Well, we are going into our third week here at Columbia and still hanging in there. Greek School is tough, but I am finding ways to understand ancient language and all its patterns, forms, and new vocabulary. So far we have had three quizes and I am making good grades, which I am thankful for. I am discovering I am quite competitive with myself! So I am trying to focus on learning this language the best I can as well as being present with my family. It is a challenge, but God continues to give me the endurance and strength to tackle this task...especially on the difficult days.
Monday night, July 14, the Greek students were invited to the home of Dr. Laura Mendenhall, President of CTS. It was a wonderful opportunity to talk with her and her husband, Chuck Mendenhall. They are wonderful people and so down to earth. The evening was great to talk with my fellow students too. A few of the single and married young women without children decided last night to treat all the married with children students to an evening of free babysitting after our midterm exams July 28! They certainly don't have to twist our arms!!! I believe there are 4 students here in the Village (including myself) who are parents. The student community here is amazing and relationships continue to build in support of this intense time of study.
Doug and I were able to have a date night this past weekend. Our wonderful neighbors, Richard and Shay, had the girls over for dinner with their family of five. So while they were all eating Chik-Fil-A, Doug and I walked down the streets of Oakhurst (a cute little neighborhood in Decatur) and had dinner at a great little Italian / Mediterranean restaurant. I had my first entree of Ratatouille, which was very comforting. I couldn't help but think about the rat who made it in the movie! Doug had his favorite dish, lasagna...it is always a good indicator of a quality restaurant. It was a nice evening.....
The girls had their first day of VBS at Clairmont Presbyterian Church, a church we have been visiting the past two Sundays. The VBS theme is Power Lab, which is science related. Richard and Shay's children are going with Devon and Ashley so that they already have a buddy in their classes. Clairmont is a little like Sardis, as they have a small group ministry and are geared to local and international outreach and missions. We had the opportunity to have Sunday lunch with Clairmont's female pastor, who oversees small group ministry, evangelism, and women's ministry. Megan ans her family were so easy to connect with, it seemed like we had known them for a while!!! I am looking forward to getting to know her and her family and gleaning more about the roles of a mother and pastor.
The biggest accomplishments these past few weeks have been that Devon learned how to ride her new bike without training wheels AND Ashley is now learning to ride her big girl bike without training wheels. The past few weeks Ashley has been riding her Razer scooter as fast as she could make it go, which is nearly the speed of light. And to give her extra kudos, she has only wiped out twice!!! So she was beaming as she rode her bike on her own and was even more happy when Doug told her she needed to ride FAST to keep her balance! It was very funny and Devon was ecstatic for her sister.
In closing, we have begun to finally experience some homesickness the past few days. We miss being a part of Sardis Presbyterian's VBS, as it is this week. And sweet Ashley woke up in tears Monday morning because she had had a dream about Boyd. She just stood at the top of the stairs, all sleepy eyed, with crocodile tears streaming down and saying, "I miss Boyd!!!". So we had a tough day yesterday, but something must have been in the air because many students told me they were really homesick too. I think everything is just sinking in for all of us here.
Thank you for all your support and prayers. Please do keep in touch. We are glad you are sharing this journey with us!!!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Our First Week
We had our first whirlwind week here at Columbia. Doug and I are thankful that we closed on our house in Charlotte and got everything moved in to our seminary apartment with no breakage; we only lost a container of oatmeal on the truck! As soon as Doug brought the moving truck to the Village (our apartment complex name), we had so many seminary neighbors who were willing to help us unload. It was great. We moved furniture until late Friday night (June 27) and all the kids were playing outside in the dark until almost 11:00!!! Needless to say we have gotten a bit off schedule with bedtime routines, but hey, it's summer!!!
There are nearly a dozen children, mostly early elementary age, here at the Village. Devon and Ashley are living a children's fantasy where the playdate can start after breakfast and end late afternoon. They have made great friends and we love living next door to Diane and Charles Hunter and their family; they are the other family from our church attending seminary here at CTS.
