Good fun with friends

On Sunday we drove to the cities to see Aaron's brother and sister-n-law - some of our favorite people to hang out with. Aaron and his brother get so excited to see each other, and Aaron's brother married one of my closest friends from college. Yeah, such a bummer that we "have" to see each other on the holidays :). Anyway, a friend from college hosted an Oscar party for fellow college friends (thanks Brittnie!). It was great to see friends we don't get to see very often. She had printed off the selections so we could try to pick the winners ahead of time. I did real bad with that one, but it was fun to try.

On Monday and Tuesday we had a conference which was really good. And because other staff attended we were able to see some staff friends from other campuses which I always enjoy. We stayed with our friend, Lee, on Monday night and got to catch up with him. I played Guitar Hero for the first time. I got "booed" off for the first few tries, but then finally got the hang of it. It is a fun game, though. I'd be willing to try again :).

We finished the conference off on Tuesday morning. We were able to have lunch with dear friends, Dave and Joy, that have adopted and have walked through this journey with us. They've been a great resource and encouragement. And their daughter is 2 and adorable. She likes to pretend to make pizza behind her high chair, and then she'll walk around and give you some. She gave me a piece, and they asked if she'd give some to Aaron. She nodded her head no. It was funny. She also showed me some of her toys - such a cute little thing :).

And now it's Wednesday and the week is flying by! We hope you all are doing well.

Entering the "9th Month"

So for heading into this 9th month of "pregnancy" I'm feeling pretty good, especially since I don't have to go to the bathroom multiple times in the middle of the night :). But I am feeling some of the same feelings as when we were getting to that last month before we had Payton:

• "There's a baby coming... soon!"
• "There's a lot to do!" (nesting instinct kicking in)
• "Life is going to change, but I'm so excited!"
• "I'm so excited!"
• "I have no idea what I'm doing!"
• "I'm so excited!" :)

So we're trying to make the most of our weekends to get stuff done. With about a month (?) left to go, it's coming fast! Although it was a full week this week, and I feel like I need to catch up before I can get ahead :).

Also, a friend sent me the link to this website for an upcoming movie. It's very intriguing. The preview is a little lengthy but good. Check it out if you'd like! www.expelledthemovie.com And have a great weekend!

Photos of the husband

For Valentine's Day, I bought Aaron a fundu pot (see photo) and prepared food that we could cook together. We had a good time. It's a fun dinner to have together!

So Aaron's hair was getting REALLY long. It was time to either get a haircut or just get rid of it all together. So he went back to shaving his head. So now, the photo on the blog has the "correct" hairstyles again :).
Here's the before:

And that after:

Otherwise, not too much has been happening here at the Jones household - work has been busy but good. We just get to work with the best students. Hope you have a great weekend!

Olivia Jee Eun Jones

We finally have a name! We've been looking at names and praying for awhile about it. One thing I've been praying for was that Jee/Liv would have her identity grounded in the love and grace of Christ. We had been tossing around names, and I was looking in a book with Biblical names. It listed Olive - not as a name used in the Bible but for the significance of the olive tree. It talked about how olive oil was a valuable resource used for light and healing, and I thought that was cool. Then I was reading in the Psalms a few days later and came to Psalm 52:8 which says, "I am like an olive tree planted in the house of the Lord. I trust in his unfailing love forever." So I went to show Aaron, and Olivia (Liv) was the name! Now we're trying to get used to it :). We've been calling her Baby Jee for so long, it's taking a little thought to switch to Liv. But we like it and feel like it fits her. We can't wait to meet her and see who she is!

Welcome to February... a little late

Hi! It's a been awhile since my last post. Man, I'm so excited for spring. I was talking with my mom, and we both agree this has been the worst winter for awhile. But my parents were up this weekend, and we had a great time. Often, when they come up we take advantage of their Sam's Club membership :). So we were able to stock up on a couple things, and I don't think I've ever seen them have so many samples! I love when Sam's has samples cause their good :). It was practically lunch.

Campus has been good and full! I'm leading 2 new Bible studies this semester that I'm really enjoying. One is for the women's soccer team - that one started on Friday... we had 2 there :). But I know a few more girls that are interested, and I'm hopeful we'll add a few in the weeks to come. The other is on Thursday evening with 4 junior women who are wanting to learn and grow. I'm absolutely loving it - and great discussion so far.

We had a praise and prayer meeting for our church tonight. I had a memory come back of when Aaron and I were interning overseas. We attended an international church. There were families from Switzerland, Germany, England, New Zealand, Sweden, Africa, and America. It was AMAZING to be a part of a church with so many different cultures represented, but we just came together because we had the most important thing in common - Jesus connects people like nothing else can. And I think we all understood what it was like to leave our home (and miss home!) and live/work in a new country. One Sunday during the praise time, 2 people were up front singing and playing the bongos, and they kept singing the same refrain over and over. We were sitting in the middle of the room, and behind me the couple from Africa was improvising and singing with it in their African dialect. It was one of my favorite moments of that whole year. I could have sat there and listened for hours. It was beautiful, and it made me think of what heaven will be like - people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. Anyway, that memory came to me because I'm just so grateful to be a part of our church. We're small but full of heart. It's such a blessing to be a part of a fellowship that really lives what they believe. I know we'll never be able to repay the blessing that our church has been to us.

No new news on the adoption front, but we don't really expect any until we travel to get her. ...And no name yet either! We keep tossing things around but haven't landed on anything yet. I've picked up a couple items for her, and my mom and I found the cutest little summer dress at Sam's. It's fun to begin to really prepare for her arrival.

Well, I have to get to bed if I'm going to make it to the Y in the morning! Hope you're all staying warm and shoveled out of the snow! Love the Joneses :)