Amelia had her first stomach bug this week. So sad. She's on the mend now thankfully. I feel like I lost a couple days this week. I can't believe it's Friday. We have a volleyball tournament tomorrow. We had one last Saturday too and we won! It was a long day but very fun. So far we're undefeated! I don't think I can take much credit for our success, but as a coach, it's nice to be winning.

The weather here has finally gotten cooler and I'm enjoying it greatly. I hope the hot stuff doesn't come back.

And now that I'm discussing the weather I realize I really don't have anything interesting to talk about right now! Oh well. If you'd like to follow our volleyball team you can check out the website here!

Hola

For the five of you out there who still check this blog, sorry I've been absent a while. Things have been really crazy this month and it's only going to get busier, but it's exciting busy.

The last couple of days of July we moved to a new house! It's actually a duplex, but it's 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms! We love it. It was a lot of work to move AGAIN, but it was so worth it. Our last house was just not kid friendly, among many other undesirable traits. I'll put up some pictures of the new place as soon as we're totally settled in - it's still a little rough around the edges.

Then, right after moving we went to Omaha to see our good friends Chad and Sara, yay! We have so much fun with them. Then we went to Texas and visited Jason's parents. It was some very good grandparent-grandchild time!

Now, I am coaching the JV volleyball team at Westminster Christian Academy. I coached their 8th grade B team last year. It's quite a leap to JV, but I'm getting into the swing of things and the varsity coach has been helping me a lot. It's a fantastic group of girls and I'm having a lot of fun - and getting in better shape hitting balls at them every day!

Also, as of September I will be taking over the music ministry at our church. I'm really excited about it - overwhelmed at the magnitude of the job - but mostly excited. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love music and leading worship and now to get paid for it?! Fabulous.

So, now you're thinking, what are you going to do with Amelia? Well, it just so happens that Jason will be home in time for volleyball practice every day, so that works out perfectly. And, the church is bringing a babysitter into the office for our staff meetings on Mondays (can you say free childcare?) and the rest of the job I can do from home. How perfect is this?! I'm really excited to work again and I'm hoping the balance will be right with time I'm home and time I'm away.

Speaking of Amelia, she's crawling now. It's awesome. She can entertain herself really well, and she loves being mobile. Unfortunately she's also pulling up on things and she's not too stable yet, so she got her first bruise yesterday and had quite a spill today. They fall so fast, you can't always catch them in time =( But, I swear babies are made partly of rubber, she always bounces back in no time.

So, there's an update. Crazy times, but exciting times. Jason starts school tomorrow and neither of us are ready for that, but, he's gotta go! Here's hoping the second year will be a little easier.

Check out Amelia's blog if you want to see some pictures from our trip

Our Music

Update...
Now our songs are downloadable, itunesable, ipodable or even iphoneable.
Enjoy our rough recordings, and please share them with everyone. Updates will be coming there too!
Oh yes...the link
jw

Trouble Sleeping

I've been having trouble falling asleep for awhile now. I wasn't sure why at first, but lately as I lie in bed all I can think about are the atrocities going on in the world and how my life and its joys are in such stark contrast to the despair and depravity of the majority of the lives in the world. I am repulsed by our culture and its fickle ideals and corrupt dreams. I hate that so much of me is influenced by it and that I daily place so much importance in things that ultimately just don't matter.

I spent $30.00 on a vegetable steamer so it's easier for me to make Amelia's baby food and I spend $35.00 a month supporting a little boy named Ariet in Africa. Do I really need the steamer? That was food and an education for another child. I'm burdened by our wealth, and though I'm very thankful for it and for the comfort of our lives, I'm so confused as to why I have so much when so many have not enough. Truly the first will be last. I'll be elated if I get a little patch of heaven. The widow in Africa will have the mansion.

Our culture has also made it hard for me to stand for any sort of absolute idea and has made me afraid to fully express my faith and the way I believe it asks me to live my life. Our culture is big on fear as a motivation, as is the current administration.

I feel now is a good time to issue an official apology for voting for Bush. I don't think I need to say much more than that. We're all aware of how he has betrayed our trust and ultimately this country and the people of Iraq, our soldiers, our poor...

I'm just frustrated at seeing so much injustice everywhere. I'm not completely sure how to handle it or what to do about it. And so, I have trouble falling asleep.