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Tramel Party
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Garden Kick-Off
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Strawberry Picking
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Shawn and Selva Visit
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img_0441 img_0441 img_0438 img_0438 img_0437 Showing off his head lifting abilities train Sam's First Train ride img_0431 Sam's First Swimming pool experience img_0428 DOOR Staff with Sam img_0426 img_0426 IMG_0422 Sam has a question for all of you. IMG_0418 IMG_0418 IMG_0417 IMG_0417
Boppy1 Boppy1 DSCN1743 DSCN1743 Dyanne Sam Dyanne Sam Dyanne Sue Sam Dyanne Sue Sam Eagles 1 Eagles 1 Ed Sue Sam Ed Sue Sam IMG_0128 IMG_0128 IMG_0150 IMG_0150 IMG_0151 IMG_0151 IMG_0152 IMG_0152 IMG_0153 IMG_0153 IMG_0154 IMG_0154 Katie Mom Jeff Sam Katie Mom Jeff Sam Katie Jeff Katie Jeff Randy Sam 2 Randy Sam 2 Sleeping 1 Sleeping 1 Sleeping Sleeping Jeff John Jeff John IMG_0155 IMG_0155 IMG_0156 IMG_0156 IMG_0157 IMG_0157 IMG_0158 IMG_0158 IMG_0160 IMG_0160
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2009-05-06
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Katie and Jeff's Blog Update
Jeff, Katie, Sam, and Maya Delp
Jeff, Katie, Sam, and Maya Delp Pictures, videos, and musings on the lives and adventures of the Delp family Dance
For the past 2 years, Sam has participated in Moving in the Spirit, a dance program for kids 3-18. He has loved every minute of it and looks forward to class every week. We love it because it has taught him a lot about his body and how to control his body.
Each May, they have a "big show" downtown at the Rialto Theater. It is a huge production and the kids are enthralled by being on the big stage! They had a dress rehearsal last week in preparation of the show and here are some pictures from the rehearsal.
In case you were wondering, their dance is based on the ids being seeds that are watered and then grow out of the ground.
On the Field
Over the past year, Sam and I have had many conversations about who Sam should root for in baseball. I think he should root for the Philles, a.k.a the good guys, but he thinks he should root for the Braves, because "Daddy, I grew up in Atlanta." (Hard to argue with that logic).
Well last night may have cemented his fandom of the Braves for a while. Thanks to a good friend of ours, we were able to get on the field and walk around. Not sure who enjoyed it more, Sam or myself, but Sam definitely did love the trek around the field. He was pretty enamored!
Here are some pics of Sam and I on the field.
Things Maya Likes
Maya Dawn Delp... Those words are uttered quite frequently around our house. Our little girl continues to amaze us with her talents and her joy for life! There are many things that Maya enjoys about life (most everything really), but here are a few things that really stand out:
Maya loves to paint. Thank goodness she has a mom that loves to paint with her and comes up with some great projects this these for her to work on:
Maya also loves to sleep (well, at least nap anyway as she routinely stays up to 10 with us). She also loves the blanket she is holding below. She has loved that blanket since she was a little baby and to this day will not sleep without it.
Maya loves her daddy of course (and he loves her)!
Maya is an amazing helper in the kitchen (no, I am not expecting her to stay in the kitchen when she grows up, so don't bother to comment)...She is cleaning our dishes after making dinner.
One of her favorite things to do in the kitchen is help Katie mix when she is baking. She has gotten quite good at mixing and can actually do it all by herself now.
Maya loves friends. From school to church to neighborhood...Maya loves to be around other kids and people. These are a few of her favorites that enjoyed another beautiful kite flying evening in the park!
Future Singing Career A little poll here for you...
Based on the following, who do you think has the best chance of winning American Idol in 12 years (for everyone's sake, let's hope American Idol is not still on when Sam is 17 and Maya is 15).
Sam:
Or Maya:
Local Food When I moved to Atlanta, one of the things that I was most surprised by was the lack of local food, including produce, in the supermarkets. I think I was spoiled living in the farm capitol of the world...but my expectations were to have local and fresh produce available in the grocery store from May-November. Eleven years later, most grocery stores still lack the local variety that I grew up with, but we have lots of other fun options available to us. Here are some of the ways that we have been enjoying local food in the past few weeks:
South Atlanta is full of Mulberry Trees. I never had a mulberry before I moved here, but since I've moved to South Atlanta, I have grown to love them. This year, the kids have really enjoyed picking them and we have started to spread the joy to some friends...
