. I exhibited 10 photos of umbrellas I photographed. Here is an excerpt from my artist's statement from this show: "These umbrellas strike me as being metaphoric. They are there to protect, from the sun and from the rain; they are there to provide relief or escape or both. I somehow want the umbrellas in these photos to become magical escapes for all the bad stuff that exists in Pattaya & in Thailand & in the world. I want them to keep the people safe [...]." Sex tourism is a huge industry in Pattaya, which struck me deeply and prompted the photography exhibit. Check out www.thesoldproject.com for more info.

ColoradoNewYearsPalooza was a fun time with our largest group to date (26 people or something crazy like that). We had a ball & remain ever grateful for the generous hospitality of K's parents.

The Lees moved to Indy! We have thoroughly been enjoying our good friends the Lees who just transplanted themselves from the DC area to Indianapolis. They are currently living next door to us so we have enjoyed life in such close proximity to dear friends!

Over the span of three weeks in May, our good friends had a baby, a good friend died tragically, and other good friends got married. We experienced three of the most important parts of a person's life - birth, wedding, death - in a matter of weeks. That was an emotional time for us.

We had lots of visitors from all over the world (including Brunei, Australia, Turkey, North Carolina, DC, Chicago) and have gone to visit friends and family around the country. 

We road tripped with the dogs to Virginia for a family reunion then down to North Carolina to visit friends. And we just returned home from a road-trip centric vacation to the Pacific Northwest where we drove from Seattle to Portland to Boise. Below are a few photos (K in front of the Red Hook Brewing Company and a view of Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach). 

So I think that pretty much brings us up to speed! I have vowed that I will try to update the blog at least ONE time per month with some photos and/or ramblings. So you can all hold me accountable. Thanks to those who faithfully check back for updates! I will make it more rewarding the in the future.

mb+k

Our "new" house

We have now been home for exactly one week & have spent most of that week settling back into our newly renovated house. Before we moved in, I took these photos of the house. I've tried my best to pair the before & after photos to give you a sense of the changes. We have THOROUGHLY enjoyed catching up with our friends & family as well. We are actually off to Thailand for two weeks this Saturday & will do our best to post some messages while there as well. I also know K is working on a summary of our time in South Africa. mbj

Great Room BEFORE

Great Room AFTER

New Kitchen (built where we once had a patio)

Front of house BEFORE

Front of house AFTER

Homeward Bound

The time here in Stellenbosch South Africa has gone quickly as we prepare to start our journey home tomorrow morning. We leave tomorrow for Johannesburg where we will spend a day & a night with some friends. Then on Tuesday, we will make the trek back to Indy via Washington DC. It's been a good trip, one filled with some wonderful time with friends & and some great discussions.

And top off the whole trip, our beloved South African Springboks rugby team won the World Cup of Rugby last night against England!! We are THRILLED! So you might send a note to any & all of your South African friends congratulating them. This is a really big deal.

Thanks for all of your prayers & well-wishes while we've been here. We'll connect again when we get home.

Love MB&K

Inspiration

Part of my time here in South Africa has been devoted to going through my Outlook Inbox & organizing it. During this process, I found an email from earlier this year from a good friend. Part of his email was very relevant as it relates to our last post. He wrote: "I am also more aware that collectively we have an amazing platform to do something - to those whom much is given, much is expected. We have been given more than the vast vast majority of people in this world. What can we do together?" It's a good challenge. What CAN we do together? What do you think? We're game...

55 Students - 35 Countries

Last week, we finished our combined partnership training for the sports school and for the community transformation school. There were 55 students from 35 countries. It was amazing to meet them all & hear some of their stories. The training was conducted by K, myself, and A.

We continue to be amazed at all God is doing in the world through people like these. These are the workers. These are the ones who are playing with & teaching the children, caring for the dying, creating better systems for their communities at a grass-roots level. These are the ones asking, “What is YOUR American church doing to address HIV/AIDS worldwide?”

I walk away inspired to get more hands-on in my own city. And I continue to be daunted by the great need around the world for resources, both people & money. What if the churches in every state adopted an African country, doubling up where necessary? (There are 52 African countries.) What are the churches of the world capable of if we put our time & energy into addressing HIV/AIDS more aggressively? (Because isn’t the church commanded to take care of the widows & orphans…the outcasts?) How do we take care of the needs in our own backyards, in our own cities, while pulling together to address these global needs?

So here’s where we’re at… K & I have had an ongoing conversation about what is required of us, as human beings, as Christians, as Americans...whatever defines us & distinguishes us from everyone else. It’s easy to forget that because we are American, we are richer than most of the world, regardless of how “rich” we are by American standards. In the eyes of the rest of the world, we are American & therefore we have more than they do & we should give without another thought. & most of the time we are the only Americans that they know. So then what is our responsibility, really? Is it as simple as when they ask, we give, regardless of what they ask because it is our duty, regardless of the accountability structures that may or may not be in place? We ask this question to all of you. What do you think? How do you handle requests such as these?

When can we expect first world standards & when do we accept third world standards? How do you respond when people justify certain behaviors or lack of responsibility because “this is Africa”? When is it okay to say “that’s not good enough”?

