boating...

This afternoon we decided to take the boat out one more time before we put it up for the year. We got it going and we got about 300 yards out and the motor died. We sat there for a minute trying to figure out what to do. We eventually got the two oars out and started rowing back to the boat launce. It took us a while but we got there. I really wish we had a picture. I'm sure we were a sight to behold. We loaded the boat by hand and came home. James proceded to mess with the boat and we found out that somehow the gas switch got turned off. We ran out of gas with a full tank right next to the motor. Who'd woulda thunk it. There's a sermon illustration or two in that story. Just thought I'd share our latest boating adventure. I'm glad we got through this one without voices raised and a fight... maybe we're starting to get the hang of this whole married thing. Have a great day.

prayer requests

I have 2 prayer requests: My mom called last night to tell us that my brother and sister-in-law had a miscarriage last night. Shoshannah was about a month and a half or two months along. They weren't trying to get pregnant, but were both very excited about becoming parents. My heart aches for them.

Marranda has been having a hard time lately. Her separation her mom is beginning to take it's toll on her. I think school hasn't helped that. She loves going to school, but I think that it has contributed to her anxiety. James suggested it could be that all the kids at school talk about their mommy's and daddy's. James and I are in agreement that it would be more beneficial for her to go home sooner rather than later. I just pray that Mary has learned what she needs to because of all this. It's gonna be painful and we will miss her; we have learned so much about ourselves and parenting while she has been with us. She has been such a blessing.

thanks for praying

Fall...

Hey Everyone. It's been a while since I've posted so here's an update on...

Me: Well, I turned 27 last month (the 29th). I gotta say I don't feel a whole lot older. I ended up having a good birthday. When I talked to Amy that afternoon, it hadn't been a great day, but it got better. (Amy, Thanks for listening to my rant.) That Wednesday night I had a cyst rupture in the middle of the night and spent Thursday at the Dr's and being sick to my stomach. On Friday James skipped school to work on his sermon which he really wasn't working on. grrrr. We had a meeting about a visitation plan for Marranda. We met up with James parents for some Tobin's pizza later that night. Gotta love Tobin's. That was a pretty long week, but it ended well. The last couple of weeks we've been enjoying the last of our summer freedom. Tonight we kick-off Youth Group. Tuesday night we kick-off women's Bible Study. Wednesday we kick-off Beacon Kidz. We've got a pretty good plan for the fall so we're looking foward to it all getting going. We're still working on the whole getting pregnant thing. Looks like it's not going to be as easy as we had hoped. However, that is not the case for my brother and sister-in-law. They called a couple weeks ago to announce that they were pregnant. We're happy for them. I really can't believe that my brother has reproduced... Lord help that kid. :) My brother's kinda nuts. I'll be getting the proposal for my thesis back tomorrow, then I get to write the second chapter. If they accept my proposal I'll be 20% of the way through the writing process. Yeah!!! It's about time.

James: James started school a couple weeks ago. He's enjoying getting back into the swing of things. This is his last semester of full time school. He'll do his internship here at the church next semester under the supervision of Greg Taylor. He's looking foward to that. He had a good morning this morning. He had a good Sunday School lesson and a really good sermon. I'm proud of him. The last year has been a good, but trying year. We got the truck out after lunch and took a trip to McDonalds for some dessert.

Marranda: Marranda also started school a couple weeks ago. She goes to Douglas Elementary every morning. She get's on the yellow van at 7:30 and get's back around 11:30. She has homework everyday. We have lunch and then she takes a good nap. She loves going to school. The next court date for Mary (mom) is set of October 14th. We'll have a lot of answers as to how long Marranda will be with us after that day. If Mary is found "fit" Marranda will probably be home by December. If not she'll be with us at least through the holidays. I don't know how I feel about all of that. I'm gonna miss her like crazy. We both are.

Well, that should do it for now.