More Pictures

You can find more pictures of Aviella by clicking on the "View my complete profile" link on the right of this blog page. From there click on the "My Web Page" link on the left side of the blog page (under our photo). We will update this Web page with new pictures of Aviella whenever we have new pictures (and time to upload them).

Life with Aviella - The Honeymoon is Over

Aviella is now 5 weeks old. The first two weeks, the honeymoon, were absolute bliss! We loved staring at our beautiful little girl (we still do), holding her, bringing her into bed with us in the morning, hearing her cute little sounds (she's very noisy, I mean talkative), feeding her, changing her, etc. Jamie was a bit tired during this time, but filled with adrenaline so she could handle it, we were very thankful that some neighbors and friends made meals, helped clean, and ran errands for us. Our first big family outing was Asian fast food and Target. Then Jamie got to go to the grocery store without Aviella between feedings. Later we went to a picnic held by Ryan's department, and to church the next day. Jamie took Aviella on errands to various stores. Sometimes it was a disaster and other times it went just fine. Aviella prefers being in the infant carrier rather than her car seat in a shopping cart.


Around week 3 Aviella started getting a bit fussy. Jamie read a book on sleep for infants and children and realized that Aviella's fussiness was likely due to being overtired. Apparently infants can only handle being awake for about two hours before they need to get back to sleep, who knew? At about one hour after waking up Aviella is ready to be asleep or on her way there. Things got better after we realized this. Then the real fussiness started, she was very fussy from about 5pm to 10pm for four nights and then things got better again. Last week the fussiness came back with a vengeance, Aviella sleeps fine during the day, but after 5pm she will not go to sleep until 11:30pm. We can tell she is exhausted and we often get her to fall asleep for 10 minutes to an hour - if we are holding her, she is in a swing, she is in a bouncer, or she is in an infant carrier. Ryan and Jamie have both taken Aviella on walks around Smiley Court to get her to settle down or fall asleep. We have tried gripe water and the chiropractor, so far nothing seems to help. She seems to be uncomfortable or in pain, but we can't do anything to help her. Very frustrating.


Although Aviella is very fussy at night, we still are in love with her and enjoy all the wonderful things about her. It can be draining and stressful at times when she cries so much and won't sleep, but we manage to get through it. Jamie is almost always tired, but finds ways to get a few things done during the day. Ryan has caught up on his homework and TA grading and has a better handle on school and work. He is still fairly busy, but he did find time to make a run to our storage unit to get our fall/winter clothes. Ryan has been successful in getting Aviella to smile for him and she now smiles at mommy too. Jamie cut out some colorful shapes and put them on the wall next to Aviella's changing table, she loves to look at these and they make diaper changing time much better. She even smiles at the shapes.

Jamie's Homebirth Experience

After having read many people's birth stories I am excited to finally be able to share my story. Feel free to skip this one if it is not something you want to learn more about. Don't worry though, I won't be sharing a ton of gory details.

Sunday morning, September 9th I realized that labor was imminent and was glad to have the sightseeing trip with my parents as a distraction. During the sightseeing I had some back pain, but I wasn't sure if it was just discomfort from the car ride or contractions. After the drive through the mountains we went to the grocery store to pick up some last minute items - like the chicken that Judy would need for the chicken soup. When we got home I was completely exhausted! And I really didn't do anything strenuous. I took a nap and realized that my contractions were regular, about every 20 minutes or so. I took a warm bath to relieve some of the pain and to relax a bit; the contractions seemed to slow. After talking with Ryan we decided to let Judy, our midwife, know that my contractions were becoming regular and we discussed again when to call her and that I should try to sleep between the contractions as much as possible to conserve energy.


Later that evening we went out for Mexican with my parents. After dinner we tidied up the house and prepared ourselves for labor to begin. I tried to sleep, but couldn't - partly because of the contractions and partly due to the excitement of the whole thing. I tried another warm bath as it had relieved my pain and slowed the contractions previously - the bath didn't seem to work as well this time, I was relaxed, but the contractions continued and got even closer together. I went back and forth between the bed, the bath and the couch so as not to disturb Ryan and to relieve the back pain I was feeling from the contractions. Finally at 2am, when my contractions were 4 minutes apart I decided to wake Ryan and let him know that we should call Judy. I had wanted both Ryan and Judy to get as much sleep as they could; Judy had been up for over 24 hours the day before at another birth.