Sam and Maya picked so many berries that we were able to make a pie and some wonderful Jam (thanks to Katie's amazing Pinterest & cooking skills)
One of our favorite traditions as a family has been to go to the local farmers market every Thursday night. We have really enjoyed this time as a family and seeing many friends and people we know. The market started back up again this Thursday and we were thrilled to be able to go.
Sam quickly fell in love with the chickens. Comment and let us know if we should start raising chickens. Apparently it is the cool thing to do these days.
Finally, after moving to our new house in 2008 and then fighting through the "baby fog years"where we got very little done around our house beyond changing diapers and feeding our children, our garden has finally started to produce (pardon the pun)! Tonights dessert???? Carrots and Peas!
Kite Flying One of the great joys of childhood is getting the chance to fly a kite. Maybe it's the endless imagination of how high the kite flies... Maybe it's the freedom of running in the park... Or maybe its just being outside on a glorious spring day... But very few things top kite flying as a kid.
We've been waiting for a nice breezy day to head to the park and we finally got one last night. Here are some pictures of Sam, Maya, and a friend flying, and chasing, a kite.
Boys Trip to Florida For the second year in a row, we have embarked on a Boy's trip to Florida! This year, we were pleased to be joined by Shawn and Symeon! Our hope is that this will become and annual tradition that we can look forward to each spring!
Some of the highlights of the trip include:
The "Cool" kids ready for the van ride!
One of the things Sam looked forward to the most: Fruit Loops!
Not every beach comes with a bouncy slide...
Let's just say the baseball game isn't high on the priority list for the under 34 crowd!!!
Wonderful views at the beach:
Night time activity of choice was searching for treasure with Iphone flashlights:
Sand castle making!
Sam was attempting to stop the waves with his squirt gun:
Good Friends... And Jon did ask if he could be Symeon's cousin after the trip was over. Symeon agreed to this arrangement!!
And the highlight of the trip...A original score by Symeon Delp, accompanied by Jon Barber and Sam Delp.
The Many Faces of Maya Dawn Delp
And yes, you need to use all three names when referring to her. She is officially "Maya Dawn Delp," usually with the emphasis on the Dawn! Maybe its because she shares the name with her mom, but she likes to make sure you include "Dawn."
Maya has lots of wonderful expressions and we enjoy our daily treats of her personality coming out. Here are just a few examples of our wonderful girl in action! Which one is your favorite?
Special Reading Time! We were blessed to have lots of company this spring break! Our first visitor was Pop-Pop! Sam has been honing his reading skills as of late and was more than willing to show them off!
Since Pop-Pop won't be able to read to Sam, we are excited to watch Sam being able to interact with Pop-Pop in this special way!
Squirrels Attack! For the better part of a year, our house has been under assault from little critters that think our attic makes a great home. While we love our house and wouldn't trade it for anything (except maybe one in Hawaii), it is no place for squirrels.
We finally had enough of the cat and mouse game (or squirrel and human game if you will) and plugged up all the known holes in our house. Squirrels being the resourceful type, decided to make new holes. That left us with only one option:
Thanks to Grandpa Speer, we took take of 3 little squirrels that were making their nest in our house. This did leave me the opportunity to begin talking to Sam about gun safety!
Now we can look forward to our first full fledged hunting adventure where the game is a little more worth while that Squirrel Soup! Garden...One Year Later Last spring, we tore down a rotting tree in our back yard. While we have mourned the loss of the shade from that tree, we have been blessed with the space to have a garden in our yard. Here is a comparison of our garden last year and this year at the same time:
We are hopeful that this year will yield us our first peaches from the Peach Tree. You can tell that it has done just fine this year and it looks much more ready to produce fruit! No just to keep those little critters away from my peaches!
10 Years and $10,000
When I moved to Atlanta 10 years ago, I was: carless, homeless, and only had one contact in the whole city. I say I moved here on faith, others say that I was stupid. Whichever it was, I believed that I was following God's lead to come and serve in the city. My desire was to help people living in impoverished neighborhoods to turn their neighborhoods around on their own. I came up with this idea after reading John Perkins' book Beyond Charity and was ready to impact the world one neighborhood at a time!
Needless to say, God had amazing things in store for my life that had nothing to do with my original desire. As many of you know, the first person I met helped me start my first job (DOOR). The second person I met is currently my wife and mother of my children. She in turn connected me to Bob Lupton and Leroy Barber, and my life has not been the same ever since. What has transpired over the past 10years is nothing short of miraculous. When I left for Atlanta on July 7, 2001, I could not have envisioned a better place to be in my life than where I am today.
