Hey everyone (which is actually no one, as I write this, since we haven’t told anyone about the site, yet). It’s Janie writing this time. 
I thought that, since everyone else is doing it, that Chuck and I need a “family” blog. (That’s typically a great reason to do things, right?) Don’t worry – this doesn’t indicate that our family will be growing beyond two (plus Annie) anytime soon… unless we get a dog.
Our semester is winding down and we both have a bad case of senior-itis… and that’s times three, since we’ve already been seniors in high school and college already. Its difficult to feel motivated to focus on school since we can count the DAYS until graduation (25, to be exact). As you can imagine, I have a few things due soon, which is precisely why I decided that right now is a great time to work on our blog!
As I was driving home from lunch with a friend today, I accidentally began reflecting on how many things we have in our life worth celebrating. As stressed and whiney I can be… and as much as I complain about everything I have to do, or my hair, or the weather, or the dishes… God is a God who has blessed us unimaginably far beyond anything we deserve or expect and continues to do so daily! Here are some of the things I was thinking about:
~ Baby Aidan arrives soon! He will by my sister’s third child, and we are excited to have another nephew. We will be traveling to Kentucky this weekend to throw a shower. The due date isn’t far away, and I am very much hoping that Aidan arrives while we are there!
~ We graduate in 25 days! YAY! That will be such a great time. I spoke with my friend, Sally (co-officiant of our wedding) today, and she is coming to the hooding ceremony. I was so excited and honored that she wants to be there! I’m really beginning to get excited about this; God is faithful and I am so glad that we are nearing the end of this part of the journey. We are going to be real ministers – this has been a dream God’s been cultivating since I was fourteen, so it’s been a long time coming. I am so blessed that my husband and I have such similar dreams in terms of a career, generally, and in terms of ministry, specifically.
~ We’re going on vacation with the Powells in May! I have been looking forward to this one for some time, too, as it will be a great chance to relax and spend time with people we love. Believe it or not, as long as I have lived in NC (four and half years) and as much as I like to travel (which is a lot), and as impulsive as I can be (hahaha), I’ve never been to the Outer Banks since I’ve lived here. We went in that direction once or twice when my sister lived in Goldsboro, but I was probably fighting with Marshall in the backseat or something, so I don’t really remember. I am looking forward to being near the ocean (always God-time for me!), eating some delicious seafood (yumyumyum), and… my favorite… READING… FOR FUN. I just can’t wait!
~ We will be attending the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in June in Memphis. Of course we’ll get to worship together and spend time with great friends from divinity school, but MOST IMPORTANTLY, we will be going to (…wait for it…) GRACELAND!!!!! ELVIS! We are both TOTALLY excited about this part of the trip. My best-road-trip-friend ever, Mandy King, and I took a road trip there from Paducah one Christmas break, but Chuck has NEVER been there. This should be great fun!
~ Over the Fourth of July Weekend, we will be vacationing in Florida with the Toys. Marshall is working at a camp for special needs kids for the second time (special props to Bob and Kathy for making good kids on this point, by the way), and we’ll all meet him down there and stay in a rental house. Hopefully Dad will be bringing the Harley again this summer, and we’ll take a ride again. Of course we’re looking forward to spending time with everyone and reading… again.
Then, of course, we’ll be moving to Texas. We are excited about this, but there are mixed feelings associated with it, too, as we’ll be leaving much behind here. North Carolina has become home for us. It’s where we learned that we wanted to marry each other, and its where we got married. It’s where our first churches will always be, and its where we grew so much. We will miss being so close to both the beach and the mountains, and around so many people like us. Oh – and who can imagine living anywhere but the Livermush capital of the world!?
With this, I leave you to actually work on work. Please pray for us and feel free to comment!
Love,
Chuck and Janie