When Judy arrived around 4am I was 4 cm dilated - she was surprised that I was already that far along. Judy got started on making the chicken soup fairly soon after she arrived and would check on me and the baby's heart rate at regular intervals. Ryan was a tremendous help in encouraging me to relax and massaging my back during contractions. Unfortunately since I had not been able to sleep at all, most of my day was spent lying in bed. I had tried various positions to go through the contrations in, but the baby's heart rate was the strongest when I was lying on my side. Lying on my side was not exactly how I envisioned myself going through my labor at home. I had hoped to be up and walking around in order to use gravity to my advantage. I do remember telling Ryan that I could see why women would get an epidural, and at that point I hadn't even reached the hardest parts of labor.


Judy had me do some exercises on the stairs to try and encourage my labor to progress. I walked around for a little while after this and hoped to find something funny to watch on TV - laughter is supposed to help labor along too. Nothing good was on TV, but my parents stopped by after touring Celestial Seasonings and before going to a movie. My dad made a few jokes and got me laughing; just as they were leaving my water broke. I believe my dad helped my labor to progress.

When I reached the last phase of the first stage of labor (transition - the cervix dilates from 7 cm to 10 cm) I was blessed to have 6 minutes between contractions and I was actually able to rest/sleep between them in order to prepare myself for the next stage - pushing! This is where another surprise came for both Ryan and I. The baby was not born on our bed as we had envisioned, where I had started the pushing stage, but rather the baby was born on the floor in the small doorway of our bedroom. Judy had encouraged me to try holding the doorknob and squatting down to push - this enabled me to use gravity to help move the baby down. Eventually I was sitting/leaning up against Ryan and pulling myself up to a squatting position during the contractions and pushing. Sadly, Ryan was unable to catch the baby as he had hoped due to the tight quarters of where we were giving birth and the fact that I was sitting on him/leaning up against him between contractions. The transition and pushing stages each took about 2 hours (a total of 4 intense hours). Ryan, Judy and Peggy (Judy's assistant) were all very encouraging in helping me to push and stay as relaxed as possible.


After the baby was born I stayed on the floor with Aviella still attached to the placenta in order to reap the benefits of the rich blood and oxygen she was receiving through the umbilical cord. Ryan cut the cord about 45 minutes after she was born. While waiting for this my mom fed me chicken soup to help me regain some energy and strength. After eating the soup and cutting the cord I was able to breastfeed Aviella. She was amazing, she latched on right away. She had been waiting - sucking on her own hand or Ryan's finger until I was ready to feed her.

This was by far the most amazing thing I have ever experienced in my entire life! And I wouldn't do it differently if I had it to do all over again. I loved being in my own home and being surrounded by people that loved and cared for me (and whom I knew).

Waiting for Baby

The ladies of Smiley Court (our housing area) decided to throw Jamie a baby shower. Jamie was skeptical if she would even make it to the baby shower as they had chosen to have it the day before her due date. Fortunately (or unfortunately) Jamie made it to the event without the birth of a baby being an issue. Jamie was extremely blessed by the generosity of her new community members as she received many gifts from women she barely knew.


Ryan continued his studies and we both went about our daily tasks as usual hoping that any day the baby would come. Jamie's parents were especially interested in the baby arriving very soon as they had a flight scheduled for the upcoming weekend. When the flight was made, it was assumed that Jamie would be like her mother in that Jamie's mom was early with both of her births. As Jamie's due date came and went her parents had to decide whether or not to delay the trip or come anyway.

Friday night (September 7th) marked two days overdue, Jana (one of our neighbors/friends) invited Jamie to attend the sewing club. Jamie and Ryan were also invited by a couple from the church they have been attending to go to another couple's apartment in a different family student housing area to play games and hang out. Although we would have enjoyed meeting more people from Boulder Valley Christian Church, Ryan needed to study before Jamie's parents arrived the next day. Jamie opted for sewing club in order to give Ryan some time to study.

At bedtime the baby was extremely active - it was actually a bit scary how active the baby was, the baby seemed to be trying to fight inside Jamie's belly. This activity kept Jamie up for a little while, but eventually the baby stopped and Jamie fell asleep. Around lunch time on Saturday Jamie realized that she didn't remember feeling the baby move since about 3am when there was more of the fighting activity in her belly. Ryan listened for the heartbeat, but could not find it (usually he can hear it very clear). Jamie decided to call Judy, her midwife. Judy was finishing up at a birth, but said she would stop by as soon as she was done. This concerned us even more. We sat down and prayed for the baby and almost as soon as we had finished the baby moved. Jamie continued to feel the baby move throughout the rest of the day, but went to Judy's house for another prenatal visit just to make sure everything else was okay.




