Beantown

The last week of May beginning of June we got to visit with Jeff's family in Boston. It was great to be back in the city since we left exactly one year ago! Ana got to go to the ocean for the first time. Even though the water was freezing she enjoyed kicking her feet in the water. Check out her Red Sox outfit in that photo:) There is also a picture of Jeff, Ana, and I in Copley square with to tortoise and the hare. We had a great time visiting with folks, riding the "T", and being in the city. This was also Ana's first plane ride. She slept through most of it. Now we head back to the village for a summer working with the conferences. As a note no one who lives in Boston calls it "Beantown".

PA visit

Ana and I got to visit with my family for a week while Jeff took a class. It was lots of fun! Ana can now roll across a room. She also got her first tooth! At the top you can see Ana and cousin Zoey while we were at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. Then there is a picture of cousin Emma holding Ana with Aunt Chris there to supervise. In the side picture Ana is working on her sitting up skills. This only lasts for brief moments, but you can tell she is getting stronger. There is also a picture of some of my mom's family at the Memorial Day picnic.

Wonder

Ana is definitely reminding me of the joy in wonder. She will being crying and then suddenly stop to look at her hand. She will just open and close her hand for several minutes. Or she will look around the room with eyes wide open taking it all in. And then she might just start laughing or "talking" about what she sees. It is such a delight to see her trying to figure things out and just marveling at the world around her.

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."-Albert Einstein

Here is Ana with her many stuffed animals.

New Skills

Ana rolled over! It was fun to see. Both Jeff and I got to be present. It took her several tries, but she did it! We cheered and she cried. It's those simple things that are so exciting!
Here are some
other pics too.

Amazing Grace

I recommend the movie "Amazing Grace" that has just come out in theaters. Unfortunately, it may not be in a theater near you, but more likely in the closest city. This movie is about William Wilberforce who worked for a total of 46 years to ban the slave trade and slavery in Great Britain in the early 1800s. I liked the movie because it shows he is not just one man, but a part of a community who works for change. It also attempts to show the struggle he faced to continue in politics after becoming a Christian. I think God can use people in all types of positions. We are the body with many parts and I believe this includes the types of occupations we fulfill. It reminds me of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s quote "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well." I think Wilberforce does work towards shalom within the vocation that he is equipped for and I think we should all strive for shalom through the gifting and skill set we've been given.
I would also recommend checking out the website www.amazingchange.com because we do not have to be apart of Wilberforce's time to help end slavery. There are currently 27 million people still in slavery in the world today. We can work to change this statistic.