There is a good mix of students in our Greek School from twenty-somethings recently out of college to those like myself in the their thirties and forties as a second career student with a family. There are actually a lot of women here on campus in the Master of Divinity program. I have met a good handful of moms and even single women in my class. Everyone is very easy to talk to. Doug and I are enjoying CTS for being a campus that does focus on relationships.
It has been a lot of fun getting back into college mode. I have had many late nights and early mornings, as this first summer class in Greek is a lot of work. But it is what it is and I am enjoying it. It is a lot of fun to begin to translate the New Testament. Only 7 more weeks to go!!!
Doug has relocated his work office to one of our bedrooms and is still getting his equipment set up. We will both be glad when all the boxes in this one room are allocated to a book shelf or cabinet. He has his plate full with his job and taking care of the girls while I am in class. I feel like I am the luckiest girl in the world though....Doug cooked all the dinners last week and just took over. It was an odd feeling switching roles, but we are figuring out how to share our responsibilities and finding time to connect to each other as well.
We had a fun Forth of July. We spent the morning nesting and getting pictures hung to make the apartment look more like home. The Dean of Students, Dr. John White, invited all the Greek students over to his house for a cook out at lunch, so most of the families went. It was a lot of fun. I miss all my colored walls, so my neighbors came over Friday afternoon and helped decorate my living room and kitchen. Friday night we all went to downtown Decatur to see the fireworks and they were fantastic. The girls loved staying up late again and seeing all the excitement.
Today Doug took Devon and Ashley to Stone Mountain for the afternoon so I could study. They had a great time there. Tonight we went to a cookout with the seminary families and just hung out for a while. It was a good weekend. Sunday we will visit another church and then I will be back in the books for my next Greek quiz.
We are thankful for the first of week of transitioning and new friendships.
There are nearly a dozen children, mostly early elementary age, here at the Village. Devon and Ashley are living a children's fantasy where the playdate can start after breakfast and end late afternoon. They have made great friends and we love living next door to Diane and Charles Hunter and their family; they are the other family from our church attending seminary here at CTS.
There is a good mix of students in our Greek School from twenty-somethings recently out of college to those like myself in the their thirties and forties as a second career student with a family. There are actually a lot of women here on campus in the Master of Divinity program. I have met a good handful of moms and even single women in my class. Everyone is very easy to talk to. Doug and I are enjoying CTS for being a campus that does focus on relationships.
It has been a lot of fun getting back into college mode. I have had many late nights and early mornings, as this first summer class in Greek is a lot of work. But it is what it is and I am enjoying it. It is a lot of fun to begin to translate the New Testament. Only 7 more weeks to go!!!
Doug has relocated his work office to one of our bedrooms and is still getting his equipment set up. We will both be glad when all the boxes in this one room are allocated to a book shelf or cabinet. He has his plate full with his job and taking care of the girls while I am in class. I feel like I am the luckiest girl in the world though....Doug cooked all the dinners last week and just took over. It was an odd feeling switching roles, but we are figuring out how to share our responsibilities and finding time to connect to each other as well.
We had a fun Forth of July. We spent the morning nesting and getting pictures hung to make the apartment look more like home. The Dean of Students, Dr. John White, invited all the Greek students over to his house for a cook out at lunch, so most of the families went. It was a lot of fun. I miss all my colored walls, so my neighbors came over Friday afternoon and helped decorate my living room and kitchen. Friday night we all went to downtown Decatur to see the fireworks and they were fantastic. The girls loved staying up late again and seeing all the excitement.
Today Doug took Devon and Ashley to Stone Mountain for the afternoon so I could study. They had a great time there. Tonight we went to a cookout with the seminary families and just hung out for a while. It was a good weekend. Sunday we will visit another church and then I will be back in the books for my next Greek quiz.
We are thankful for the first of week of transitioning and new friendships.
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