Furniture for Silas

Family Update 11.1.11

Erin just returned from Guatemala and we are excited about changes in our family!

Return From Guatemala & January Update

Erin and I just returned from Guatemala, where she helped deliver two babies! We hiked a volcano, rode chicken buses, went to a small Finca (coffee farm), rode on two boats across Lake Atitlan, ate fresh tortillas in a market, felt tall, and saw Gringo hippies pretend they were locals. It was wonderful and I will write more later. Here is a video to update on our adoption.

Paperwork Completed, Urban Art, Coffee!!!

Hello all, here is a video update from Erin and I on where we are in the process, as well as upcoming opportunities to partner with us! Check it out




To RSVP on Facebook for our Urban Art Expose, click here






To buy coffee, click here

update from the summer

First, we are practicing parenting on this one, our four-month old girl puppy, named Piper.


Well, about two months ago, Erin and I drove down to Charlotte to take her to the airport. She was on her way to her first trip to Africa, here are pictures from her trip to Liberia for 3 weeks. We woke up and drove straight to the FedEx office where her passport/visa had hopefully arrived...since her flight was in about 7 hours. Thankfully, that went incredibly smoothly. Then we drove down to Charlotte to wait in line at the absolutely most efficient government office we've ever seen (DMV > please take note and study the Charlotte Office of Immigration Services). We were getting our fingerprints. They had scheduled appointments for us, which were ahead of schedule. We got in and out in 20 minutes, for what we had scheduled as a 2 hour ordeal.

We were told to wait about 7-10 days for this piece of paper, the capstone of our paperwork. Once this piece of paper returns, it is placed into our dossier, our dossier is licked shut, and the embassy checks it out, then its off to Ethiopia. When we get this piece of paper, the clock starts...we are put on the wait-list. 7-10 days was about 2 months ago, unfortunately, the D.C. office is putting in place a new system and we are on the front end of that new system. We check the mail box daily.

In other news, I am beginning to understand why people become increasingly anxious at the end of the process. You know how long it will take and you prepare your mind for the long road. What I was not prepared for, was completely well-intentioned people using adoption as a "go-to" conversation piece, every time they see us. They want the update and there is really nothing to tell them. "We listened to a conference call with advice and projected time-lines based on our agencies referrals?!?" There's not much to tell right now, just eating, sleeping, hanging out with our puppy.

Lastly, coming into the Christmas season we will have some financial partnership opportunities, if you are interested in helping to care for orphans by helping us. Some of the events we've had this year were a huge, fantastic yard sale in June (thanks Alanna!), an awesome benefit concert in May (thanks Sean & Philip), and upcoming we plan an silent auction with arts and crafts, as well as some opportunities with some home brewed beer and an online coffee outpost. We'll keep you posted. Be sure to be a fan of our adoption on Facebook. Much love friends,

AP/EP

yard sale

Article on trans-racial families

This is a great article recommended to us by our Home Study case worker.

From Ethiopia With Love | Concert

agency and country

Hey friends and family, we are happy to announce that we are applying with Gladney as an agency to work with in our adoption. Click here to read about the country we are adopting from!

our wedding slide show

the proposal

The proposal began with me taking two airplanes, a bus over state lines, and two trains, plus a walk to Erin's house. I had slept in two hour increments for about 3 days, so when I got to Boston...I napped...a long time. It was a good diversion, who naps right before engagement, but I had to. I had thrown her off a few times. I had her thinking we were going to some sort of ticketed event (concert, play) that night REQUIRING she get off work. She asked me one hint of what the Christmas present I got her was...I responded "fuzzy" without hesitation. I have no idea where it came from.

So when I awoke from my slumber, I kicked her out of the living room and set up some candles and cushions. We watched a slide show portraying our history through trips (the DR, Dallas, Atlanta, Colorado) some concerts, and many other memories...all to the lyrics of a Bright Eyes song named "You Are The Roots That Sleep Beneath My Feet and Hold The Earth In Place"

After the slide show I read her some poems I had written in college about the type of girl I saw falling in love with someday. The premonitions were not dreamy, just hauntingly accurate.