Jamie's parents arrived Saturday evening and we went out for dinner - Japanese. We then walked along the Pearl Street Mall, hoping that walking might encourage Jamie to go into labor. The next day we had made plans to gather a picnic lunch and drive the Peak to Peak highway stopping to see various sights along the way. Sunday morning Jamie awoke to a sign that indicated she would be likely to go into labor within the next three days. She called her midwife, but it being Sunday morning, she was at church and did not answer. Jamie called Peggy, the midwife intern, and talked to her about Jamie's plans for the day and whether or not it was alright to continue with them. Jamie also spoke with Judy and the picnic lunch plans were fine with her, she only encouraged that Jamie conserve energy and not do any strenuous hikes.

A Night on the Town

After Ryan's first week of classes we decided it would be good to get out and enjoy ourselves before we have a little one to worry about, so Friday evening we had a "night out on the town." Thanks to Andrea and Shane (Ryan's sister and brother-in-law) we had a gift certificate for the Dushanbe Tea House, where we enjoyed a wonderful ethnic dinner in a Tajikistan tea house, check out the amazing history of this place and see pictures of the beautiful Tajikistan artistry at: www.boulderteahouse.com. After dinner we decided to take a short walk and ended up at the Pearl Street Mall - a section of shops, galleries, restaurants, cafes, etc. and of course street entertainers. The CU (University of Colorado Boulder) marching band was out in full force, Saturday was the first football game of the season and fans were gearing up for the big event - CU was up against CSU (Colorado State University), their cross state rival. (CU won in over time! Woo Hoo, I guess we are Buffaloes now.)


Saturday, since Jamie still had not started labor, we decided it would be good to get another hike in. Upon the advice of Anthony (Ryan's brother), we decided to find a shorter hike that we could do multiple times if so desired. Chautauqua Park was our destination - another historic place in Boulder (and popular place to go, the parking lots were all full and there were people everywhere!) At the Ranger's Cottage we got some recommendations on less crowded trails and picked one that was a 1.5 mile loop on the top of the mountain. The hike was quite amazing with views for miles! At "May's Point" we climbed up some boulders and had the most amazing views of both Indian Peaks to our left (snow covered mountains in the distance) and Boulder (to our right). Climbing up and down some of the larger boulders was a bit challenging for Jamie and her very large belly, but she made it. We also spotted several black squirrels along the trail that were quite unique - their ears appeared to be very long which almost makes them look like funny rabbits. On our way back down the mountain we spotted a mule deer doe and fawn grazing on the side of the road. The fawn was a bit more wary than mom, but we were able to take pictures of both.


That evening we played Settlers of Catan with our friends Phillip and Jana. Jana has taken over the planning for the baby shower that the Smiley Court ladies have planned for Jamie. The shower has been moved to this coming Tuesday (the day before Jamie's due date, we'll see if baby waits for the event).


The week started out pretty easy for Ryan with only one class on Monday, August 27th. His busy days are Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Tuesday he decided to drop his Monday/Wednesday class and take a class called Engineering for the Developing World, which is only on Wednesdays (for 3 hours). Ryan will likely hold office hours for his TA position on Mondays and Fridays, so he will have to be over at CU every day of the week. Unfortunately there are still conflicts between his Advanced Solar Design class and the class that he is a TA for. It appears that the best solution may be to have the TA class videotaped so that Ryan can attend the Advanced Solar class. Ryan has been busy doing homework and reading during his spare moments at home. This is a large undertaking and a good challenge for him.



While Ryan was in classes and meetings throughout the week, Jamie continued to prepare for baby's arrival. She cleaned the house, did the laundry, shopped for groceries and prepared meals to freeze for when the baby does come and she does not want to get out of bed. On Wednesday, Ryan and Jamie went to see the midwife Judy and her intern Peggy. They said everything looks good and Jamie is right on track. We are very grateful for Judy and Peggy, Judy is kind of like our mom away from home. Jamie's next appointment is Wednesday, September 5th - her due date. Jamie's mom is hoping that the baby arrives before her and Jamie's dad plan to fly out on Saturday, September 8th.

