SURPRISE!!

Chris' Version

Hey friends....well, we have some big news for you!  Today is Makaylan's 7 month birthday.....and we were officially confirmed by our Doctor to be PREGNANT!!  Again!!!.....yes, it is fast.....and yes, we are excited!  And yes, it is planned!  And yes, we know there will be some interesting months ahead!  But we also know that the Lord would never give us more than we can handle!  So....July 8th is the due date.   Did I mention that both of us are in school full-time?  And that Makaylan will be only 14 months old when Walker Baby #2 is born?  What's been going on in your life, lately....hehehe!

This is Amanda's version :)

Over the last few weeks I noticed that I was becoming increasingly agitated and emotional.  I told Chris that I was either pregnant or I was losing my mind. On October 30th, after a major cry session over something that should not make me cry, I decided I would discover if I really was losing my mind.  :)  You can imagine the relief (and then fear) that entered my heart when I saw the words "Pregnant!" Chris and I want several children, but I didn't know if I was ready to be mommy to two children only a year apart.  Yet, after the initial fear came the overwhelming peace of our Father, and I knew it was going to be OK. I have an incredible husband, who is also an awesome father.  And I knew we would tackle this new blessed challenge as a team.

I had my initial OB appointment November 9, but the baby was so small that we couldn't see much.  There was a flicker of a heartbeat, but it wasn't strong. So we decided to wait until we knew he/she was growing well...so after a LONG month of keeping a secret...we are excited to share with you guys our news.  God is blessing us with another little one, and we couldn't be more excited!!!  It still amazes me that only 5 years ago I was sitting across from a doctor who told me that biological children were most likely not a possibility for me.  I also love how our God doesn't seem to listen to what doctors say :)  God has caused our cup to overflow with abundant blessings!!!

Please keep us, Makaylan, and Baby Walker in your prayers as we travel this new journey. Pray for Makaylan as she gets ready to share mommy and daddy with another sibling. She is going to be such an awesome big sister! Pray for a healthy and event free pregnancy, but more importantly, please pray that our God would be glorified through every step of this process. We love you guys and can't wait to introduce you guys to our little bundle of joy come late June or early July.


Here are a few pics...

I texted this picture to Chris to tell him about the baby. I love Makaylan's face :)

Baby Walker #2

Learning to Trust

I think this day will forever be marked in my memory. It was a year ago that I was pregnant with our precious Makaylan, and Chris and I had just moved to Mozambique. I was right in the middle of my first trimester with serious nausea and intense fatigue. I was also dealing with either a form of culture shock or pregnancy shock. : ) I went to work every day praying that I would make it through the day without puking, and then I would go back home (the Lechner house) and sleep until it was time to make supper. (Told you I was tired.) On this day, a year ago, I experienced one of the worst pregnant days of my entire pregnancy, and it turned out to be the biggest blessing of my life.


Here’s the story:


It was Will Lechner’s 16th birthday, and Angie made him his favorite birthday meal. I remembered he got Dr. Pepper as his gift, but I don’t really remember the meal. Reason? I was experiencing a form of nausea and stomach pain that I had not ever experienced. I knew Makaylan wasn’t in danger, but I still had some intense nausea. I got online and tried to uncover a natural remedy for my intestinal pain, but the options in Mozambique were very limited. Finally, I looked at Chris and asked him to do something. This was a HUGE step in our marriage. We were both single until we were almost 31 years old, and I was not accustomed to “needing” anyone. I remember thinking that I had never felt this sense of need for another person. I didn’t know what to do, and I saw my husband as a source of comfort. This was also one of the first times he, as a new groom, saw his wife in need, and he immediately went into action. He asked Charlie to drive him to different pharmacies to ask if they had anything to help me. They drove all over Maputo and came back home with a “cure.” I remember the triumph in Chris’ eyes as he come home holding what I needed. I also remember looking at him and thinking that he was the most amazing man I knew. It was a glorious moment!

