Zion Church, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

Praise God! We have a church! Since Rob is in his Middler year, he does his field parish study at a local church, which means we can stop church-hopping and get plugged in somewhere! Yay! We loved Zion Church from the moment we first attended last year, and thankfully Rob was placed here for his field study. He will be mentored by the Rector, Fr. Thad Butcher, serve in various ways on Sun. morning, and help in any way needed throughout the year. This church is full of the Holy Spirit and growing. Fr. Thad is an awesome preacher; I really learn a lot from his sermons. He actually has a connection to South Carolina, too! His daughter is married to the Rev. Iain Boyd, Assistant Rector of Trinity Church Myrtle Beach. It just feels so good to attend a church that is similar to our home church, St. Michael's Charleston. Check out Zion's website if you get a chance: http://zionpoint.org/index.htm

I know I say this in every post, but it's true--Rob is busier than ever these days. His work in the chapel along with his schoolwork is exhausting. In the next week his chapel work includes a matriculation, ordination, convocation, and a graduation. And yes, he still has classes and schoolwork on top of being a part of organizing all of that. It's during these times that the "f-word" gets thrown around a lot here. No, not the one that immediately comes to mind. Rather, formation, formation, formation. Around here it's got the same reputation as that other word, but it is poignant and true to life here. Rob will be more than prepared to serve as a parish priest (Robert as a P.K. and I as a P.W.). I mean really, could it get any crazier?

Thank you for your prayers!

Study, Daddy, Study!!

Daddy is slowly but surely figuring out that it's not always either/or, it's sometimes both! You don't have to either be a daddy OR be a student, you can sometimes be both at the same time! This works until the baby wakes up and starts getting all wiggly. Somehow The Moral Vision of the New Testament doesn't make as much sense when holding a squirmy baby as it does when holding a sleeping baby! Thank God for grandmothers, though. "Nona" is here for a visit and ready to take Robert in any condition whatsoever!

School Has Started!

Rob heads off to his second day of school this morning. Yesterday went well, and he seems excited about the new semester. He is taking the following classes:

Old Testament 1
Greek 3
Hebrew 1
Systematic Theology
Parish Ministry 2
Ethics and Moral Theology

He also continues his positions as Chapel Scholar and as a member of the chapel work crew. As I mentioned before, all students are members of some kind of work crew (outside, library, classrooms, chapel, etc.), and most students have some sort of scholarship position (Chapel Scholar, Choir Scholar, Dish Scholar Library Scholar, etc.). These positions, along with class, chapel services, Bible study, and other meetings and such that seem to pop up, keep Rob very busy during the days. His study/reading time doesn't usually start until after supper. And now, Rob has also to find time to spend with his new son, not to mention his wife! Please keep Rob in your prayers as he prioritizes and works out his schedule.

Baby, Baby, Baby

For those of you who have been diligently checking this blog for updates, thank you! I'm posting to tell you that this summer has been all about baby, baby, baby. SO, at least until school starts and we have non-baby related news, check the baby blog for current news.

Thank You!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers! We are all safe and sound at home. Rob's done with his exams. The weather is beautiful. God is good!
For more info. on our recent happenings, consult the baby blog (link to the right). I'll put the whole story there.
We love y'all!

Spring is in the Air

It started gradually: a couple of warm days here and there, diminishing snow piles, once-needed layers of clothing remaining on the pegs, even a few days of shoes with no socks! And then, there were days when it was warm enough to open the windows to air out the musty, closed-up smell of the apartment. The dogs could lay out on the porch and bask in the sun with the door wide open. How refreshing!

And then, no more snow piles at all! That green grass was finally free. Yes, it remains green under all that snow, believe it or not. If I'm being honest, though, I have to admit that what also came out under all that snow was all the "stuff" that got snowed over: someone's old sweatshirt, old toys left on the lawn, some trash around the dumpster, bikes that got hit by the plow (oops!), lost sleds that didn't get taken in before the next snow, etc. So, there was definitely some cleaning up to do. But it got done, the picnic tables and fire pits are back out, and grilled meat is the most popular menu item any day of the week.

Sallie and Hazel are back to their favorite sport: swimming in the now-thawed lake. It's amazing to think that just a few weeks ago we were walking around on this lake with no fear of falling through the feet-thick ice. Sallie and Hazel didn't hesitate to dive right into the hypothermic water. We, however, will not be diving in anytime soon. It's too cold for even a big toe!

What I have loved most about Spring is watching the gradual awakening of the trees and flowers. It happens so fast in the South that we sometimes miss it. Here, as I walk to and from work each day, I notice the buds getting bigger and bigger on the trees. I get excited when I see the tiny leaves gradually poking out of the buds. Watching a tree unfold after a long winter is worth the wait. The bulbs in our garden have finally popped up and are budding. It's so beautiful! The "Spring" chapter in Thoreau's Walden never meant quite as much to me until now that I have experienced it for myself. It's funny that I never noticed it in New England, but I think I was too busy with school while we were there. It's such a blessing to have the leisure to see the beauty of Spring this year.

Three more weeks and counting until Rob's done with this semester--please keep praying!

P.S. Check out the Spring 2008 picture album in the column to the right under "Our Picture Albums"!

Crunch Time

I feel safe to say that it's finally Spring here, and I owe you some pictures. We've had a lot of rain in the past few days, but it should clear up this week, and I'll post some NO SNOW pictures soon!
Rob and I recently had a great trip to Charleston, complete with a baby shower graciously hosted by the Kunes and the Myers. It was so wonderful to see all of our friends and family both from Charleston and those who came from out of town. It was really hard to say goodbye all over again and to know that we won't see many of them again until Christmas time. It's really weird to think that the next time we go to Charleston we will have a 5-month old baby with us. Wow!
As soon as we got back to Nashotah House, Rob entered the end of the semester season that I like to call Crunch Time. He's got about 5 weeks of presentations, papers, and exams left, not to mention his regular responsiblities in the Chapel and around campus. I'm trying to keep busy with work and baby preparation stuff, but I have to admit that with Rob in the library so much, it's getting a little lonely around here. We could definitely use some strong prayer for the next few weeks.
We love y'all!