Where I am today is leading FCS Community Economic Development. Remember that desire that I came to Atlanta with 10years ago, well it fell onto my lap about 2 years ago. After serving with DOOR & Mission Year since moving to Atlanta, I was asked to lead FCS Community Economic Development (CED). At the time, CED was struggling to make it financially and they needed someone to come in and try to right the ship. When I started, there was one store (South Atlanta Marketplace), it created 2 jobs, offered 80 hours of work a week, was $10,000 in debt, and was merely an after-thought in peoples mind in the community.
Today, CED employs 10 part-time and 1 full-time positions through 5 different programs (Refugee Beads, Community Grounds, Pride for Parents, South Atlanta Bike Shop, and South Atlanta Marketplace), offers over 200 hours of employment a week, has sent two employees off to college, and has become the heartbeat of our community. Two years ago, if the stores closed the loss in the community would have been minimal. Today, if the stores were to close, there would be a significant loss for our neighborhood to recover from.
I am proud to say that with God's help, the transformation of the CED is almost complete. Since I have started with CED, we have operated in the black - meaning we are no more behind than we were the day I started 2 years ago. But we still maintain the same level of inherited debt and that has impeded our ability to take CED to the next level - sustainability.
I believe strongly in the value and mission of what we do through each of our programs. We are empowering individuals and families in South Atlanta to change their neighborhood from within- exactly what I felt called to 10 years ago. In order for us to succeed at this mission and become sustainable in what we do, the time has come to get rid of the "albatross" that hangs around our neck.
I have made a pledge to raise $10,000 in the next 3 weeks, by November 25th, to help break free from what has been holding us back. Why the 25th? 1) It is my birthday (great birthday present idea) and 2) It is also Black Friday. Black Friday gets its name because it is the day that retailers traditionally move from the "red" into the "black" for the year. For us, when we raise $10,000 before November 25, we will eliminate any doubt that we will be able to continue to provide these jobs and services in South Atlanta through 2012 and can call it "Freedom Friday." It would also be one of the best birthday presents I've ever received.
I am asking you to consider giving a special gift over the next 3 weeks to help propel us forward into 2012. Please consider supporting us with a special one time gift. Your gift will help ensure that we can continue with our mission to provide jobs, job training, positive community space, and hope in our neighbors that with their own hard work they can make it in life.
In order to give, you can do one of the following:
Thank you for supporting us and partnering with us over the past 2 years. I would not be here without you. From all of the people that you have helped impact over the past 2 years, I say thank you. You have made a lasting difference in someone's life by supporting CED and I hope you will allow CED to continue to do so in 2012 by making a special one time gift!
Thanks,
Jeff
Oatmeal
Sam...Sam...Sam... We often shake our head and wonder what will become of him in utter amazement!
A few months ago, Sam was given the "street name" Oatmeal from our neighbors (this is his Oatmeal shirt given to him by Leroy). For those that don't know, many kids in our neighborhood have a street name, something their friends call them on the street. There are many neighborhood kids that we only know by their street name. It is amazing to go with Sam anywhere in the neighborhood because you will hear people call him Oatmeal. If we are in the Marketplace, at the YMCA, on a bike ride or walk, at the bank, wherever, someone is bound to recognize Sam and call him Oatmeal!
Four years ago, Sam was known for being pushed in a double stroller all around the neighborhood by a goofy bearded man. Today he is becoming to be known for himself and who he is. There is a reason that people know Oatmeal and it is not just because of his nickname. Sam really does navigate his world well and is comfortable in many situations. We are absolutely in love with the fact that he can navigate this world that we have placed him in. As he gets older and begins to move around the neighborhood on his own, we can have the confidence that he will be OK and best of all, will be known by his neighbors around him!
Pictures of Maya Biking
It did not take long for Maya to migrate from the back deck to the street out front on her bike. In terms of trying things new, she has a little more of a thrill gene than many of her Delp counterparts. With the lone exception of being able to stop (something that is pretty vital in the grand scheme of things) Maya did great on her bike. When I tried to teach her how to stop, I would say "peddle backwards" or "peddle the other way" and she would just turn her bike around. Smart move on her part, but not really what I was going for!
I do believe that Sam and Maya are going to have many great adventures on their bikes together. As their age difference becomes less and less significant, it is beautiful to watch their friendship and fondness for each other grow. I think Sam was just as happy for Maya to have a bike as any of us were!
I like this next picture because I love the idea of training Sam and Maya to one day go beyond this stop sign! There is a huge world out there for them and it is an exciting thing as a parent to prepare your child for it. I often wonder what this world will hold for them and what they will become and I am excited to see what that is!
Here is our very proud new bike rider Maya! We like to say: "you never know what you are going to get with Maya." But the truth is, she has brings an amazing amount of joy, laughter, creativity, and spontaneity to the Delp family (with a little bit of sass to go with it also)! We love you Maya!
