What we've been up to!

I cannot believe how far behind I am on my blog postings! In an effort to catch-up, below are a bunch of photos to highlight what we've been up to so far this year. In a nutshell, we're both keeping busy with work - Brian now in tax season and Linnea has traveled more for work in the last couple of months than normal. We're involved with regular weekly activities at our Church, Owen is in swim lessons and a music class, and Ava will start Gymboree classes next week! We also enjoy lots of down-time at home just playing and being silly! And once this winter weather wraps-up (what is the deal with snow in March?!) we are looking forward to spring and lots of outdoor fun!

January Photos:

What can be sweeter than a baby fresh out of a bath and wrapped in a cozy towel!

Enjoyed a great weekend with Linnea's parents at their place in Black Butte to celebrate the New Year holiday

(Thanks, Esther, for the awesome homemade hat! So cozy and so cute...I mean handsome!)

Owen teaching dad how to use the iPad :)

Ava enjoying lots of new experiences with food. And Owen is a great helper!

Eight Month's Old

Lots of fun during a visit from cousin Landon (and his parents, of course!)

February Photos:

Watch me crawl! So excited!

Sibling silliness :)

9 Month's Old

Having so much fun at good friend Madelyn's 3rd birthday party!

Using a sippy cup!

Sorry Ava...so much of our baby gear is blue from having Owen first. But girls can like blue too, right?! :) Oh well, her girly wardrobe definitely makes up for the boy themed baby gear!

March Photos:

Owen loves wearing a band-aid, whether or not he needs one :)

Totally into dinosaurs - and knows them all by name!

On The Move

I can hardly believe it's been a month since our last post! Unfortunately just before Christmas our laptop broke and we were out of commission until just this last weekend. But we're back up and running (thanks, Keith, for all your help!) and for our first post of the New Year we're happy to announce that as of TODAY, Ava is crawling! She's been up on all fours for several weeks so we knew it was just a matter of time. Check out the video clip below to see her new moves! And stay tuned, more blog postings to come :)

Worlds Apart

Over the past year, one of Brian's primary job responsibilities has been to coordinate his firm's operations between the U.S. offices and their branches in India. As a result, Brian was asked to travel to India for nearly 3 weeks during November. While there he attended a conference, conducted some training, and had the opportunity to attend several unique social/cultural experiences including multiple weddings and dinners at the home of his local colleagues. We continued "life as usual" while Brian was away, but missed him immensely!


Enjoying family time and a big "American" home cooked breakfast before leaving for the airport

Saying goodbye (Brian was kissing on Owen so much that Owen finally said "back up daddy"! ha! We laughed about that for a while!)

Enjoying our play time, but missing daddy!

Owen enjoying his TV time with Sesame Street in the morning. Ava was faced the other direction for tummy-time...but I caught her watching Sesame Street too! Sneaky girl!

Ava learned to sit-up unassisted while Brian was away. She's sure growing up!


Thanks to Skype we still got to see and talk to Brian - half way around the world!

We are always so blessed to be surrounded by such an incredible support network, and we were especially grateful for this support while Brian was away.

LOVE this picture of Ava with my grandma...age 90!


Meanwhile in India....approximately 8,400 miles away and 13.5 hours ahead of "Oregon" time...Brian was working away in the city of Coimbatore, which is located in the southern part of the country. It is considered the fifth largest city in India with a total population of around 1.3 million people.

AKT's (Brian's company) office building in Coimbatore, India. The company's name in India is Vitae International.

Taking a break from long days of training and work with colleagues


Most of the training took place in their "cabin" (a.k.a. office) with the use of PowerPoint and followed-up with applied learning. Brian had a wonderful time working side-by-side with his Indian colleagues. They are extremely talented, dedicated to excellent client service and have great attitudes.

Brian became fast friends with Angela and her husband Vasanth who both also work for Vitae International. They are strong Christians and were a great encouragement to Brian during his three week trip.

Brian with his dear friend and colleague Selva, showing off some of the delicious Indian cuisine delivered daily to their office for lunch

Hospitable, generous, thoughtful, caring, selfless....are just some of the many adjectives Brian uses to describe the people in India. For example, Brian is pictured below with Joylyn (a fellow AKT colleague), Malliga and her dad. Malliga's dad traveled a total of 3+ hours round trip, by public transportation, to deliver coffee beans grown on their family tea and coffee plantation.
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

A team dinner with colleagues and spouses

Brian was very fortunate to meet several colleague's families, visit their homes and enjoy some incredible home cooked meals. The food was better than any entree served at the "best" restaurants in the city.

Selva, Sathiya (Selva's wife) and his mom

Joylyn and Vinodh

At Vinodh's family's house, enjoying appetizers ("tea") before dinner at Thiru's house...
Vinodh's grandparents, parents, brother and friends.

At Thiru's and his wife's house...they made a wonderful dinner served on banana leaves. The amount of time and effort to prepare dinner was off the charts! They spared no expense.

Enjoying another home cooked meal at Rangan's house
(Rangan's mom, Joylyn, Rangan and brother)

Brian, Joylyn and 13 other colleagues rented a large van for a day and traveled several hours outside Coimbatore to Topslip, a local safari in the mountains. They set out hoping to see exotic animals and weather permitting, ride an elephant.

One of the many Hindu temples that can be found throughout the city and country

The living conditions and countryside they experienced during their roadtrip to Topslip

Team photo

Cricket is the most popular sport in India...no question. Brian was able to play a game and let's just say...he should stick with soccer.

After spending 17 days in Coimbatore, Brian flew to Mumbai to visit with their local office and tour the city. The city did not fail to amaze...

Group photo taken during a formal event to celebrate Vitae International's ogoing success and growth worldwide, serving clients in the U.K., South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S.