It's been a while!

Wow. It's been a while since I blogged. It was a crazy busy summer. The last post was in June and so much has happened since then. We did a week of service in the community with the youth group, James did a week of fishing camp at little Galilee, I had two surgeries, we did VBS, went to NC for a week in August, and so much more. School started for both of us last month. James has two firefighting courses at Richland in Decatur to get his certification. (He volunteers in Wapella.) He is also starting Seminary by taking Hebrew, an intensive on Preaching the Parables, and an independant study on Jonathan Edwards/the Great Awakening. I officially passed my Thesis in August and am taking an internet class to finish my MA in Christian Education. Not my favorite thing to do.

This past week has been really busy as well. The Apple and Pork Festival was in Clinton and the church sells corn. It was rather chaotic getting all of that put together, but we made it. I started substitute teaching this year (in addition to taking care of Skye) to make some extra money. Hopefully it will pay for our new lazy-boys and our new bed. Then I'll be shopping for a new washer and dryer. So far I really like it. It's a good way to work part time doing different things and still have the flexibility to do things here at the church. So you could say that I'm back to having 3 jobs: Secretary at Church (very part time), Nanny for Skye (part time), and Substitute Teacher (part time). I also decided to do two sessions of Bible Study this fall. We have one on Monday Nights and one Tuesday Mornings. Both are going well. We are doing a study by Carol Kent (carolkent.org) entitled Becoming a Woman of Influence. So far, it's a really good study.

It may seem like we have a lot going on. We do. BUT we finally were able to hire a part time youth minister. We hired Tim Barbee just in time to start youth group stuff up. He is doing a great job and the weight of doing it all has been lifted and we feel great. It's good to be able to focus on areas we are truely gifted in. We still go to the youth events because we love the kids, but it's so nice to not have to plan everything and run everything.

Yesterday I subbed at Washington for a couple kindergarten classes. I took care of the kids, while the teachers tested their math skills. They wear me out by the end of the day. I'll do it again tomorrow. It's nice to have today to relax and catch my breath. Thursday and Friday we'll be in Rockford. Joanna and Dave are coming for a visit and we get to go see my new little niece. She'll be 1 month old on Thrusday. It's so much fun. I really can't believe my brother is a dad. Scary! We've got our homestudy done and are on a couple of waiting lists for adoption. We continue to pray for God's timing. It is perfect even when I don't understand it.

That should do it for now. I have posted lots of pictures to facebook of summer events. Most of you who read this are also on facebook. Be sure to check them out. I'll try and get back in the habit of updating this. It's easier to type more here, than on facebook. We'll see how it goes. Later alligators!