Then I had Erin get her Bible and we read Song of Songs to each other, reciting the coinciding parts. Halfway through Erin started to tear up, because the journey of the Lover and Beloved are certainly not smooth and without mistakes, but deep in love and grace...just like us.

We finished and I prayed for us. After praying I realized there was no smooth way to retreive the ring from my pocket...so I had her pray and while she did I collected myself for the second try. After she said "amen" I handed her a gold satin bag and said,

"here is your Christmas present"

followed by "will you marry me"...

followed by a long, genuine, Erin Elmore hug.

mission emanuel

*if you choose Mission Emanuel, we are asking you direct your contribution to the new Medical Clinic, but if you would like to take a serious commitment, look into sponsoring a child.

make checks payable to:
Mission Emanuel
1220 E. Concord St.
Orlando, FL 32803

or call 407-422-9200 to pay by credit card
Be sure to write "Erin and Austin Pfeiffer" in the memo line or enclosed note

http://www.missionemanuel.org/

connect with others

want to find someone to car pool with or even split a hotel room?

use this page to leave a comment asking anyone to road trip, stowaway, or room with you at our wedding, we already have a crazy web of friends, it'd be awesome if it got webbier.

what's different?

we have made some deliberate choices, here they are and why...

NO DIAMOND?!?

-nope, but the ring is gorgeous in the designer and possessor's opinion. the idea is to not perpetuate the demand for diamonds, which sometimes perpetuates the conflicts in Africa, specifically Sierra Leone.

EMAIL SAVE THE DATES AND ONLINE RSVP?

-yeah, because we want to save trees and also save money on these things so we can spend it where it counts...celebrating God's love with as many friends as we can!

NO TUXEDOS?!?

-yeah, austin is allergic to the material formalwear is made from.

WHY NORTH CAROLINA?!?

-well we met and fell in love in a great community in winston-salem, but don't worry bride's folk, a celebration in Indiana is in the works.

ARE YOU REGISTERED AT CRATE & BARREL?

-nope, but sometimes we wish we were, those black and white boxes are fun. really we have spent a few years on our own and have all the housewares and material possessions we would ever need, maybe more! so not only do we not need stuff, other people do...like drinking water, a safe home, or a revitalized village.

the wedding party

yeah our party is huge! sorry we love our friends and want them all standing around, plus we need a lot of guys to seat our plethora of other friends and family we've invited, ahh!

pastor:
joe farrell (officiator)

bride's maids and matrons:
leslie williams (matron of honor)
anna gissing
melanie morris
lauren jenkins
marissa joyce
becky franson
sarah lisson
caroline huber
haley pfeiffer

groom's men:
andy hamer (best man)
clark gaker
joe russell
phillip pledger
alan bruno
nick babladelis
eric lange
brian johnson
paul smith

ushers:
daniel joyce (head usher)
seth mcvay
matt meyer


ring dude:
sam pfeiffer


flower chica:
molly wray

the band:
philip pledger (guitar)
brian johnson (bass)
will "the beast" mcvay (drums)

the reception

where: the sawtooth center (across the street from the church)
when: immediately following the ceremony

what to expect: coffee and desserts and a toast, not to mention lots of dancing

the wedding

the wedding details:

where: first presbyterian church of winston-salem
when: 7:30 pm wedding ceremony

dress: semi-formal*

what to expect:
-jazz trio before the service
-worship music
-wedding ceremony

*interpret this how you want, austin is in charge of enforcing the dress code if this tells you the level of strictness to expect.

what to do in winston-salem?

places we like to eat:
-the mellow mushroom
...(we both used to work here, drop our names)
-cat's corner
-downtown thai (medium niceness)
-sweet potato's
...(our first date was here, its a realll nice place!)

places to entertain yourself:
-the garage (favorite venue in winston)
-krankie's and the werehouse
...(great place to see a show or hang out)
-speakeasy
...(great jazz on wednesday night's if you are in town)
-winston cup nascar museum
...(umm, never been, but if you like cigarettes or race cars)

places to spend outside:
-reynolda gardens
...(love to play football here, stop by wake forest next door)
-pilot mountain (second date place!)
-wake forest (beautiful campus!!!!!!)

places to have beverages:
-sin (coffee shop)
-6th & vine (wine bar)
-mellow mushroom
...(32 beers on tap, austin tended that exact bar)

the ring

the ring was a long process!

