ANNUAL update? OK, maybe it's NOT quite that bad! I posted a blog 9 months ago! I DO know I need to do this more often. Seems like facebook and the ENP website get much more of my attention these days. Not to mention actually spending time with these kids! That could be a full time job all by itself! But it's fun to share what's been going on, too! I will try to do a better job!A few weeks ago we had our 1st Annual Cousin Camp! Four days of fun one week where we did crafts, water games, obstacle courses . . . and I think the best part of the whole week was THE CUTE SHIRTS!!! Amazing what you can do with cheap shirts from Michaels and a Sharpie pen! We cooked, ate, played, had fun . . . and it took about a week for the house (and me) to return to normal! But I slept really well, that week...and for several days to follow!
Emery isn't quite old enough yet for Cousin Camp. Maybe next year she can make a guest appearance! Can't believe she will be a year old in a couple months!
She is a DOLL! Sweetest personality and quite sensitive, too. She and Edie and BEST BUDDIES and you can see they are going to have a fantastic relationship as they get older.
Annalaura didn't go back to work after Emery was born, but that doesn't mean that people aren't taking advantage of her talents! She is working (from home), for a friend who has a gluten-free website: g-free foodie! She does some of the website work, a lot of research on restaurants and menus, and has also been helping with some of the video work. We still find lots of reasons to hang out though! After working together for over 10 years, it's a hard habit to break . . . and not one we really want to break either!Doug just started back to work - he is teaching history at the same school he was at last year. He is looking forward to the year with a new administration and new strategies to address some of the learning challenges faced by kids living in a tougher part of town. Actually Teresa's new job will have her working with Doug's school this year. Pretty exciting that they will get to work together!
Aaron and Teresa just bought their first house!!! They moved in the first part of August and are SO HAPPY! Perfect timing since Teresa will start to get really busy with school starting soon. They both love their jobs! Aaron is working for a company called TrailGear. They build stuff! Wish I could explain it better! Custom parts for trucks that people drive off-road and trucks that climb rocks, ie: rock-crawlers. You will have to ask Aaron to explain it more. All I know is that he loves what he is doing. You can see the joy in his eyes - it's the same joy that I used to see when he played with legos . . . AND more recently, when he married Teresa! :)
Andrew and Jenn just moved into a neighborhood close to the school that Joshua goes to. Angela will go there this year, too and is pretty excited. Having both of them in school will give Jenn the opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with Jeremy. I think both he and Jenn are looking forward to that!
This is the same neighborhood our church has partnered with. Many lower income families live in the area - and we have established some neat relationships with them. They are excited to be back in a house with a yard and in a real neighborhood. A number of families from our church have moved into the neighborhood, so that's been pretty cool, too.
Andrew keeps really busy with ENP. He is in charge of all the tool trailer projects in the neighborhoods and also helps coordinate HUGE Serve Day events for the churches who want to plan events in the neighborhoods they have partnered with. He is also busy training for his triathlons. HE NEVER SLOWS DOWN! He is having fun, though, and I love the fact that we get to work together. (You'll have to check out their blog - lots of great photos and news from them. Jenn does a GREAT job and VERY consistent! :)
Dudley is doing good, too. He is still flying and still works for the same great family. He would love to have a project to work on, like an old airplane - maybe one of these days. For now he is trying to train either one of our dogs to be a hunting dog! HUNTING!!!! Are you kidding me! I hate hunting!!! When he comes back from an outing and tells me he didn't get anything, I just smile and tell him I was praying for the ducks! :) I think in my heart I am really a vegetarian!
And me . . . besides having fun with the grandkids, I am VERY busy with ENP. The growth has been quite unexpected (but VERY COOL), so there is a lot to do on the website, with publications, and now I am serving as a liaison for several of the partnerships, actually helping the churches get more involved at their partnership schools. I really have a heart for this and am very excited to see what this new school year brings!
Honestly, I think I have pretty much covered it all! I need to remind myself how easy that was! I won't promise, but I will sure try to do this again before the year ends! . . . maybe I should send my Christmas Cards out now, since I am on a roll!
. . . and here are a few more cousin camp photos:
