We Give Thanks...

Well, I really did mean to post last week for Thanksgiving, but somehow the weekend slipped away and already it's Thursday! This year for Thanksgiving, we stayed here in Gaithersburg. Our good friends Joe and Jeanie Lechner came up from Charlotte to be with her family, with whom we celebrated our day of Thanks. This year we have so much to be thankful for!

Most importantly is our salvation...the best gift either of us could ever receive. And beyond that, the Lord has heaped blessing upon blessing in our lives.

We are thankful to be here in Gaithersburg at the Pastor's College- and thankful to all of you who have allowed us to be here by your generosity.

We are thankful for new friends and dear friends from home.

Of course, how can we not also thank the Lord for his kindness in allowing me to get pregnant so quickly last spring and for an easy pregnancy. As Nick and I have walked with friends through the grief of miscarriage and the hardship of infertility, I certainly don't take this pregnancy for granted. Every good gift is from above, and I am thankful in advance for the blessing this little one will be. I'm also thankful that I can say that in full faith now, since I have fought many fears in the last few weeks about the coming changes of having a baby. I think the most helpful thing in dealing with my sin of fear and anxiety has been to dwell on God's promises and character. Hasn't he proved to be faithful in every other area of my life? Will he not also provide abundant grace in the coming season of change to handle each and every new thing that comes my way? The answer, of course, is yes. I am thankful that God has answered my prayers this week in giving me a new excitement for the coming of our baby, as well as peace with an increased reliance on Him for strength. With the Lord as my Savior and loving Father, what cause have I to fear?

We are also so thankful for a growing marriage...how far the Lord has brought us in just 2 1/2 years! God has worked in our marriage to bring about much sanctification in both of us...something that has not always been easy, but oh so rewarding. Our marriage is stronger now than it ever has been, and we give thanks to God alone for that.

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving to you all!

A Whirlwind Visit

My parents were able to come for the weekend, and we had a wonderful time together. I must admit, it was a bit of a whirlwind visit since they arrived Friday night and took off this morning ( Monday). But we managed to fit quite a lot in 2 days! On Saturday we went into D.C. and went to the Holocaust Museum and an exhibit of the first 1000 years of the Bible. This time in the Holocaust Museum, we were able to see the main exhibit...how sobering. I'm afraid we didn't have our timing very well planned, though, since it was about 12:45 when we got on the elevator, and on our way up the museum staff told us that most people take 3-3 1/2 hours to get through, but that there was 12 hours of material! We hadn't eaten our packed lunch yet, so we were a little unsure as to how we would make it throught he whole thing! But we did manage to sneak eating granola bars during one of the exhibit's short films. On the whole, the exhibit was very thought-provoking and sobering. I think by the end we were all ready for an emotional break. So we headed to the cold outside and ate our lunches on a bench (at 3:30 pm!) on the Mall green. After getting some coffee and hot chocolate from a nearby vendor to finish off our meal, we wandered down to the WWII Memorial. After that we headed to the Smithsonian to see an exhibit of old, old Bible texts, all before 1000 AD. Although I have a little bit of a hard time fully engaging in exhibits like that, it was pretty fascinating to think how old some of these pages were.

It was pretty cold eating outside!

Dad and Me at the WWII Memorial

Looking Forward...

Hello, Dear Friends. This last week didn't hold a lot of new things on its plate, but I did have a nice visit on Friday with Jessica (Hoffmeier) Lim, a high school friend, and her sweet baby Daniel, who is 6 weeks old. We enjoyed lunch out and then a walk in a nearby park. Thank you, Jess, for the nice visit!