So why do I share this with you? First, I want to brag on the incredible man I have in my life, and secondly, because I am reminded how far I (we) have come in a year. This incident was the beginning of me realizing that God did not design for me to go through life alone. For this independent woman, it was “easy” to depend upon God, but I had conditioned myself to not trust individuals. The saying, “I can do it myself” was my mantra. But, here in this moment, I couldn’t do it myself. I needed someone, and God had given me that someone in Chris. Since that time, we have moved back to Louisiana, went through a pregnancy, experienced labor and sleepless nights, AND we have learned to depend upon each other. It has been amazing to watch how God has taken two VERY independent people and taught them how to trust and rely on each other. This lesson has been a blessing to our life, our ministry, and (more importantly) our family.

Me and my man :)

The "Inconvenience" of Parenthood

Every now and again I get this burning within my spirit, and I know I need to write down what God is teaching me. Today is one of those days. Over the last several months people have sought to give Chris and me some “advice” regarding parenting. The advice normally sounds like this: “Enjoy this stage because it all goes downhill from here.” “This is when they are sweet, and then they grow up to be a three-year old, a pre-teen, and a teenager.” “I remember when mine were this little and now they are a pain.” Most of the time this “advice” is given right in front of their children and my heart breaks. What this precious child hears is that they were once valued, but now they are an inconvenience.
We live in a world where we despise being inconvenienced. We eat fast food; we drive fast cars; we talk on fast cell phones; and we live in the fast lane. We even DVR our TV shows to watch when it is more convenient for us. If something does not go our way, we throw a grown up temper tantrum by holding a grudge against someone, gossiping or seeking revenge. Over the last few months I think what I’ve seen more than anything is the “inconvenience” children cause in their parent’s lives, and once again, my heart breaks.


Motherhood is a new role for me. Makaylan is 5 months old, and I’ve learned a lot about being “inconvenienced” in the last 5 months. For example, I used to get 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, but now I count it a blessing when I get 4 hours of sleep. I’ve also learned that just because your food is ready to eat does not mean that you will be eating it anytime soon. I laughed with a friend of mine the other day when she said, “I think my little girl hears the “ding” of the microwave and decides it’s time for HER to eat.” Any way you look at it, motherhood (parenthood) is inconvenient…and that is exactly how God designed it!!

Did we really think our precious children would come into our lives and not change things? From the moment you hear those amazing words “You’re pregnant!” God begins to mold and shape you into the parent who resembles His fatherly love towards us. But this shaping can only happen as we give over our rights to ourselves and allow God the freedom to shape us. The problem I’ve noticed, in myself and others, is that, often times, we push against His molding. He wants to produce within us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23), and the tool He frequently uses to teach us these virtues is our children. But, when we see and treat our children as individuals who have interrupted our nice, cozy life, then we disrupt what God desires to do in us and in them. I am saddened when I see parents (especially professing Christian parents) handle their children with contempt. God has given us children in order to serve them, mold them, disciple them, and show them Christ’s love.
The Bible speaks over and over again about the blessing of children (Ps. 127:3-4, Ps 128, Ps 139:13-19). God calls us His children, and He delights over us (John 1:12). I am SO thankful that God does not see me, His child, as an inconvenience. Instead, while I was still a sinner He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for me (Romans 5:8). When I have come to Him in need, I have never felt Him roll His eyes at me. He delights in my need of Him, and encourages me to come to Him…with anything and at ANY time. He does not demand that I wait until morning, or that I grow up first, or that I get a grip. He offers Himself, and delights as we come to Him. My prayer is that my little girl (and any future children we are blessed to raise) will always know and feel that her parents prayed for her and still find her valuable…even when she is three years old!



Makaylan at 4 months :)





A Waterfall, a County Fair, and PIGS!!

