officially homeless

We are now officially homeless and living in the hotel...oh the joys. Actually it's fine..Silas is learning to nap/sleep with the tv on, which is good in the long run. Sophie actually loves hotel rooms...not sure why.

We also officially have too much stuff! But most of it seems necessary. Just mailed a box home today and need to reorganize and repack.

No internet at the hotel, so I'm feeling unplugged. :( I'll try to keep ya'll updated as possible.

Busy weekend planned and then airplane Monday morning. Woo hoo!!

Got an update from my sister...all of the luggage has arrived. They have been to Kids Care, Kechene Center and are going to the Transition Home tomorrow and lots of time will be spent at Hannah's Orphan Home. Please keep praying for them...she sounded great.

Just wanted you to know where we've been. Sorry no pictures...Silas is as cute as ever.

happy happy seven months!

Where has the time gone? Our precious boy is 7 months old today. That seems so much older than 6 months.

His monkey shoes are almost too small.

I asked Silas what he would like to say to commemorate his seven month mark.

He said,

"Put me to bed, Mom." Just not in so many words.

Silas, at 7 months you are:

• Rolling over from back to front. In fact you won't stay on your back. You roll to your tummy and babble and drool up a storm.


• Blowing raspberries...this happened today and you were proud.


• Laughing your head off. When you are on your tummy and I say, "da da da da da", you think it's really hilarious and you laugh and laugh. Usually we sit on the couch after your afternoon nap and bottle and just laugh with each other.


• Putting everything in your mouth. Where are those teeth?


• Eating lots of yummy things like green beans, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples/peaches and oatmeal. For a minute there we were afraid you would turn into a carrot.


• Sleeping so much better. You usually wake yourself up about an hour into your nap, but a quick pacifier re-insert and you're back to dream land. Most nights you sleep through the night and Mommy and Daddy really appreciate it.


• Taking your pacifier out of your mouth and putting it back in.


• Too cute for words.


• About to live on a third continent in your first seven months.


• A source of joy and delight!

We love you, sweet boy!

Aunt Katy has landed in ET

I got an email from Aunt Katy...they are in Ethiopia!!

All but one team member are missing pieces of luggage, so please pray that everything gets to them tomorrow.

They got picked up by our same bus driver, Sammy, from last summer in the same bus with Surafel the translator and they and got to go back to the Kechene Center to see some of the same children. She got to share pictures with them from a year ago. How sweet is that?!

I'm jealous. In a good way, of course. Being in Ethiopia, both times, seriously changed me to my core. I am SO happy Katy is there. right. this. minute.

Man I can't wait to get back there.

Please pray for Kate and the team...God can use them in a mighty way! Woo hooo!!!

We're baaaaaack!

Got back yesterday...all of the pictures in this post took me 24 hours to load...

Who's the husband of the year? That would be Marshall. He planned and booked a surprise trip for us to Marburg, Germany to stay at this place. A five star place. I don't think I've ever seen so many stars. My flip flops were totally inappropriate and if I'd known, I would have worn my "I didn't know we were coming to a place this nice" tee shirt. But then I would have dressed appropriately so the tee shirt would have been silly....

He had to book it and make it a surprise because he knows my frugality would have us staying at the hostel down the street.

We had an apartment so Sophie could go. That girl likes luxury. They even had a dog bed for her...she was sold at first sniff.

We had the romance package with rose petals and Silas got a duckie robe and slippers because they didn't want the other babies to be intimidated by his physique on the way to the pool. Funny thing happened on the way to the pool. Silas was decked out in his bottoms and hooded cover up. When I took him out of the stroller in the dressing room, the stroller seat was wet. This was before swimming. Guess those trunks are not like a diaper?

real, live rose petals, part of the romance package

Silas' bed was big enough for us and he got a down comforter and the aforementioned robe/slipper set.

Our view...doesn't do it justice. Can you see the lilly pads?

The couch napped nicely. ;)

Oh well. He loved the water and giggled and screamed. I knew we were at a nice place when at breakfast, both mornings, the wait staff offered to wash his bowl and spoon. Isn't that nice? I would have been happy to go in the kitchen and warsh it myself, but they insisted.

Here are some pictures of our beautiful, next to last weekend in Deutschland.

Are we there yet?!

Sophie was told not to lay on Silas' blanket to eat her bone. If you look closely, on my lap, is the clever little dog. She was not ON his blanket.

Who needs toys when you have Momma's hair?

Insert belly laugh here.

Breakfast by the fountain followed by an old man nap.

My guys in their robes by the pool.

When in Europe, do as the Europeans. Can you tell Silas has been working out?

Beautiful market square in the old city.

God is an Artist for sure.

Now imagine me sitting on the other side of Sophie...this is the back seat. Marshall is our chauffeur. Now imagine this picture the whole trip from Charleston to Central TX. And then pray for us.

