Last Day

Today is the day we leave Georgia. I don't quite know how to process all the emotions swirling in my brain. Excited to see more family. Broken-hearted to lose the precious face-to-face relationships we've had for the past three and a half months.

This aspect of missionary life--the goodbyes--is one I think I will never master. I don't think saying goodbye will ever be easy, even though I love my life and coworkers in PNG.

It's especially hard with family. My heart aches to leave them. I'm so thankful for the precious memories we've made and the special fellowship we've shared. It has ended too soon. We love you guys so, so, so much!!!!


And our churches. The precious people who have welcomed us with open arms and hearts while we've been back. They have celebrated God's work with us, cried over the lost with us, and loved us and our kids to pieces. We love you all so much and are thankful for each of you.

Our hearts are full. Full of joy. Full of memories. Full of sorrow. Full of anticipation. Full of excitement.

Thank you, Georgia family and friends, for a very special and memorable time. We are richer because of it.

Our Little Buckaroo

Ok maybe I am (incredibly) biased, but I kinda think Kyler is just about the cutest baby out there. Agreed? Ok, good now we can move on. :)

He just turned 3 months old a few days ago. He loves life, and we love him!

  

His current favorite things (that I can tell so far): "talking" to people, just being with people in general, playing "rough", bright colorful lights or toys, being sung to or listening to music

Personality: Quick to smile and laugh and usually only cries if he's really needing something, loves to be with people

This month's accomplishments: Rolled over once from his tummy to his back. Oh, and he found his hand to suck on… not sure if that's an accomplishment, but anything for a baby is pretty good.

It's been such an incredible blessing to have this little guy in our lives. We can't really imagine life without him. We are excited to share this ministry in PNG with him, and he is already a big help to our little family team. The national people absolutely adore him, and talking about him or to him makes for a great ice-breaker with strangers. I'm sure he doesn't have a clue that he is such a big help to us as we start to learn the trade language, but hey, it's pretty awesome that he can have a part at 3 months old! :)

Worth a Thousand Words

A few pictures from our time in Georgia so far. Loving this little baby!

 

He's Here!

After 42 weeks of waiting and a long, hard labor, we finally got to meet our little son for the first time! Kyler Laine Teele was born on April 30 at 1:38pm. He was 10 lbs and 20 inches long...big boy! We are so grateful that he is healthy!

It's been so fun getting to know him over the past week and getting to see his personality appear. We love staring at his tiny, adorable face... holding his tiny little hands. He's an incredible, precious gift from God, and we are hopelessly in love with him already!

Don't worry, many more pictures to come! :-)

Hopelessly in Love

Can I just say up front, I am absolutely head over heels in love right now! Yeah, I know it's Valentine's Day and so everyone expects you to talk about love, but this love goes way beyond just one day of the year.

I'm so in love with my husband...so in love that it almost hurts. It's been almost a year since we got married, but it's been the best year of my life. I love living life with my best friend! Sure, we have challenges. We see each other at our worst. Yet we choose to both apologize and to forgive. It's an amazing thing to know that someone sees all your faults yet still likes you and wants to be with you. What unbelievable, breath-taking love! I'm so proud to call him my husband!
 

 

And I'm also crazy in love with a tiny person who I haven't really met yet. I've only known him (or her) for 7 months, yet I already love him fiercely. His kicks inside my belly make me smile and take away my breath. His strength is sometimes startling, yet his smallness makes me so protective and caring. I love watching my husband feel the baby's movements, seeing the tender love in his eyes for his child. We are so excited to meet him or her in just 8 weeks (give or take a few)!

 

I'm so grateful that God has given us the emotion of love. Unfortunately, it's so misused in our world today. But true, godly love is such a beautiful, special thing. It's an incredible picture of the awe-inspiring, unconditional love that our Father has towards us, His precious kids. That overwhelming, fierce love that should sweep us off our feet and leave us breathless in the goodness of God. His love (unlike ours) knows no limits and has no end. I'm grateful that, no matter what happens, I can always rest in the love of God, for He is crazy in love with me!

Georgia Trip

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. It's been so good to spend time with family and friends. We've enjoyed every second!

We had a fantastic time celebrating with my cousin and his new wife as they got married on the 1st. Congratulations Jotham and Maria!

