Well, we've finally ripped the plastic covering off our windows. Spring is here in wilmore! How do we know? Mr. Beasley Weasley (Kelly's cat) has drug, not one, but two live snakes into the house! One left a trail of blood on the carpet. Claire reminds me daily that "beasley weasley" likes to eat snakes.
Minus the snakes, it's nice to have a breeze flowing through the house again. Spring should be better than Fall:
-Claire is potty trained -We will have lots of family visitors -the School year has an end in sight
-we can start planting and harvesting a garden again - we can take afternoon walks while it is still light out -claire can go to the park again!
We still feeling like we are in a bit of survival mode. It is hard to be away from family and friends and to live life in such a hectic schedule. The weekend feels like our only rest and, even then, we feel like we are playing catchup on chores and claire time. The weekdays are full of studying and rushing claire around back and forth from sitters from morning until evening. I'm also doing an internship with the youth at our church so wed and sun evenings are taken up for me and taken away from our family time.
There seem to be new babies and pregnancies galore. Claire is ready for a little brother or sister- everywhere we go she plays with babies and oohs and aahs more than the other kids. I feel like my mommy hormones are ready again, but I just can't fathom trying to have a newborn on top of grad school. So, Claire and Keith will just have to wait....
Keith has been attending a program in Pittsburg that teaches the intricasies of spiritual formation. He seems quite enlivened when he returns home from long weekends on these retreats. It's hard for him to leave Claire and I behind and hard for us, but it seems like it is going to pay off in the long run for everyone's spirits.
I am diving further into understanding God's call on my life, the details of ecumenical Christian theology, and how to study the bible inductively. I've also sat in on some wonderful seminars related to children's spirituality and the theology for women in ministry and the practical issues that women face in ministry.
I enjoy what I'm learning, but hate the deadlines and pressure to perform as much as I did in undergrad. I think I'm starting to get over it, though which reduces my stress level greatly.
We will probably not even be going home for Easter, but sticking around here to finish out the term. I hope to take 2 or 3 summer courses to move my degree along, too. We will get back home once or twice this summer, though, I think especially for Luke's wedding at the end of June.
Claire will soon have a twin bed, dresser, desk and hutch that was her Aunt Laura's while growing up. I'm quite excited about getting her little bedroom setup so she can begin to have more of her own space and take up less of ours;). She seems to be clinging more to Keith than in the past. It is nice for him to finally feel like he is a beloved "daddy" and nice for me to get some more space. We thoroughly enjoy every minute of her. She continues to be an extraverted, strong willed little lady -yet she exhibits Keith's deep sensitivity at times.
That's about all we have to report!
I'll have to post some claire pictures soon....
