Happy 29th Daddy!

JP's birthday was on January 3 and we celebrated it in style! Mexican Dinner and one of JP's favorite desserts: Oreo Cream Cheese Truffles. Instead of a cake, we made 29 truffles and placed them in the shape of 29.




















Since birthdays are special, we splurged and spent $15 on Old El Paso soft shelled tacos and an 8oz block of Philadelphia cream cheese!

Yes. Expensive.

BUT....totally worth every rupee!










Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you and thank Jesus for the man that He has and continues to make you!

Merry Christmas!

Brown Paper Packages...

Last night we got a call from the guard that a package had arrived. Mom and Dad Mayfield sent us some Christmas goodies and stockings
filled with surprises!

Missing You This Christmas

Gazing at Christmas lights has been one of Sawyer's many recent accomplishments. But on one cool night before going to bed, he seemed to focus in on something just behind the twinkling lights. Four faces captured his attention and, if he was able to communicate with words, we know he would have been saying "MaMa, Grandma B, Grandpa, and Papa, I love you and am missing you this Christmas!"

And our response would have been, "We know it's hard Sawyer. We miss them too. But do you remember the story from the Bible that we read today? Christmas is the story of leaving home so that others can find
their way back home! We are away from home, but us being away from family helps other people NOT be away from Jesus. Jesus said, "It was for this reason that I was born into the world." He had to leave his home and Daddy just for us! So no matter where our family lives, although we are away from them, Jesus is with us and we will NEVER say to Jesus..."Missing you this Christmas!"

What's Hot and What's NOT!

What's Hot? We have a new item in our precious, tiny kitchen. Some friends moved back to America and we bought their water dispenser. It's so great!! We can now access cold, room temp, or hot water at any time! Or at least until we have to refill the water jug again. It's filtered and no ice cubes or stove necessary for our drinking desires!













What's NOT? Apparently, it's not possible for the builders and electricians in our complex to install uniform light fixtures throughout the entire house. Two weeks ago, almost all of the light bulbs went out in the living/dining area. Which who can complain when we are just now replacing them after over a year? But then last week, the light bulbs in our bedroom went out. So naturally, JP went to Electri-City to purchase more of the SAME lightbulbs. After returning home and attempting to install them...here's what he found! Next time our lights burn out, we'll make sure to check to see what TYPE of light bulb is
needed.

Like Mommy, Like Son

When Sawyer was born, most people were of the opinion that he looked just like his Daddy. However, as he has gotten older, we have had a harder time deciding who he looked like. Mama Pruitt believed he looked just like Mommy, but we still weren't sure. That is, until this evening! While taking a look at some older photos, we believe that Mama Pruitt was spot on! Sawyer looks just like Mommy!!

2009 Ornament Additions

As is becoming our Thanksgiving tradition in India, we went to visit Uncle Ji at his store, Lal-N-Sons. This was one of my favorite stores in Delhi when I lived here before and, 4 years after I left, he was still asking my friends about me. So it has been such a blessing to rekindle that relationship, but now the circle includes my husband and son.

This year we bought more lights that, we pray, will last until after Christmas. We also bought 2 new ornaments for the tree. After years of celebrating Jesus birth with a red and gold tree, these 2 additions put us one step closer towards our future goal of having a multi-colored Christmas tree!

Giving Thanks 2009

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We spent it with 35 other brothers and sisters in Delhi who were away from "home" for the holidays as well. We had made plans to stay 2 nights in Delhi and spend a few extra days with our dear friends, the Watsons and Gita. Our contribution to the shindig was green bean casserole with homemade onion crispies (since French's fried onions are not available in our city), homemade pumpkin pie, and sweet tea.







So there we were, the morning of Thanksgiving, loading the Innova:
2 small suitcases?..Check
FULL diaper bag with extras of EVERYTHING?..Check
Doggy bag (for Sookie of course)?..Check
Pack-n-play?..Check
Yummy food and drink that we hoped wouldn't spill from all the bumps?..Check
Boppy?..Check
Baby Carrier WITH Baby?..Check
Dog with her leash?..Check
Daddy?..Check
Mommy?..Check but without makeup completely on yet..to be applied later

WE WERE A SIGHT TO SEE!

