heres what our child is up to this week....

Your baby is no longer an embryo! Though she's barely the size of a kumquat — just an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, she now has completed the most critical portion of her development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in her body rapidly grow and mature. Her vital organs — the liver, kidney, intestines, brain, and lungs — are now in place and starting to function (although they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy). Her liver continues to make blood cells, and the yolk sac, which previously supplied these cells, is no longer needed and begins to disappear.
During the next three weeks, your baby's length will more than double to nearly 3 inches. Her head is proportionately smaller now than it was a few weeks ago, but it's still almost half the length of her entire body. Her forehead temporarily bulges with her developing brain and sits high on her head; it will later recede to give her a more human appearance. Each day, more minute details — including tiny fingernails, toenails, and peach-fuzz hair — start to appear on her body. Her fingers are now completely separated; her arms bend at the elbow and curve slightly; her hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over her heart; her legs are lengthening; and her feet may be long enough to meet in front of her body. She is busily swallowing amniotic fluid and kicking her legs.
If you could take a peek at your baby this week, you'd be able to clearly see the outline of her spine through her parchment-thin skin. Spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from her spinal cord.

tara

similar song, 2nd verse

i had hopes our power wouldn't go out. but i woke up last night and knew we had lost electricity. a very very quiet house, no hum of the fridge or the air conditioner. we're getting kind of used to this! bad thing is i just went to sam's and stocked our freezer. i'm hoping it comes back on today, that way we can at least save our food.
it's about 10 till 7 and the rain is coming down pretty good. looks like it hit west of the LA line, so that just means tons of rain for us. i've heard a little wind but not too much.
times such as these call for creativity. i just remembered we had this adapter thing in the car that allows you to plug it in to your cig. lighter and then any small appliance/whatever can be plugged into it. we'll probably be making some coffee in the car this a.m. funny.
anyway, just wanted to tell everyone we're safe. i'm hoping we can still watch the GA game somewhere. we may have to drive to MS or something. we'd probably go to that length. we missed last weeks game so we were pretty excited about watching this one. in fact, we had tickets to this game. they're still in our apt in new orleans. bummer.
have a great weekend!

tara and asah

a pic of asahs truck (the one in new orleans)

here's a view of the vehicle we left behind (white truck). we don't know when this was taken (before or after additional flooding) anyway, good thing we were able to get another one. we're hoping to be able to sell this one or at least get something out of it.

it's starting to rain here. looks like good ole Rita is on her way. hope she stays far away from here!

tnh

Tickfaw

I found out an interesting fact last night that I just had to share. Tickfaw (our new town) means "where the beast sheds it's hair". That's what the Indians named it. Hmmmmmm. Asah wondered if that meant he'd be losing his hair here. :) Ha Ha. Just thought I would enlighten our readers. I thought that was pretty funny.

New News:

Asah is a proud father. Of a 99 Chevrolet Z71. He loves it and I'm glad. We'll try to get some pics posted soon.

Speaking of pics, we should have a new one of our baby early next week....I'm very excited to see the changes from 6 weeks-11 weeks. I am a member of a chat room for April moms to be, and they've all been posting their ultrasounds....some posted theirs from 10 weeks, etc and it looks much different than the first one we had. Here's a little description of what our baby's up to this week. Maybe I'll make it a practice to add these to the blog to keep ya'll informed. It's very exciting!

"Your new resident is nearly an inch long — barely the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce, but he's poised for rapid weight gain now that his basic physical structure is in place. He's also starting to look more and more human. His embryonic "tail" is now completely gone and his body parts — including organs, muscles, and nerves — are kicking into gear. His eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. He has earlobes, and by week's end, the inner workings of his ears will be complete. His upper lip is fully formed, too, and his mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The tips of his fingers are slightly enlarged where his touch pads are developing. All major joints — his shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles — are working, enabling your baby to move his limbs. As for his heart, it has divided into four chambers now, and the valves have started to develop. External sex organs are there, but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks."

How awesome is that?!?!?!

The morning sickness is still hanging around....but I'm just believing that in two weeks it will be over. That's what everyone says anyway.

We had Community Night at church and had 5 Baptisms! A very exciting time in the life of Crossroads. Asah had to help Chip with them because Chip's back has really been in a lot of pain. He's been to the Emergency Room with it this week and will see a neurosurgeon on Monday. Please pray for our pastor's back.

