Already it’s been over a month since my last post! I really miss having internet access at home, although I readily admit that I’ve been more able to use my non-internet-filled-time in healthy ways: to read books (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Ya-Yas in Bloom), write real handwritten letters, and of course, spend lots of quality time with Lucy and Dave. My quiet times with God have improved in consistency and depth, too.
I would be remiss to write much further without mentioning the tragedy that took place at Virginia Tech this week. Needless to say, it was such a drastic shock to everyone, and the fact that it happened so close to home made it especially hard-hitting. Tech is an incredibly popular school around here; one of the biggies. Dave & I know VA Tech graduates, and many of Dave’s youth will likely attend it in the future. We have been saturated with the news since Monday, hitting information overload somewhere around Tuesday night. I watched the Tuesday convocation ceremony held at Tech (which was attended by Governor Kaine and President & First Lady Bush) in its entirety, and I was quite moved by it. Everyone had wise words of encouragement and hope while keeping the precarious balance of honoring those who lost their lives. It is a situation that profoundly affects us all, with repercussions likely to reverberate for years to come. Everyone has continued to rally in support. I like what people have been saying: “I attend [university], but today, I am a Hokie.” I’m curious how much of this support and coverage is continuing across the country/around the world, as we are immersed in it here in Virginia. Let me know what you’ve observed. Has the VA Tech talk quieted down in your neck of the woods?
In lighter news:
Dave and I are continuing to try to fit into our new community. It’s a small town. I’m completely proud of Dave’s work so far as the Youth Director. The kids seem to like him a lot. Sometimes he faces the stubborn “this is how we’ve always done it” mentality from other churchgoers, and he’s made some really godly decisions in spite of mild opposition. On a personal level, we are experiencing all kinds of differences (and challenges) with our new church body. We’re doing our best to serve God and seek out friendships (we do the greeting for the contemporary service, and I joined one of the praise bands). We’re still trying to figure out how to get involved with (or start) a small group Bible study, since our church doesn’t have them (and the people we’ve met don’t seem to want them or are too busy). The hunt continues for “kindred spirit” friends around here. We crave to be a part of a dynamic community of believers who want to serve Jesus wholeheartedly through Bible study, missions, evangelism, worship, and fellowship (to name a few). We haven’t found that yet – maybe we’re not meant to for now. We still manage to see Richmond friends here & there, but as expected, our move 40 minutes south has made that rarer & rarer.
Our son-to-be continues to grow and get ready for his Grand Entrance (early July). We have a name picked out and we’re excited to unveil it at his birth!
Lucy is 14 months old and the light of our lives. She is not eating any baby food anymore, drinks milk from a sippy cup happily, and is walking all over the place! She says the following words with great frequency and conviction: hi, bye, dog, ball, tree, baby, and uh-oh! Occasionally it sounds like she says “Dad”, and we hear her make the “mama” sound, but I don’t think she’s directing it at me yet. She loves our dog, Livvy (thankfully, Livvy is very tolerant when Lucy pounces all over her). Her favorite things are her books, which we read over and over again. We can recite any one of her books, and 9 times out of 10, she’ll go to her shelf and pick out the very book we’re quoting. That’s our “GT baby”!
We set up our screened-in porch, and have enjoyed meals al fresco when it’s warm enough. The house next door is being completely refurbished for a new owner. Our other neighbors built a huge skating ramp for their teenage son. And we make frequent pilgrimages to the area Target, Sonic, Books A Million, Food Lion, and Wal Mart. If you were wondering what we did on the weekends, that pretty much sums it up. Now that it’s warmer, we can take more walks and go to the park.
We’re still totally into Lost. We can’t wait to see Spiderman 3 and The Bourne Ultimatum (the latter isn’t till August, though).
How are you? Drop me a line! And enjoy the pictures above & below.
