Diane at Columbia Seminary

March 29, 2009

Another month has come and gone. I had midterms, which means I'm half way through the semester--usually a bit trying for me because I'm ready for a change (like being done.) Everything begins to feel so routine in an in-a-rut sort of way--fortunately it is short lived as the end of the semester creeps up with all the necessary completion of projects, papers and exams.

In a few weeks the children and I get to enjoy the wonderful phenomenon called Spring Break. I'm looking forward to some down time--not too much though because I'd like to get a head start on my final exegesis paper. I'll definitely get extra doses of family and friend time; maybe even read something other than a text book. I've heard The Shack is a great read.

S and B are signed up for soccer for the next eight weeks. That means that on Thursday evenings Charles is at one soccer field and I'm at another. Fortunately, most of the games are scheduled on the same field on Saturdays. They are both enjoying playing soccer but for the last week everything has been rained out.

All the extra activities for the summer have been scheduled--soccer camp, scout camps, etc. Now we just need to plan out a schedule for visiting the family in Ohio, the friends in Charlotte and the family beach trip over Labor Day weekend. I hope to spend some time at the pool with some friends and sew, sew, sew and sew some more. B and I already have searched out patterns and fabric for several projects. She is looking forward to making matching outfits for her doll too.

I have to confess, I didn't do as well as I like on the Presbyterian History and Polity exam. Not because I didn't know the stuff--it was open book and the professors purposely made it tricky. Which, of course, they would it being an open book exam. But for some reason, I didn't catch the tricks--which was really very silly of me. The good news is, I did pass and I survived my feelings being hurt (more like embarrassment) by not living up to my standards. My team did an awesome job on our group project and I still have a final exam--which will be more like what I'll see for an ordination exam (not an open book thing.) So, the whole thing in redeemable but not likely to be better than a B. I haven't received the results from the Theology exam yet--so stay tuned. . . .

I had a wonderful opportunity to speak to the Smyrna Presbyterian church for their Wednesday night program recently. Smyrna is in Conyers, GA--about 20 minutes SE of Atlanta. It was rather pleasant to see a bit of the countryside and they served an awesome dinner. They invited me to speak as a recipient of the Columbia Friendship Circle Scholarship which they support.

Charles is still contracted to SunTrust and is confident that he is as secure as a contractor can be. Thank God for protecting us from any unnecessary stress--it's not like we haven't had our share the past two years. Charles has also completed his studies and will be receiving his diploma in the mail soon. We just weren't able to justify the trip to the UK for graduation in July--airfare doubles in the summer months not to mention accommodations. We'll celebrate here with some friends though. After recovering from the final exam in January, he started sorting out the information for taxes. We were able to send those to the tax accountant and await his preparations of the final returns. After all this being completed, Charles doesn't know what to do with all his time--I might need to compile a "honey do" list to keep him occupied. I wonder what he thinks about reading for me. . . .

Please continue to pray for us. Your thoughts and encouragement are greatly appreciated.

Peace, Diane