Coming up in the next few weeks, we have several things that we're looking forward to: My parents are coming to visit this weekend, then our good friends Joe and Jeanie Lechner are coming to town for Thanksgiving. It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week! How much I have to be thankful for (more on that next week...) I'm also looking forward to a trip down to Charlotte in December for a baby shower, and then to our families for Christmas. When we get back from Christmas break, there will only be 3 weeks until our sweet baby is due! Wow! I should pause here to ask, "am I getting ahead of myself?" I think I can often do that, especially with so many exciting things coming up. In light of meditating on contentment recently, it is good to ask myself if I'm really focused on today. The next few weeks really will fly by with all this activity, and I don't want to look back on these weeks wishing I had invested more fully in each day. That being said, I do think its good to look forward and be excited about God's blessings- time with friends and family, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and January 24. Please pray that God will keep my anticipation in balance with taking delight in TODAY, that my eyes would be ever watching for his mercies and blessings today, not just looking ahead to them.

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

If you have never read Jeremiah Burroughs's book "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment", I highly recommend it! Written in 1648, this book is packed with wonderful truth. It's not a "quick read," but the time is worth it- at least, that has been my experience in reading it so far. Here are two quotes I found particularly meaningful.

"A christian comes to contentment, not so much by way of addition, as by way of subraction...not so much by adding to what he would have, or to what he has...but rather by subrtracting from his desires, so as to make his desires and his circumstances even and equal." (pg. 43)

"I know nothing more effective for quieting a Christian soul and getting contentment than this, setting your heart to work in the duties of the immmediate circumstances that you are now in...." (pg. 52)

What good truths to be challenged by...I certainly am! How often do I find myself looking ahead to the next thing or wishing something else in my life instead of quietly taking joy in the duty that the Lord has given me today.

Turning Over a New Leaf

This picture may seem a little weird to put on the blog, but this represents a milestone in my medical life! Today I went in to get the glucose test to screen for gestational diabetes. They give you a concentrated drink that tasted like a melted freezy-pop and then I had to wait for an hour until they drew blood. Why is this a milestone, you may ask. Because when I went to get my blood drawn, I did not 1. pass out, 2. cry, or 3. throw up. I have never gone without one of these three (or all of them) for the last many many years. AND that was with taking three vile-fulls of my blood, which is more than usual, I think. So perhaps I'm getting over my fear after all and turning over a new leaf!

Nick's First Sermon!!!

Nick preached his first sermon tonight! It was so fun to see him in that role, and he did a great job! This was a little church (not Sovereign Grace affiliated)...very little, as in 15-20 people. The people were very friendly, and it was a great setting for Nick to try his wings at preaching. He has a homiletics (preaching) class this week, and he said it will be very helpful having this experience fresh in his mind as he learns more about preparing a sermon. Thank you again to all of you who are supporting us and praying for us this year. It is truly a joy for Nick to be preparing for ministry...we couldn't do it without you!

Covenant Life Soccer Game

On Thursday we had great fun going to the Covenant Life School Girl's Soccer Game. This was a semi-finals game, and they won! It was fun for us to see Julie Bowers (Jeanie, I put this on here just to make you jealous!) Julie, hopefully you don't mind that I put your picture for the world to see. You played so well! I was quite impressed watching these high school girls, remembering my days of being a goalie way back when. I think they put me as goalie because 1. I couldn't run very fast and 2. I wasn't afraid to get my knees dirty by "pouncing" on the ball. The only problem is that I got so used to being goalie that once I caught the ball when I was playing defense...oops!

Rules of Contentment

Recently I have allowed myself to become anxious when I think about becoming a mother, and I realized this morning that it is really a lack of trust in the Lord. He gives me grace each day. His grace is sufficient, and he is most glorified in my weakness. I'm learning to give up every detail to the Lord, even in the privacy of my thoughts. He doesn't just want me to SAY that I trust him for the future, he wants me to BELIEVE it with my whole being! He has always been faithful, and He will continue to be faithful every day of my life! Here are Elisabeth Elliot's "Rules of Contentment," that I find quite challenging and inspiring... I have reworded them a little bit for clarity.

RULES OF CONTENTMENT

1. Allow yourself to complain of nothing, not even the weather.

2. Never picture yourself under any circumstances which you are not.

3. Never compare your own lot to that of another.

4. Never allow yourself to dwell on the wish that anything be different than it was or is. God almighty loves you better and more wisely than you do yourself.