Another Gorgeous Hike

After a very busy week, Ryan and Jamie enjoyed finding a beautiful place to hike (and cool down). The temperature in Boulder when we left was 99 degrees, when we arrived at our hiking destination it was about 74 degrees. Both the temperature and the location were perfect. We were in the Roosevelt National Forest, it took a bit of time (about 30 minutes) to drive to the hiking spot as well as find it (the roads weren't listed on any of our maps), but it was well worth it. Because the temperature and location were so wonderful we hiked a bit further than we probably should have. The entire hike was about 6 miles in length and we hiked a good portion of it, probably close to 5 3/4 miles. We were exhausted by the time we got to the car and drove home. Originally we had planned on taking advantage of a gift certificate for the Dushanbe Tea House after our hike, but we knew that we would be too tired to enjoy our dinner and the incredible atmosphere of this historic restaurant. Instead we opted for fast food, a dvd, and went to bed early.


Ryan's TA (Teaching Assistant) training kept him fairly busy last week along with trying to prepare for his upcoming classes. By the end of the week Ryan was able to speak with his advisor regarding the class conflict he had with the TA class he was assigned to. Apparently all of the TAs had signed up for the Solar class and none of them would have been able to switch TA classes with Ryan. Ryan's advisor decided that they would likely change the time of the Solar class as there had been other conflicts with that time as well. Now Ryan is waiting to hear when the new class time will be.


The week was also filled with activities for both Ryan and Jamie. Thursday night we attended a planning meeting for Horizons International Student Organization. Friday night we attended a Welcome dinner at Horizons and met International students from all over the world. Jamie also attended a "Girls Night" with several of the Smiley Court (our housing area) ladies, we shared wedding photos because one of the ladies had recently gotten married. Jamie enjoyed this opportunity to meet more of her neighbors and get to know others better. The Smiley Court ladies may host a baby shower for Jamie soon (date pending on the arrival of the baby). Saturday Ryan spent much of the day reading the text for his TA class so that he can be prepared and get ahead of the students. That evening we attended a Welcome Cookout hosted by the Family Housing Office for all of the family housing areas. It seemed a bit overwhelming to combine all of the Family Housing areas into one cookout, but we were able to meet some new people from Smiley Court as well as visit with others we already knew. Later that evening Ryan and Jamie played Settlers of Catan with Philip and Jana (neighbors), which made for a late night! On Sunday (before the hike) Ryan and Jamie went back to the church that had such a powerful message for us a couple weeks ago. The message spoke to us again as it was very relevant to our life stage - it was about families and parenting. We also visited with a couple that we had met the last time we were at the church. It was good to reconnect with them, as they also have recently moved to the Boulder area. And we rounded out the weekend with the strenuous hike mentioned above.

Preparing for Baby

Well, Jamie is 38 weeks now and less than two weeks from her due date, she could have this baby any day now. We have enjoyed preparing for our baby's arrival. Ryan has set up the crib and changing table as well as moved around the furniture in the nursery several times until both he and Jamie were satisfied with the results. The decorations are hung and drawers are stocked with baby supplies. We thank family and friends for all of their gifts that helped in setting up the baby's room.


What else have we been doing to prepare for our baby's arrival? Well, let's see... We attended home birth education classes, watched some birth videos, read some books and talked with others that have had home births. As long as Ryan is not busy with class or training he attends Jamie's appointments with her midwife Judy. Jamie has been exercising regularly - yoga, walks, hikes and her daily exercises from her midwife that are to encourage baby to move from the right side of her belly to the left side (which should make for an easier delivery). Jamie's placenta takes up a lot of room on her left side, so we think that is why the baby tends to prefer the right side. Baby's head is down and in position for delivery.


Jamie has also gotten all the supplies needed for the delivery, except the small chicken for the chicken soup that the midwife and her assistant will make during or after her labor. Jamie has also found time to make birthday cards for the upcoming months as she may be a bit busy trying to figure out how to care for this new little baby and herself. There are still things on Jamie's list of things to do before baby arrives, some days she gets more things crossed off her list than other days. Ryan and Jamie were excited to receive the Dunstan Baby Language DVDs from Ryan's mom last week. The other night we eagerly watched and listened to the universal language that has been discovered to help parents understand what their baby's needs are before they can speak. We are excited to try out this language system and hopefully relieve some potential stress. We are still deciding on names for our baby. We have narrowed down our choices significantly and have agreed on a few for each sex. When the time comes we may just have to see which name fits the baby best.