Things have definitely changed since last Thanksgiving! Our family has grown along with the time it takes to get all the essentials ready for a small 2 day trip. But the change is one for which we are TRULY THANKFUL!! As we take a trip down memory lane, we stand amazed that this time last year, as we were holding Jyoti Berryman, our hearts were greatly desiring to be parents. Little did we know, we were just a week or so pregnant with our precious Sawyer.
Thank you Father in heaven for YOUR Son, Jesus Christ, and for ours, Sawyer Pruitt!




Mayfield Family- Thanksgiving 2009








And a few more for laughs....
Sookie thought she was Queen throughout the festivities

Josh-Pruitt continues to find creative ways to mix up Mindy's message blocks to say something completely different than their original meaning!

Memories in the Fall: Sawyer's Baby Shower

On Sunday, October 25, we were given a baby shower for Sawyer. We truly are blessed with so many brothers and sisters in Christ that love us and take care of us. First things first...THANK YOU Kay Poolman, Jenise Jackson, Stephanie Brown, Carla McCall and Rhonda Edie for all the work you did to make Sawyer's baby shower such an amazing event! We had a wonderful time and your servant's hearts impacted our lives.

The shower was a bit different in that the "baby" actually attended, but to be honest, we loved it that way! With the combination of a family's life turned upside down with the arrival of a new baby and everyone else's busy schedules, often times people don't get to see the baby until several months later. It was so much fun to have an event where everyone got to come and meet Sawyer. Might I suggest that if you are reading this, are pregnant, and haven't had a shower yet, you may consider this as the way to go!

Here are several pictures of precious friends that attended and got to meet Sawyer for the first time. There are others of you that I KNOW were there and I somehow didn't get you in the pics. I am so sorry and please know every face we saw there will be forever in our memories!
Several of my former students and co-workers have continued to stay in contact with us even as we have traveled so far away. It meant SO much to us to have Field family there as well! Thank you! Know we love you and miss you: Grays, Wilsons, West/Dodson, Chadwells, Lemons, Timsons, and Collins! Not pictured: Sharon Hunt, 2 Timsons, and Bairds
And of course, no party is the same without really dear friends that attend whom you haven't seen in ages!! Below are pictures of: Kristy, my best friend from HS, and her family; Cindy, my mom's best friend from school, and her family; Rachael and Andrea-2 friends from college that I haven't seen in 5 years!!
Again, THANK YOU to all of our dear brothers, sisters, and friends!! We love you all! Your love and generosity will be a huge help as we raise Sawyer to be a man after God's own heart and provide for him, even in the smallest of ways!

Memories in the Fall: Holiday Time with the Lindsays

We also had Christmas with our family in Springfield. It was a beautiful time together! Mom even made a Thanksgiving dinner for us of turkey, gravy, stuffing (yankee style all the way), green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie for dessert.

It has always been tradition for the Lindsay siblings to draw names and buy a present for that person with the revealing on Christmas day. However, we all have finally become grown ups and decided since Ella and Sawyer have arrived, we should spend what small amount of money we all of, to spend it on the kids instead. We had so much fun watching Ella "open" her present from us. She got a pair of adorable jeans and a set of three shirts from a British store in India called MotherCare! She also got the book Bigfoot Cinderrrrrrella!

Of course, Mom and Dad still get presents since, for YEARS, they have always given to us. Now it's our time to give back! Dad got a Kashmiri dagger to add to his collection of Indian knives and Mom got a handmade Elephant quilt that she picked out when she was in India. It took the lady over a year to make it and we KNOW Mom will enjoy it!

Sawyer, who of course slept during the festivities, got several great toys and books. Mom made him his stocking which is also a Lindsay Family tradition. Ever since I was born, Mom has always taken scraps of our baby room decor and blankets to make a Christmas stocking. It was a very special gift for sure!!

Mom and Dad did get us a few things. Our favorites were the Indian bracelet that Mom bought that I THOUGHT was for HER, but she instead bought it for me and JP's Queen Sing Star DVD!!