We also really enjoyed our two weeks in Georgia. It was so much fun to get to hang out with my family, especially since it's been 6 months since we last saw them. I've missed them a lot! I'm so glad that they could get a chance to see my baby bump, too. :)

We had a lot of fun talking, laughing, and playing games. Clint also got to go hiking a few times, which he thoroughly enjoyed. We also went ice skating one day (although I just watched). So thankful for the memories we made!

I honestly think that leaving family will be one of the hardest things about going overseas. It's difficult to think that we'll be apart for several years at a time, most likely missing important events like weddings and new babies. Sometimes it makes me want to cry when I think about it. In a way, it kind of feels unfair. My parents aren't going to get to see their grandkids grow up, and our children won't know their relatives very well. But then I remember Heaven. We're going to get all of eternity to catch up on the moments lost. All the shed tears, the heart-wrenching goodbyes, and the wishful yearnings will be over, and we'll be able to bask in the loving presence of Jesus forever. What a reunion that will be!

 We had a really special and fun Christmas this year. Not only did we get to enjoy lots of quality time with the Teele family, but we also had some time to enjoy our first Christmas as a married couple. So thankful for the memories we have made this week that we can treasure for a lifetime!

A beautiful present from my husband

Presents at Christmas time are so much fun, especially giving them. I find so much joy in watching others open the gifts I've given them. I think that's what God must feel when He gives us blessings in life... It truly is more blessed to give than to receive.

Our first tree and presents

Clint and I loved opening the gifts from each other on Christmas morning, and we also got to open gifts that my family sent from back East. It almost made it feel like we got to celebrate with them too! By the way, Mom, Dutch Blitz was the perfect gift... it's already gotten used like five times! :)

Christmas celebrations

Christmas celebrations with the Teele family included a name exchange where we drew names and bought a gift (or several) for that person. It was so much fun getting to open those gifts on Christmas morning with all the family. 9 of the 12 Teele siblings were there, as well as 5 grandchildren, so it made for a full, chaotic, and very fun celebration!

New puppies at the Teele farm

There's always new life at the Teele farm, and some puppies arrived just in time for Christmas! Their eyes are almost open, and they are super cute!

Enjoying some Dutch Blitz

Almost any Teele gathering is incomplete without at least one game of something, whether it's invented on the spot or an actual card or board game.

Paintball with slingshots (photo from my mother-in-law)

Yesterday, we had a really fun game of paintball using slingshots. I can't resist a good, sportsy game, so I added a bit of extra padding around my middle and joined in! We had tons of fun, got plenty dirty, and loved every second of it! One nice thing about playing sports with the Teeles: if you get a group of them together, you automatically have large teams! :)

I hope your Christmas season has been a wonderful one, and even if you weren't able to celebrate with family this year, I hope that this time of celebrating the greatest Gift of all was special!

The Joys of Motherhood

I think it's starting to really hit me that I'm going to be a mom really soon (um, wasn't I just a kid like a few years ago???). I had a prenatal checkup yesterday, and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time! What an amazing, breathtaking experience! I can't wait to meet this little one!

I also gave in yesterday and bought my first pair of maternity jeans. So much more comfortable than regular jeans for my ever-growing belly! I'm showing quite a bit now, at least to those who know me well. Other people probably just think I'm getting fat, which is probably also true, but I guess I have an excuse. :)

Even though I know that raising children is a difficult task, one that requires a lot of patience, hard work, and sacrificial love, I am excited out of my mind and so incredibly joyful to get to be a mom! I'm so grateful for the godly example my mom showed me. I hope I will be half as good a mom as she is!

My Hunting Husband

I'm a temporary hunting widow this evening while my handsome hubby is hunting elk. Sooo... I thought I'd post since I haven't in a while.

We just got internet set up at our house, which is nice so we don't have to run to the library constantly or steal it at Mom and Dad Teele's place. :-)

I also have to brag on my husband a bit. We just got back on Thursday from a week long camping/hunting trip in eastern Oregon with a bunch of Clint's family. Super fun! Anyways, Clint hunted pretty hard while we were there... and when I mean hard, I mean HARD. Like LOTS of walking and hiking. It's pretty rugged out where we were. Like really rugged. Like there are canyons that are 2 miles across. Beautiful, but not very fun to track deer or elk.