5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's, not yours. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. "The Lord will provide."

More DC Pictures

Top to Bottom: The White House, Vietnam Memorial, Dennis and Marilyn in front of the Washington Monument, Nick in front of Big Abe.

Fun in DC

Is it possible that such a long time has gone by without a post?!? These weeks keep flying by. But be assured, our lives have not been extremely exciting or different over the last two weeks. At least up until this weekend, when Dennis and Marilyn (Nick's parents) came to visit. We had a wonderful time with them! They arrived Thursday night, and on Friday Marilyn and I went on some errands while Dennis visited a fellow glass manufacturer. On Saturday we headed into DC with three things on our agenda: The Spy Museum, the Holocaust Museum, and the American History Museum. We rode the metro in to the mall area, walked to the Lincoln Memorial (stopping by the WWII memorial and Vietnam Memorial), then walked over to the Spy Museum. Unfortunately, it was not free admission as we had thought (it's $15 a person!). 0 for 1. Then we walked over to the Holocaust Museum, just in time to learn that they had given up all the tickets for the main exhibit already. 0 for 2! But we did see one of their exhibits, "Daniel's Story," a walk-through exhibit of the Holocaust from a Jewish child's perspective. It was geared towards a younger audience, but it was still quite thought-provoking. After that we walked back to the American History Museum, only to learn that they are closed for renovations for 2 years. 0 for 3!! We were a little bummed that we weren't able to fully take advantage of the three things that were on our agenda, but we did get LOTS of walking in and enjoyed the memorials and walking by the White House. Needless to say, when we got on the Metro to go home, we were all exhausted!

Then Yesterday we met up with my aunt Marty, since she had invited us to a Gospel Choir concert at a church in DC. It was quite an experience! Talk about some LOUD music, with electric organ and all. The event was supposed to go from 5-7, but it was more like 5:20-8. I think we were the only white people in the congregation, and I must say I felt very "white" watching all the people around us really get in the groove, dancing around and shouting with arms swaying in the air. We did our share of clapping, but I think we definitely stuck out like a sore thumb! :) After the concert we went back to Marty and Art's house and ate a delicious dinner, since we were all starving after three hours of sitting (and standing) through the concert.

Riding the Metro into the City

In front of the WWII Memorial

A Wonderfully Full Day

Yesterday was a nicely full day. I started the day by going to the Tedesco's house, a couple that has a "food ministry" for the Pastors College families. Every Tuesday they have groceries in their garage that are donated by Trader Joe's, and we can take home what we can use for the week. It's kind of hit or miss, but yesterday I came home with a whole bag full of food (most of the stuff is "sell-by" that day, so it's still good, but Trader Joe's just can't sell it.) Then I headed to Wal-Mart to stock up on some household items. From there I headed over to Butler's Orchard, via a beautiful drive through a bright canopy of leaves on a tiny country road. The orchard is not far from us, but it feels very secluded. I was hoping to get some more apples, but it turns out the apple picking season peaked early this year. So I headed for the raspberry bushes instead. I have only gone raspberry picking one other time, and that was 10 years ago (!). I think now I know why they are so expensive in the grocery store! Granted, they were kind of picked over already, so it was hard to find the ripe ones. I did manage to come home with 2 lbs. of raspberries, with only a few scratches on my arms from the thorns. In the afternoon I had a doctor's appointment (baby is growing right on schedule!), and then I came home to try my hand at making raspberry jam. I was delighted to find that it was much easier and less time-consuming than apple butter. The jam turned out great! I popped some bread in the oven so that we could try it out on fresh bread as a bed-time snack. Needless to say, I was a bit tired at the end of the day last night. But it was a nice kind of tiredness. I am greatful for sleep, for knowing that it is a gift from the Lord, to refresh my body for a new day. I think I fell asleep the minute (literally) that my head hit the pillow. And now I'm looking at a new day, eager to see what the Lord has for me today.

