Not sure....

He gets the "roll the ball" game now, but he gets so excited I think he might explode, or maybe he thinks the ball might explode....hmm....
I'm not sure, but I think in this one he's trying to escape the house and his shirt at the same time...

I think he might have thought this was edible, but he was disappointed to find that a lens cap is not very tasty!

I'm pretty sure he's practicing his cowboy moves here, Troy denies it.

I'm not sure how to convince a 9-month-old that hot costumes with big uncomfortable hats in which crawling is virtually impossible are TOTALLY worth it for the cute photos.

Happy boy...

Climbing Mama....his favorite pastime...

Teaching him young.....

For his future wife, I'm teaching Jude how to take out the trash..



Actually, this is what Jude's been doing this week. He's been unloading dirty dishes from the dishwasher, unloading clean dishes from the cupboards, and unfortunately, discovering the trash can.

Why is everyone looking at me?

Houseguests...

This past week, we were thrilled to host friends from Minneapolis, and throw a baby shower for Troy's sister. It was busy, but fun!

Four friends (one new, three old) who work for Desiring God were in Austin for a conference and needed a place to stay. It was great to catch up with Lukas, Andrew and Edd, and make a new friend, Marty...who became Troy's new ping pong arch rival. Troy and the men in our extended family also attended the conference and enjoyed learning, and are still thinking about the book of Job. It's always a joy to reunite with friends who continue to follow the Lord and are serving Him with their lives. However, we were too distracted by Lukas's Mohawk to take any pictures while we were together. SAD!

On Saturday, Troy's mom, sister and Stevi threw a baby shower for Troy's little sis (Alisa). We had a fabulous time. The best part was making onesies for the little one with iron-on transfers of Peter and Alisa's favorite things (see photo). What a stylin' baby she'll be! If you can't see them, here's the top three clothing items made: #3 The onesie with "Delicious Corndogs" and a picture on the rear end, #2 The shirt with a picture of Ronald Reagan, and #1 The Dunder Miflin Paper Company shirt.
Of course the food was delicious and (thanks to Erin) laid out quite beautifully.

Finally, we know the real reason you visit this blog. It isn't to hear about us, but to see pictures of our food loving linebacker. Here's a few...

Stevi's Mom Visits TEXAS!

Mom and Troy in matching work shirts (i.e. old teacher's association shirts...). While she was here, we had lots of fun, but we (she) made new drapes for our living room! In this pic, we were getting ready to stain rods.


The finished drapes! They're beautiful!

Jude pulls himself up...he's been doing it almost a month now. Wow, so many opportunities for bonking the head!

Trying on a new hat that Grammy brought!

So close, and yet so far away!

The door stop: the single most exciting thing in the house!

"What's in Uncle Peter's nose?"

Jude likes it when I push the blocks across the table with my nose!
Our good friends from seminary, Kevin and Becky, came and hung out with us two weeks ago. They came through Austin to say good-bye to Becky's family...they're headed for the mission field soon!

We went to Sea World last Sunday. Jude LOVED the dolphins.

The Steel Eel. Yes, I'm on there somewhere. Troy said it wasn't that scary....he lied!

Hurricane Weekend

(I got inspired while I was working one morning, why not put Post-Its on your baby, right?)


Literally, it's hurricane weekend here. Though we're only experiencing the edge of the storm, our street is filled with extra cars because many of our neighbors are hosting their families and friends from southeast Texas. We've been watching the news, and Ike is moving north through Texas. It's windy and dark outside, but we won't have winds that cause much damage. Our schools and public buildings are being used for evacuees and Red Cross efforts.

We're thankful that we're not in danger, but we're praying for those who are here and it definitely seems real to us. When we were in the grocery store last night, we heard evacuees talking about how long they thought they'd have to be here. The impact of the storm is amazing. They said our hotels are full, and the population of Austin is close to double it's normal numbers because of those who've fled here from the storm. Please join with us in praying for those affected by they storm.


On a happier note, here are some new pictures:

Jude with Uncle Peter

Jude learning to play ball...he doesn't quite get it yet.

He still loves bathtime:

He also still eats paper....

Here's Jude playing with his cousin Kate,

Family dinner at Oma and Opa's

with Troy,