Despite the seemingly hard times we have had since our arrival in Boulder, we both know that this is where God has called us and we have peace about being here. Before coming to Boulder we knew that there would be difficulties, but it has not been more than we can handle. We trust that all things will happen in God's time as we wait for the sale of our home and the renting of our duplex. There are many things for us to be thankful for. We have wonderful neighbors that check in on us to see if we need anything from the store, or how Jamie is handling the heat, and that bring us cookies. Horizons International has become our extended family and we are excited to be a part of their ministry to internationals. In fact, one of the staff offered to give Jamie breaks after the baby is born, she would be happy to watch the baby while Jamie takes a nap or runs errands. Our midwife Judy and her assistant Peggy are wonderful women who are very supportive and encouraging. We have family and friends back home that have been lots of help to us with our house and duplex and we are grateful for their help while we set up a property management service and try to sell the house. We continue to search for a new church home, but plan on trying one that had a good feel on our first visit. Our thanks also goes out to all of you who continue to lift us up in prayer.

Let the Good Times Roll

Over the weekend we took some time to enjoy the beauty of Boulder and our surroundings. Ryan had been told about a short hike to a waterfall, so on Saturday we set out in search of the hike. Within 10-15 minutes we were in the mountains and found lots of cars parked at pull-offs on either side of the road, so we got out for our hike.

There was a nice large path (sometimes paved and sometimes gravel) along Boulder "Creek" (it seems more like a river than a creek to us). Lots of people were walking, jogging and riding bikes. We thought that it might be a bit cooler in the mountains, so we both wore long pants - surprisingly there wasn't much of a temperature difference, still about 90+ degrees. We got to the end of the section we were on and a sign said we had gone 2.25 miles, after walking back that was a 4.5 mile hike - pretty good for Jamie being 9 months pregnant. Ryan got excited by the guys that were fly fishing along the "creek," he has a fly fishing rod, all he needs is a reel, some line and flies, and learn how to use it all? He has been debating getting all of these supplies and his fishing license - not knowing how much time he might have for this recreational activity. Unfortunately we did not find a waterfall and we had forgotten to bring the camera for our first Boulder hike. We decided to try again on Sunday.

After trying out our fourth church on Sunday we ate lunch and packed some water and snacks for another day in the mountains. This time we knew a bit more about where we were headed (Boulder Falls) and we were told we wouldn't be able to miss it, we just had to drive farther into the mountains. We brought the camera this time and sure enough, there were signs everywhere, as well as people.


Since it was afternoon, we figured there might be rain (it has been raining nearly every afternoon - sometimes just a sprinkle and other times it will downpour for 10 minutes to a couple of hours) so we packed our rain jackets and some towels in case we decided to go in the creek or waterfall. We also dressed more appropriately for the weather - shorts instead of long pants. Ryan didn't want too much in the backpack so he opted for the towels instead of the rain jackets. The "hike" to the waterfall was more of a short climb - up and down on rock stairs to the waterfall, slightly more challenging for Jamie than the hike the day before even though it was only about a 100 yards as opposed to the 4.5 miles the day before. After spending some time at the waterfall and petting a German Shorthair year old puppy, it started to rain. Although the rain was slow to begin with, Jamie remembered those rock stairs to get to the waterfall and decided not to stay too much longer before it got slippery. Ryan, worried about the camera, ran back to the car after it started to downpour. I guess the rain jackets would have been better to have with us, but the towels were helpful for drying off once we reached the car.


Rather than return home, we decided to continue up into the mountains and travel the Peak to Peak Highway, we knew the rain wouldn't last long. Along the way we found a dam at the top of Boulder Creek and the Barker Reservoir, we stopped to take a look, by now the sun was out. We continued on the Peak to Peak Highway through small mountain towns and stopped occasionally at overlooks to soak in the beautiful mountain views that surrounded us. We ended our mountain tour in Estes Park, where we spotted some Caribou eating flowers and trees along a line of fenced in yards before heading back home. What a gorgeous day! And a nice end to the last week before Ryan started training and school.



Last week was a fairly positive week for us, a few low spots here and there, but for the most part we had good times. Sunday, Aug 12, started out with a sermon that we both needed to hear, and we met some young couples that were either new to the area or lived in Family Housing at CU. It is always nice to make new connections. We finished up day two of our birth education class that day as well with more confidence and excitement for the home birth that we have been planning.

During the week, Jamie finished getting supplies for the birth as well as for the baby and nursery. Ryan was finally able to do some consulting work for his former employer (which will help a lot considering he doesn't get his first paycheck for the TA position until the end of September). Some friends took Jamie to Costco to check out the potential savings that could be had by getting a membership there. (Jamie is also discovering ways to keep the grocery bills down - the cost of food was quite daunting at first, even the farmers market was more expensive. A membership to either Sam's or Costco will need to be part of the plan to save money on food.)

