Wednesday, May 27, 2009

reading books


i love that the boys love books - i found them together like this one morning. i thought it was a little too quiet and this was why. they have started to play together so well and its been such a delight to see their friendship as brothers develop more and more.

oh yea that's the new wall in the living room - i need to post more pictures of the room sometime too...

scooter boy



abram loves riding malachi's scooter and he is actually moving a little faster lately. although today he was going too fast and went off the curb because he couldn't stop himself. just a bloody lip - his face seems to get some type of bruise, cut or scrap on a pretty regular basis. but he likes riding all by himself and scoots along. can't believe he is 20 months old now!

over 30 weeks



30 weeks

so we hit 32 weeks this week. 2 months seems like a lot of time still and i feel like it is and it isn't. some days i wish i could run again but then i realize i'm not ready to have a tiny dependent infant quite yet. it is amazing to feel this little guy kicking and moving - so much life bundled inside. we are still going back and forth on what to name him so i think its a good thing we don't share the name because it gives us all the time to the end to make up our minds.

these are ryan's photos - he likes perspective :) otherwise you wouldn't get the full affect of why i am measuring 2 weeks ahead of where i am. so i'm 32 weeks and measuring 34 weeks...i basically need a shirt that says: no, its not a basketball.

playing with friends

malachi and abram love playing with the allen boys. micah and elijah. micah and malachi are 6 weeks apart in age and abram and elijah are 3 days apart. since we live around the corner from each other we can hang out pretty easily. so fun to see our boys develop friendships, play together, get into mischief and just be boys.


mothers day continued



the california boys and their mom

happy mother's day!

grandma and boys

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

me and my boys


this is the only mother's day pic I uploaded so far...also highlighting malachi's summer haircut or like he says, "just like daddy's" we had a great mother's day and enjoyed having ryan's mom here too to celebrate with her

Saturday, May 9, 2009

jackson, mississippi

ryan and i had the great honor to be with a group of christian community development leaders this past week in jackson, mississippi. we have been a part of the christian community development association (ccda) since 2000 - learning with them, being inspired, gleaning wisdom, building relationships... we were able to go to jackson with this group of people to be with the veteran leaders of ccda, dr. perkins, dr. skinner, noel castellanos, and lowell nobel. this is the first of some gatherings over the next year to connect a new generation of leaders with ccda leaders, who are wiser and older. this time we were able to hear the legacy of those who have served through the civil rights movement, through decades of long toil, through the start and formation of the organization. we went to jackson because that is where dr. perkins and his wife vera mae started in MS - in a small town called Mendenhall. It is hard to put into words exactly what we experienced, saw, heard, prayed, tasted, thought... it was amazing. We went on a tour and Dr. Perkins showed us the truck stop they integrated after the Vietnam War, the courthouse where he went to trial without ever being formally charged for anything and receiving a beating in jail that almost killed him, the place where he listened to Dr. MLK's I have a dream speech and was passioned to press to on. The school where his kids were the first black students, and as we drove by this week we saw white and black children play side by side. The house he built for his family, the gym he built in the community, the current ministry center in Jackson with a community garden, housing, a play yard... So we saw all these sites and at the same time heard testimony and wisdom from these leaders' stories - I was inspired and moved in ways I can't describe. Their was a sense that God's spirit was resting on the place we were, on us, and passing down a generational blessing - that our stories were intertwined because we all find our home in God's family. Maybe I can better describe it after I digest it all over the next couple days and it's not so late and I don't have jet lag. Then again, maybe not. Below are some pics of our trip - great people and a great time together.

hearing the stories

us with dr. john perkins

Mendenhall - where Dr. Perkins started christian community development ministry

Our group at the Perkins Center

Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner - amazing leader, woman of prayer and a social worker :)

belly shot - eric rubs his belly more than i do...

Monday, May 4, 2009

vote for my friend Alana at married on my space

My friend Alana and her fiance Johnel are 1 of 3 couples who could win a wedding on MySpace and they need your vote. You can vote once a day until May 8 and then they could win a wedding and honeymoon. Check out their video and vote at:
http://www.myspace.com/marriedonmyspace