What surrounds us

Last night we had dinner with friends from church. We sat around the table with other staff couples in a home that was submerged in the waters of Katrina. When I got home this video was in my inbox. http://www.levees.tv/home?name=&email=rmathews@ies-llc.com
The evening was very bittersweet as we know these are some of the last times with our very special friends. We have built bonds over the last 2 + years that we describe as ones that "outsiders" can not understand. Although we did not experience the same devastating loss, we have walked a road since August 2005 that has strengthened our relationships in ways that we could not put in words. This video was a reminder of why the leaving is so hard, this is what has surrounded us. We are confident of this call but will greatly miss these relationships!

Firsts & Lasts

Jacob's first trip to the "tooth doctor"

Jacob went to the dentist for the first time yesterday. I was a little unsure of how this would go. We talked about how we would go to the tooth doctor and she would count Jacob's teeth, and he would get a prize. His buddy had just been last week so we talked about how much Luke liked Dr Benton. Dr Benton's office is a pediatric office and you could tell right when you walked in that they were pros! Jacob did great! I was in awe (& holding my breath that it would continue) while he got his teeth cleaned and forgot to snap a picture so this one is right after his cleaning. He got a great report and I don't know who was more proud....me or Jacob!

Onto the "lasts"......

Aunt Steph came to New Orleans this past weekend. She has been our most faithful visitor all these years while we lived in New Orleans. She reminded me this weekend of her first trip. She helped us move into our first tiny, tiny apt on the seminary campus. She has been back many times and we have some great memories. This will be her last trip before we move. So we of course, had to get beignets. We bundled up Sat night and went to Cafe du Monde for beignets and hot chocolate.

As you can see, Jacob probably had the most fun. What kid wouldn't? You get a dessert and get to dunk it in MORE sugar.

I am acting like I have nothing else to do but blog. Acting as if our house isn't going on the market tomorrow and still needs to be cleaned:)

BIG changes..........

Big changes are coming our way. No, we did not think that having a baby (with a tad bit complicated pregnancy), potty training, & switching to a "big boy" bed was quite enough to rattle Jacob's world!
In all seriousness, we are moving! Inman was voted as the pastor of First Baptist Church of Lawrenceville last Sunday. Of course, there is a long story but I will save the details. The short version is that we have been talking to this church for the last couple of months. (The church is where Inman served for a few months after the hurricane as an interim minister). We sensed that God was moving us and things started to fall into place. We are excited about what God has in store for us and this church.
Lawrenceville is 40 miles north of Atl and we are thankful we will get to be near family again. This is a very bittersweet time for us. New Orleans has definitely become home and we love our church family here. We have built friendships like we will probably never have again. This is hard for outsiders to understand but when you have been through what we have all walked through together, those are very emotional bonds. We have a lot of balls in the air as far as finding somewhere to live, selling or leasing our house...lots of details. We know the Lord is leading us and this will eventually work out. We are confident of His calling just as we were when we returned here and feel a peace that could only come from Him with all of this going on! We will try to keep the blog updated with all of the changes!

It's a......

BOY! Inman needs to continue to refrain from gambling:) He was so sure it was a girl as were many others. No one guessed boy but let me tell you, it is definitely a BOY. We got several shots of real boy genitalia. Most importantly, so far a healthy boy and that is all we really cared about. We are very, very thankful! More later about the Houston happenings on other arenas.........

Blue or Pink????

I have not stopped by here in a while! I will update on everything that has been going on with the Houstons soon but for now.....what is on our minds is blue or pink?
Tomorrow am we will find out if we need blue or pink in June. This is new for us. With Jacob we decided to wait until the baby's b-day to find out. I knew the minute the stick turned into a + sign, just knew in my gut, mother instinct that Jacob was a boy. Doubted myself a couple of times but just knew. This time? Inman swears the baby is a girl. He also told me I was pregnant days before the test came back. If he is right on this one, we will crown him a true prophet. Me? I have had some girl feelings but maybe that is because Inman seems so sure. We will see soon!
All I really want is healthy! I know everyone says that but after losing one, it really REALLY is all you want! I will be thrilled with either one.
Jacob's jury is still out. We have talked very generally about one day having a baby at our house. A boy is a brother, a girl is a sister. He has said he wants a sister or a brother depending on what his friends have. Tonight we decided to tell him there is a baby in Momma's tummy and tomorrow we would go look at it with a microphone.(He calls the doppler the dr's microphone) Not sure if he took all of that in but he was asking for his next piece of bread and what treat he would have after dinner:)

Visit with the Platts

On the way to Atl, we stopped to see the Platts and meet Joshua. Caleb introduces Jacob to his brother.
Jacob, in all his experience, tells Caleb, "be very gentle!" and pulls Caleb's hand back.

We really enjoyed being with our friends even for just a little while!

Inman meets Joshua (after I finally shared him:)

This is what I had been waiting 2 weeks to do!

We are so excited for David & Heather and how the Lord has blessed them over the last year. Last year when we were together for Christmas, we knew there would most likely be a baby with them next year. The Lord had led them to international adoption and the process was well under way. Little did we know He had even bigger plans. Joshua David was born 9 months after they brought Caleb home. Not only did the Lord bless them abundantly but has a great sense of humor too. David & Heather, once again, thank you for sharing in this joyous time with us!