Day 6 of our Great Road Trip found us still in Steamboat Springs, with our cousins Winston, Cindy, and Luke Walker.  After a relaxing morning and an incredible breakfast made by Cindy, the six of us took off to see the sites and sounds of the surrounding area.  We started off with a short drive through Steamboat looking at houses and marveling at the beauty of the aspen trees, the lush valleys, and the high mountain peaks.  We decided to go hiking at Fish Creek Falls to look at the incredible waterfall (which Amanda loves) and enjoy the cool morning.  Unfortunately our pics are on the other camera and we can't show you how amazing the waterfall was crashing down onto the rocks near the bridge which crossed the river.

After lunch, Cindy, Amanda and MJ went to downtown Steamboat to walk around and check out all the little shops.  They went into an art gallery and enjoyed seeing all the local paintings and bronze statues of "western life."

Around 3pm we all loaded up and headed west to Hayden, CO, to see Rolle's grandkids participate in the Routt County Fair.  We met Brian and Kira Walker Ripley and their 3 boys (Tanner, Walker, and Landon).  Tanner was participating in the pig showing competition with 90 others pigs!  He walked away with "Reserve Grand Champion" which means that his pig won 2nd overall!  We enjoyed seeing Colorado's ranch lifestyle.  The drive to Hayden was beautiful....more flat ranch land with hay fields filled with cows and horses.  The road was peppered with barns and small farm houses....much more rural than the ski resort town of Steamboat. 

We came back home (Winston's and Cindy's house) sunburned, tired and ready for supper.  Makaylan was a trooper all day!  She does well in her carseat, and has been happy and "talkative" when we get her out to play.    

MJ sleeping at the Routt County Fair (notice the pig in the background)

Silverthorne, CO, welcome sign

Kremmling, CO, welcome sign as we drove north on HWY 40.

One of the picturesque barns we passed on our drive.

Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 west as we drove from Denver to Steamboat.

This was the view from Chipotle's, as we ate lunch in Silverthorne on Tuesday.

Hittin' the Road

Today is day 5 of the Great Road Trip! We have been weaving in and out of the mountains and it has been absolutely breathtaking!! In the last two days we have driven 586 miles. Makaylan has done incredible and is becoming quite the little traveler. She’s had only one rough night, but we also changed time zones. We are thankful that she does so well in her car seat, and the mountain elevation doesn’t seem to bother her too much. I (Amanda), on the other hand, have had some altitude headaches, but it’s nothing that some Advil can’t cure.


I’m going to let the pictures tell the story over the last few days.

We spent 3 days visiting the Richardsons in Amarillo, TX.

They were Amanda's youth ministers my senior year of high school,

and I babysat their boys. They are now 16 and 14.

Little Danny turned 16 this year...yikes

Danny and Josh holding Makaylan.  They loved her :)

Yes, I used to babysit these "kids." Danny is 6'2" and Joshy is 6'5"

Kristie, Dan, Danny, Joshy and Makaylan...we had such a blast with them.

While we were in Amarillo, Mark and Kandy Persall came to visit.

They were Amanda's supervisors while in Taiwan.  We had

an amazing time chatting and letting them meet MJ. (She wasn't too happy with

this picture.)

Yesterday (Monday) we finally made it to Colorado.

We stayed with Chris' cousin Rolle Walker. We

enjoyed our time with him and loved his hospitality.

Pike's Peak, Colorado Springs, CO.

Yes, those would be snow capped mountains...in the middle of August! Amanzing!!

Chirs, Rolle, and Makaylan...we had a wonderful time

Malaylan talking to her daddy :)  SO cute!! (This is just bonus :)  )



Wide Open Spaces

This morning we left Jerry and Lacy Ritchie's house in Mansfield, TX and headed west.  We had such a good time with them, and they enjoyed seeing Makaylan and loving on her.  They had this cute dog named Amber who absolutely loved MJ.  She wasn't too fond of Chris, but she loved our child...so that made her OK :) :)  The Ritchies were incredibly hospitable to us, and we enjoyed our time with them.

