Welcome to our family blog!

Last night was “Cover the Night“, the antithesis of a week long call to action plan, following the launch of Invisible Children’s KONY 2012 campaign.  We woke up this morning to Kony 2012 signs covering telephone poles up and down our block, We’re still waiting on our action kit but it’s nice to see some of our locals representing. Check out the pics above.

Beyond Famous offers a closer look at the LRA and explores the solutions put forward by leaders of the currently-affected areas of CAR, DRC, and South Sudan, where local communities continue to live under the constant threat of LRA violence.

We wanted to share a video with you that Invisible Children has just put together that is making its way around the world (currently at 56,647,137 views on YouTube) KONY 2012 is a film and campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice.

Our family has committed to moving to Uganda to help bring healing and restoration to Northern Uganda, in the wake of these tragedies. Please share the link with those you know and help create awareness of these events that have happened in this area of the world. Thanks!

The founders of Restoration Gateway (RG), the organization we are going to be serving with in Northern Uganda, are coming to Indianapolis! We invite you to join us on Sunday, December 11 from 1 pm until 3 pm in the Community Room at Common Ground Christian Church (4550 N. Illinois Street) as RG founders Tim and Janice McCall share about RG’s vision and what God is up to in Uganda. Lunch will be provided and children are welcome to attend. RSVPs are appreciated and you can access the registration form here.

RG’s vision is to develop a Christ-centered, model community that will foster God’s heart for physical and spiritual restoration among the people of war-torn Uganda. To learn more about Restoration Gateways many plans and projects, visit their website.

Look forward to seeing you there!

*Originally posted in 2009. Re-posting because Bridget just made up another batch and it’s so tasty! There’s something about eating a meal that was cooked inside a pumpkin. The kids were fascinated by it.

	-1 med. size pumpkin -1 onion -2 stalks of celery -1 small can of mushrooms -1 can cream of celery soup -1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef -1 cup frozen baby peas -1 cup brown rice -2 tablespoons brown sugar -2 tablespoons soy sauce -salt and pepper to taste
Cut top off pumpkin and clean out. In large pot saute cut up onion and celery in small amount of oil. Add ground beef and let brown. Add cooked rice and add remaining ingredients into pot. Put all cooked ingredients into pumpkin, put lid on and bake in 400 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours or until pumpkin is done. Serves 5 people. (Download printer-friendly PDF of recipe)

It was my beautiful wife’s birthday this week and as our family tradition goes, we celebrate “birthday week”. With birthday week coming to a close, we wanted to share the highlight of the week which was a surprise birthday party we threw for Bridget at our place which included many dear friends and family, GT South’s BBQ, a 20 foot bright orange sky dancer and much more. Check out photos from the evening below (and don’t miss the balloon drop video below, which was the pinnacle of the night!) Happy Birthday honey!

A “surprise” balloon drop for Bridget at her birthday party this week. We tried to set it up so she would come in the back door and walk through the kitchen to be met by a waterfall of balloons, but she came around the front and saw the set up. She sensed we were up to something and sniffed us out,

Photos from September: Evelyn riding tricycle, Ethan and Evey’s first day of school, Ethan and Evey at the park, citizenship party for Jamie Egan, Ethan and Evey falling on the couch, making cookies with Mommy.