Tempe, AZ - October 9-13, Part 2

Now for pictures from our time in Tempe. Here are two links to Joy's blog if you would like to see what she had to say about our trip. I'll try not to duplicate the pictures, but that may be hard considering that she used a lot of the good ones!

When Friends Come to Town...
Lots More From Our Time With the Littles

We arrived in Tempe after 11pm their time which was 2am our time. Lydia did great on the plane. She slept the entire way there. Here is a picture of Joy seeing Lydia in person for the first time:

Joy was quite surprised by the amount of stuff that we had as we have always been carry-on passengers when we travel. She came in their Avalon and said that she should have brought the Suburban! So much stuff for one little person.

Ellie and Gracie playing with Lydia

We went to Tonto Natural Bridge for a hike. It was absolutely beautiful. Everyone was carrying a child. One more and adults will be outnumbered! Joy and I have matching baby carriers. For several years now, the Ergo has been an accessory to most of Joy's outfits. I think about Joy whenever I have Lydia in the Ergo.


Love these girls!

So many memories watching Sarah Grace and Ellie grow up. Glad we were able to make more memories on our trip to Tempe!


We went to In-n-Out four times while we were in Tempe.
Good thing we don't have one in Boston!

Love this picture of Ellie taking care of Lydia.
Ellie and Gracie were great helpers all week.

Emily looks like she is wondering where this new baby came from.

Germs? Oh well!

Lydia got to go swimming for the first time. She liked it for a little bit.

Check out that belly!

Not liking the pool much at this point. :/

Emmy and Gracie waving

Got to have dinner with Andy and Emily one night. Sweet friends!

Love this!

Ellie has had quite a bit of practice with babies now.

Lydia got to sleep in the buggy that all of the Phillips' girls have slept in when they were newborns. Not sure that any of the Phillips girls ended up with their legs over the end like Lydia did.

Seth got to lead worship with Adam at the college LifeGroup. I'm glad we got to experience the heart of their church in a college LifeGroup.

When Gracie saw that Lydia was wearing the same outfit as them, she said "Ydia match us?"

All the little girls

Me and Gracie with my token cactus picture

All the girls

Everybody - Can't believe that the stranger we asked to take our picture got such a great photo.

We had such a great time with good friends in Tempe. We are excited to watch this team plant a life-giving church in the desert! Love you guys!

Tempe, AZ - October 9-13, Part 1

This is the follow-up e-mail to "A Walk Down Memory Lane with the Phillips." We were able to plan a trip to Tempe, AZ, to visit the team from our church that moved there to plant a church. There were two short-term teams that went in August to do outreach, but we weren't able to attend those trips because they discourage you from flying at the end of your pregnancy. :) Actually, Lydia was born right before the college team went to Tempe. Here is a little bit about each of our friends in Tempe.

Adam and Shelly Reed
In the North End with Adam and Shelly - one of our first times hanging out

We met Adam and Shelly because our best friends in Georgia were friends with their good friends. When they moved to Boston, we connected. We picked them up from the orange line on Massachusetts Avenue the first time we hung out, and we never imagined what God had in store for us. A couple years later we lived with Adam and Shelly for a year when we moved to Brighton. We learned a lot about ourselves and that Adam and Shelly had a lot of grace for us. :) These past several years we have walked closely with them at CFCF.

Seth and Adam leading worship on Boston Common

Shelly, Erin (friend from Waco), and Me

Adam and Shelly are dear friends. We didn't get a picture of them with Lydia when we were in Tempe. :( Shelly got to baby-sit Lydia when I went to the college LifeGroup at ASU. Thank you, Shelly! We love you guys!

Andy and Emily Salsky
Andy and Emily at the college Christmas party at Joy and Travis's house

We got to know Andy and Emily through college ministry. We were able to be a part of their wedding in Marblehead several years ago. It was such an honor for Seth to lead worship at their wedding. I got to know Andy better because we were in the same day school class together. Andy and Seth both have a love for Mac products. We loved playing games and spending time with them. Emily organized a shower for me with several other friends (including Shelly and Kristen) before she moved to Tempe. She is quite the hostess!

Andy and Emily were in Boston for Andy's brother's wedding a few weeks after Lydia was born. We were honored that they came to meet her. Thank you for being such good friends to us!

Kristen Van Dorn
After running our half marathon

Kristen trained and ran a half marathon with me. We trained in the middle of winter and ran a half marathon on the cape at the end of February. It was a significant time in our friendship. She went through the day school with Seth the year before I completed it.

Kristen, Amy, & Seth at a CFCF Summer Church Picnic

Kristen got to meet Lydia for the first time when we were in Tempe. This is her holding Lydia at In-n-Out. Kristen is a woman who finds her joy in the Lord, and I have been encouraged time and again by her faithfulness. Love you, friend!

John Calendo
John at our house for Thanksgiving last year

We did college ministry with John as well, and I completed the day school with him. We carpooled together to day school. Seth would drop us off 3 mornings a week. John is sincere and faithful. He was always at the Lighthouse early on Friday nights to help setup, and this was a huge blessing to us. We didn't get a picture of John with Lydia either. :( However, he was able to meet Lydia in Boston a few weeks earlier when he was in town for a wedding.

Canela Winstead
Canela meeting Lydia at In-N-Out

Canela lived in Joy and Trav's basement apartment for several years, and we got to know her since we spent a lot of time there. Canela is trained as a counselor, and one thing that I love about her is that she is a great listener and knows how to ask the right questions. Although they may teach you about that in a counseling program, I think that Canela has been given a gift. She gave up her room at Joy and Trav's in Tempe so that we could stay with them while we were there. Thank you, Canela! So glad that she was able to hold Lydia!

As you can see from this post, the Tempe team is very dear to us. See my next post for more pictures of our visit.