Later in the week we attended a prayer and worship meeting with Horizons Ministry, it was wonderful to connect with some people that we have met before and to meet new people. Friday night we got to visit with a friend fom WI, actually she was our wedding photographer as well, and we ended our week with the lovely weekend mountain adventures mentioned above.



Of course there are still challenges that come up...Jamie realized that the slipcover for our chair was not in the clothes basket she thought it was in, but instead it had likely been left in a clothes dryer prior to the trip back to WI and now is gone - possibly donated to Salvation Army or in someone elses's living room. Our scanner no longer seems to be working, which is helpful for copying and sending documents. And Ryan found out that the class he is assigned to TA for conflicts with a class that he would really like to take (it is only offered every other year) and it appears that he may have to drop his class and take something else. Both our house and our duplex are still up for sale. We have mostly decided to hang on to the duplex for a couple years or so hoping that the market will get better - so, if you know anyone that is interested in renting a 2BR lower unit near Wauwatosa, please let us know. Also, our charming little house in the quaint Jewish neighborhood just north of St. Joe's Hospital is for sale if anyone is looking - please send them our way!

A Time of Sadness & Rejoicing

No, it has not all been bad since we left Wisconsin. We have met some wonderful people and already started building friendships. The day we moved in we were blessed to have so many helpers and to meet Drew and Stacy (thanks Amy and Jon for the contact). We also met Neoni and Jana who live in student family housing. Neoni was the one that helped us try to clean our mattress and couch cushions with the handheld Bissel cleaner. Jana brought over the mattress for Jamie to sleep on. A few days later we met Jana's husband Philip who invited Ryan and another guy to go out for happy hour. Ryan had an opportunity to have some good conversation with the guys that night. We've had neighbors introduce themselves and bring us baked goods, we've been invited to various events in the family housing community and we even had dinner with Philip and Jana one night. We have been trying to get together with Drew and Stacy, but so far our schedules have not aligned to make it possible, but we are still working on it. We are truly enjoying our international community that we live in and can't wait to meet more people and dive deeper into relationships.

Another blessing has been the Horizon's ministry that we have connected with. We visited the director's (George) church where he is the pastor and met some very nice people. In fact, Jamie went to their women's retreat the following weekend. We also met George's family and visited the Horizon's ministry over lunch. They continue to check up on us and include us on various events. This weekend the whole church (it is a fairly small church) went on an overnight camping trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, we were unable to stop by due to childbirth education classes on Saturday and Sunday, but we appreciated the invite.

We were excited to finally choose our midwife as well. Jamie had interviewed one midwife over the phone before the move and had spoken with another, but planned on meeting in person once we arrived in Boulder. We interviewed three midwives in person and had some amazing connections to the third woman that we interviewed. Judy Roberts is our midwife and two of her daughters spent time in Nepal with friends of ours who are now back in Milwaukee. We are blessed to have found her.


Despite traveling to WI for a sad occassion, it was a wonderful time to celebrate Ryan's grandmother's life. The entire family was there - Jamie finally met everyone from the Del Balso side of the family. It was great to have time again to see family so soon after we moved and we really enjoyed spending time with Ryan's siblings and neices, who we rarely get to see. Having taken advantage of the bereavement fare option on Midwest, our flight options were somewhat limited which actually extended our time in WI longer than we would have anticipated. Because of this we were able to go to Meadowbrook Church on Sunday and the state fair on Monday, one of Ryan's favorite WI summer activities. Of course we had some fried cheese, corn on the cob and cream puffs - what a treat to be able to enjoy this time with family. It was fun to see our nieces, Pacita (6) and Parker (2), enjoy various rides and activities at the fair. We look forward to being able to bring our little one with us some day.



Today we tried a new church - one that had an early enough service that we could go to and still get to our birth education class on time. It is amazing how many churches around here only have one service at 10:30am - which would not give us time to get to a class at noon on the other side of town, plus eat lunch. God really met us there and spoke to some of our recent challenges. We also met some young couples - one that currently lives in student family housing on the other side of campus, another that recently moved to Boulder and another that used to live in the same family housing area that we currently live in. Unfortunately we had to decline their lunch invite as we needed to get to our birth education class. Jamie was also invited to attend the MOPS program at the church, the first meeting is the day after her due date; not sure that she will make that one.