Haiti

We sent our dear friend, Sara, off this past week to follow God's prompting to serve the people of Haiti. After packing her up, sharing some pizza, and praying over her journey, we all posed for some group photos. She will certainly be missed, but we are thrilled that God is using her to love on others.

Blessings,
Katie

The Gift Of Water

Well, I have been prompted by the Holy Spirit to act...and act I will. Yesterday, Adam and I loaded Avery up in the car and drove over to a local park. We had never been to this park, but had driven by on numerous occasions and noticed what we thought was a small water park of sorts. We thought it would be fun to check it out and possibly allow Avery a chance to enjoy some relief from the heat and humidity. The water park was simply a couple of different water features that sprayed water out from the ground, but it was pleasant and Avery enjoyed herself.

While I was chasing her around, making sure she didn't trip or bang her head on any of the numerous rocks that were located close to the "sprinklers", God reminded me of something he has been reminding me of a lot lately-- We are so darn blessed to have all this clean water at our disposable EVERY single day. When I shower, or wash my family's clothes, or brush my teeth, or cook, or take my daughter to a water park I have access to clean water. This gift goes unnoticed and unappreciated by me on most days. Such a gift is unfathomable to so many on almost every day. To get even a gallon of water means a 10 mile walk for most living in Africa. Can you imagine? I WASTE a gallon of water a day by just leaving my faucet on while brushing my teeth.

So I came home from the water park determined to "do" something- make some type of difference. Often, I use the enormity of the need and pain in this world as an excuse to keep myself from acting- too many problems, too little resources, too little impact. Not this time though. So, I decided to send a donation to Blood:Water Mission, an organization founded by the Dan Haseltine, the lead singer of Jars of Clay, whose committed to clean blood and clean water in Africa. Clean water has more to do with the HIV crisis in Africa than we know or realize and by providing clean water, we can also combat the AIDS epidemic too. Check out their site at www.bloodwatermission.com.

Then I was thinking... I know so many others, so many wonderful friends and family who share my desire to see God's love reach the ends of the earth- in both the sharing of the gospel and in the meeting of basic needs. So I thought I would see what collectively we could do- what a collective response might look like. So for the next month and a half I am going to be sharing this message with those that I interact with, seeing who might be interested in helping fund clean water for 1 African village for one year. If you feel moved, join me in this. Send a check made payable to Blood:Water Mission to 60 Bennington Drive, Zionsville, IN 46077. My hope is that we can collect enough money to provide clean water for 1 village for 1 year. A total of $1,000 dollars.

I am certain God will be faithful in this and am excited about what we might accomplish- how together we might be able to provide even a glimmer of hope to some African village.

Blessings,
Katie

Fun In The Sun

We had a good weekend here in Indy. Despite the heat and humidity, we still managed to do a few fun things.

Saturday morning we headed out to our local farmer's market to pick up some fresh and yummy produce, etc. from some local farmers. Adam and Avery walked around looking at all the dogs, which is one of Avery's favorite things to do, while I buzzed around and got some fresh bread, plums, strawberry's, tomatoes and lettuce. We then headed over to the local coffee shop and had some hot chocolate and chai tea. Avery, who has been walking now for a couple of weeks, cruised around the coffee shop. Adam and I, who had grown exhausted at that point, from chasing her, decided we would let her experience a little freedom. That freedom lead her right into the purse of an older woman where she pulled out this woman's keys and walked away. Shame on us for thinking that she couldn't possibly cause trouble in 2 minutes.

Saturday afternoon we hit the pool to cool down and that night went to a 30th birthday bash/bbq for a friend of ours.

Sunday we did the church and brunch thing with my parent's to celebrate Father's Day and then spent the rest of the afternoon picking out cabinets and countertops for our new house.

Sunday night we relaxed and had a wonderful dinner with Adam's parents- lamb chops from the farmer's market, corn on the cob and fresh tomotoes- the perfect summer meal.

Here are a couple of shots of Avery from the weekend- I am still amazed at how her mood can change in an instant....

Blessings,
Katie

Weekend In Cincy

Adam and I attended yet another beautiful wedding this weekend where our dear friends, Kevin and Chase, tied the knot. While I didn't seem to capture any of the bride and groom together, here are some other familiar Miami faces.

Finally... A Few Birthday Photos

Avery meets Lily...

Last weekend Avery got to hang out with her new friend Lily. Our dear friends Ryan and Courtney were in town with their gorgeous daughter and we had a wonderful time catching up with them. Congratulations are due to Ryan as he is now officially Dr. Smith!!! congrats!!!

A Perspective on Space...

I had lunch yesterday with a good friend of mine who offered an interesting perspective on how we as Americans perceive our personal space. While I realize that it sounds like we had a terribly boring lunch conversation it was actually really nice and the space topic came out of me explaining Katie and I's current living situation.
We are now entrenched in Week 2 of "Living with the Parents." We lived with the Barths for a week and are now living in my parents' basement. We speak jokingly about it, because it does seem funny to move home with a wife, child and wiener dog, but it truly is a blessing that we have two sets of parents willing to share their space (and really their daily lives) with us.
It's unfortunate, though that this is so rare and invasive in our culture. My friend is from San Diego and she was recalling countless childhood friends and classmates, mostly Latino, that lived in small homes filled to capacity with extended family. "Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles, kids all over the place. That's just the way it was." She wondered aloud why Americans are so darn protective of space. She remembered a time that she and her husband hosted a college friend for two months and how the friend's presence became more and more of a nuisance and frustration for her husband simply because the houseguest was taking up "his space."
So why are we so protective and so selfish when it comes to the areas around us? That question has rung in my ears since we began packing up our house in Broad Ripple. We left a fun but small old home, ultimately in search of more... what else? Space. In the meantime though we will be living in a smaller spot that doesn't belong to us. It begs the question, do we really NEED all of the things we accumulate? Do we really NEED all of that space.
Do me a favor. Look around. Where are you right now? At home? In your office? Your cube? At a public library? Regardless of your whereabouts, chances are pretty good you feel pretty possessive about your location. It's your space. I don't blame you. I feel the same way. But what happened? When did we become so possessive? If we learned to share in kindergarten somewhere along the way we were taught that this lesson didn't apply to our space. I wish I could offer a pearl of wisdom here, but I'm afraid I can't. I for one need to just be a little more open and more accomodating with my all-important space.

-Adam