I (austin) started thinking about proposing to Erin sometime in the fall so I started my journey a very ignorant boy. I thought back to Holly Golightly and visited the place with the blue boxes, only to find it wasn't quite Erin and I.

Erin and I are both artists so I decided I want to do something creative, like design the ring myself. So I went on a journey and met a guy named Jason through my friend Geoff in a Starbucks who told me he lived in an intentional living community and artists participated in their Bible studies and other gatherings. So before even taking a moment to get to know his last name I asked, "any of them make rings?" He pointedly responded, "yeah" (as if everyone knows someone who makes rings). His confidence was assuring that I would have a ring maker!

I met Kaoru a few weeks later and she and I chatted at what I believe was called Monica's, an espresso and pastry cafe. I told her my future wife's favorite color is white (we laughed) and thought about how to make a simple, elegant ring. We discussed how to etch an orchid into the ring. Kaoru admitted she'd be too busy to make the ring, but would ask her instructor at the studio she used.

Two jewelers later, a month before the engagement, I had dinner reservations, a plane ticket, and no ring. Then Tara called me and everything changed. I called Tara almost every other day, she was very patient. She'd send me sketches over the internet and we'd chat out the final project.

Now for the ring itself. The stones are white sapphires, the ring is made of silver and has a very organic, almost white look to it. Tara made three bands soldered together and etched an orchid in the wider, center ring. On the underside of the orchid is the hebrew word יַקִיר

which means "treasure", which is sometimes also "beloved", like the way Solomon addresses his love in Song of Songs.

erin's side of the story

A woman once gave me a marker and sketch pad and asked me to draw a representation of my relationship with Austin. On the right I drew a perfect square with a nice, smooth circle fitting nicely inside. One small, straight arrow went from the center of the circle towards the outside. That was me. On the left I drew a spasmatic amoeba with flailing appendages heading in all different directions. A multitude of arrows exited the amoeba shape with evident energy but heading in varying and at times contradictory directions. That…was Austin.

Mentally flipping back over the past two years brings a flood of memories, but three things stand out with striking clarity: that there are entirely more bumps in life than I ever imagined…that God has sovereign control over them all…and that sometimes amoebas need circlesquares in their life and circlesquares can use a little amoeba action.

Austin and I met in the fall of 2005 at the church in North Carolina where we will be married this fall. I had graduated from Wake Forest University that spring, moved to Argentina for the summer, and just returned to Winston-Salem to start a position as a director of a childhood health living program. My first Sunday back at the church where I’d worked with high school and college students for the previous four years, my friend Melanie told me I had to come meet this guy who she’d gone to college with who moved from Colorado to work in the college ministry. She walked me down to the basement and introduced me to this tattooed, messy hair guy sitting at a desk with those giant headphones on. We probably exchanged some forgotten formalities but I think my impression was a sort of “eeeh? (shoulder shrug)” and wishing they would have hired someone more my type or another female intern instead. But as the fall went on, our paths crossed with increasing frequency and I became slowly intrigued by this guy from a distance.

One night a group of us brought sleeping bags to watch a late night movie on a big screen. Within an hour of the movie’s end everyone had fallen asleep except Austin and me. It was the first time we had ever really talked and this was the point that my heart was moved. He was so passionate about worship, about art, about life…all in ways completely unique to anyone I had met. We stayed up talking until sunrise and the next day I had that nervousexcitedenergy…the kind that makes you sing outloud in your car to a song on repeat 82 times…uhh..or at least for people who like songs on repeat.