Maya Biking
The Delp family has turned into a biking family! Maya has decided she needed an upgrade from the tricycle which was entirely too slow! The other day when we were riding bikes at Stanton Park, Maya hopped on a friends bike and off she went. You'd think she had ridden a bike before. She has not wanted to go back since.
We had a bike donated to the Marketplace this week, so I decided to purchase it for her (yes, there are some perks to working at a Thrift Store). After she helped me make it Maya sized, she was off and biking on our back porch!
I can't wait to have biking days with the entire family!
First day of Pre-School The kids have already been back in pre-school for a month already, but here they are on their first day. Sam is in pre-K this year. He is really enjoying it, and we are amazed at how much he is learning. Maya is loving the 2 year old class and talks about the "babies" in the one year old class that she was in last year.
Labor Day Road Trip
For Labor Day weekend the Delp's hit the road. We head to Kansas for my (Katie's) grandfather's birthday and some time with my aunties and cousins. We had a fun celebration and it was great to catch up with family. Then we headed to Kansas City to spend the weekend with our dear friends, the Tramel's. It was a great time with great friends and the kids played non-stop.
Sam and Jaelyn are such good buddies and instantly reunited their sweet friendship.
A train ride at the farmer's market
The kids experienced their first carnival. They absolutely loved the rides!
Day at the Aquarium We scored some free tickets to the Georgia Aquarium, so we enjoyed a day of being tourist in our own city. The kids loved the aquarium, and we had a great day as a family.
Summer Catch Up This summer flew by as always, and I just realized that we barely blogged! For the few of you who follow our blog, here are a few pictures from the summer.
We had lots of fun with friends in the backyard with the pool until it got just too darn hot!
Once it was too hot outside, we built many, many forts.
Baseball Season is Over A year in the making, Sam and the South Atlanta Tigers season is now over. We had a lot of fun and Sam really loved playing all season long. Every day during the week Sam would ask to practice outside so he could get better for the game on Saturday (we moved practice inside the past few weeks due to it being crazy hot outside:
(and yes, that is Maya playing catcher! She loved her role!)
He did get better all season long and so did the other players. We definitely think we found something that Sam really enjoys and is good at.
Sam was convinced that he was going to hit a home run during his last game. He was so convinced that he struck out in his first at bat because he was swinging for the fences. So after I talked him down in his second at bat and encouraged him to just hit the ball, this is what happened:
The last week of the season, we went to a Braves game with the entire team. After the game, Sam proclaimed that he was a Braves fan (doh!) but don't worry, he still loves the Phillies and asked to watch baseball with me most nights. Here is a pic with Sam's best friend John at the game together:
All in all it was a fun season. Sam is already looking forward to playing soccer in the fall! Let's hope it is just as good! A Wonderful Father's Day
What a wonderful father's it was this past weekend. The kids and Katie made me feel really special. I loved spending time with Sam and Maya and on Father's day as we got to play some of my favorite indoor activities. Here are Sam and Maya lined up to play baseball. And yes, that is Maya down in a catcher's stance:
Here are Sam and I playing air hockey on a little something I picked up from the Marketplace, one of the perks of my job!
Colorado Vacation Here is a sampling of our vacation to Colorado last week. It was a wonderful time together as a family and relaxing. We were so happy to see Shawn, Shelva, Symeon, and Marin, as well as get some time with our Atlanta friends in a different setting.
We'll post some more details of the trip later, including horse riding, but have fun looking at the pics.
Acting Crazy It is safe to say that Maya and Sam enjoyed their time in Colorado! One thing they enjoyed was the "stage" that they made in our cabin. Katie and I were treated to nightly displays of entertainment from Sam and Maya. It is nice to know that Sam and Maya can entertain themselves (and us) without TV and the like. Here is a sampling of their "finest" work:
Maya Reading Not to be out done by Sam, Maya is convinced that she is reading also. It only takes her about 2-3 times before she has a book memorized and can then "read" the book back to us. Her favorite books that she has memorized are Go Dog Go and Are You My Mother?
Here she is reading Go Dog Go back to us while in the mountains:
Sam Reading I just posted on all of the amazing things that Sam and Maya have done over the past few weeks. However, this one deserves a post all by itself!
Sam has read his first book! Mommy and Sam sat down together and sounded out the words in the book and Sam made it all of the way through! It has long been a tradition of the Delp children to memorize books (as you will see later with Maya) but this was a legitimate sounding out of words and reading!
It is so amazing to watch as Sam and Maya both continue to learn and grow and get into new things. Reading opens up Sam's world to so much and I cannot wait to explore that world with him.