Great Falls National Park

This afternoon Nick and I ventured out to Great Falls National Park with some friends from church. It was a perfect day to wander around the trails and see the Falls. There were a lot of people, but Nick and I ventured down onto some rocks away from the crowds. What a wonderful way to spend our Sunday!

24 weeks- 16 to go!

A Rainy Day

I'm sitting in front of the computer, listening to the rain outside and sipping some homemade hot cocoa. Now, if only we had some firewood! :) There's nothing too profound on my mind just now, but I thought it would be a good day for a post. Actually, this morning I was thinking about some of the things I'm most thankful for, so I'll share them here:

Things that make me smile...

• Salvation. Simply put, the greatest gift I could ever receive.
• A godly husband and a marriage that seems to get better and grow every day.
• A great pregnancy- I love everything about being pregnant: looking pregnant, wearing maternity clothes, feeling our little one move all the time. I just love it!
• Thinking about our little baby that I get to love on in just 3 1/2 short months!
• Deeply knit friendships back in Charlotte
• Growing friendships in Gaithersburg
• Apple butter on homemade bread
• Hot cocoa
• Good books to read on a rainy day
• Lovely autumn leaves

...just to name a few. May the Lord bring joy to your heart today!

Apple Picking

Look at that growing belly!

Fall Displays

Nick and I have a little joke every year about "fall displays," as I have affectionately named them. I get in decorating mode right about now and find myself wandering through the seasonal aisle in Wal-Mart trying to remember what I have in my little box labled "Fall Decorations" and looking for something cheap to add to the collection...

He thinks its funny that I get so excited about putting these little "Fall Displays" up (he does appreciate them, though). But there's something that is heartwarming about autumn decorations and smells (cinnamon french toast candles!), and perhaps Fall Displays are a way of enjoying our Lord's creativity in the changing of the seasons.

Autumn

This morning when I stepped outside I breathed in a fresh intake of crisp autumn air. How delightful! Beautifully sunny all day, this day truly feels like autumn is here. How thankful I am to the Lord for his creativity in making the different seasons! After getting home from a delightful morning walk, I set to the day's task: homemade bread and trying my hand at making and canning apple butter. The bread is on its second rising as I'm writing this, and the apple butter seems to have turned out splendidly! I didn't have an actual canner or canning rack (or utensils, for that matter), so I jerry-rigged my own system. I put my strainer/colinder sitting inside a big stock pot for the canning rack, and used kitchen tongs to move the jars in and out of the boiling water. I could only do 2 jars at a time this way otherwise they would tip over, but it seems to have worked! I set one jar aside for tonight, so we can enjoy warm bread and apple butter...mmmmm!

It's So Little!

Here's a little sweater I couldn't resist buying at a recent consignment sale... It's so little and cute! The ruler is 8 inches long, to give you an idea of scale. I can't believe there's going to be a little peanut inside of this cute sweater in only 18 weeks!

Great is His Faithfulness

I came to the realization a few days ago that I really do not want to be anywhere else but here right now. Of course I miss home and dear friends in Charlotte, but God has been putting a peace in my heart about our time here in Maryland. What joy to know that he has placed us exactly where He wants us at exactly the right time. He always does! Even in the timing with the baby coming in January, I see that God has led us in his timing to his purpose. I think it would have been much harder coming here next year (one of the original plans) with a one year old, and I'm excited to have our baby here. One of the other PC wives is due to have her 5th baby any time now, and I have been amazed at how much love and support has been poured out on her from the other PC wives. What godly and servant-hearted women these are! Not only does it inspire me to want to grow in areas I am weak by following their example, but I am comforted knowing that I will have lots of arms around me when my time comes to dive into parenthood in a few months. How kind of the Lord!