Austin asked me out a few weeks later and we began a year and a half relationship that would be filled with both incredible highs and major challenges. Our personalities, upbringings, and faith journeys were completely different from one another, but that was exactly what helped us each see and serve the world in better ways. We traveled together, did missions together, enjoyed art together, and were silly together. We also broke up twice, I cried a lot, and we were both struggling with a lot of issues on our own. But God is a transforming God who quite literally “redeemed our lives from the pit” and used each of us in the other’s life to get there. The last two years have been a refining process for each of us individually and together. Especially in the last six months, we grew. Austin grew in patience, grace, and tenderness. And I grew in vulnerability and fortitude. Despite everything that makes us different, I could not fathom myself with anyone else. With that said, I plan to wear a giant box down the aisle and Austin will be in an amoeba suit.

austin's side of the story

Well for me I was interested in Erin about a month before I asked her out. After a weekend trip at the beach where our friend Melanie got the wheels turning in my brain about maybe asking Erin out when I returned from my summer in Colorado playing music, I couldn't get the thoughts out of my mind. My friends and I were watching a movie on the big screen of the church I was working at and I knew Erin was waiting tables up the street at the Mellow Mushroom that night. After all my friends went home I sat around until she got off and walked her to her car. In the middle of Marshall Street I asked her out, and thus began our interesting ride.

Our first date I spent about an 1/8th of my entire month's salary taking her to a great restaurant, a concert, and then we hung out listened to snippits of the entire Bright Eyes discography. Our next date was a hike at Pilot Mountain, and a few more dates after that. Then I went to Colorado and it got a little tougher. Erin has been sweet and pleasant since I've known her and before I'm sure, but her shyness really tested me with the distance. By the end of the summer, it became too hard for my picky, impatient heart.

We spent about 6 weeks apart, but Erin's persistant drive kicked in and she wouldn't let me go. She showed up everywhere I was and eventually showed up on the list for a trip to the Dominican Republic I had planned to play music on. I couldn't escape and remembered why I liked her so much. After awhile back together we went on the trip and I had seen I could marry her. I spent the next months trying to see if her independent, driven soul would be willing to invite me into her plans future and present.

But the tunnel vision came around and on my end, I had a bit of a quarter life crisis. I became really focused on myself and ignored her a lot. She was Harvard bound and I waited for an invitation to participate instead of initiating the conversation myself. But it never came and I got the distinct (wrong) impression there was only room for Harvard or me, and while less expensive, I was not chosen. My quarter life crisis got more dramatic as I began to question my entire career path in Churches and even how I understood Christianity.

I grew a huge beard (pictures on the website for reference) and became very contemplative...and angry. Joe Farrell and I had coffee in the end of June and I decided to run as far from North Carolina as I could...San Diego. Once I made that decision things turned around. I began to see Christianity in new ways and my future too. On my way out to California, my friend Nick and I stayed with Erin and her family in Aspen...now a glaring non-coincidence. Nick couldn't stand the obvious connection we were missing and made extremely awkward comments to ease his discomfort, things we now understand.

When I got to California I decided it was time to man up. I always knew Erin was incredible, but never knew if we would ever be able to put aside our independence and drive to partner with each other. So I told her how it was and made a very emotional plea for forgiveness. She told me she loved me, but if I ever wanted her again I'd have to put a ring on her finger.

With extreme deliberation I spent the fall of 2007 in prayer, and every Sunday with Joe and Anne Farrell to recieve Joe's inquisitive guidance and Anne's authorative opinions (summed into awesome counsel). Anna Gissing, among many others helped too and in November I started getting ready to propose.

So I spent Decemeber lining up my ducks with Erin's parents (a consistant dowry of free coffee for her parents), getting the ring, and making arrangements. I proposed on January 4th and can't wait to grow up as more of a man to guide Erin through what will be her incredible life of accomplishment, all the while hoping her creativity and gracefulness will rub off on me.

the registry

well we live in america and we've been really blessed so we don't feel like we need anything, so seriously we don't need anything. don't worry about bringing us a pot, or pan, or fondue set, or matching sweaters, or a television, or set of coffee mugs.

but we have "registered" for gifts! we would like you to choose from one of the organizations on the sidebar links and donate! you can find out more from each of their websites. we'd love a note or card or email to let us know who you picked to help!

*if you choose invisible children, you can also buy a bracelet or DVD as your contribution, but keep it for yourself! its easy to donate on their website.

*if you choose Mission Emanuel, we are asking you direct your contribution to the new Medical Clinic, but if you would like to take a serious commitment, look into sponsoring a child.

make checks payable to:
Mission Emanuel
1220 E. Concord St.
Orlando, FL 32803

or call 407-422-9200 to pay by credit card
Be sure to write "Erin and Austin Pfeiffer" in the memo line or enclosed note