Eat More Chicken

Last week, our Campus Outreach Virginia staff team went to Atlanta for the Catalyst Conference (a 2 day event designed to develop Christian leaders). Among the 11,000 participants were pastors, campus ministers, youth ministers, and business leaders from around the world. Each year our staff team attends this conference and returns with fresh vision and ideas for the college campus.

We also had the pleasure of spending some time with Truitt Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-a. He's the smiley old man in the middle. I've had the privilege of meeting Truitt on three separate occasions, although he would have no idea who I am, and each time he has told me about his family, his foster kids, the 13 year olds that he teaches in Sunday school, and why he believes business principles and biblical principles are synonymous. Here is a successful business man that puts his faith and his family before all else. I don't think that he would say that his successful business is a result of his faith, but rather his business is an expression of his faith. He serves God by serving people.

Hiking with the Howells

To take advantage of the beautiful fall weather this weekend, we packed a lunch, invited good friends, and headed back to Cascade Falls for a scenic four mile hike.


As adults it's a lot harder to make new friends, but we've been blessed with the addition of Andy, Dawn, and Bella into our lives. Thanks for all the love and support you've given us. It's been a pleasure getting to know you and we sincerely look forward to more fun times together.

Tera and Toby dance

Tera and her good buddy Toby are gettin' down to the Elmo song.

Tera goes pee.

While playing in the kiddie pool, Tera shows off her ability to pee. But the joke's on her. Narrated by Mommy. Also featuring baby Ava.

The Wait is Over!

Ava Florence Schwartz was born on May 31, 2007. All of us are doing well and Maria was awesome. Tera enjoyed meeting her little sister but wasn't overly impressed. We plan on going home from the hospital tomorrow (June 2), and we look forward to adjusting to life as a family of four!

Interview with Tera

Tera discusses a few of her favorite topics such as family, friends, and daily activities.

One Month Later

It's hard to believe that it has already been more than one month. It is even harder to believe that it actually happened. Things here in Blacksburg feel like normal ... until you pass Norris Hall, or see people still mourning at the memorial on the Drill Field, or go in to Squires Student Center and see the display of the of signs, banners, and mementos that have been sent to Virginia Tech from around the world. I regularly spend time at the coffee shop in Squires and I'm never prepared for the emotions that I feel when I walk in and see the countless thousands of signatures and notes that decorate every inch of each wall. It makes me feel what I felt on that very day. But maybe that's a good thing.

I know that it feels like there is nothing that you can do from where you are, but there is. You can help. If you would like to help us in the process of recovery, please visit our Campus Outreach Virginia website.

Waiting for Ava

Tera is on the lookout for her little sister. Not really. She does know that there is something called "baby Ava" and that it has something to do with her mommy's rather round tummy, but she has no idea that she is about to start doing battle with a newborn for Mommy and Daddy's attention.

But we think Tera will be a wonderful big sister and hopefully they will one day be best friends. We'll let you know when Ava shows up!

Tera's Movie Debut!

Tera now has her very own video on YouTube! You can watch it right here! We'll try to add some more recent footage in the near future.

Make Room for Another Girl!

We are excited to announce the coming arrival of Ava Florence! Her due date is May 31, and everything has been healthy and normal so far. May 31 is the day that my (Andrew) mom died in 1986. My mom went by Florence, her middle name, which is why we wanted Ava's middle name to be Florence.

Tera is excited to be a big sister. Not really, she doesn't know what's going on. But we think that she will be excited to have a sister with which to share clothes, toys, rooms, secrets, and life.

This is a picture of Tera resting on her mommy's pregnant tummy. She never sleeps in our arms, but during Christmas Tera had a bout with pneumonia and all of a sudden she became very cuddly. She also didn't let Pooh out of her sight. Once the doctors figured out what the problem was, they gave her some antibiotics and she was back to her old self within a day.

Tera's favorite activities these days include walking around the house (she's walking really well now!), climbing up the stairs, "helping" mommy do the laundry by removing everything from the basket and then putting it all back in, reading books, cooking on her new kitchen set that she got for Christmas, and biting anything that she can get her mouth on (her molars are coming in).