Long time coming

Well this blog post has been a "long time coming." I've been wanting to do this for quite sometime but Brittany and I have fallen out of habit. I looked at the last time we posted about our ministry here and it was in September...

Here is a recap of a blog post I was working on in February (but obviously did not end up posting it).

Time for another update.

It's been a while so let me back track a bit to tell you everything that's happened.

For one, the birth of our daughter! On my last post I was talking about how Brittany's appointments were going well and how Cross Country season was coming to a close.

It's now February so a few months have past.

Our baby was born one day after the due date on November 17th. It was a tough delivery and I have a newfound respect for all women everywhere. Our precious baby girl was OP or occiput posterior position which means she wasn't facing the right way (also called "sunny side up"). This meant Brittany had to labor for longer in order to try and shift her position and eventually the doctor needed to use the vacuum to assist in the delivery. But she came out screaming and crying which was a good sign that everything was ok.

Brittany and I decided to name her Avery Joanne Mahaffie.

Avery was a name that Brittany and I both liked. After looking at many different names we thought this one was unique and perfect for our little girl. Joanne is the name of Brittany's Grandmother. We wanted to incorporate a family name into our child's name and Brittany and I both love Grandma Joanne - and we also loved the sound of "Avery Jo" as kind of like a nickname for her.

Since it is February she just reached the 3 month milestone.

• She loves tummy time and has really good neck strength.

• She is grabbing everything within her reach and tries to put it in her mouth.

• She tracks us really well too.

• She weighs about 11 pounds which is pretty low for her age. It puts her in about the 10th percentile for her age. We think it's because her parents skinny genetics but who knows.

• She is doing well irregardless and we know some babies don't gain as much weight as other. Irrespective we are keeping an eye on that.

This past winter Brittany and I decided we shouldn't coach. Brittany indicated to me that she wanted me to be around and so I decided I wasn't going to coach basketball. The moment she expressed to me her feelings it was an easy decision to give up coaching basketball. Family is very important to me and I wanted to show Brittany by not coaching.

Teaching PE has been good. Same ole students with a batch of some new ones. There have been some troubling times (ups/downs) but God has been faithful to me at helping me teaching and provide good lessons for the students to be active. I still love to see the students faces light up when the come into the gym. It's been a lot of fun teaching them some of the same activities and a few new ones.

Currently I am teaching soccer in PE and we are focusing on how to properly kick a ball through passing and shooting.

Spring season is upon us which means soccer and track and field. Again because of Avery I have decided that I won't be coaching sports for the rest of the year. Come next year Brittany and I will revisit coaching and we will pray and see God's direction for our lives.

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And here we are in JUNE!

School is wrapping up and we are getting ready for summer break. We are looking forward to it because we will be traveling back to the USA this summer! We will be in Michigan for almost 2 months! We are very excited for everyone to meet Avery.

Prayer Requests:

• Our travels this summer - especially with a 7 month old! Please pray for the long plane ride and for Avery's adjsu

• Our students over summer break - for them and their families.

• Our school (OCSI) - a lot of work is being done on the school's campus this summer.

With love,

Tommy, Brittany, & Avery