A little clue as to what we've been up to since my last post? Scroll this post below, and don't blink! You might miss something; that's how I've felt, haha.

July 1st. The big wild wilderness awaits. Out West. It's considered amazing and miraculous by everyone for a reason. Over four days we explored the mountainous passes of Wyoming and Montana with Ted's parents, then convened with all the relatives in small town NE.

Grand Tetons

Old Faithful!

Why hello!

July 13. ESA 40th Anniversary celebration at Eastern University. We are challenged; we are renewed and inspired by thought-provoking and grounded leaders in the Christian world.

July 19-20. Love and weddings. The rolling, forested hills of western Maryland. Root beer floats with our Haitian heroes and friends. Oh, and a pre-anniversary kayak jaunt before coasting out of Deep Creek and back on home.

Bride and Maid-of-Honor

Sadrack, Sarah, and Metchy

Katharine picks up One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, and the mental list begins... everything for which I'm thankful; seeing God in the day-to-day, moment by moment... trying to when sometimes I just want a nap. Wondering why I have such a weak constitution.

August 6th. Lee Ann comes to stay in Philly. Office re-decorating and lots of home-cooked meals and forays into Philly's finest (Lebanese, to-die-for burgers,  premiere water ice, Soul & North African, Mexican, Chinese, best earl grey ever.)

Somewhere along the way we get on an Audrey Hepburn kick. It starts with classic movies more generally, Casablanca in the park in the moonlight. Then a regrettable Funny Face, but better Breakfast at Tiffany's and it keeps going...

August 15th. Celebrating 4 years of marriage together. We celebrated with Chinese food and cheesecake.

And finally... a surprise for Ted? More on that later!

Did you know?

Did you know how Ted has been spending his spare time for the past year?

He's written a book!  Yep -- it's a mystery novel set in Haiti, in the particular neighborhood of Bwa Nef where he worked during our semester in Haiti in 2010.

Last Monday, Drexel Law invited Ted to speak at a Working for Justice in Haiti event, in part to discuss what his law school co op looked like in Haiti, and also to share about the release of his Haiti-based novel: Because We Are!

Picture: check out the poster they made for this event -- that is Ted's book cover in the bottom left corner :)

A Drexel student wrote an article on Ted's presentation and took some a great picture of him as well.


The short but sweet article is here: Alumnus Ted Oswald

Finally, if you haven't heard about Ted's book via Facebook, watch this great two-minute video he made that explains the background and his reasons for writing the book:

Because We Are video

The book will be released in December. E-book copies will only be $3. Stay tuned!