March Update

Over halfway there...! and in need of prayer.

Time is flying. We are nearing the end of our 3rd year at Covenant, and our heads are spinning with the wonder of it all. This time has truly been a blessing to us, and we are amazed at the experiences the Lord has given us since we arrived. When I started attending Covenant in 2007, we decided that it would be best for the family if Kelsey did not take classes right away. Murrin was 8 months old, and McKenna was not yet preschool age. Now, with two degrees on my plate (I was accepted into the Master of Arts in Counseling program this December!), 2 more years to go, and the girls getting more independent, we feel we can not pass up the opportunity for her to get a degree while we are here (the seminary generously offers free tuition for spouses of full-time students). So, as of last semester she started taking classes (part-time) for credit. We are very excited and grateful that she can receive such good teaching and equipment for free! A good friend of mine use to say, “Cheaper is better, free is the BEST!” Yeah! With the hope in mind, Lord willing, of teaching at university level sometime in the future, Kelsey will begin that path by working towards one of the 48 credit Master of Arts degrees offered by the seminary. Our plan is for her to continue part-time (after this year she will have 35 credits left to complete), graduating with me in May of 2012. Please pray for us as we seek to honor the Lord in our family, studies, and work.

Our girls are getting big. Every parent that I talk to that has children older than mine always say to me, “Cherish the time you have with them, before you know it they will be graduating from college.” Well, they have not graduated from college yet, but they sure are growing up quickly. McKenna starts Kindergarten in the fall and she is very excited about it. We went past the school she’ll be attending the other night. It was dark, and since they were having a parent-teacher meeting the lights were on and cars were parked outside. McKenna said to me, “There are people at my school. What are they still doing there at this time of night?” Maybe we should get her signed up for security detail.

In addition, Murrin starts pre-school and she can not wait. Since McKenna currently goes there, Murrin sees this as another opportunity to follow in her sister’s footsteps (she thinks her sister hung the moon). She loves to go into the school to play with the dollhouse and sing whenever she gets the chance. The teachers love her already.

2 years to go, but... 1. Our trusty laptop is on the fritz. A loose connection problem (related to the viewability of the screen), has become worse with time and an unfortunate accident which caused the hinge to break. I have continued to limp the computer along, but this has been one of the reasons for the delay in our communication. The screen becomes unreadable and I find myself tapping it to make it work, as old images of slapping the television in to clear the screen float through my head. I fear there will soon come a time when it will give up the ghost, if you know what I mean. We do not have the funds to replace this much needed tool for study and writing. IF any of you have a laptop you are thinking of replacing, would you consider donating it to us?
2. In June our family will be moving. Please make a note of this. The change should be quite easy for everyone–including you–as we will only be moving down two floors from where we live now. We currently live in 441 I, after June we will live in 441 C. This will put us on the bottom floor and should benefit us in many ways. It may not seem like a big deal, but we are so thankful for the change. I also believe our downstairs neighbors will find this change appealing as our girls are very active (thump, thump, thump).

Please pray: –That the Lord will give us strength and enthusiasm for the next two years. (They say that seminary is a marathon not a sprint. We try to pace ourselves, but at times life comes at us so fast we resort to “Killing the closest alligator,”as one of our professors says). Pray that the Lord would put us in positions where we might thrive–not just survive.
–For our involvement in our church, Chesterfield Presbyterian Church (CPC). The Lord has provided us with many opportunities to serve there. Kelsey has been involved in leading worship at CPC and has even gotten involved in singing back-up for two different bands. Thankfully they do not have too many gigs right now, but she enjoys this very much as it provides her an outlet to express her musical gifts. I have taught a few adult Sunday School classes and just started working with Jr. High students again on a weekly basis.

We thank God for you. Please, do take the time to let us know how we might pray for you, as we think of you and pray for you often and would love to have more direction in our prayers!