One You Might Otherwise Miss

Juno might be the biggest surprise movie in the last several years. A combination of witty humor, brilliant acting, subtlety and simplicity make this low budget flick an awesome film that will probably open some eyes come awards time. With similarities to Napoleon Dynamite it does have a bit of crude humor if you're not up for that, but it's completely hilarious, laugh-out-loud funny. As an added bonus it also has a great plot and lovable characters. We both highly recommend it.

Happy New Year,
Adam & Katie

Blessed by Our Guests

Christmas is going to be lean for the Wright family this year. Our new house was our gift to each other. That said, Katie and I have lamented to each other over the last couple weeks that since our budget is tighter, preparing for the holidays just wasn't as much fun as usual. In the last few weeks we have both also been struck with a much more profound joy than any gift could bring. Since Thanksgiving our family has been blessed with a wealth of visitors and each in their own special way has reminded us that true happiness comes from being surrounded by friends and family.

Our latest guests - Brenda, Irene, and Susan - were three beautiful girls from Uganda, spending the year in the United States as part of the African Childrens Choir. They are in Indianapolis during December as part of the Yuletide Celebration downtown. Although we didn't get to spend a ton of time with them, it was awesome to get to chat with them and hear about their amazing experiences in the US. The leaders of their program had asked that we not ask too many questions about their home life, as most of the children in the choir have lost at least one family member to famine or disease. While driving through the suburbs with them though I couldn't help but wonder what each girl was thinking. "Why are these houses all so big? Do people here really need all that space?" It helped remind me that the world is much, much bigger than the roads we travel each day. It reminded me that our Christmas will be far from "lean" and that I won't ever have an idea of what "lean" truly means.



In addition to our friends from Africa we had all of our family together around Thanksgiving. We hosted a brunch on the Friday after Thanksgiving and it was the first time we have had all five little girls together. Avery, Lucy, Addison, Zoe and Evelyn all in one room. It was truly amazing and caused us all to stop and realize how blessed we are and how special a time this is. Our girls will all grow up together and I'm quite sure the fun is just beginning. We're either going to add another lady to the mix or we'll bring the first boy to a crazy collection of girls.

We got to see our Fort Wayne family too, as Ted, Vicki, WT and Drew came to Zionsville on Turkey Day. It was great to see them and fun for Avery to spend some time with them as well. We also got to spend time with our dear friends Andrew & Lisa who we always have a great time with.

In the weekend that followed we had even more wonderful visitors. Some of our closest friends stopped in on their trips from Chicago to Cincinnati and from Cincinnati to Chicago. I guess that's the beauty of living in the "crossroads of America!" Ben & Michele Helmers were back in the Midwest for a wedding at Miami U and it was so great that they came to see us. Avery even pointed out her "Uncle Benny!" Mike & Gail Cicak visited that same day and were able to spend a few hours over dinner and it was so great to see them. Each time we do we wish we lived in the same city... which is what we find ourselves saying about many of our friends. But, as I've been saying, it's become so evident to us that it's these times together that we learn to cherish. I think at our age you realize that those are the true "gifts" in life.










Avery's favorite guest...




Our little beauty continues to keep us on our toes and make us smile on a daily basis. She's showing off her dancing shoes and checking out our mini Christmas tree.









Merry Christmas to all of you. May it be a wonderful time filled with true blessings,
Adam

Photos Galore

In addition to having our sanity back, we also celebrate the return of our home computer which houses all of our treasured photos. So, prepare to embark on a photographic journey of our last few months. Along the way you'll get a taste of the first day of "school," our first fall festival parade, the birth of our second set of twin nieces, moving day, our pink dining room, Bella's favorite spot of "carpeted bliss," Avery earning her allowance, and best of all... Halloween! Enjoy.

We're Back

Ok, ok I have finally caught my breath after the move and feel like getting back to the computer and to this blog.

Life has been good....really good. A new house, our own space again, and the chance to just be the three of us was just what we needed. It has been sooo much fun getting settled in our house and doing the little things to make it feel like a home. Since we have lived here about a month and still haven't bit the bullet and bought window treatments of any kind, the whole neighborhood is probably sick of seeing EVERYTHING we do...and I am sick of feeling so exposed, but I am not even going to complain.

We had a great weekend here in Indy this past week. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we had reason to celebrate more than the chance to be outside... Adam had a birthday.

Adam and I spent the day together on Friday (he took the day off). We saw a sweet movie, Dan In Real Life, and had a great lunch at a cute, locally owned, coffee house close to our new house. We capped it off with flank steak on the grill and chocolate souffle for dinner.

Saturday we took Avery to Eagle Creek State Park for some running around and exploring. We had a great time watching her roll around in the leaves and throw them on herself and us.

So we're back... and hopefully it won't take us another month to blog again!!!!

Priceless

Well, we haven't posted in forever and while I could share all the exciting news about our move and our beautiful new home..... I am way too tired. Instead, I just had to post these adorable pictures of my nieces (all three of them). They are so stinkin cute.