And I couldn't resist showing one more picture of us! Carolina Gamecocks were playing this night as well and of course my men wore their new attire in support of their FAVORITE TEAM!! Plus, Sawyer's face is SUPER cute!!

Memories in the Fall: Joys of Aunts and Uncles

This was our first experience being all together and getting to fill the role of Aunts and Uncles! It was so much fun and brought great joy to our lives during our trip to Springfield! Nothing can replace the love you have for your own child, but the love you have for your niece and/or nephews is very special in it's own way! I LOVED getting to watch my "little" brother be Daddy right in front of my eyes! Here are a few pictures of our time together!

Memories in the Fall: God's Paintbrush

We always miss seeing the beauty of God's artwork among the changing colors of leaves. However, we were blessed to get to see His splendor from the tree outside Mom and Dad's house to trees all over the wonderful city of Springfield!!

Memories in the Fall: Meeting Miss Ella

e

After a wonderful week with the Mayfield family, on October 22, we headed to the airport in Greenville to say goodbye and head to Springfield. Saying goodbye is always hard, but watching Grandparents say goodbye to their Grandson is the WORST!! We finally stopped crying once we were in the air (yes, that means we were crying at the gate and, when in situations like this, you tend to ignore all the curious stares). And then our tears turned to joy as we started focusing on more blessings that would come from spending time with family and friends in Springfield.

It was absolutely incredible to meet Ella for the first time! We teared up, laughed, and were speechless when we finally got to hold our precious bundle of joy. She is beautiful and we immediately started smiling and giggling with each other. I couldn't stop giving her little kisses on her cheeks! AND, I couldn't help but think how cute her little nose was AND how cute it would look one day with a little nose stud like her Aunt Alicia's! (Jonathan and Kara-Don't worry, I haven't said anything to her about it yet!)

There is nothing like getting to see family waiting at the airport for you after many months of not being with one another. Thank you Jesus for this wonderful blessing of getting to return to the States for 2 weeks!

Memories in the Fall: October Family Christmas

When you are not with your family for Christmas on December 25, you have to make up for it WHENEVER you are together. We had a great time giving and receiving presents! The best part of course was getting to celebrate it with Sawyer!
Colin helped MaMa decorate the tree. We love his creative style!

Jack, of course, was so funny and "dressed up" for the occasion!

Sawyer got many great gifts, but among his favorite were Baby's 1st Christmas outfit and a stool with his name on it. He helped tear open the firdt package, but after that, he fell asleep.

We always love watching our family open their gifts from us. Colin got a gift certificate to Toys'R'Us. Jack got books since he is becoming a great reader! Mrs. Mayfield got a picture of Sawyer, an Kashmiri bell, and a really neat metal replica of a rickshaw that we totally forgot to pack and is still sitting in our closet in India. Ooops!! Mr. Mayfield got a Kashmiri sword and elephant figurine to add to his collection of international elephant figurines.

Mrs. Mayfield and I went in and surprised Josh-Pruitt with a new Carolina Gamecocks shirt as well as Sawyer a Carolina Gamecocks onesie. This way they will be able to wear them together when watching the game!

I, of course, was VERY excited to get Yankee candles to make our home in India smell as homey as possible.

Memories in the Fall: 4 Generations of Mayfields

It's not too often that you are able to have pictures of 4 generations of men in the same family. JP was very excited and we were all honored to be fortunate enough to be able to have a picture of Sawyer, his Daddy, his Papa, and his Granddaddy.

Memories in the Fall: Mayfield Weiner Roast

On October 15, we took a trip back to America for a work conference. We, of course, tagged on vacation time! The first week of our journey was spent in JP's hometown of Anderson, South Carolina. We had not seen our family since the summer of '08. It was wonderful getting hugs and kisses, eating our favorites of Mrs. Mayfield's amazing home cooked meals (fried green tomatoes, macaroni cheese casserole, and meatloaf all in one night is HEAVEN), spending time drinking coffee and watching Fox News, and getting to see Sawyer meet the Mayfield family for the first time. But new memories were also made during this week!

