We've slowed down in the picture-taking department - at least until the holidays. Hence, the irregular blog updates.

One highlight of October was a birthday/retirement party for Will's Busia mid-month. My Dad and Liz opened their place to us so that we could "meet in the middle" between Charlottesville and Roanoke during a bad-weather Saturday. Will enjoyed his time with his cousins, and of course Busia reveled in her grandsons.

My cross-country season finishes this week with the State Championships on Friday. I'll miss the kids and the coaching, but having 15-20 more hours a week "free" will be nice.

Will's starting to speak in mini-sentences now, and it's precious to listen to him process (examples from dinner: "Both eating apple sauce," "look pond ducks" "turn on Ron singing please"). Yes, he needs work with prepositions and conjunctions but it's not bad for a 22 month old! :) He's counting to ten, singing portions of songs, etc... The way the human mind develops and grows intrigues me. Here is this young boy, a helpless baby just months ago, who now reasons and processes through life and language acquisition, expresses/initiates love and affection, etc.... It's beautiful!

In brief:

Kelly enjoyed some time in Roanoke with Will's cousins in mid-September

The church plant (Rivanna Community Church) launches on Oct 18th, Scott Knight is our pastor;

I'm coaching Cross-country, and the season is in full swing as races and practices fill out my schedule till mid-November;

We finally got to Carter's Mountain to go apple-picking!

Kelly's organizing and leading the Nursery ministry at RCC;

Will's nimble mind never ceases to amaze us - he is thoughtful, sweet, and affectionate (that is, of course, when he's not being a monster);

Kelly's enjoying Community Bible Study (and Will just stopped screaming during his play-hour there);

We had a great visit from Grammy and Popa

I'm enjoying my new school's community and pace, even as I continue to learn how to shepherd, inspire and teach middle school students effectively as their chaplain;

And, of course, we have no fun whatsoever at home together. Check out this video for proof ;)

Will Mawa...

Cute video. Will started saying his name (last name too) in the bath tonight... enjoy!

And so it begins!

Life felt paused for a month or so in August - not that the days were idle or boring, but the process of moving to a new place, settling into our home, not working, etc... brought a distinctly phase-like feeling to everyday activities. It was a sweet - mostly - and temporary phase, grace of God to enable us to transition to VA.

Pause has now turned to play or fast-forward... work, schedules, routine - investing in people and God's work in this area. Some of this we needed and welcomed, even as we miss the "pause" life.

I'm at school daily, long hours in the Fall while I coach cross-country. I'm enjoying the school - kids, staff, ethos. Will and Kelly have more and more play-dates and activities on the calendar. Lots of kids right here in the neighborhood!

We're grateful to be here, seeking God for how he will use this time, trying to live in the now without concern for what's next, especially after so many years of "year by year" living in MA. The church plant we're a part of, Rivanna Community Church, has its kick-off Sunday on October 11th. I sense that will be a hinge point weekend for us, even if the weekend itself is relatively uneventful.

Here are some shots of from visits and events of the past few weeks.... It's so great to have closer and more frequent access to family!

A visit with Busia and Gramps



And some sweet time with Pops and Aunt "Bug"



Plus, the obligatory time with lawn-mowers, dogs, motorcycles.




Yup. That's our boy. He knows how to kick back and live those "pause days" well.
Don't work too hard, pops!