Experiencing Nashotah

I can't believe it's already been over a year since our first experience of Nashotah House at last year's Experience Nashotah. You can read all about that experience at the beginning of this blog. It was an amazing introduction to what would become our home. I spent a lot of time praying that this year's Experience Nashotah would be just as amazing for our visitors as it was for us, and I think it was! God was truly in charge as He pulled the community together despite fatigue and winter blues to welcome our guests with open arms. I am not saying this to pat us on the back but rather to give God the glory for what He did through our community. He is so alive here! Just when I think this community is in a real low valley place with sickness, fatigue, winter blues, negativity, etc., He lifts us up into a mountain place and refreshes us. The community was really lifted into that mountain place during this year's Experience Nashotah.

Rob and I (with all the other SC folks here) hosted a prospective student and his wife from Conway, SC. We enjoyed getting to know them, and all of us hope and pray that God is leading them to Nashotah House.

Of all the Nashotah House activities, the favorite is the talent show. Here are some video clips of the talent show. Check them out!

These first two clips are of seminarians who recently returned from a mission trip to Peru. You can learn more about their trip by visiting the Jackson Kemper Missionary Society blog.

1.) Peru Song A video clip of some of the seminarians and spouses who attended the mission trip singing a song they learned in Peru.

2.) "Future Star...the Mancub" The March 10th posting on a seminarian's blog. It's a video of the seminarian and his son rocking out to a song he learned in Peru.

3.) Plainsong Chant A brief clip of the Nashotah House choral scholars performing a unique plainsong chant of the library's general information on collections, information which is stated on the library's homepage. Unfortunately, this is only a clip and cuts off halfway through the chant. The whole thing was a complete riot! Last year they did a plainsong chant of the preface to the 1040 tax form, which was equally hilarious.

These are only a few clips of some of the skits. It was such a fun night!

I've been making a special point to pray for those who are discerning a call to the ministry and/or getting ready for seminary in the Fall. I invite you to join me in these prayers--that God will give them wisdom and guidance and give them peace as He works out all the details of their futures.

Squirrel Feeder

I wish I could say that I have something more exciting to report than a squirrel on our bird feeder, but I don't. This was kind of a fun sight, though. Rob recently hung a bird feeder out back, and we've been feeding some really cool birds--like the one you see in the right hand corner of this picture. However, it seems we've also been feeding some acrobatic black squirrels. For those of you who haven't ever seen a black squirrel (I hadn't before we moved to Nashotah House), they are much larger than grey squirrels. The kids around here joke that the black squirrels here at Nashotah House are really the daytime embodiment of the infamous black monk, who is said to roam around our campus graveyard at night. While I'm not sure about all of that, I do agree that they are kind of creepy.

Rob is well into Easter term, now. He's been studying in the classrooms almost every school night. It's just too cold to use his office in our basement. Coldness is pretty much what's been going on around here lately. They say that this is one of the worst winters in Wisconsin, and I believe them. While the snow is beautiful, I have to admit that I'm quite over the cold weather. I'm sick of putting on a face mask every time I leave the house, and I'm especially sick of walking really slowly to avoid slipping on the ice, which would not be good at this stage in the pregnancy. I just want to break out into a full run through a grassy field, and by the time I can do that, I'll be too big to run very fast! At any rate, I am trying to stay positive about the weather and to enjoy the beauty of the snow. And believe me, there's plenty to enjoy.

May God bless you all!

P.S. I put some more snow/dog pictures up. Check out the link called "Snow and Dogs" under Our Picture Albums to the right.

Winter Break is Finally Over!

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. All of you loyal blog readers must be so annoyed! Though it was technically a winter "break," it hasn't been that much of a break for either of us. As I mentioned in my last posting, Rob's been busy in the chapel. For the past two weeks, he's also been taking a January term liturgy class. He had a lot of fun in this class, which may as well have been called "Dress Up and Play Church 101." Basically, the class was split into groups, and each group chose and compiled a special mass. Each group wrote a bulletin and choreographed the mass. Then, the class got together and practiced each mass. Rob's group did Candlemass, which is actually going to be celebrated next week with the whole community. Pictured above is Rob all decked out in a lace surplice that they found in the chapel attic. He was the thurifer for another group's mass. He's standing in the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Milwaukee, which is where they practiced one of the group's masses. I've never seen him in so much lace before, and frankly, it would be just fine if I never saw him in that much again! It's a little creepy if you ask me.

I got back on Monday from a visit with my family in Atlanta. I had a wonderful time seeing my sister and her family and my mom and dad. My niece and nephew are getting big so fast; it's hard only getting to see them once or twice a year. My nephew was excited that his Aunt Jewey has a baby in her tummy that will come out and "play wiff Ty." It may be time for a science lesson, though, because he can't seem to grasp how food goes in our tummies as well as babies. He asked my sister if Aunt Jewey ate the baby to get it in her tummy. He's a smart little 3-year old!

So we are finally ready to get back into the swing of a new semester. Classes start on Tuesday. Please keep Rob in your prayers as he starts his classes and begins to hunker down for another few months of academics. Please also pray that the Lord will warm both our hearts and bodies as we endure another few months of winter weather.

Thank you for all of your letters, phones calls, emails, financial support, and especially your prayers so far this year. We would not be here and could not make it if it were not for the power of the Holy Spirit working through our brothers and sisters to touch our lives. We love you and miss you dearly.