We are Proud to Announce...

the arrival of our new niece, Anna Kate Wells. This is the first cousin on either side that has been born since Avery was born, so we are all very excited! Anna Kate is adorable!

Election

First of all, let me say that if you read this website from Nov. 5th called A United House, you will be encouraged about the coming years and our nation, and the church in America.

Avery was rooting for McCain and Palin, and Wednesday morning when she woke up and I told her Obama had won, she looked at the TV that had the map of the red/blue states. She said, "But mom, there are more reds than blues, so why does Obama win??" Have you ever tried explaining the Electoral College to a barely-5-year-old??

Anyway, Avery brought this paper home from church last night, and I thought it was adorable. It says John McCain and Avery.

Happy Halloween!!

Hope yours was as fun as ours. First we went with some friends to a downtown Trick-or-Treating event where the businesses opened their doors to the kids, but by the time we got there, most of the stores were out of candy! So we went to some houses and got some good treats, and then on to Plainview Christian Academy's Fall Festival. There were lots of games and treats and we had a super time. Happy Halloween from one cute cheetah!

Punkin Patch

Avery's Class at school went on a fieldtrip to the Punkin' Patch at Floydada this week. The kids got a lesson on different types of pumpkins, got to watch a sheepdog herd goats, and got to feed some of the animals. Then they each got to pick a pumpkin out to take home. Lots of fun!!

Peace, not Fear

I don't often blog about my thoughts on life, but this morning the Lord really impressed on me that I need to share his message that in the midst of the "crisis" our nation and world seems to be facing, GOD IS STILL GOD. This is not a big deal to him. I have been really careful about watching the news because there is so much FEAR in what the media is expressing and I know that fear is contagious. Since we currently have a house on the market, and will soon be making 2 house payments, I could get really stressed out if I listened to the news and bought into the world's way of thinking. This morning I was reading from Psalm 91, a great Psalm that some friends have pointed out recently, and it was just what I needed to hear.

Psalm 91

The LORD Is My Fortress.

Live under the protection of God Most High
and stay in the shadow
of God All-Powerful.
Then you will say to the LORD,
"You are my fortress, my place of safety;
you are my God, and I trust you."
The Lord will keep you safe from secret traps
and deadly diseases.
He will spread his wings over you
and keep you secure.
His faithfulness is like a shield or a city wall.

You won't need to worry about dangers at night
or arrows during the day.
And you won't fear diseases that strike in the dark
or sudden disaster at noon.
You will not be harmed,

though thousands fall all around you.
And with your own eyes you will see
the punishment of the wicked.
The LORD Most High is your fortress.
Run to him for safety,
and no terrible disasters will strike you
or your home.
God will command his angels to protect you
wherever you go.
They will carry you in their arms,
and you won't hurt your feet on the stones.
You will overpower the strongest lions
and the most deadly snakes.
The Lord says,

"If you love me and truly know who I am,
I will rescue you and keep you safe.
When you are in trouble, call out to me.
I will answer and be there
to protect and honor you.
You will live a long life
and see my saving power."

Catch up post

Hey - I posted about our Cousin Week in Dallas in August. But I wanted to keep it in order, so if you want to see it, go back to August to find it.

Oh to be 5!

It's hard to believe it was 5 years ago that Gabe stepped out of the Delivery Room and announced the arrival of Avery Anne Moudy. She has been so much more of a joy and blessing than we could have imagined! Avery has so much life and personality, and she is just plain fun to be with! (most of the time)

Our new house in Plainview has a storage shed that we didn't need. A little bit of paint (mostly samples of colors I tried for inside our new house), a new loft, a window, a drive-through window, and some carpet have transformed an old dusty shed into a wonderful playhouse. We decided to have Avery's Birthday Party in our new backyard, and invited a ton of friends and their families too. We ended up with almost 50 people there, so that was a great way to break-in our new house! We got lots of comments about how we obviously only have one child, because families with mulitiple children don't have that sort of birthday parties! But when you just get to do it once a year, I say you should go all out! Thank you to all of you who came and helped us celebrate, and to the family and friends that couldn't be there, we missed you!

Avery was ready...

The food was ready...

The clubhouse was ready!

Then the multitudes arrived!

Each friend got to stamp their hand on Avery's Clubhouse wall.

The Clubhouse was well broken in

Great gifts

We had Pinkalicious Cupcakes

Avery got to serve her cupcakes out of her drive-thru window

Happy Birthday Avery!