Cheers,
Katie

Pumpkin Pickin'

In preparation for Halloween, we headed up to Stoney Creek Farm with some friends and their son, Brandon, on Saturday afternoon to pick some pumpkins and enjoy the farm's opening day of their Fall Festival. We enjoyed a hayride out to a good old fashioned pumpkin patch, ate some delicious carmel apples, and watched the kids play in the "Kiddiepillar"- a gigantic blow-up caterpillar that had a slide, etc inside.

A good day with friends and a great start to the Fall season.

Blessings,
Katie

Nugget of Truth

"Dreaming, praying, and working for- in a sense, imagining for- a good story in the lives of those whose paths we cross briefly, or for the long haul, is what we're made for." - Real Love for Real Life by Andi Ashworth.

I have been reading this book, Real Love for Real Life, after a dear friend sent it to me, I believe, in an effort to lift my spirits as I had been sharing with her, during a recent visit, the struggle I sometimes feel as a mother. My struggle has not been with finding enough love to completely saturate Avery, but with trying to find purpose and meaning in the daily grind of child rearing- becoming comfortable and fulfilled in measuring success not in a great presentation or a completed work assignment, but rather in peekaboos and trips to the park.

Anyway, I came across the above quote while reading and was struck by its simple truth- the razor sharp purpose and meaning it brings to my life and my life's work- whatever that may be. Bringing about what is true, lovely, and admirable in others... that is a noble job and worthy of our efforts.

Blessings,
Katie

God Grew Tired Of Us

Last night, Adam and I watched an excellent documentary entitled, God Grew Tired Of Us. It shared the history and struggle of war torn Sudan and, in particular, followed the story of three Sudanese "Lost Boys" who after escaping Sudan to Kenya found themselves being "relocated" to the United States where they experience for the first time electricity, grocery shopping, and hot showers.

The film was moving and another reminder to both Adam and I of the horrible atrocities that are still occurring in Darfur. If you do the Netflix thing, or even if you don't, you should check it out.

Katie

The twins have arrived!

We are the proud aunt and uncle of two more twin.... GIRLS! That's right, Avery now has four girl cousins. Zoe Elizabeth and Evelyn (Evie) Frances Barth came into the world on Thursday afternoon. Both were over 7 pounds.


They are absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't be more proud to be an Aunt. It really is as exciting as the first few days after Avery's birth.

Oh, and I don't think I have shared our big news yet, we will be doing this again ourselves in March- baby #2 is due March 9th.

Katie

Come out of your tent...

We returned to our church, Common Ground, in Broad Ripple this Sunday and it was so refreshing and invigorating to be back. Since we've lived up in Zionsville we've only made it down there a few times and although we've tried to go to ZPC as much as possible, there's just something about Common Ground that we have grown to love. One analogy that the pastor, Jeff, used this Sunday struck me in particular and I think it's just too beautiful NOT to share. So, pardon me as I paraphrase, but here goes...

A good friend of mine goes hiking each year in the Grand Canyon. He says you can tell how many times the other people you see along the way have camped in the Canyon by how much stuff they bring along. Each year my friend says he brings less and less. You just learn that, although you think you need the stuff, it simply weighs you down and is often unnecessary. He now just brings a tarp in case it rains and he sleeps under the stars. His camping counterparts will almost always set up their tents as soon as they arrive at their camping site. My friend often urges them to join him under the stars. "No thanks," they usually reply, instead opting for the perceived comfort and safety of the inside of their tents. Undoubtedly though, someone will always join my friend for a night of sleeping under the stars. And they almost inevitably admit that it was an amazing night - the best of their trip by far. Yet the next night, it never fails that they return to the tent. They saw all the grandeur and beauty of the starlit night in the canyon, but they chose to go back to their tent.

Isn't it ironic that we so often opt for our tents? My friend tells the story of one morning waking up and seeing mountain lion tracks not far from where he lay his head. Scary, yes. But think about a tent. Are you truly protected? Yet we still choose our tents. So often we crawl back in and zip up our lives in the nice orderly way in which we created them. Perceived comfort. Perceived safety. But we are potentially missing out on so much more. "Come out of your tent," God cries to us. "I have so much more in store for you."

- Taken from a sermon given by Jeff K. at Common Ground Christian Church (www.cground.org)

A Busy August...

It's been almost a month since my Mom and Dad posted a blog and let's just say lots has happened since then. I went to the State Fair, I went to the zoo, and I grew taller and got even prettier than since you last saw me! They left me one weekend to go to a party for Ben and Michele, but I got to spend extra time with my grandparents which is one of my favorite things so it was okay. We've gone to visit our new house almost every day and they're doing a great job. It's going to be so fun when we move in! It has been one of the most fun months of the 15 I've experienced so far. Enjoy the pictures... scroll down, there are a lot!

Love,
Avery

A Trip to the Zoo...

Well the weather finally broke here in Indianapolis and we thought it the perfect opportunity to take Avery to the zoo- her second trip, but the first family trip we had taken there. We weren't alone in our thought, however, as we arrived at the zoo at about the same time as the rest of Indianapolis. We managed to have a great time despite the crowds. Our favorites- the seals, baboons, and polar bears.