Well, that's it till next time. Looking forward to a weekend of football.

tara

new life!

we're enjoying our new life in Tickfaw. It is very peaceful here. We're settling into our new lives. For now I go to coffee shops most mornings to access email, the work from home the rest of the day. Asah is very busy with church responsibilities, etc.
i've had lots and lots of morning sickness. in fact, it's gotten a little worse over the past couple days....i thought it would get better?!?!?! it's a small price to pay, though. we're really looking forward to this little one.

we're still praying for a vehicle for asah...and we need a few more things to make the house "homey", but things are coming together nicely. God has provided for our every need.

a big thanks to all for the prayers, words of encouragement, and gifts. they are all greatly appreciated.

t&a

i know, i know, time for an update

hello friends.

sorry it's been SO long. life has been hectic, but we are finally getting settled.

New Developments:

Instead of moving into the tiny 1 bedroom, we are now in our new townhome. A guy got a new job and was moved all his stuff out on Saturday, and we moved right in! This is wonderful because we won't have to move again in 6 months.

Here's our new address if you're interested:

49286 Benton Trace, B
Tickfaw, LA 70466

We don't have a phone yet but are working on that.

I am working out of our church office for the time being. I am in the process of ordering all new supplies, equipment, etc.

Asah will begin seminary classes again online in October.

Our baby is doing great! We went to a new doctor yesterday and she said everything is looking just fine. We will have another ultrasound to get the correct due date in 2 weeks!!

Prayer Requests:

That we will be able to find Asah transportation that we can afford.

That we'll be able to focus on our jobs. I can't speak for Asah, but I am having a lot of trouble focusing! The task ahead seems so great, I am a very detail oriented person and sometimes that weighs me down....

That's all from Tickfaw. Don't you just love the name of our new little town??? Asah drove up the other day and there were goats in our yard. How awesome is that? We love it out here....we can see stars at night and it is very quiet and peaceful. I'll post pictures soon.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us out in the past couple weeks. We are truly blessed!

A&T

homeless no more.

we found a home. actually we found 2. we hooked up with a guy our pastor knows and he offered a 1 br for about what we were paying at the seminary. it actually has a kitchen!!!! i can cook again. yipee. the best part is that he is a developer and is pre leasing these gorgeous townhomes. we should be signing a pre lease tonight. God sure provides! we are so grateful for this. the townhomes are beautiful and exactly what we've always wanted. amazing. so, the plan for now is to move into a one bedroom until our new home is ready (approx 6 months). please pray for us in this time of limbo. we are thrilled at the possibility of moving somewhere brand new. a fresh start.

i am going to start work again tomorrow. doing everything i can to keep things together...in a time of much confusion. please continue to pray for the staff of New Orleans Bapt Ministries.

that's about all for now.

we should be moving in to our temp. apartment in the next few days. new carpet will be installed tomorrow a.m. we are learning what it means to totally lean on HIM.

we love you all,

Asah and Tara

we still have Georgia football.

all is not chaotic in our lives. Georgia football begins today. we are watching the big game here in Houston before heading back "home" to Hammond. i'm glad that we'll be able to watch the opening game of our favorite team. fall is my favorite season, and Georgia is our favorite team. we are glad that we'll be able to enjoy this before leaving today.
it is hard to believe we've been here a full week. a week ago today my plans were to be enjoying my labor day weekend and catching the game at our home in new orleans. funny how life can change in an instant.
with that said, we are doing fairly well considering the changes taking place.
God is so good, providing for our every need. He always has, He always will.

Prayer Requests:

safe travel to Hammond later today.

we are looking into renting the house next to our pastor's. please pray this will work out. other houses in Hammond (if not damaged) are probably already taken. we would really like a "place of our own" to live and get settled in.

a decision regarding transportation. that we would find a great deal on a vehicle for Asah.

Praises:

Asah should be able to continue most classes. Beginning Oct 3 they'll be converted into "Threaded Discussions" and he can do them online. We'll know which one's they're offering soon. This is a blessing. He'll be able to complete (or partially complete) this semester.

We have been able to get some clothes, basic home items. This makes us feel a little better.

we'll keep this updated as much as possible.

love to all,
the hudgins

our home

here is an aerial view of New Orleans east. The large circled area is our home, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. As you can see, flooding everywhere. Please pray for the seminary family. A blog has been set up by a student for NOBTS faculty, students. http://nobtsfamily.blogspot.com