For instance, I get frustrated when we loan money to friends for a specific purpose & they take it & do something totally different with that money without telling us and therefore have no plan to pay us back because the situation changed. I expect more from them than this, less because of their access to first world opportunities but because they are our friends. And friends don’t do that, even if they come from third world situations…do they? What is the breaking point between helping out a friend & enabling certain behavior? When do we say, You’re my friend & I expect more from you”? And when do we say, “It’s okay…I have more resources than you & after all you’re from the third world so I don’t hold you to the same levels of expectation as I would other friends from more established nations”? Should we EVER say the latter? Should I expect less from my friend in Togo than I expect from my friend in Indiana? There should be no “us” & “them.” It should just be “us.” Right? So what does that mean in this conversation?

For today, we will continue doing what we know to do & not get hung up on those things that we don’t have answers to. We will both continue asking the questions & looking for answers.

Good stuff...

I don't know how many of you have read Anne Lamott's book "Traveling Mercies," but I loved it and actually should read it again. I've been on my computer this morning looking for a quote in my quote folder (yes, I have a quote folder) and came upon this quote from Traveling Mercies. I needed to hear it this morning:

"I don’t know why life isn’t constructed to be seamless and safe, why we make such glaring mistakes, things fall so short of our expectations, and our hearts get broken and our kids do scary things and our parents get old and don’t always remember to put pants on before they go out for a stroll. I don’t know why it’s not more like it is in the movies, why things don’t come out neatly and lessons can’t be learned when you’re in the mood for learning them, why love and grace often come in such motley packaging. But I was reminded of the lines of D.H. Lawrence that are taped to the wall of my office: “What is the knocking? / What is the knocking at the door in the night? / It is somebody wants to do us harm. / No, no, it is the three strange angels. / Admit them, admit them."

A few others from the same book...

"I was too young to die – or least, I was too upset to die. You don’t want to die when you’re this upset – you get a bad room in heaven with the other hysterics, the right-to-lifers, and the exercise compulsives. But thinking of heaven made me remember something: that I believe in God. And I smote my own forehead."

"Now we understand that the blanket really does protect Linus and that Schroeder really does play lovely music on a toy piano, because both of them keep at it. They believe."

"I think that is why the lipstick on [my mom's] teeth bothers me. It tells the whole world, I tried, I missed, I have no idea it’s there."

"It was amazing. I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. It can be received gladly or grudgingly, in big gulps or in tiny tastes, like a deer at the salt. I gobbled it, licked, held it down between my little hooves."

"You can often avoid the pain by trying to fix other people; shopping helps in a pinch, as does romantic obsession. Martyrdom can’t be beat. While too much exercise works for many people, it doesn’t work for me, but I have found that a stack of magazines can be numbing and even mood altering. But the bad news is that whatever you use to keep the pain at bay robs you of the flecks and nuggets of gold that feeling grief will give you."

Okay, that's enough.

Quote of the Day

Yesterday, we were at Boulder's Beach watching at the Jackass penguins and looking for whales when an older lady came up & started talking to me. She thought we were South African and when I said we were from the US, she asked which state. I said, "Indiana."

And she said, "That sounds so romantic! 'Inn-dee-awnaa.'"

Because this might be the first time in history when Indiana is thought of as "romantic," we left it at that.

Cape Town, South Africa

We have arrived safe & sound in the Western Cape of South Africa! After what we estimated to be about 45 hours of travel (from the time we left our house in Indy to when we arrived at our place here in Stellenbosch), our bodies are finally finding rest in a different time zone.

We have enjoyed a nice jog, a beautiful hike up & around Lion’s Head (near Table Mountain), delicious food, and a wonderful evening with A & E, who many of you will remember spent two months with us in Indianapolis last spring along with their two daughters.

As most of you know, we are here in South Africa for our annual teaching commitment at the sports school and at community transformation school. We will have both groups together this year, about 60 students total, for 3 days of teaching on Partnership (the value of partnership, how to create partnerships in a city, how to overcome obstacles to partnership, and the like).

It feels like fall here even though it is springtime. The weather is refreshingly cool & sunny though incredibly windy. Cape Point must be gale force winds!

We’ll be sure to post more experiences, thoughts, and photos during our time here. In the meantime, we love hearing from you! So leave us a message here on the blog or send us an email!

Thanks for all of your prayers & well-wishes.

Until next time…

Terrible Blogger

I am a terrible blogger. I have realized more fully this morning that I do not use this blog to its potential, that none of you know me or K more fully as a result of this blog, or at least not in the ways we would want you to know us. You might know we are undergoing a huge house renovation but you would not know how much I am inspired by my friends. So I apologize. It seems I might end up highjacking this blog periodically to air my brain to any of you who may be listening.

What prompted this was me perusing my dear friend's blog this morning. She is incredibly busy with 1 husband and 3 kids, homeschooling, and all that life hands her on a daily basis (including falling over in the grocery store into a rack of balloons because she thought someone was sneaking up on her & needing two people & an army knife to free her). You should take a look at her blog. She is one of my oldest & dearest of friends & even though we don't get to see each other very often, she is an inspiration to me & I am grateful for her. http://rebeccasmith.wordpress.com/

mbj

New house pictures!

I finally took some new photos of the house renovation. We have come a long way since I last published any photos. Windows are in, electrical is in, insulation is is, drywall is up, the exterior has been painted, and the inerior walls have been primed for paint. We're getting there!!

1st Annual Andersen Family Crawfish Bowl

Over Memorial Day weekend, B & K Andersen hosted the most fabulous crawfish boil! Complete with something like 500 pounds of crawfish flown up that same morning from Louisiana. Amazing! Here are some photos from the event...