5 Months Later

It's hard to believe tomorrow we are at the 5 month "mile marker" of our time back in the U.S. Most of the time it just feels longer than that. I know things have been incredibly quiet around here so I figured it was time for a recap of the past 6 weeks or so. Here are the highlights in no particular order:

-- Mark's been workin' like a beast researching, reading, writing, revising. Progress is slower than anticipated, but to Mark's credit, he's been both writing the 6th and final chapter while also editing and polishing several previous chapters.

-- My photography business has finally taken off. It's all those families looking for Christmas photos/presents. Best place to see some of that work is here.

-- I've also been working a temp job off and on as needed at Baptist Press (BP). It started with me working as the fill-in Event Coordinator for the 2010 Collegiate Journalism Conference in early October that BP puts on every year. The Event Planner was due with her firstborn the day after the conference ended, so they brought me in as a "just in case" person hoping she would still be able to work. There was another BP staff member who was going to still take charge and help me along. But then the Event Planner had her baby 2 days before the conference started and the other staff's grandfather passed away 3 days before the event, so she was out for most of the conference at the out of town funeral. That left ME in charge of a conference hosting around 15 universities from around the nation, including 80+ college students and 30+ faculty/staff/speakers! But, the Lord gave me strength through the long days (two of them being 14 hour days!), as well as wisdom to learn quickly and manage situations well. All in all it went smoothly and I was grateful for the opportunity to work and make money. As a bonus, I got to rub shoulders with some great Christian photographers and journalists. It was personally a very inspiring weekend.

-- Mark's been enjoying the blessing of being able to watch SEC football every Saturday again, and in particular, his Bulldogs. Too bad they haven't had as strong of a season as he first hoped.

-- Fall in TN has been everything I hoped it would be -- colorful and warm. I am still not ready for winter! Go here and here to see more TN fall goodness!

-- The last day of Sept we took a quick trip up to Louisville, KY for Mark to do some research at Southern Seminary. My cousin and his family live there (and he's a student at Southern), so it was fun to see them again after 6 years! I went with my cousin's wife and 3 kiddos (see the two oldest below) to the Louisville Zoo where they have a membership. I could have spent all day there with my camera :)

-- Mark's taken up running since we've been back. He's enjoyed talking to my dad about all things running. Currently, though, Mark's laying low to let his leg injury (shin splints? stress fracture?) heal up.

-- Speaking of running, in mid-Oct. we got to see my dad run in a half marathon. It think it was his 4th, but he ran the first 3 when we were in Scotland.  He did a great job and we enjoyed the chance to cheer him on. He's currently training for a marathon in about a month, though has also had a couple of injuries this month that are hindering his training. We're all praying his body can heal enough to still run it.

(My dad is in the blue shirt with black cap.)

-- The past couple of weeks I've spent more time at Baptist Press filling in for the lady who posts the daily stories/photos on the Baptist Press website. It has been a crash course in some parts of journalism and working in a "press room" (though a very, very quiet one!).  I feel like it's been a valuable experience for me as a photographer. You just never know when I might need some of the experience I've gained.

-- In early Sept. Mark started co-teaching a new Sunday School class for singles. We've both enjoyed the opportunity to serve and reach out to other young adults in our church. Mark's also been teaching a discipleship class on Sunday night on how to study the Bible. He's done an excellent job teaching in both classes and I've taken much pleasure in seeing him do what I know God has gifted him to do.

-- We are still being daily barked into shape by the spoiled prince of the house, Yafo. We love him dearly, but he's very needy - some might even say co-dependent. Especially this week since the fleas were feasting on his poor body. Thankfully a little pill and much cleaning later and he's doing better.

How can I say no to this little face?!

-- Mark's eagerly anticipating a few days at the yearly Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) conference next week in Atlanta. It's so wonderful that we are so close this year!

-- We are looking forward to our two week trip to see Mark's family in just one month! Vacation is calling our name so the official countdown is on!

Thanks for stopping by again despite my irregularity of posting.