Out & About

Today we enjoyed a free museum day at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Here is a picture of us standing in front of gold records. Ava and I enjoyed it, but I think Jonathan enjoyed it a little more than we did.

I also wanted to share with everyone some photos of Ava and her friend Sophie. We got together this past Wednesday and took a few pictures at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. Here is a link to check out the rest of their photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ambernewell/AvaSophie#

Father Daughter Bonding Time

I thought I would share with everyone what Jonathan does with Ava when I'm not around...

We're back...

We have been missing in action lately. Sorry I haven't posted pictures in awhile. Ava has decided she doesn't want to take naps anymore, so as most of you know, babies can be a lot of work, especially if they aren't sleeping well, which means they are generally cranky. She has been having some better days now, so we're hoping we are past the bad napping phase. Besides the naps, we have been really enjoying our daughter and watching her grow. I've just posted some pictures that we've taken the past week or so. ENJOY!!

Ava expanding her variety of foods - GRASS!!

Grandma Jo came to visit this past week from Indiana. We really enjoyed her company and can't wait to see her again soon!

Prayer request

I just wanted to take a minute to share with everyone what's been on my heart lately. I am by no means a writer, so bear with me. Last night, a dear friend of ours came over to visit. We hadn't seen him in a few months so it was nice being able to catch up a little. He was sharing with us about things that have been going on in his life recently. One of the things that he shared was about his family and what they've been going through. His sister gave birth to a little girl, Ellianna, on August 1st. She was diagnosed with Trisomy 13. He then proceded to tell us that Ellianna went home to be the with the Lord on August 27th. As he was telling us what happened, I had tears running down my face and looked up at Jonathan with tears filling his eyes. (Now that we are parents, it is definitely different when you hear stories like this.) I know that Jonathan and I were both thinking about our little Ava and how we would have survived if we were in their position. I don't know these people, but just by reading their blog, and listening to our friend speak about them, you can tell they love the Lord and know that the Lord has complete control of our lives. Knowing that, gave them hope and comfort. Even though sometimes we don't understand why God allows horrible things to happen, we know He does it for a reason. And after talking to our friend, we know that the reason for this tragedy in their family, was to bring glory to Christ. Many peoples lives were changed just because of this one little baby that was only here on earth for 27 days. This has changed my heart and mind through the testimony of this family. It made me realize how thankful I should be for Ava. And even though I am, I haven't really stopped to thank the Lord like I should for a beautiful healthy baby girl. Last night, as Jonathan and I prayed for this family, we thanked God abunduntly for Ava. We prayed that if something ever did happen to Ava that we would uphold a great testimony for the gospel of Christ and give Him the glory NO MATTER WHAT! If anyone thinks about it, please pray for this family. If you are interested, check out their blog.

Thank you Lord for my sweet little Ava!