Best of Summer

Now that summer is "over," I feel like I should post some pictures I had intended to post over the past months.

Here is Stephen supervising Lee building their sand castle.


Stephen's favorite part of building sand castles was filling the bucket with water, immediately dumping it, and running back for more.


Cute beach pictures




We also made several trips to go swimming in his grandparents' pool in SC. We did have swimming lessons here at WCU, but our camera was out of commission, so no pictures. He was never too keen on putting faces in the water, but other than that he loved it!


Around the time we moved, Lee took Stephen to see Thomas in nearby Dillsboro. They didn't get to ride this year, but there was lots of fun to be had. There was a petting zoo, a table set up with trains, model trains to watch, etc.

Potty Training and a Stephenism

I've seen that I'm not a talented potty-trainer. For example, when Stephen was in a pull-up recently, I noticed it was wet, so I said we should go to the bathroom and change it. He said, "No, I'll just wear it for a few days." Stephen has been in and out of this phase for a while now (we took a break before and after the move), and we have made progress, but not as much as I thought. Our main problem is lack of consistency - he's getting very rebellious and I'm getting very tired.
My goal is to have daytime dryness before the baby's born, so I plan to buckle down and not be afraid of accidents...

Changes!

Quite a lot has changed for me lately. Recently, the dean of our college (and my direct supervisor) announced that he will step down from the deanship at the end of this academic year (June 08). So, we’ll be searching for a new dean, and I’m wondering who my new “boss” will be. I’ve really enjoyed working for Michael – he’s the one who hired me and we get along very well. I hope we can find someone who is as good of a leader.

Also, our pastor at Emmanuel is stepping down to become the first RUF campus minister at Western! Dave and family will be moving to Cullowhee sometime soon and he’s started the “new RUF Guy” process. While I’m sorry he’ll no longer be my pastor, I look forward to having him and his family closer to us and to helping as I may with an RUF here at WCU.

We completed deacon training this evening, so the next step is to be examined by our session and then come before the congregation for a vote. If it is the Lord’s will, I look forward to serving as a deacon at Emmanuel. And deacon or no, I’ll be serving because…

I was also elected to the pulpit committee and made the chairman today. Hoo boy! While I feel inadequate for the task (and admit I would have liked to have my Sunday afternoons back now that deacon training is over) I am honored to be picked. I was on the committee at New Life (now Northside) in Winder, GA, so I know this will be a time consuming task.

We would appreciate your prayers in all these things.

Still alive

Greetings all - we've neglected this poor blog. I'd like to say we've been diligently moving in, but that's not entirely accurate. Some quickie updates:

• We are moved in to the new house and are functional. The house is wonderful - sure the quirks are there but it's great. Stephen loves it, especially having all this baby stuff out now to explore (again, though he doesn't remember it).
• Stephen asked to get out my old trombone. I showed him what to do and he blew a good, fairly clear note! He really loves moving the slide to change the pitch. It's humbling to know my 2 year old has a much better start on an instrument than I did.
  
• Deacon training goes on. The schedule is not fixed, so I don't know exactly how many more weeks we have. We've mostly gone over doctrine and read some articles and short books. The part I've enjoyed most is getting to know my fellow candidates.
  
• We've had some more folks visit at church including couples with small kids. I confess I rather hope they join - partly because some are generally from our area and we miss having that fellowship with good friends around our age.
• The semester has started again here at WCU and it's quite hectic these last two days. That will settle down shortly (I hope) and I can get back to the bigger, less urgent things.
• The WCU Bible study is starting up again. We're adding some group singing this year. I'm very excited that there is a stable group as a foundation to start an RUF here.
  
• Kristy is feeling fine, and our little girl is fine too. We're excited about starting the 3rd trimester.
  
• Bluebell ice cream was recently on sale for $3.48/half gallon at Ingle's. That's always good, and a good price for around here.
  

Basically, God is very good to us - far better than we deserve!

Goodbye Rent, Hello Mortgage...

After 8 years of renting, we've closed on our house! We're mostly packed and should be moved within a week! After getting the keys, we went by just because - Stephen walked in and said, "Ah, this is wonderful!" He is excited to have stairs. I am excited about the heat pump and dishwasher (yes I do feel spoiled when I admit to that...). Lee is excited about the much smaller yard to mow. So we're all very happy and thankful.

Break in Pigeon Forge

We recently went to Pigeon Forge, TN with Lee's family from SC and TN. Lee and I had never been to that area so we were not as prepared for the bustling atmosphere - but for the mountains we would have thought we'd ended up in Myrtle Beach!
On top of that, we spent one morning at Splash Country, the water amusement park next to Dollywood. Stephen had a blast on the partially submerged playground (our camera's battery was dead, so pictures may be coming later from a different source). I had the interesting challenge of finding things that pregnant women could do. I saw the 1-4 rating system and read that 1's and 2's would be safe, but at first, I couldn't find the rating for particular rides. I waited in line with the rest of my party, who agreed that this one (a small group ride) should be fine - it certainly looked safer than keeping up with a 2.5 year old boy. After 10 minutes, we found a sign from the authorities that be stating that those with certain medical conditions should not ride, so I had to go back down all those stairs, defending myself to those who commented, in friendly ways, on my nerve. I used the time to look for the rating (in this case, 4) so I could avoid this again. I did get to go on some things, and got to see family having fun.
One thing pregnant women can almost always do is shop. We did hit the outlet stores, and managed to find decent deals for all four of us. I don't know if buying girls' clothes will be easier or more difficult because of the much bigger selection compared to boys' clothes, but it was so fun.
Then we came home and had to face the pile of stuff to do - including packing!!!