Speaking of the other wives, last night we had a sleepover at Kristin Seaver's home, which was wonderful! One of the highlights of the evening was when we all received love letters that our husbands had written us earlier...isn't that sweet? And then we were all in a circle, and Kristin had prepared a bowl of chocolates in the middle. For each woman was a chocolate attached to a ribbon, and as we pulled the ribbon out there was a question attached, which we then answered. Some quetions were funny, some were serious. At the end going around, there were some extras, so we read them out loud and whoever wanted to answer could. One of these questions was "I know you won't like this question, but what are some of your strengths God has blessed you with?" Well, we ended up using that as a jumping block to encourage strengths that we saw in others. What a neat time of encouragement, stemming from friendships that have only existed for a month. As I looked around the room, I silently thanked God for his continued faithfulness in each passage of my life. I have a deep peace knowing that God has a plan for my life, and he will continue to be faithful just as he has until now. How good it is to be loved by our Heavely Father!

"Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;

As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy Faithulness! Great is Thy Fiathfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided--

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me."

Another No Show!

Well, I'm sorry to say that our 2nd ultrasound didn't yield much more than the first one... We still don't know the sex of our baby! The nurse said that it was moving around so much she couldn't see anything (she said it was a little fish!), and then when it finally settled down a little bit, its legs were crossed. Can you believe it?!? But all that aside, our baby has 10 fingers and 10 toes (phew!) Everything else is looking good. So I guess we'll have to wait until January to see if this little booger is a boy or girl. It will make the anticipation all that much greater! I have been feeling "Speck" move all the time, which is amazing. Nick can feel it moving too, which is a lot of fun. Well, I have to sign off now because we're leaving in a few minutes for a meeting. Love to you all!

A Normal Day

Nick and I had a wonderful date last night at Panera (thanks to the Sheas for those gift cards!) to plan our schedules from now until Christmas...at least to get the basic idea of what to expect. I thought I would fill you all in as to what does our schedule look like here in Maryland. I'll start with Nick-

Monday & Saturday

6:00 Wake

6:30-7:30 Devotions

8-4 Read for the coming week at the school

4:30-5:30 Exercise

5:30 DATE NIGHT!!!

Tuesday - Thursday

6:00 Wake

6:30-7:30 Devotions

7:45 leaves for school

8-9 Study Greek

9-4 Class

4:30-5:30 Exercise

6ish Dinner together (Wednesdays are hospitality nights)

7-10 Study (once a month we meet with the Mahaneys as a group)

Friday looks about the same as Tues-Thurs, except he stays at school later to study and take the test for that week.

My schedule is still sort of in the making, but here's a rough estimate:

Mondays-

6:30 Wake

7-8 Run/walk (more walking these days!)

9-10 Devotions

10:30-12:30 Babysit Seavers

Afternoon- chores, nap, Walmart Run

DATE NIGHT

Tuesdays-

6:30 Wake

7:15-8:15 Devotions

8:30-10 Grocery Shop

Lunch, nap, exercise, dinner

7-8:30 Accountability Meeting

Wednesdays-

6:30 Wake

7-8 Run

9-11 Devotions and reading

1-2:30 Teach lessons

Nap, Dinner

7:00 Care group

Thursdays-

6:30 Wake

6:45-7:45 Exercise

8:30-9:15 Devotions

9:30-10:30 Gym Day (meet with other PC wives at the church while the kids run around)

Afternoon- get together with someone, chores, nap, dinner

Friday is my day to relax and rest or fellowship with someone. Or run errands. :)

So, these are our proposed schedules- but as I have had a week of learning, God often sends interruptions to our days to keep us relying on him. My agenda for my day may not be what He has in mind for me. So even as we plan our days, the Lord determines our steps. Two prayer requests here-

1. That God would strengthen Nick for long days of class and study

2. That God would give me wisdom to structure my days but flexibility in welcoming interruptions to my schedule, that I would never trust in a schedule to bring me joy.

Happy Birthday, Nick!