The Mayfield family has their famous Weiner Roast every year. This year, they put it on so that I, Alicia, could finally join in on the fun! It was my first time roasting Mayfield style and I had a blast. We had a great time and the weather was perfect. There was a slight drizzle at times and cool temperatures, but it made it perfect for standing beside the bonfire. We had hotdogs with all the fixins' and smores! After not having quality pork and beef for 8 months, it was like a dream come true for us!!



Here is a picture of JP and I warming up by the fire with Misty and Jay, JP's sister and brother-in-law.

We were thankful to Mr. Mayfield and Jay for doing a great job at starting the fire.

We laughed at Colin and Jack as they showed so much excitement. Jack was totally into wearing one of Mrs. Mayfield's hats as he worked hard at collecting firewood. Such a funny little dude! Colin definitely wanted to hang out with the rest of us, but had to continue looking through Best Buy advertisements for washers and dryers! We don't think anyone has cuter nephews than we do!!

The night ended with all of us hanging out in the den and watching the Carolina Gamecocks play Alabama Crimson Tide. They lost, which of course broke our hearts, but we were thankful to get to watch it LIVE in AMERICA!!

Mom in India

We were so blessed to get to spend 2 1/2 weeks with my Mom in India. A precious brother or sister of Christ paid for her plane ticket to get here and our time was precious! Most of our time was spent indoors together taking care of Sawyer, but we definitely made MANY memories!
Josh-Pruitt watched Sawyer for a few hours to I could take Mom to my favorite shopping market called Dilli Haat! We had a great time sweating and shopping! I introduced Mom to my fav Indian drink, Fruit Beer, which she liked. However, she still ended up ordering HER fav..COKE!

Sookie made sure to spend time with Grandma B during her visit and showed off her new trick of grabbing the straw out of her Mommy's mouth, escaping underneath the coffee table, and chewing on it!

We visited Ambi Mall and ate lunch at a Mediterranean Restaurant.

One day, while Josh-Pruitt and I were out doing a few things for Sawyer's government documents, we surprised Mom by buying her a dozen red roses!

She was able to meet several of our friends that she has heard so much about! When we first walked into M&M's house, she got bigs hugs and then suddenly started crying out of joy in seeing them for the first time after 5 years!!

Apart from all of that, she played and loved on her first grandson Sawyer!!

No matter how many years go by or how far apart we are, I will always think of my mom when I see flowers. She is such a great gardener! Here are 2 pictures of some of her favorite flowers in India that she found in our complex.

Little Diva

Our niece is SO photogenic. We hear that all you have to do is point a camera at her, call her name, and she hams it up! She is truly a little diva and the pictures definitely prove it!!

Long Time No See Gwama!!

Although Mom came to see us, help around the house, and meet her grandson for the first time, she also came to love on our dog Sookie. To Sookie, Mom is just as much her "Gwama" as she is Sawyer's Grandma B. If one ever doubted that dogs were intelligent and could understand humans, this video proves that at least OUR DOG shows some signs of higher intelligence.

Ella watches "To Ella with Love"

Click here to see the video of Ella watching "To Ella with Love" for the first time! She is so precious! We sure can't wait to meet her in October!

Facebook | Jonathan Lindsay

To Ella With Love...5 months

*Posted 2 days early in case cousin Sawyer comes on the 16th!

Happy 32nd Anniversary!

Mom and Dad, we love you and want to wish you a very happy 32nd anniversary!!

Ready for Brother's Arrival

Although it took us almost 2 hours to get to our grooming appointment because of impatient and chaotic traffic, it was definitely worth getting Sookie's last haircut before her brother arrives!

"Brother Sawyer, I think I am ready for you to come...my hair is cut, practicing the art of sitting still, and getting my licks ready to cover you in kisses! I tried really hard to keep my hair up, but couldn't take it anymore. The band is now out and I have hid it from Momma! I will show you all of my secret places when you get a bit older."

Playing Mommy @ 38 weeks

Here I am..as big as ever..ready to pop! The doctor said after our last visit that within the next week, he will probably come, but we are keeping our expectations low and won't be surprised if he doesn't bless the world with his birth until AFTER the 16th!

