the newest hudgins

in the midst of the chaos, a beautiful blessing. we have been dying to tell, but waiting for the right time. i saw a doctor yesterday, we have a strong heartbeat and a healthy baby due in April.

we would really appreciate your prayers, especially in this time of transition with everything going on in New Orleans.

this is what we have prayed for.

love,
tara and asah and baby

unbelievable

just feel like i've been watching a horror movie the past few days. the news is showing a side of our city that i could've never imagined. the looting, fires, utter chaos is scary. who knows when we'll be able to make it back to our home? we haven't heard much from the seminary. we know that the last time we heard there was only 3 ft of water, but much has changed over the past couple days. it is so surreal. for now we're still in houston with friends. God has been watching over us. we are considering heading back to Hammond, LA. our pastor is there and we have purchased 2 generators...we will likely live with them the next few weeks (months?) at least there we'll be closer and able to minister to the commmunity in Hammond. our new church building survived the storm.
please pray for our city. from what we know, our "stuff" is ok...but that's not really important. what's important is the lives that have been lost...the history that is wiped out, the buildings that will never be rebuilt, the lives that are forever changed.

praises:
we are ok! safe, dry, etc.
we live on the 3rd floor so our posessions are probably not wet.
we both still have jobs that are supportive and understanding.

requests:
asah's truck (likely floating around New Orleans?)-no insurance, just liability
the Baptist centers that i work with. cannot get through to them. probably damaged, just don't know how much.
our good friends amy and mallory gabriel. amy had to stay because she is a nurse at Childrens Hospital. they are stuck in the hospital. she describes the situation as "way worse than we are seeing on the news"

we'll keep this thing updated as much as possible.

the hudgins

Registration


"the bowl"


Participants


Skaters


Asah with the Grand Prize


Even the canines got in on the action.


best trick competition 08/20/2005

all i can say is, it was amazing. take a look at a few of the pics from this awesome night! we had about 250 youth/parents come out to be spectators, and 33 participants entered the competition. we had a blast and got the church's name out....and let them know we cared. we served over 400 free drinks and gave away a really nice skateboard to the winner. it was a success, and God really blessed! pray for the skaters that came out, that they will take interest in coming to Crossroads or participating in a small group to learn more about Christ.

becoming a true new orleanian

i'm trying my hand at red beans and rice tonight...so call me a true "new orleanian". i'll let ya know how it turns out. it was actually fairly easy to make (a crock pot recipe), so we'll see what happens. Asah's turned back into a student. we went to chapel together today and it was awesome. david platt spoke on luke, ch 9. loved it.
our first student wives mtg is tonight. looking forward to meeting new wives. other than that, it's the usual. we plan on watching the saints play tonight (on tv) and taking it easy.
looking fwd to the weekend!
best trick competition only 2 days away.
TNH

back in the swing of things....

well, this week is the start of a new semester. for me, there is not much change, but for Asah, that means back to the books! 18 to be exact. That's how many books we had to order for the semester. yuck!
This semester will be a very full one for Asah, but after that it should be smooth sailing to Graduation!
He'll be taking 17 hours this semester:
Preaching Practicum, Christian Ministry in the 21st Century, Worship Leadership, Intro to Ethics, Church Administration, Supervised Ministry II, Pastoral Counseling. I think that's all of them. Wow.
As for me, I begin a new role as Treasurer of the Student Wives council, also adult financial counseling at The Baptist Friendship House. Adding these two things to my plate should make for a busy fall.
we're looking forward to the "best trick competition" this weekend at the skate park in Hammond. it should be a great way to reach out to the youth.
we'll keep ya posted.
love,
a & t

dirt cheap

i was introduced to a wonderful place this morning. i decided to take a 1/2 day and do a little shopping in hammonds' "dirt cheap". it's a place that gets shipments from all kinds of stores...full of slightly damaged or out of season goods. i had a ball! i went with sarah beth, our pastor's wife and we had fun and got great stuff. i brought home mostly housewares stuff, kitchen gadgets, etc. but it was a great getaway. i came back to new orleans and am now working for the afternoon. sometimes its good to have mini shopping adventures. can't wait to get home tonight and put all my new stuff out.
that's about all that's going on here. asah starts school next week. he has only one more day to work at compusa. and college football season begins soon. what an exciting time!
have a good day,
tnh

6 flags new orleans style

On Saturday Asah and I enjoyed a getaway to Six Flags New Orleans. It was nothing like Atlanta's....way smaller, less rides, etc. But we had a good time just being together. We saw a show and rode a few rides. We even posed next to our favorite superheroes. All in all, in was a good day to get our minds off work, etc and just be together.

it's Friday!

this week has kind of flown by. tomorrow asah and i are going to six flags if the weather's ok. we haven't been to the new orleans one yet and found a good deal on tickets online.
Asah put in his two week notice at CompUSA because he'll be working at Crossroads part time starting Sept 1. I am very excited for him. This church is really growing and exciting things are taking place, we are very glad to be a part of it.
we had our first student wives council meeting last night and i think i'm going to enjoy being a more active part of student wives. my position is secretary and treasurer. kind of fitting, huh? i got to take minutes at the meeting and i've never done that before so it was fun. i love doing admin stuff so it comes pretty easily.
well, that's about all from the big easy.
hope everyone has a great weekend.
tnh

i'm proud of my husband!

i'm very proud of asah because he's a very hard worker...especially at the church we've been working with in hammond. last night there were 11 youth at the small group. ELEVEN! that's up from no youth group a couple months ago. i was so excited when he told me that news. i'm proud of the way he has been intentional about seeking youth in Hammond out and inviting them to come, and the inventive ways hes been doing that. just wanted to share that with our blog readers out there. great stuff.

well, tonight is dinner club and we are hosting. i made the a really, really yummy dessert that i highly recommend, especially in the summertime. asah and i taste tested it last night---it's simple so i'll share it:

"frozen lemonade bars"
1 qt vanilla ice cream, softened (i used Blue bell homemade vanilla)
1 can lemonade concentrate (thawed)
1/3 cup melted butter
18 squares of graham crackers (finely crushed)
whipped cream
lemons

mix ice cream and lemonade at a medium speed with a mixer until smooth.
combine crushed graham crackers with melted butter, press into a square casserole dish. (i used an 8x8 dish)
pour ice cream mixture over crust.
freeze at least 4 hours or until firm.
cut into squares.
serve with a dollop of whipped cream on top
garnish with a lemon wedge

happy tuesday!

Tara

a relaxing weekend

we did a bunch of nothing this weekend, and it was SO nice. on saturday i never left the house until that evening when we went with a group of friends to the cheesecake bistro. YUM. it was "National Cheesecake day" so they had a buy one get one free deal for all cheesecake. I had Strawberry, Asah enjoyed Bananas Foster. it was great fun. We had a good day of worship yesterday. Today Asah begins advertising for a youth event in the skate park in Hammond. He calls it the "Best Trick Competition". The winner will receive a new skateboard. Hopefully it will draw a crowd and some new prospects for the youth group and the church.
Thats about all the news from here.
th