For Nick's birthday, we had a fun evening driving through Seneca Creek State Park, which is only about 10 minutes from our house. We didn't have a trail map or anything, so mostly we just drove around. We stopped at this place to sit and talk, overlooking the lake. The park closed at sunset, so we headed to Ledo Pizza, which is said to be a local favorite. I personally didn't think it was all that amazing, but then again it's pretty hard to go wrong with pizza :)

20 Weeks- Half way there!

New Mercies

This has been a good learning week for me. Yesterday I tried to fill up my day to the brim; here's what my schedule looked like: Run in the morning, meet with a friend for a walk mid-morning, go to Target to get various things, come home and do all the chores that didn't get done from Monday, figure out for 2 hours how to refill ink cartridges (in the process squirting black ink all up my arm and on to one of my best shirts), take a nap (didn't happen), catch up on emails, catch up on phone calls, oops- forgot to eat lunch!, out to dinner with friends. The final result was a crying, heaping, tired mess of a pregnant woman who had a stomach ache from eating a steak dinner on an empty stomach. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who was able to kindly walk me through my emotions and point me to the Cross. (I love you, buddy!) It's days like this that remind me that I need to rely completely and fully on the Lord for my every breath. I so rarely consult the Lord before mapping out my schedule for the day, and as a result I often try to fit more than He has planned for me. He has given me the perfect amount of time to get done what he has for me to do each day, no more, no less. That brings me much peace in the wake of a tumultous day. I am greatful for his arms of grace, my daily strength. May I not walk on blindly but learn from my errors- O that I would be quick to fall at the feet of my savior, ready and willing to do what HE has for me each day.

An Unexpected Visitor

We passed this cat in the parking lot last night, and when we looked out this afternoon, we saw him nice and cozy on our porch chair. We're such suckers for animals...I went and bought some cat food and fed him. So either we're taking care of a stray or stealing someone's pet. We'll see if he comes back around. :)

Valley of Vision

O FOUNTAIN OF ALL GOOD,
Destroy in me every lofty thought,
Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds,
Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness,
Implant in me true lowliness of spirit,
Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence,
Open in me a fount of penitential tears,
Break me, then bind me up;
Thus will my heart be a prepared dwelling for my God;
Then can the Father take up his abode in me
Then can the blessed Jesus come with healing in his touch,
Then can the Holy Spirit descend in sanctifying grace;
O Holy Trinity, three Persons and one God,
inhabit me, a temple consecrated to thy glory.
When thou art present, evil cannot abide;
In thy fellowship is fullness of joy,
Beneath thy smile is peace of conscience,
By thy side no fears disturb,
no apprehensions banish rest of mind,
With thee my heart shall bloom with fragrance;
Make me meet, through repentance for thine indwelling.
Nothing exceeds thy power,
Nothing is too great for thee to do,
Nothing too good for thee to give.
Infinite is thy might, boundless thy love,
limitless thy grace, glorious thy saving name.
Let angels sing for sinners repenting, prodigals restored,
backsliders reclaimed, Satan's captives released,
blind eyes opened, broken hearts bound up,
the despondent cheered, the self-righteious stripped,
the formalist driven from a refuge of lies,
the ignorant enlightened,
the saints built up in their holy faith.

I ask great things of a great God.

(Taken from "The Valley of Vision, ed. Arthur Bennett. Italics mine)

First Trek into D.C.

Inside the Lincoln Memorial


Washington Monument (Capitol Building in the distance)

If you read the post from two days ago, you know that we had a sad weekend saying goodbye to Kathy Bowers. But the up side was that several friends from Charlotte came to Gaithersburg to attend the funeral. Two friends stayed with us (Carolyn Honea and Lizzy Parks), and we also had fun at Denny's with Ray and Jenny Mulligan. It was great to have all these friends around for the weekend. On Saturday, Carolyn, Lizzy, and I took the metro into D.C. to see some main attractions. We went in at about 4pm, so most of the museums were closing by the time we actually got into the city, but we walked from the Smithsonian Metro to the Lincoln Memorial and back, stopping by the World War II memorial and the Washington Monument. Since the last time I was in D.C. was YEARS ago, it was fun to see these famous sites that I only vaguely remember. After we got back to the metro station, we headed to Georgetown, an historic district of D.C. Unfortunately, unlike New York, the metro stops aren't particularly near anything of interest, and are all pretty spread out. It was getting too dark to walk down to the Potomic River, but we did ask a college-age person a suggestion on a cheap local place to eat. So we dined at the "Froggy Bottom Pub," apparently a favorite among young locals. Needless to say, our adventure to D.C. was fun, although we were all pretty tired from walking when we got back home. I think my "city edges" have softened a little after two years of Southern Living :)

