Well, it has been a week since I last posted anything, so I suppose it's about time. I really don't have anything profound to say (no theological soapboxes, and the Pathway hasn't made me too mad lately) so let me just bring you up to speed on what's going on with us right now...
Rachel and the girls are pretty much back in the swing of school. Rachel is in her second year of teaching fifth grade at Highlandville Elementary. Hannah is in first grade. Sophie is in preschool. Even though we live in Ozark school district, the girls go with Rachel to Highlandville. Rachel likes her job, and we like the small school setting for the girls. Sophie still cries occasionally at school, but it is always brief, and overall she is doing very well. I have been picking the girls up after school to give Rachel some time to work. Levi (our one year old) stays with my parents during the day, and loves the time he gets to spend with them.
Rachel is 34 weeks pregnant today with our fourth child (a boy). She is beginning to have lots of contractions. We have announced the name will be Josiah, but we have been known to change our mind! Beginning this week, Rachel will have weekly checkups. Ever since we've lived in Ozark, we have had our babies at Branson (as opposed to Springfield). We love the personal care we get down there, and our doctor is awesome.
With the upcoming addition of our fourth child, we decided we probably needed to get a bigger house than our 3 bed/2 bath. (We are so spoiled in America.) So, we put our house on the market. It really had quite a few lookers, but no one made an offer. So, after three months, we took it back off. We didn't want to be worried about people coming to look at it while trying to care for a new baby, etc. We are planning on putting it back on the market this spring, so we will see what happens.
Things at church are going beautifully. We have now been in our new building for eight weeks. It's already feeling more and more like home. People have been at the altar almost every Sunday, and two weeks ago we had our first baptisms. We have had many guests since we opened our building, and we are running right around 200 every service (which is about 40 more people than we normally run in the summer months). By the time we get in the 250-270 range, we will be about 80% full, which is supposedly time to build again (or in our case, add another service or plant a new church). I wouldn't be shocked if we start bumping up against those numbers this coming fall and/or spring. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. It is almost unbelievable to look at the old sanctuary now, and wonder how we all squeezed in there. To God be the glory.
In summary, our life is very hectic, but it is also very good. To be sure, we have our hardships and struggles like everyone else. But we also know we are VERY blessed... Only God knows what the future holds in store, but we trust Him, and look forward to the adventure!
Rachel and the girls are pretty much back in the swing of school. Rachel is in her second year of teaching fifth grade at Highlandville Elementary. Hannah is in first grade. Sophie is in preschool. Even though we live in Ozark school district, the girls go with Rachel to Highlandville. Rachel likes her job, and we like the small school setting for the girls. Sophie still cries occasionally at school, but it is always brief, and overall she is doing very well. I have been picking the girls up after school to give Rachel some time to work. Levi (our one year old) stays with my parents during the day, and loves the time he gets to spend with them.
Rachel is 34 weeks pregnant today with our fourth child (a boy). She is beginning to have lots of contractions. We have announced the name will be Josiah, but we have been known to change our mind! Beginning this week, Rachel will have weekly checkups. Ever since we've lived in Ozark, we have had our babies at Branson (as opposed to Springfield). We love the personal care we get down there, and our doctor is awesome.
With the upcoming addition of our fourth child, we decided we probably needed to get a bigger house than our 3 bed/2 bath. (We are so spoiled in America.) So, we put our house on the market. It really had quite a few lookers, but no one made an offer. So, after three months, we took it back off. We didn't want to be worried about people coming to look at it while trying to care for a new baby, etc. We are planning on putting it back on the market this spring, so we will see what happens.
Things at church are going beautifully. We have now been in our new building for eight weeks. It's already feeling more and more like home. People have been at the altar almost every Sunday, and two weeks ago we had our first baptisms. We have had many guests since we opened our building, and we are running right around 200 every service (which is about 40 more people than we normally run in the summer months). By the time we get in the 250-270 range, we will be about 80% full, which is supposedly time to build again (or in our case, add another service or plant a new church). I wouldn't be shocked if we start bumping up against those numbers this coming fall and/or spring. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. It is almost unbelievable to look at the old sanctuary now, and wonder how we all squeezed in there. To God be the glory.
In summary, our life is very hectic, but it is also very good. To be sure, we have our hardships and struggles like everyone else. But we also know we are VERY blessed... Only God knows what the future holds in store, but we trust Him, and look forward to the adventure!