But anyways, my hubby still managed to shoot a buck deer, and while it isn't very big, the fact that he got one and packed the whole thing out by himself (at least 70 lbs) is pretty incredible!

 

I'm crazy about that man! :-)

A Little One

After the looong week of waiting (ok, well it felt long), I can finally post about this!

We're going to have a baby!!!! I can hardly believe it, and writing it makes it seem even more strange. But it's true, and my stomach can already attest to it! :)

It was very unexpected, but so, so exciting. When I first found out, I could hardly contain my excitement. I wanted to tell the whole world! But being able to savor that moment with Clint was something so special and unique. I will never forget it!

I'm kind of worried now that everyone knows. Worried that I'll have a miscarriage or that something will go wrong with the pregnancy. I know so many women miscarry within the first trimester... and I'm only 1 month along. But I know that God knows best, and He will bring this baby to full term if it is supposed to happen.

Little One, I am so excited to meet you. So thrilled to get to be your momma, even if it is just for a few weeks or months inside of me. You are an incredible, beautiful blessing from God, and I can't wait to see how He knits you together. I love you already, Baby Teele!

Places and People

Wow, what a week! It's been such a blessing to see so many friends and family during our drive out here.

During our trip we've...
...driven over 2,000 miles
...traveled through 5 different states (surprisingly, it's only been 5 so far!)
...seen 43 different state license plates (still hoping to find Alaska and Hawaii... who knows?)
...seen some incredible scenery and watched the landscape change
...reached 11,000 ft elevation while driving on the highway
...watched the show "Jonah" at Sight & Sound Theatres... definitely worth any trip to see!
...played Mario Kart 8 a few times (I think... Grant, correct me if I'm wrong ;) )
...gone swimming
...gone line dancing with friends
...helped pass out invitations for a neighborhood Bible study
...sheared some llamas (well, Clint did at least)
...visited the Colorado National Monument
...had an awesome time visiting friends and family!

It's been such a neat and encouraging time getting to hang out and fellowship. We're so grateful for the time we've had, and our trip isn't over yet! We're heading to Idaho tomorrow to see some more family, and then we're heading for Oregon on Thursday!

And... pictures!!!!

Driving in our very packed car

Enjoying time with cousins

Enjoying time with cousins

"Jonah" at Sight & Sound Theatres

Hanging out with friends from the Training Center in Missouri

Classmates from our Training Center days

Colorado National Monument

Independence Rock behind us!

Beautiful scenery!

Thanks so much for all your prayers and thoughts as we are traveling! Praise God, the car is holding up, and so are we! It's been a great trip so far!

To My (Clint's) Dad

Hi there,
If you're thinking this doesn't sound like Ashlyn, you're right! This is Clint! We have set up our blog so that I can also write on here. So if you notice a post every once in a while that doesn't sound like Ashlyn well it may be because it's me...or it may be because Ashlyn is writing when she is tired.

My Dad

I think it is appropriate that I write my first post about my dad. And since it's Father's Day tomorrow that works out fine. When I think of my dad I think of someone who can do anything and do it well. As a kid growing up, it seemed there was never anything dad did not understand or know how to do. As I look back now I am so thankful for a dad that could do so many things, and taught me how to do them as well. I know many of them will be a help on the mission field, most of which I learned at least in part from my dad. Running a chainsaw, general construction, plumbing, fixing mechanical problems, and farming just to name some. Dad also taught so many valuable lessons about work ethic, how if a job is worth doing it's worth doing well. Dad rarely took short cuts...unless he was driving!

Dad has also taught me through example so many life lessons, like forgiveness, honesty and patience. I know my dad wasn't perfect by a long shot...but I am so thankful that God gave me the dad He did, knowing that in Papua New Guinea I would need so many of the things I got from my dad.

So thanks dad...not for being a perfect dad...but for being my dad.
Happy Fathers Day!

I love you

Clint

Mr. and Mrs. Keim

It's hard to believe the second 2014 Teele wedding is already over. Congratulations Autumn and Jesse! It was such a beautiful wedding, and we thoroughly enjoyed being there to celebrate it with you both! Autumn, you were so beautiful! Jesse, you weren't, but hey, that's ok, you weren't supposed to be. :-)

We love you guys and can't wait to have a lot more adventures with you in the future! Congratulations again!