115 Chisholm Place

This will soon be our HOME! It has been an incredible ride. We have been searching for houses since arriving, and we saw this house appear on the market Saturday. We had plans to go see a couple homes on Sunday after church with our realtor, and we asked if we could add this one. We met at another house that we were seriously considering, walking distance to one of Michael's schools, and then decided to stop by this one. As soon as we saw it we were drawn to it, especially because of its location - the yard backs up to a beautiful park, complete with a small playground and waterpark! We were the first ones to see it, and as we walked around inside, we just kept "wowing." There are three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a living room, dining room, lovely kitchen, a porch, a deck, and an attic for storage. It's smaller than anything else we were looking at, but the layout and location make it just perfect for what we need.

Now here's the crazy part...while we were there, one of the owners came in the house just to grab something for her baby and we got to hear about how great the neighborhood is and how much they love the house. They were the first owners. Then we realized we had a few things in common - they are members of Trinity Presbyterian, our new church, they are teachers, and they have two kids. We got to share a little about just moving from Peru as missionaries with MTW. Then she left, and we discussed with the realtor how we might go about making a bid on the house. We wandered to the park to talk it over and let Noah try out the playground. As we walked back to the car, we saw another realtor with some folks also looking at the house.

We prayed and talked, and decided to make a bid. Late that evening our realtor came by with a contract written because the other people were also writing a contract on it. It was submitted the next day, and on Monday evening we found out our bid was accepted! Apparently our bids were very close, but ours was a little bit higher, which the owners said was good, because they wanted to sell it to us!

Just tonight we were at that park for a playdate with the Ryans, and the owner and her son passed by the playground on their way to the Wednesday afternoon farmer's market (also at the park, woohoo!). She saw us and stopped briefly to tell us that she is quite familiar with Mission to the World as she grew up in an MTW family. They had been praying that this house would bless another family as it has blessed their own.

To make a long story (somewhat) short, we are in complete awe of God's good and sovereign hand over every detail of our lives, so clearly and perfectly demonstrated over these past two months since we've returned from Peru.

Our closing date is September 29th. Beginning September 30th, our address will be:

115 Chisholm Place

Charlottesville, VA 22902

Welcome to Charlottesville!

So, we've enjoyed our first week living here in Charlottesville! Our realtor found us a furnished apartment for us to live in month-to-month until we find a home. It's just right for what we need right now; it even has air conditioning, a washer/dryer, dishwasher, and a pool we can use - such luxuries! The best part is that it is really close to our dear friends, Mike and Lisa Ryan - their son Gray and Noah are destined to be good buddies too. We've already had a couple play-dates at some of the awesome parks here.

We visited and really enjoyed visiting Trinity Presbyterian Church here on Sunday. Noah will likely be attending preschool there this year. We visited the library and got our library cards (another luxury!!).

We are finding new doctors. In fact our first night here, Noah woke-up crying at 3am. Michael went in to find him sitting on the floor and unable to put weight on his right leg - we checked to see if it was just asleep, but the pain continued. So, we decided to take him to the UVA emergency room. Michael prepared himself to go straight to work (for his first day of orientation) in case we were there for a while. We all went (Ethan stayed asleep mostly) and stayed long enough for Noah to get lots of x-rays, lots of attention from the fabulous pediatric care staff, and some early morning kids shows while we waited for the results - which all returned negative. Noah still refused to put weight on his leg, demanding to be carried, so we left the hospital just in time to get Michael to his first day of work, deciding to follow-up with another doctor if nothing changed over the course of the day. Later that afternoon, after Noah had slept most of the day, a doctor called from the hospital, and she helped us get an appointment with a pediatriac orthopedist the next day. After getting off the phone, Noah asked "What did the doctor say, mommy?" "That if you don't walk you'll have to go back to the hospital, " I said. "Oooh, going back to the hospital! That would be good," he said with a big smile. Soon after that Michael took him to a park, where he was easily enticed to put some weight on the leg and play! He did have a little limp the next two days or so, but now he's totally fine. Must have been a pulled muscle or something? We're glad he had such a good first experience at the ER, and glad that such good care is so close-by.

Thus, begins the newest chapter of our adventure called "Life."

The fountains at Greenleaf Park

...whirlwind...part 3

About a week and a half ago, we had the chance to go to Atlanta for our debriefing with Mission to the World. Michael's parents and Aunt Joan kept Noah for the couple days we were gone. We got to stay one night with Michael's cousin, Rich and his family (his wife Julie, kids Kate and Carson) in their beautiful new home that they had only moved into a week before! It was wonderful to catch-up with them briefly, meeting Carson for the first time, and seeing Kate on her first day of school (2nd grade). Thanks again for letting us stay with you all!