Our New Apartment

Nick's Study



Kitchen/Dining Room



Living Room



Extra Bedroom




Our bedroom

We're out of boxes! Hurray! Now that our apartment is all set up, we are feeling more at home in our new apartment. This has been quite a full weekend... The week started out on a rather sad note, since Kathy Bowers, the Mom of my good friend Jeanie Lechner, passed away on Monday. She had been fighting cancer for 7 years, although had only really been sick for the last year. We hosted some friends from Charlotte for the weekend, who came up for the memorial service on Friday. The service was beatiful and Christ-centered. Each member of her family shared, which left no eye dry in the 1000-person audience. At one point during the service, one of the pastors commented that God gets our attention with death and loss. It made me realize that life really is short- I have a very short time on earth in light of eternity. I was provoked in realizing how little I share the Gospel with others and how much time and energy I waste on frivolous things. I don't think it's helpful to rest in condemnation, but rather I look to the cross and to the one who can bring about change in my life. For every one look at my sin, ten looks at the cross... Oh blessed grace poured down on me, an undeserving sinner. How great is our God!

Now You See It....

....Now You Don't

And We're Off!

What A Stud!

Greetings from Gaithersburg, Maryland! We're safe and sound, and almost unpacked. I've been busy putting up curtains and hanging pictures, making our new apartment feel a little more like home. Thank you to all who were praying for safety on the road with our BIG truck (we split it with our friends Mike and Kristin Seaver, who moved up the same day). We would love your continued prayer for quick friendships to form, as well as feeling settled in a new place. We've met a few other Pastors College families, which has been great! We went to Covenant Life Church yesterday, and Joshua Harris preached (he is the senior pastor). I kept thinking about those books of his that Nick and I read and that shaped much of our relationship. We have a new address, but I guess it's not wise to post it on a blog. So I'll send it via a mass email soon. Coming soon- pictures of our new apartment :)

Our Little Peanut

Well, as most of you have heard already, we went in for our ultrasound, but this little one would not show its stuff. So it is still a mystery as to its sex. He/She had its legs crossed, knees locked together, then drew its knees up and put its hand in front of its behind. Hmmm...I sense a little bit of stubborness! A sign of things to come, if he/she is anything like us. It was so fun to see the baby on the ultrasound screen- moving a lot! What an amazing experience.

16 Weeks!

Starting to look a little Pregnant! :)

Outer Banks, NC

Jeep Tours! We saw some wild ponies too.

My neices- Bethany, Alison, Meredith Taylor

Well, it's a cooker today here in Charlotte, like most other places. Heat index is 104. Ugh. It's the kind of humid and hot day that made me think twice before going to get the mail...isn't that sad? Maybe it's just laziness :) We are well on our way of packing. I've got all my pictures off the walls and into boxes, as well as all the curtains down. Teacups are packed up and china is stored up into the attic. No fancy dinners for the next 10 months :( Oh well, better than risking the chance of broken dishes! We will try to get pictures of the moving process soon, along with pics from our wonderful vacation to the Outer Banks with the Taylor family.

If you're following along this blog journey, we'd love for you to leave a quick comment so we know who's tracking with us! Love to you all!