I need to get to scrubbing soap scum and start packing our bags. We move to the hotel in a couple of days. I can't believe it!

Thanks, honey, for a wonderful family trip. Sorry for asking every 5 minutes how much it cost. That's just how I'm made...simple girl. :)

later gators!

It's my birthday and we're headed out of town. Marshall arranged it so I don't have many details....be back in a few days!

Ciao ciao!!

whoopsie daisey

We went to Silas' last well-baby before we head out of here. He might have peed on the soldier that was weighing and measuring him. I didn't say he did; I said he might have....

Our big boy weighed in @ 16.53 pounds and 26.78 inches long. He got the rest of his immunizations and we braved the lab one. more. time. That was it. I wasn't going back. After I bragged about the first time, the next three times were a nightmare, the last being almost a very ugly situation... So, I almost went home, putting it off until Bragg. I found myself strolling down the hall. I peeked my head through the window and asked if they were busy. My two fave soldiers were there and they did a beautiful job...3 vials later, we are all done with that. Praise the Lord!

Now, if they could only find my medical records, we'd be golden. Wonder where they walked off to?

No pictures of our day. I couldn't bring myself to whip out the camera during the pee fountain, which may or may not have occured, the shots and blood drawing.

Sweet boy is in bed now and Sophie is asleep on the bed next to his pack and play. In case he needs anything, she can let us know. I told you we were making progress...

a shirt with a message

"good looks run in the family"
In other Coen news:

There has been a little breakthrough in the Silas/Sophie relationship. The other day, Sophie's ball ended up between Silas' legs while he was doing some tummy time. She thought he was playing with her...very cute. Today I was changing Silas' diaper on the bed (oh, my back! it's a low bed) and Sophie wanted up to be part of the action. We finished and he rolled onto his tummy. Sophie was totally trying to play with him...makes a Momma proud. Before you know it, she'll be giving him horsey rides around the house.

All of our stuff is officially packed, loaded and gone. What does one do without a remote control, you ask? Well, you sit close to the tiny TV and change channels with your toes. Marshall wanted me to let you know that in no way was he watching Dr. Ph*l, he was changing the channel FROM Dr. Ph*l. Our house is bare, but so full. This little guy has given us more joy than we could imagine. His personality is precious....when we are out and about, he doesn't make a peep. He just sits and looks cute. As soon as we're home and the door closes, he comes alive. Our bedtime routine has been golden and he's sleeping through most nights. Glory hallelujah!! I think we also cracked the code on bottles...got new, fast flow nipples and he digs them. He loves his solid food too. I made him some carrots, apples, sweet peas and sweet potatoes. We've run out of apples and he totally snubs the jarred food. Oh no! But, we have to do something because our food processor is on a ship and we will be traveling. I got him some jarred food from the German grocery today and I think it hit the spot (thanks Katie!!). My first clue was when he was kicking me to get me to feed him faster...respectfully, of course. It's best to eat carrots without a shirt...Silas goes back to the doctor for his last well-baby before we leave. The pediatrician called last week to tell us that all of his labs came back normal. Praise!! I can't wait for him to get weighed....he's definitely gained. He's into some of his 9 months clothes. Look at his little belly hanging over his shorts...

We also took a walk over to the strawberry patch with my neighbor girls and their babies last week. It was so fun! Strawberry picking is more tedious than I imagined...no wonder they're so expensive. We had a great time with our "stroller brigade". Thanks girls!!

That's all for now....who read all the way to the end of this long post?!

Aunt Katy goes to ET!

A year ago yesterday, I stepped into Ethiopia for the first time. Waiting for me was my sister, one of my very best friends. We served with a team for 2 weeks and learned what poverty and joy looked like. I watched her wash the feet of a homeless child and give the shirt off of her back to an orphanage cook. And she'll kill me for telling you all that, but I still live too far away for her to reach me.

My sister is, well, pretty much awesome. She has a servant's heart. She's going back to Ethiopia, without me :(, on June 21 to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Please pray for her and her team of 16 as they serve those in need.

They will also spend time at the Transition Home, so she'll be loving on children that belong to our friends.

Here are some of Katy's prayer requests for June 21 - July 4:

• Team Unity

• For God’s love and comfort to be felt by the adults and children we serve

• For the emotional and physical healing of the orphans we will work with

• For good health and traveling mercies

• For God to be glorified through our work in Ethiopia

Lord, rain down on Ethiopia!!

Thanks for praying, ya'll!

Father's Day in France

We spent the afternoon in France. Doesn't that sound crazy? I'm going to miss Europe!

This afternoon we went to Strasbourg...beautiful city with a magnificent cathedral. It rained a bit, so Silas saw a lot of Strasbourg from under the rain cover bubble. He came out to play when we sat at a sidewalk cafe, drank coffee (bottle for him) and people watched. Did I say I'm going to miss days like these?

I think Marshall had a good first Father's Day.