Labor Day (not labor for Emily yet though...)

Hello,

So Emily has been feeling the kicks for a week or so now, but I just the other night got to feel him kick for the first time! It was crazy, so subtle yet you know a little person is in there! He is starting to get a little more active, Emily says.

And the Pokes won nicely, should be a decent year.

And I have a job interview at Huitt-Zollars in downtown Fort Worth on Tuesday afternoon at 1:30pm! Kind of nervous but mostly excited to see what opportunities could come and how God could work all of this out in His time! So be in prayer that I am ready and that God shows us either obviously yes or obviously no at this point.

Everything is going well otherwise, though. You all have a great day off tomorrow and we love you!

J, E, and

20 Week Update - Halfway Home!

Hey all,

Today marks the halfway point for Emily and our baby boy! And, over the course of the last week Emily had thought she felt something move in there, but wasn't sure. Well, this morning, she sure felt him kick a few times and move around, so she has felt him move for about a week now even though this morning was the first time it would be considered official. I am excited about getting to feel him kick as well! From the pictures, notice how big Emily's bump is getting! Also, if you look closely, you will see the belly button beginning to move from "innie" to "outie"! So much fun to see the changes!

We are finally getting settled a little bit in our new place (come visit!) and our dogs are getting adjusted, loving the big yard and the constant access to it by way of doggie doors I installed last week. There is still stuff nearly everywhere in the house but we're getting things put where they need to go. But it is still so great to be close to church and seminary and friends.

I started classes online last Thursday and Hebrew 1 on campus last night (Monday). It will be a very different semester than the three previous but these classes (7 hours total) will be very enjoyable.

Still nothing job-wise. I am still applying nearly everywhere there is an opening, but until I get a full-time gig somewhere (most likely engineering) then I am going to substitute teach at area schools. The pay is decent and I will get to impact kids who may never want to step foot in a church. So continue to pray for God's timing (which is always on time) and for these opportunities.

Emily and I are planning a so-called "babymoon" to Boston in late September (thank you American Airlines miles!) so any tips you can give would help greatly if you have been there before. I have spoken with Sarah W a bit about it and she has helped a lot.

You all are awesome and we look forward to hosting you at our new place! We love you so much!

The Woogie's

Craziness

Hey folks, so it's been a crazy last week!

We found out last Tuesday that we were having a boy (awesome), then I spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday looking for a job and finding us a house (which we didn't have until Wednesday night, and we closed the sale of our house on Friday!). We then moved all day on Thursday from our old house to the new house (you can see info and pics by clicking here) and finished a few things on Friday. We then spent the weekend unpacking and getting things set up as much as we can.

It was kind of hard to move out of the awesome house that we had, but we know that it is for the best in the end. It is so great to be near the seminary and our church and friends.

The next step is a job for me, which we are trusting God to break loose very soon. Keep praying for that!

We love you all!

John, Emily, and _______

18 Week Update

Well........................
IT'S A BOY!!!!!

We had our first sonogram yesterday and the tech was very clear that it was a boy! She was not even looking for it and was surprised by it! So, we are excited to bring a boy into this world. His name is ____________. (Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough...)

Raising a son is a daunting task because I know myself as a boy/man. Only God can change his heart, but I pray that I can shepherd it in the right direction. We are holding him with an open hand as God will do what He wants with him, and we are so excited to see what that will be!

Also, __________ is a big boy, apparently (10 oz.). We are pretty sure we are at 18 weeks, but the sonogram put us at 19 1/2 weeks. So either we are wrong (but we were charting so it would be hard to be wrong) or he is a big baby right now. Either way, it looks like right after the first of the year we will have a son if everything goes to full term! But they said everything looks great and no problems that we can see. Praise God!

Looks like we have a rent house to move into, we will get the contract today to make sure everything is good and that they will let us get in there the next couple days to move our stuff. We have plenty of help and that is a blessing because it may be an all-day Thursday move! But this place is perfect for us and we are excited about having everyone over!

My job search is frustrating. It seems like every road is blocked, but it has been a blessing from God because I have all day to pack and look for a house, etc. So God's timing is perfect, maybe after this week things will break loose. Please pray for that.

We love you all and look forward to sharing our son with you! _________ is truly a miracle and a blessing to us!

John and Emily

House Appraisal

We got a phone call concerning the appraisal of our house and it has cleared that final hurdle! Praise God that that is (as far as we can control) on the final leg! Now, next step is finding a house for rent down by the church/seminary. We are down to 2 or 3 options, with an application going in for one that only God brought our way. But we are in competition with another applicant and we think they have the edge. So pray that this works out for us in the best way! We love this house and think it is exactly what we need, but "it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" (Proverbs 19:21). NOTE: that verse is on a poster right above my computer! I am posting a couple pics of our current house for those of you who haven't been able to see it. We love it and hate to leave but it has to happen! God bless you all!

P.S. Job search seems very slow right now, please continue to lift that up to the Lord.