Sawyer's Room in the Making...Finished!

Here is Sawyer's room all put together and ready for his arrival! I had plans to paint the walls, but decided against it as it just seemed like one too many things to add to our very busy summer schedule. Josh-Pruitt thought it would be a good idea to paint later and I agreed! I think a soft color would make the bedroom completely perfect, but we will wait on complete perfection for the future!
Sometimes I just walk in there, lay on the bed, turn on the mobile, lean over the crib or stand at the changing table, imagining our lil Sawyer being with me! We sure can't wait for him to come!!


Above are pictures of his room from the bedroom door and the bathroom door.

Close up of "Mommy's Bed".

Our favorite furniture store made this changing table for us and it turned out great!

A few pics of Sawyer's crib.

2 closets filled with all the important stuff! If you look closely you can see his blue bathtub!

Close up of his shelves: including antique water jub and lantern for a Safari Adventure!

Close up of African pictures we took when JP lived in Lesotho.

Close up of mobile and bedside table.

4 Months and Full of Expression!

Our Sawyer Predictions

With just a month left before Sawyer's arrival, we decided to make predictions about what Sawyer will look like and when he will come! Let us know what you think as well! We sure can't wait to see him!

Josh-Pruitt's Predictions:
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Blond
Weight: 8lbs 1 oz
Arrival Date: August 16

Alicia's Predictions:
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: IF any, wisps of blond hair
Weight: 8lbs 8oz
Arrival Date: August 19

No Longer Little Boys

We just got these pictures from Mom Mayfield today and our hearts were overwhelmed at the realization that our nephews are no longer little boys! It's one thing to accept that Collin is 9 and Jack is 6, but then, to see pictures of them looking like little men, seems a complete contradiction. We love them so much and haven't seen them since our trip to South Carolina last summer before moving to India. Somewhere in the last year, they have gotten BIG! We sure can't wait to see them this October! It will be exciting to watch these not-so-little boys hold our little baby boy for the first time!




We only wish we could have been in Charleston cheering for Jack at his baseball game! I love how he looks as he takes his position of either 2nd base or short stop seriously unlike others on the team.

This is a picture of Misty and Jack getting ready to go to a wedding. Is he not the cutest thing ever? Love the sunglasses and tie! Watch out girls..here he comes! Oh and yes, we are just as proud of our beautiful sister Misty. You can sure tell Jack loves his momma! Of course, Josh-Pruitt seemed to think Misty's mini-cooper is the sweetest thing in the picture and is just praying for another chance to drive it in October.

Here's Mama and Collin at the baseball game. His expression is so funny! We would love to be inside his head at this moment to see what he was thinking. Probably something like "Please let go of me and stop taking so many pictures for goodness sake. It's just a bunch of kids with bats and balls! There are much more important things to consider folks!"

Dangerous Book for Boys

We went to our favorite bookstore the other day, ordered coffee, and read through the Dangerous Book for Boys. It is such a great book filled with lots of common sense/factual information that all boys (and really all people) should know specifically for survival.

Some articles include:

• Essential Gear
• The 5 Knots Every Boy Should Know
• Making a Battery
• Spies-Codes and Ciphers
• Extraordinary Stories
• Famous Battles

While reading the book, Josh-Pruitt's friend, Asher, came up and started talking to us. Josh-Pruitt had just spent 3 hours with him the day before, but he was still overjoyed and smiled from ear to ear when he saw us. He was a bit puzzled at first as to why one would want a "dangerous" book for boys. We explained it to him and he just laughed. Josh-Pruitt is already thinking about ways to incorporate this into our weekly activities/teaching with Sawyer when he gets older.

Afterwards, we were touched when Asher took the book from us and told us to meet him up at the registers. He gave us his employee discount. He is such a good friend and we look forward to seeing how this relationship is blessed. Plus, we can't wait to go through this book with Sawyer!

Ella's First Photo Shoot

She is definitely a combination of both her parents! Precious smiles like Kara and such a happy, fun (at times ornery) personality like Jonathan! I don't know how any aunt and uncle could be prouder! We love you Ella Grace!