Now, we are out in the wide spaces of West Texas heading towards Amarillo.  We will stay with Danny and Kristie Richardson. Dan was Amanda's youth minister when I was a Senior.  Their boys, "Little" Danny (who is now over 6 feet tall) and Josh, were my little shadows during that time.  It's been amazing how close we (the Taylors) have stayed with this family, and it will be fun to spend the weekend with them.  We will also get to see Kandy Persall, who was my supervisor while in Taiwan and now my mentor.  She always has such amazing wisdom, so I'm looking forward to gleaming some motherly advice from her.

Here are some pics we have gotten so far...enjoy

MJ discovered a new noise...grunting :)

Amanda's Office

Wide open spaces

The lone building





Great Road Trip...2011

Well...it's been 3 months since we were blessed with our little angel, Makaylan, so we decided we would introduce her to our nomadic lifestyle.  Chris and I have had a VERY busy summer filled with school and studying, so we decided to reward ourself with a two week road trip out west.  Chris has several aunts, uncles, and cousins in Colorado that I have never met, so we are headed out there to visit them.  We plan to stop along the way to visit with friends of mine and introduce MJ to people along the way.  We are excited to see how she will do...especially being in her car seat for 5-6 hours a day.  So far...so good (as long as Chris keeps driving).

Tonight is our first stop in Mansfield, TX.  We will stay with Jerry and Lacy Ritchie, who are Chris' uncle and aunt (his mom's brother).  We are excited to introduce them to their new niece and spend some time with them.  Tomorrow we will head on to Amarillo, TX.

We will give daily updates of our travels, so be looking for new posts.  I'm sure there will be many memories to share as we head out to the wild blue yonder.  Pray for Makaylan that she will feel safe and comfortable as we stop along the way.  It's SO good to be back on the road again! :) :)  

She loves the sites :)

Our fearless driver :)



Joys of Motherhood

Yes...I DO realize that it's been two months since I last wrote a blog.  Life has been a bit hectic for the Modern Nomads, but I hope to keep up with it a little more.  So why has life been crazy?  Well...I'm busy being Mommy to a precious little girl. She is almost three months old, and I can't get over how much she is changing.  She can "talk," roll to one side, smile, play, poop :) , eat, and bring so much joy to her Daddy and me.  I love that I get to stay home with her and watch her grow.  She has gone from being a cute person who doesn't do much to an even cuter person who interacts with us.  I love how her face lights up when I walk in after she wakes up. I love how she talks to me while we play.  I love watching her talk and coo at her stuffed animals, especially Violet--her stuffed puppy dog.  And most of all, I love just watching her figure me out.  I never knew that I could experience so much joy, wonder, love, and excitement all in one day.  Everything is new for her, so life seems new for me.  For example, today she discovered herself in the mirror and talked to herself for ten minutes.  It was precious watching her interact with herself.  I think she cracks herself up :) :)  I can't get over that God has allowed us to raise this little girl.  Most days I feel the incredible responsibility of it, and my prayer is that we will raise this next generation to love and serve Him.  So far, Makaylan seems to have a pretty feisty and fun little personality, and I can't wait for God to get ahold of that personality and use it for HIS glory.  But until that time, I will enjoy all the coos, talks, playtimes, snuggles, and even poops :) :)

Enjoy some of the fun pictures from the past few months.


Makaylan and Landon--She was actually "smiling" and not crying :)



MJ with her favorite toy, Violet




Baby Dedication...Makaylan 1 month

Already cutting her eyes :) :)  Girls!!

And there's a smile :)



Makaylan talking to her Daddy :) 

Another Nomad is Born

Yes, I know...it has been a couple of months since we last updated our blog. Life has been pretty crazy for us, and on April 28 it got alot more crazy.  We are excited to announce that our little Makaylan Joy arrived on April 28th at 8:02 a.m.  I can hear several of you wanting to hear the story (well...mainly the female readers) so here it is in bullet points.

