Hello from Diane,
Oh my Gosh! I can't believe that I haven't updated ya'll in so long. It seems my editor has lost interest, he used to write the shell for me and I would clean it up (unlike the last update where I obviously didn't); now I only get a half hearted reminder in passing. Perhaps one of you could ask him what's up with that.
This semester was very busy. I went on my bi-annual preaching trip to the southwest portion of the Atlanta Presbytery, spoke for the Columbia Fridendship Circle and Presbyterian Women, learned to read Hebrew, learned new ways to practice spirituality and think like a theologian. I don't have official grades yet, but it looks like two A's (Hebrew and Spiritual Formation) and a B in Theology. Don't panic--I can explain the B--not only is the professor notorious for his lack of enthusiasm for giving A's, there is a wee bit of stress roaming around our house these days. Everybody seems to be acting weird. At any rate, it has been quite difficult to concentrate on Calvin and all the other dead guys with such nonsense going on at home. The good news is--I will have maintained my GPA. The spring semester is going to be a challenge with Theology II, Hebrew Exegesis, Presbyterian History and Polity and Pastoral Care.
The preaching trip to the other side of Atlanta was an incredible journey. I was hosted by Edna and Max Rawlins in Hogansville, GA. I have to say that my visit with them is much more memorable than my sermon. We talked and laughed all evening and I saw beautiful photographs of places all over the country that Max and Edna had visited in their fifth wheel RV. I preached on the Parable of the Wedding Banquet and it was difficult to find good news there with folks being killed for not coming and one guy got kicked out because he wasn't dressed right. I probably should have chosen the Old Testament text--it was about the golden calf.
The Columbia Friendship Circle is the group that graciously and generously provided for my tuition this year. They are a group representative of Presbyterian Women from all over the southeast that provide scholarship money for students with families. It was an honor to thank them personally for their gift. I also spoke at a local church's Presbyterian Women's group who is quite active in the CFC and talked about what a blessing it is for the CFC and Presbyterian Women to provide for students with families is this great way. I get to speak for the CFC again in the spring during See Columbia Day.
I have had to learn how to sleep with the CPAP machine. You wouldn't think it would that big a deal, but the face mask has to fit just right or it leaks and makes a nasty hissing sound not to mention the air leaks dry out your eyes. I'm doing really well with it though and have been able to sleep on the average of 6 hours a night. Some nights are longer and some are not. Some nights I can't even get to sleep with it on. I can tell the difference though; I have more energy in the afternoons and I'm not fighting tired in class anymore. I can't say whether it helps me get more reading done, but I'm certainly managing my energy better.
More on the health front--after a year and half of searching I think we have finally found a Chiropractor. I have been experiencing a great deal of pain in my feet over the past six months. I tried massage therapy with chiropractic and that didn't help (probably because the chiropractor wasn't adjusting the 5th lumbar.) Anyway, my friend Marci recommended this new guy and in just one adjustment--the pain in my feet went away. Yeah!!!
S is doing so much better this year in school. His teacher in awesome! He calls his whole class The College Bound Scholars--and talks to them about what college is about and his own experience at UCLA. If ya'll remember, last year S was a little bit bored with school. This year he is so much more enthused and he is doing so well. He's writing research papers--can you believe it. He also breezes through math--even fractions and multiplying multiple numbers. I'm not seeing any four page blobs this year--Yeah!!
S complete his first season of soccer with no wins and two ties. Even though his team didn't win; S played his heart out and really made a great deal of improvement over the season. He says he'd like to stay in soccer for a while. He is also working diligently on his Arrow of Light award in Cub Scouts. Charles is the Den leader and is confident that the whole den will receive this great honor. The Arrow of Light is a big deal because it is one of the few awards from Cub Scouts that transfers to Boy Scouts--they can were the arrow on their Boy Scout uniform. S says that he wants to get his Eagle award--you go boy!
B has become quite the swimmer these past few months. She learned that she needs to focus on what she is doing and do what the instructor tells her to do. She almost lost her swim instructor because she was being silly. Charles talked the instructor into giving B one more chance and she has risen to the challenge and has done really well. She is also doing well in school and enjoys her advanced classes; although, she seems to struggle with catching the instructions because of her little perfectionism. I don't know where she gets that????? She loves to talk and she loves to argue. I don't know where she gets that either??????
B is having a great time in Girls Scouts and has earned quite a few of her badges. We went camping overnight in September and had a beautiful time making s'mores and playing games with other girls.
We all made the trip to Ohio for Thanksgiving. We saw all the family and snow. B was extremely excited about the snow and played in it first thing. She made a snowman with Grandma; S came out later to throw a few snowballs. We all stuffed ourselves with turkey and the fixin's. Grandma did a great job as usual--she has that perfectionism thing too. It must run in the family.
I celebrated my birthday just before Thanksgiving with our friends Joe and Marci. We went to the same Italian place as we celebrated Charles' birthday. Marci found me some funny religious things--Jesus tape (packing tape with pictures of Jesus on it), Lookin' Good for Jesus bubble bath, patron saint of parking car freshner, wash away your sins towelettes (kills sins on contact), and Believe in God instantly breath spray. It was good to be silly for the moment--it helped relieve the tension from Calvin, Cone and Barth. I think we had just finished the providence topic in theology--chewing on the question of why God allows profound suffering and senseless death; the silliness was greatly appreciated. Not to mention that stress roaming around our house. . . . .
Charles has been approved for overtime this month since he is working on two projects simultaneously. The two project managers weren't sharing nice so Charles asked them to give him more hours to take care of both of their stuff. Not much fun for Charles--but it sure looks good on the pocketbook. Since it's only for this month, Charles is taking the extra hours in stride. Besides it beats what he was doing about six months ago. . . . . . Something is eating at him though; please pray.
That gets us up to the present where I am baking Christmas cookies, preparing for a much needed visit to Charlotte, shopping for presents (thank God for the internet), wondering how the house will get cleaned for the grandparent's visit in a few weeks and looking forward to two and half weeks in Mexico next month. The Christmas cookies have been a challenge again this year since my oven doesn't hold its temperature correctly. Marci is saving the day--I'll be baking in her kitchen this year. We'll be in Charlotte the weekend of the 20th and we are all looking forward to seeing friends and breathing good old fashion North Carolina air. Look for us at Sardis on Sunday the 21st. I've failed to schedule any cleaning time in during my winter break--and really don't feel like changing the schedule. I'd rather get reacquainted with my sewing machine (and my sanity). Oh well, Mom and Dad will get over it I'm sure--besides Mom will probably clean the place anyway.
Sunny Mexico in January! Yes, it is for a class. I'll be thinking about those poor souls that got the chance to go to Eastern Europe (the most coveted trip)--brrrrr. You'll have to wait till the end of January for the update about Mexico. I promise--I'll get my update in before the spring semester starts.
That's all for now, sorry about the delay in getting this update in. Trust me--life hasn't been a bowl of cherries lately and the studies haven't helped. Please keep praying for us--I'm wondering if we'll survive.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Diane