Graduation

Jake has graduated! Well, mostly graduated :). After 4 years of seminary he has completed all the course work for the Beeson Divinity School Master of Divinity (they have such a long program!). He starts his final requirement, a two semester internship, next week! I am so proud of him!

Dr. Westmoreland, Samford's President, gives Jake his diploma. Which, incidentally, was fake for all the students- the ceremony was held at the beginning of finals week! At the podium is Dr. Timothy George, Dean of Beeson Divinity School.

One of my favorite parts of the service. All of the faculty, plus the dean and associate dean pray individually for each student. Jake is lower left.

This seems an appropriate place to include one shot of Beeson's beautiful chapel for those of you who have never seen it before. To see more of this chapel, click here.

Yea!


My parents, Jake's parents, Derek, Bethany and their kids all came down for the graduation.


Some of the friends that got us through.

Abigail was very interested in Jake's hat and kept trying to pull it off :)

Thank you all for praying us through this adventure. We covet your continued prayers!

April 2009

(click to view pictures)

Thought you might like to see these!

Learning New Things

The week after our family left Alabama Abigail was playing and singing ABCs, like she often does, when I suddenly realized she was doing it correctly! I don't remember the kids singing it with her, but one way or another, it clicked without us really working on it. So fun! (This video is not that time, but a couple weeks later)

Another fun one- a picture movie
(Try Cycle)

Some funny things

Abigail is at the age where funny things come out of her mouth a lot and we are thoroughly enjoying it! Here are a few recent, but they are much funnier when heard in a sweet two year old voice:

• In the car one night she had a water bottle. Be careful you don't spill it, I said. "Oh. Really careful, it could hurt you really bad? I could die?" "Oh! no, no, you won't die, it would just get water everywhere and make a mess, it wouldn't hurt." "Oh. Jesus say no-no?" (trying to hold the laughter back) "No I don't think Jesus minds if you spill your water, it's okay."
• Abigail is looking through a basket of bath stuff. "What's this mommy? Papa get it for you?" (where in the world did that come from?) "That's a scrubber, Rachael got it for me!" "Oh. What's this? Rachael get it?" "That's body spray, I think Daddy got me that one," "Oh. Good job Daddy."
• On any given day I say at dinner, "Abigail, tell Daddy what we did today." Abigail's eyes get real big, "We went zoo with Paul! Lions.. and giraffes.. and monkeys..."
• I am putting a sweet little white shirt on Abigail. "Noooooo... I don't want it! I don't want mommy shirt! I want little girl shirt!" She looks at me like this is one of the worst things that has ever happened to her. Again stifling laughter, "This isn't mommy's shirt, it's a little girl shirt! See? It's little." The lip goes out further. "I don't want it." She tugs on the straps like they are shrinking tighter on her. "I don't want to be mommy." She is able to make herself look extremely uncomfortable. I make her go look in the mirror, but she still doesn't want it! That day she wore a bright blue shirt instead.

(the offending shirt)

• Later that same day we turn on the music in the car (of course it is kid music, Abigail loves her music in the car). About a minute in I make some adjustments to the radio and the music briefly stops. Afraid that I am changing to the radio, Abigail protests,"I want kid music, mommy!"
• Same day (wow, crazy day). We went to the dollar store with Courtney and Jonathan. She wanted something at the store and I told her that maybe we could get it for her birthday. She was just fine with that. She then picked out anything that she remotely liked at the store for the rest of the trip and declared that it was for her birthday too.

Well, she sounds like a demanding little girl from these posts, but believe me, these are just a glimpse. We have many please and thank yous and questions and I love yous too!