Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. Psalms 62:5

We came back from eating breakfast with our neighbors and Ainsley fell asleep in my arms. I laid her on the bed and she stayed alseep… so I decided this was a great time to take pictures.

Something about the way she looked so peaceful reminded me of resting in the Lord. So many times as a Mom, I feel like its so important to unload the dishwasher and get task done. Those things are important but enjoying Ainsley everyday is more important. I am so thankful for a slow pace life that allows time to enjoy this awesome little girl.

Weight: 12 pounds 10 ounces

Height: 25 inches

Each day she is smiling more and more. I am so amazed at how much she is learning. She is holding her head up so well but not completely without a rest. Every nap she wakes up with a smile… then wants food. We have taken her for a weekend trip to New Knoxville, OH and she did great.

Her new thing this month is music. My mom kept telling me how much me and my siblings loved music and I finally listened to her. John bought a .99 cent lullabie off itunes and she goes right down for a nap each time we play it. I am amazed and very thankful. I now lay pandora toddler tunes during the day and she loves it. She is moving and dancing to the songs… or so it seems she is.

She is so much fun and each day is a new adventure.

After John and I finished support, I went right to work in the communications department designing projects and helping sports teams promote their trips through brochures, posters, etc. In my department there is my boss, Tim and then one other graphic designer, Mary. We work very well together as Tim receives all of our graphic requests and sits down weekly with Mary and I and assigns us specific projects.
The development team came to Tim this past summer wanting to do a booklet that would speak to the parents of students that traveled with AIA and touch base with donors. We came up with a booklet that we would mail out four times a year with updates and stories of changed lives. We also wanted to allow people to get involved with AIA through donating their time by volunteering and by donating financially.
After months of planning and gathering all the materials needed, we designed the booklet and had it printed and mailed in the beginning of December. I am extra proud of this piece, as I finished it two weeks before Ainsley was born with a big belly and swollen feet!
Over the Christmas holiday, I received an email from Tim saying that we received a $9000 check to help scholarship 20 athletes to the AIA Ultimate Training Camp (UTC) in Colorado. The purpose of the Ultimate Training Camp is to create an environment in which God would change lives by introducing men and women athletes to competition and growth from a Biblical perspective. It’s very similar to what John’s baseball team does, but it features athletes from multiple sports.
After AIA received this check, they did some research to find out about the couple that sent the donation. Their daughter is a soccer player at the University of Tennessee and went to the UTC this past summer. As they saw the tremendous impact the summer had on their daughter, they wanted to help other go to this camp also. The only time they had ever given to AIA was to pay for their daughter’s camp registration and now they are providing for 20 more athletes to have a changed life. It’s always exciting to see how God works.
Here are a few fun facts about the booklet. In gathering all the images and stories for a project, sometimes a graphic designer has to use “what they have.” Meaning, some of the images in this booklet belong to me or contain people I know… me and John! On page 9, the top image is from my trip to North Africa back in 2009. I am in the front row in the orange shirt on the right side. Also on this page, the bottom image is back from when John and I went to class every Monday morning as AIA interns. This particular day John got pretty close to sitting by me, but didn’t win the prize this day. I am on the far left side of the picture in a black shirt with my head down and John is the bald guy three people down from me. John always says I should design his face on a billboard one day for someone, but this is as close as he is going to get.

To read the Higher Goal online… Click here!

Weight:

Height:

I can’t believe its been one month. There are so many changes already. My mom came to help John and I for the first two weeks Ainsley was here… which saved our life. I was so tired and needed sleep. My mom was an angel to us and enjoyed taking care of Ainsley.

Both of our parents have come to visit Ainsley and they love holding her.

She was 9 pounds and 9 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. We are so thankful for a healthy baby.