Then we enjoyed a day at MTW for our debriefing. We were there with a couple that we had trained with before leaving for Peru. They had been in Mexico, so we had a good time reflecting and reminiscing together over Latin American culture. We had a good chance to do some re-entry processing that we haven't had a lot of time to do. Thank you, Tracy and our MTW coaching staff that have helped us and prayed for us throughout this whole adventure!
Following our debriefing, we drove to Jeff and Hannah Heck's home. We had the opportunity to meet their sweet son Teddy, who is just 10 days older than Ethan. They had a great time together! Teddy, thanks for sharing your toys, bathtub, and room with Ethan!

We were bummed to miss Jeff who was out of town, but we had a great time visiting with Hannah and attending "Monday Night Brewing" in their garage.


Our night was short as we woke at 4am to catch our 7:15 flight home. This began a very long day of travel. Upon returning, we had a short time to visit with Michael's Aunt Joan before she returned to Arizona. Then we had a couple hours to pack as much as we could into our car and head off for Charlottesville with the boys! Hooray for our new home!

6 months

Amidst the whirlwind, Ethan is growing and changing right before our eyes! A couple weeks ago he turned 6 months old. He has two teeth (3 months earlier than his brother!). He is lifting his tummy off the ground and has begun inching his way around the house. He loves his jumpster, but perhaps enjoys being on the floor and playing with Noah's toys even more. He is also enjoying sitting up at the table with us at mealtimes, even though that rice cereal stuff is not really his favorite. We need to branch out.

He is still super smilely and loves to play, especially with his brother and daddy. He gives the best wet kisses. For someone who up until a month ago hadn't been in a carseat, he's become quite accustomed to it, falling asleep for both long and short car trips. Now I'm trying to remind him how to fall asleep without the carseat! We love hearing his songs and little "da da das." His eyes are still bluish, but we think they are changing, perhaps to chocolate brown like his brother?

Those eyes (and eyebrows!) are very expressionate! I hate to laugh, but some of his cutest noises and faces are when he is angry, but that doesn't happen often. He is generally a very "tranquilo," easy going, and flexible baby - must be the Peruvian in him. He and his brother have been troopers through all the transition in our lives recently. We are so blessed and grateful for our sweet little boys.

...whirlwind...part 2

The beach was wonderful! We stayed in Pine Neck near Sag Harbor, in the same house as last summer when we had returned for Matthew and Kerry's wedding. We just had a great time being together, relaxing, going to the bay or the ocean, playing in the sand, learning how to play "Settlers of Catan" from Matthew and Kerry, visiting the Children's Museum, walking through town, and eating very well together. It was a much needed vacation! Thank you Mom and Dad for treating us!!!

Upon returning from the beach, Michael and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary! During the day, we took Noah and Ethan to Fort C.F. Smith, the home and grounds where we had our rehearsal dinner. We had a little picnic under a tent that was set up there already for a wedding that evening. We also took them to Cherrydale Methodist Church where the ceremony was, but couldn't get in, so we just let Noah play on the playground there instead. That evening, Mom and Dad watched the boys, allowing us to go out to our favorite restaurant, Carlyle Grand in Shirlington. Then we enjoyed dessert in Old Town Alexandria as we walked around, remembering how Michael proposed there on the waterfront with guitar in hand....ahhh, sweet memories.

...whirlwind...part 1

That's what it has been. It's kinda difficult to sum-up the last month or so...perhaps a bulleted outline would better serve to effectively track all the changes and traveling we've done...but that's not very personal or creative is it?

We left for New York, with just Ethan, while Michael's parents took Noah for a couple days. It was fabulous getting to spend a few days with Matthew and Kerry at their place in Brooklyn. We did some exploring around their neighborhood in Ditmas Park, but one of the highlights of our time there was getting to see "In the Heights," a new(er) Broadway musical about the Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights, in upper Manhattan. See it if you can!! It was a welcome-home gift from them, accompanied by free babysitting for Ethan. Uncle Matt had some good bonding with his namesake while we had a night on the town - what a gift!!

Michael returned by red-eye train to Arlington, where he had two interviews for music teaching positions in both DC and Arlington. I stayed with Ethan and drove out to the Hamptons with Matthew and Kerry to be joined the following day by Michael, Noah, and his parents. It turned out that both interviews resulted in job offers, and Arlington (the district where he worked before Peru) gave him only an hour to decide whether or not to take it! So, we talked a lot by phone and decided, for various reasons, to take the job with a charter school in DC.

We were celebrating that weekend, grateful that a decision had been made, and excited to begin the adventure of living in the city. Then on Monday, while we were coming home from the beach, Michael got two messages within just a few minutes of each other. The first was from the charter school, notifying him that they couldn't officially offer him the job yet. The second was from Charlottesville City schools, who had initially turned him down, offering him a position at the elementary school level. As we were still driving, DC called again to officially offer him the Charter school job too.

SO, there we were, back to deciding again. Mom and Dad watched the boys while we went for a walk to talk things over. For many reasons, we decided to move to Charlottesville, Virginia although, we have not put moving back to DC (at some point) totally out of our minds.