Wednesday, April 27

-- Amanda goes for coffee with a friend. I'm feeling a little pressure and I hurt some, but nothing out of the ordinary.  Chris goes to the doctor because he's fighting a sinus infection.

-- We both stay home from church because I don't feel like sitting in pews, and Chris is feeling crummy.  He also has an accounting test the next day, so I help him study.

-- About 10:00 p.m. I have this urge to vacuum our house. Apparently, this should have been the tale-tale sign, but I'm clueless to all these signs.

Thursday, April 28

-- 12:00 a.m. Amanda encourages Chris to take a Tylenol PM so he will sleep. He really needed to do well on the accounting test, and he hadn't slept in a couple of night.  So Chris takes the medicine, and we go to bed.

-- 1:30 a.m. Amanda wakes up for her normal potty break. I had some really bad "cramping," but thought it was other issues.  I go back to bed.

-- 1:35 a.m. Amanda feels like something is about to "happen" so I get up again.  The minute my feet hit the floor, my water broke, and I immediately have severe contractions. I call the on call doctor who tells me I need to go to the hospital.  I decide to wait a bit because I didn't want to drive 30 minutes just to be sent home. I lasted 5 minutes, and told my "drug induced" husband that I thought I was in labor and my water had broke.  You should see a man who's under the influence of Tylenol PM try to comprehend his wife's in labor...hilarious!!! :) :)

-- 1:50 a.m. We are on our way to the hospital.  I was really praying that I was in labor because if I wasn't then something was terribly wrong.  On the way we timed the contractions, and they were 2 minutes apart. I knew something HAD to be going on.

-- 2:30 a.m. We enter the hospital and were greeted by two very sweet but very skeptical nurses.  They take their time processing me, told me to go to the bathroom, and then they would see if my water had indeed broken.

-- 2:45 a.m.  The nurses "check" me, and I am 6 cm dilated and 90% effaced.  They immediately go into high gear, call my doctor, grab an anesthesiologist leaving the hospital to put in my epidural, and I am whisked into a delivery room.  Chris calls our parents and tells them I'm in labor.  Cindy and Tommy (Chris' parents) were in Dallas, TX, and I think they go into extremely high gear.  Marc (Amanda's dad) was in Pineville, LA at a meeting and couldn't come), and Buttons (Amanda's mom) got dressed in record time. Needless to say, this was a HUGE shock to all of us.  Here it was April 28 and she wasn't supposed to arrive until mid May. :) :)

-- 4:00 a.m. Amanda gets the epidural, and I feel SOOO much better. I could actually relax and enjoy it.

-- 6:00 a.m. Amanda is ready to go, but the doctor is in the shower at home. Cindy and Tommy weren't there, so they continued with the drip so I wouldn't feel the urge to push.

-- 7:30 a.m. Amanda's doctor arrives, and I can officially begin the process of having our little girl. At some point Cindy and Tommy make it (YES, they drove 4 1/2 hours and made it!!).  It was one of the hardest things I've done, yet the drugs made it great!! :) :)

-- 8:02 a.m. Makaylan Joy Walker makes her grand appearance!!  She is SO beautiful, and we fell in love the minute we saw her.

This was one of the crazies but joyful days of our life.  It's been amazing to have her here and love on her. Chris and I are learning a whole new concept of love, patience, and grace through this little girl. Most days we just stare at her in awe, wondering how we got SO blessed with the responsibility of raising her.  The Modern Nomads have now added another nomad to the world :) :)  Oh, the journey we have ahead of us...we can't WAIT!!!!

Enjoy some pics her Aunt Cara Beth took...

Family Photo

Isn't she precious?!!

The Top 10 of Pregnancy

We have a friend, Angie Lechner, who has a monthly post on the tenth of each month.  She calls it the 10 on the 10^th.  Well…it’s not the tenth of the month, but I thought I would share the 10 most random (or not so random) and wonderful moments of my pregnancy.

