When we first arrived in Sewanee, the bugs completely, well, freaked me out! I encountered tics, huge horse flies, mosquitoes from the jungles of southeast Asia, and more daddy longlegs than I've ever seen in one place. Well, I am now able to look at the many bugs on the porch or the garage and use them as teaching moments with the kids. We've talked about walking sticks being able to regenerate their legs; daddy longlegs' nasty habit of eating each other; and what the smallest insect in the world is. (It's the fairy fly, which is actually a wasp.) As I write this post, I'm serenaded by the seemingly hundreds of katydids all around the house. It's a sound that I now find comforting and indicative of home, at least for the next few years.
The community here at Sewanee was the main reason Jordan and I chose to come here, and we were right! This is an incredibly safe place to be in the tumultuous process of formation as a clergy family. I was on an airplane once that hit a lot of turbulence toward the end of the flight, and the landing was very rough. Once we were on the ground taxiing, everyone aboard started clapping. That's about how I feel right now - the clapping part, and that's only because of the community at the School of Theology.
Jordan's classes this semester include Hebrew, Old Testament, Creeds, Church History, and Spirituality for Ministry. He has commented on his work in Hebrew and Old Testament connecting him to his Jewish roots in a powerful way. He is enjoying his professors and classmates, alike. He is finding the balancing act very challenging. When we were in Denver, he pretty much went to work, came home, and did church stuff on the weekend. Here, it is all thrown in to every day: family, school, personal care, legal work, and worship. Please pray for him in this regard.
The children are doing quite well. I am homeschooling Skylar this year, and that is going well. We mostly focus on reading and writing, but, of course, the whole day is a learning adventure when you have a child this age. Eli is participating in a parents' morning out program twice a week, and I think he feels much more comfortable there. He's talking more to his teachers, and he's less nervous when I drop him off. I think he also enjoys being the one going to school, while Skylar stays home. Skylar is really enjoying soccer and dance, and Elijah can't wait to don a soccer uniform after seeing Skylar play!
I am doing the usual mish-mosh of young mom stuff plus a slew of things at the school. I'm in the choir - no kidding - and the spouses' spiritual direction group. I also do a women's Bible study, and we're starting a prayer group of possibly 14 people, which I am organizing. I'm also the secretary of the spouses' board. I'm pursuing my longtime interest in photography a little bit, and I'm hoping to take a class in photography at the college.
We have a puppy, which we adopted primarily as a friend for Gabby, our dog that we had in Denver. The puppy's name is Daisy-Baisy (Daisy Mae for short). She is ... a puppy. You could pray for all of us with regard to Daisy! She's a wonderful, sweet dog, though. She has learned to sit before receiving her bowl of food, and she has also learned how to make each one of us crazy. She's a very smart puppy. :)
As some of you know already, we had several unexpected expenses upon arriving in Sewanee. Among other things, we needed to purchase a refrigerator and a dryer, and our car is currently on its fourth week in the shop because of radiator and engine issues. Please pray for financial provision, wisdom in managing the car situation, and honesty on the part of the mechanics. This is just one way that the Sewanee community has loved us: rides and borrowed vehicles for a month!
I'm going to end here for now, but I'll update soon.
