autumn breeze and baby teeth

The leaves have changed colors here and they are gorgeous! That's one thing I love about Kentucky... they are very vibrant colors here. Someone told me that the leaves are normally brighter, but there was a drought this summer. I can't wait to see what they are like next fall! A lot of the roads here are blacktop, which makes the raining leaves even more gorgeous when they blow in the wind. Here's a few pictures I took at the seminary...

Caleb had his 6 month check up with his new Dr! He weighed 19.9lb and was 26 inches long (and it was actually closer to 7 months than 6). Dr Laney said he's right where he should be and that he's a very healthy baby. He said that by his 9 month check up that he will be crawling... I said "already there!" He said, "oh... well then by 9 months he should be pulling up on things!" It amazes me how fast he's changing and learning new things. He is such a blessing and brings so much happiness to our lives!

Caleb also has three teeth now... his two front bottom teeth and one to the right of those! So cute :) He's crawling everywhere (the "army crawl") and causing us to keep our house really clean and hazard free! Our big boy is also eating baby food now... his first one was bananas, then we moved to peas, and he is on applesauce now. I love watching him taste something for the first time. Here's a few more recent pictures of him:

Michalin Man took a bath

Helping mom do the laundry

Passed out!

"On that day it will be said, 'Look, this is our God; we have waited for Him,

and He has saved us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him.

Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

...::Isaiah 25:9::...

Here's a few pictures from the month we spent visiting friends and family before moving to Louisville...

Our first stop was in Tulsa... my mom watched Caleb for us while we went to dinner and a Michael Bulble concert!          It was our first date since Caleb came into our lives. We had so much fun!

 

 

 

This is Caleb in Odessa, TX when we went to visit Chad's parents. This is one of his first times to purposefully grab something!

Nana bought him is first wagon!

Playing "school" with Nana.

This is the way Caleb traveled for 3,170 miles... he was a trooper!

Then we headed to Biloxi, Mississippi to see John and Julia Powell.

Julia bought Caleb his first bathing suit!

Caleb's first time to the ocean! I think he thought it was just a bath... so he didn't really care, but I was pretty excited :)

Barefoot in the sand

Blueberry pickin' with the Powells!

Gammy reading to Caleb back in Tulsa

i

Finally!!! I couldn't believe my eyes!

Those are just a few of the pictures we took! We loved getting to travel and see people before moving. 

I was offered a job this past week and I am so excited about this position! It's on a Medical/Surgical Telemetry floor where I'll be working with heart and stroke patients. It's going to be a huge learning experience for me, which I am very excited about! I'm also getting to take a class at the Seminary in the Seminary Wives Institute and it has been such a blessing. It is taught by several of the professors' wives and I am learning so much from them and meeting a lot of great seminary wives! 

We joined Ninth & O Baptist Church last Sunday and we love the Bible Fellowship Group we have been going to... meeting a lot of young couples with children!

To finish this post, let me just say that we LOVE the community at Southern! SBTS spoils seminary students and their families. They had a Fall Festival last night that was huge - carnival rides, skydivers, free food, music, and games! We had so much fun! 

Caleb at his first fall festival... holding a "Southern Seminary" bottle of water! Seriously.

first month

Today marks one month for us in Louisville! 

We love it here so far... Louisville is a great city. 

The first week here we were blessed to be able to stay at some friends' apartment while they were out of town so we were able to look for an apartment of our own and check out the wonderful city. We finally found a two-bedroom apartment and we love it! Chad's mom got to spend about five days with us the week after we moved in and we had a ton of fun with her... and Caleb loved it too :) 

Chad has kept pretty busy since we moved, first studying for a week-long course he took at Southern over Church History, then going to class from 9-5 for a week. 

He started his fall semester classes last Tuesday and loves them so far. 

Caleb and I have kept pretty busy too... He has learned to roll over from his back to his tummy and he's on his forth day of trying rice cereal. I'm not sure that he's actually eaten any of it and he doesn't seem to know what to think about the way it tastes, but we're working on it. He had another round of immunizations yesterday and he weighed 18.5lbs and was 27 inches long. He's just below the 90th percentile still! Big boy!

I've been applying for jobs like crazy! 21 jobs at 3 different hospitals here in Louisville. I've had one interview and a second one for that same hospital tomorrow. 

We are just praying and trusting the Lord in that area right now.

I think that's the biggest thing that I've been convicted of this past month and a half... trusting the Lord in all things. Paul says ...I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am... In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret [of being content] - whether well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.  

(Phil 4:11b, 12b-13 HCSB)

I've never thought of myself as a materialistic person, but I've really struggled. When we first started packing up and  moving everything, we decided to get rid of a lot of things so we'd have less to move... It was this huge inner turmoil for me to get rid of things. Nothing of sentimental value really, just stuff. And it made me sad to know that it was so hard for me. It wasn't just getting rid of things either... once I had accepted the fact that I had to "let things go", we came to Louisville without much money and no prospects for jobs. I struggled knowing that we'd be living on a super strict budget. I don't want to hold on to possessions so tightly or desire to have them so much. In any and every situation, I want to be able to have joy... knowing that Christ is our sustainer and provider. He is! He is the only thing we need! I also don't want to only  turn to God in the hard times. I want to praise Him and acknowledge Him even in the times "of plenty". Like Paul, I want to learn to desire Christ more than I desire the material things of this world.

I'm writing this first post while sitting on a white bench underneath a gorgeous tree on the Southern Seminary campus. It's a beautiful day... so peaceful. Caleb's sitting here next to me in his stroller, loving being outside. If this last month gives any clue of what Life in Louie is like... I think we're going  to LOVE it and I'm SO excited to see what God is not only going to do with us here, but also to see how He's going to change us.

Goal for next post: stories and pictures from our month of traveling before Louie.