10.  Spending the first half of my pregnancy in another country.

9.  Losing the ability to use your stomach muscles, so you twist and wobble trying to get off the couch.

8.  Reaching a point where it is difficult (and some days impossible) to shave your legs and breathe.

7.  Breaking out like a teenager. I haven’t had this many zits since I was in Jr. High.

6.  Putting a child who has her father’s legs into her mother’s body.  Just for a reference point…I’m 5’2” and Chris is 6’5”.  Makaylan has quickly run out of room.

5.  Hearing Makaylan’s heartbeat for the first time knowing that this is your child.

4.  Having our 28 week sonogram and watching her suck her thumb, stick her hands and feet in her mouth, and seeing that beautiful face.

3.  Listening to Chris talk to her every night, and then literally watching and feeling her move towards his voice.  He sings to her, talks to her, teaches her math facts and best of all, prays over her.

2.  Feeling her react to the outside environment.  She squirms and jumps when she hears loud noises; she doesn’t like spicy food; she loves when I stretch out (see #6); and she “pushes” my hand out of the way when she wants HER spot.

1.  Knowing that in 8 weeks or less we will be holding our precious little girl and have the awesome challenge and opportunity of raising a godly woman.  We can’t wait to get our hands on her and give her the love she deserves.  We pray God will receive glory through our family.

This is the latest picture of Makaylan (28 weeks)

Following the Historic Cane River Road (part 2)

Here is the rest of the story from our day trip to Natchitoches.

228 Henry Blvd. - my great-grandparent's house where my grandmother (Frances Thomas Walker) grew up.

My Dad said he remembers staying here as a little boy when his family would visit for the weekend.

 After driving around Natchitoches for a while, we decided it was time to hit the "Old Cane River Road" and see all the countryside and all the beautiful, old plantation homes that line the river.  Here are a few of the sights we saw.

We never could figure out what the name of this place was....but it looked like it came straight from the history books.

One of several old church building we saw as we drove.

One of the slave's houses on the Oakland Plantation grounds.  Over twenty-two original building still stand,  some dating back to the early 1800's.

A side view of the Oakland Plantation main-house.  It had an awesome wrap-around porch that was probably 12 feet deep and 10 feet off the ground and had rocking chairs!

Melrose Plantation, also known as "Yucca Plantation," was a mecca for visiting writers and artists in the early 1900's, including Clementine Hunter, who lived and worked at Melrose for most of her life.  She died in 1988.

Another beautiful, smaller plantation home on the "Cane River Road."  We're not sure of the name of this one either.

Looking up the driveway towards Magnolia Plantation, which was already "closed" for the day.  Supposedly an elderly woman still lives here with a whole bunch of cats, and will only let people see her "clean" rooms.

Well....we drove south until we hit I-49 about 20 miles south of Natchitoches, so we figured it was time to turn towards home and find our way back to Ruston.  I always enjoy taking the "back-roads," so we drove back through Ajax, Coushatta, Ringgold, Fryeburg, Bryceland, Arcadia, and finally made it to Ruston.  All in all, we had a great day of seeing some of our beautiful home state, Louisiana!  Hopefully we'll have a few more journeys to write about soon!

Following the Historic Cane River Road

Well, our latest little road trip wasn't as exciting as Dorothy's following the "yellow brick road," but we definitely enjoyed last Friday's excursion to Natchitoches, LA, where we saw an old fort, ate Natchitoches meat pies, toured a plantation, and found a few Walker-family houses.  The day was absolutely gorgeous with sunshine and a high around 75F.  We left Ruston around 9:30am and headed south on HWY 167 to Winnfield, where we got on US 84 west to Natchitoches.  We arrived a little after 11am, and made a quick drive thru beautiful, historic down town Natchitoches, with its brick paved streets, and French/New Orleans style architecture right on the banks of the Cane River.  We decided to spend some time before lunch at the Fort St. Jean Baptiste museum and really loved the 15-minute video, the exhibits inside the building, and then walked around the rebuilt fort.