Lake Junaluska, NC

July 21-23: We had a great trip to Lake Junaluska, NC for a small group leaders retreat. The weather was beautiful (cooler than Charlotte from the mountains), and we enjoyed some wonderful times of worship and teaching, along with spending time with dear friends. Among those friends are Joe and Jeanie Lechner (top picture), who have been our dear neighbors for the last year and a half. We will be sad to say goodbye, but hopefully we'll see them a lot up in Maryland next year since Jeanie's family attends Covenant Life Church, where we will be. I think that's one of the hardest things ...saying good-bye to all of the friends God has graciously blessed us with here in Charlotte. But as He has been faithful to us here, we know he has friends waiting for us in Gaithersburg. Please pray that we can be purposeful in making new friends and initiating biblical fellowship, especially with the other families who will be at the Pastors College. You can also pray for a smooth 2 weeks of packing. For those of you who haven't heard, we are blessed to be able to rent our own apartment next year (thank you so much to all of you who have supported us financially! We are overwhelmed by your generosity!) So we are in the midst of packing our house up, trying not to make too much of a war zone in the mean time. :) Much love to you all!

P.S. Baby Swan is doing well- 14 weeks and counting! We should find out if it's a boy or girl by the end of the month! Yipee!

Hello, Everyone! I thought I would make a quick entry so you all know we're still around. :) I'm sorry to say that this week has not been very exciting in the Swan household. I have enjoyed being done with work, though. I read a novel last week (Echo in the Darkness, by Francine Rivers), which I haven't done in a long time. It was a very good book, in my opinion. Other than that, we're looking forward to a Small Group Leaders retreat this Thursday, and then our Outer Banks Taylor vacation. It occurred to me that we only have 2 1/2 more weeks in our house, which is a little sad, but I'm getting pumped up for packing soon. Speaking of moving, you can pray that our move would go smoothly, that we would be able to enjoy each other in the midst of a potentially stressful situation.

Baby Swan is still being very good for me. At 12 1/2 weeks and 2 1/2 inches long, "Speck" is behaving very well. No sickness for me, and I'm starting to feel more and more myself every day (energy and appetite-wise). Although I don't think I'll be quick to give up my nap routine. I've taken more naps in the last 2 months than the rest of my life combined! It's great! My next appointment is August 7. Please continue to pray for health and safety for this little one.

We love you all! Thanks for following our blog. :)

Well, friends, I am 11 weeks and 2 days along on this pregnancy journey. Almost done with the first trimester! I have been blessed with an easy pregnancy so far...no sickness! Today we heard the baby's heartbeat!!! What an awesome experience. The doctor held up the doppler to my stomach and kept saying "you, you, you" for my own heartbeat, and then "not you!" when the baby's heartbeat came through nice and strong. I started crying (of course!), and we recorded it on our minidisc recorder (are we first time parents or what!?!) I am very excited for this baby, and my affection is growing daily. Thank you to all who are praying for a healthy pregnancy and baby. The Lord has been very kind.

For those of you who have been trying to leave comments, I think your headache in doing so should be done. I just changed the setting on the blog so that you should be able to leave comments, even if you are not a blog member. Could someone do a test run so I can see if it worked?

4th of July Weekend

Myrtle Beach, SC

Kristin Freas with her girls- Zoe (4), Lyric (2), and Emma (7)

Nick with Zoe at the pool

The Promised Pictures!

How does Nick look as a Jewish boy? This picture was taken at a Bat-mitzvah of a daughter of a friend from the symphony. It was a first for both of us!

Our last Summer Pops concert- Here's the bandshell we perform in.

The summer is quickly flying by! It's hard to believe that we only have 6 more weeks before we push off to Maryland. In the mean time, we are enjoying time with friends here in Charlotte. This last weekend, for the 4th of July, we took a trip to Myrtle Beach with Doug and Kristin Freas, friends from church. I must say, it was the most crowded beach I have ever seen! But we had a lot of fun. We spent one day at the beach and one day at the pool, with lots of resting and TV watching :)

I am in the process of adding pictures to this blog, although our home computer is too slow to download them. But this blog will be more asthetically pleasing soon...