Me, in front of Fort St. Jean Baptiste....we were pretty sure an Indian would have had no trouble scaling that wall.

There was a short walk from the museum to the fort.

Amanda, posing in front of the prison...notice how cute she looks with her awesome baby bump!

Next, we went to find some local food.  We had heard how good "The Landing" was, and we were not disappointed.  We ordered some world-famous Natchitoches meat pies, a shrimp po-boy, and crab-cakes with fried green tomatoes!  Yummy!!  We even got to talk with our waiter, who is planning on attending Southern Seminary next fall in Louisville, KY.  When we told him we were fellow seminarians and that we recently returned from Africa, he talked to us for a while about ministry and family and the future of missions.  We enjoyed meeting him and left with a smile on our face from the good food and fellowship.

My beautiful wife, inside "The Landing" restaurant....trying to decide between the Shrimp Po-boy or the Blackened Catfish Opelousas.

Brick streets with the Cane River just below

traffic was a bit congested on the narrow streets, but we enjoyed walking around

A typical building front found on Front St. in downtown Natchitoches, LA

After lunch, and a little shopping in downtown, we decided to try to locate a few of my family's old houses, where my grandmother and great-grandmother grew up.  My dad's mom (Frances Thomas Walker) grew up in Natchitoches, and we had the address of the house where she spent her childhood.  We also had the street names of a few other houses where relatives lived and where my Dad remembers spending time as a kid.  We used our handy-dandy GPS and in no time had located them.  We took some pics, and enjoyed showing them to my Dad and hearing his stories of what things were like "back in the good ol' days."  He wants to give us a personal tour of Natchitoches one day soon....that would be fun to hear all his old family stories.

(to be continued....in "part 2")

Moving Bridges

Well...yet another LONG gap in updating our blog.  But have no fear...these last couple of months have been quite unusual for the Modern Nomads.  People kept asking us if we would change the name of our blog once we returned to the States, but I think we have been more nomadic in the last two months than we ever were in Africa. :) :)  We are blessed to have parents who love us and allow us to stay in their home for a week or two at a time.  We have affectionately deemed our moving times as "Moving Bridges."  And we have had some fun along the way...

When we are at my (Amanda) parents' home, we get to wake up every morning to two little girls.  My mother keeps my nieces while my sister is at work.  There are days where we hear Taylor (the oldest) standing outside our door wondering if we are awake.  It's all quite precious...sometimes!  :) Then I normally go in and eat breakfast with her while she insists on having exactly what "Aunt Mimi" is having.  She even drinks coffee on the mornings I drink coffee.  If I eat cereal, she eats cereal.  Then we say good morning to Makaylan, and I answer a million questions about how Makaylan is doing and why she won't "come out" and play :) :)  I think God is giving us a little taste of what the future holds for us :) :) 

Aunt Mimi with Emmalane and Taylor (about 6 months old)



Uncle Chris, Aunt Mimi, and Landon

When we are at Chris parents' home, it is quite different.  The house is normally quieter, but we enjoy them just the same.  I think my favorite thing about his parents is the "boyish" look his dad gets when we first arrive.  He always looks at us and says: "It's way more fun having kids around."  And of course, we are "the kids." :) :)  Chris and my relationship was SO fast that I didn't get to REALLY know his family before we got married.  These last two months have been such a blessing for me because it has allowed me the opportunity to sit and talk with them, hear their heart, and become just as comfortable with my new family as I am with my family of origin.  Last week we even had a visit from Craig, Nicole, and Landon.  We hadn't been around them in a long time, so it was a blessing all being under one roof for a few days. 

Chris and I are SO blessed to have grown up in stable, Christian families with parents who model for us what a godly marriage looks like.  We are forever thankful for their outpouring of love and support for us during our nomadic period.  In years to come, we will definitely look upon these last few months with smiles and gratitude!!  We love you guys!!!