evidence of grace: back to school, back to school...

Wow, so sorry I have been slacking big time these past few days - time has flown and we have been so busy! We finished out our week with Tim, Jessi and Eli with a cooking class at Dodgy Dock, fishing [the men only, ha!] an adventurous day at Magazine Beach [the waves were HUGE and so fun to ride all the way in, but Tim looked like a lobster at the end of it all!] and a nice dinner out on Friday night. We played Settlers of Catan [J is very competitive...], watched The Cosby Show and just enjoyed sharing meals and a home together for a week. It was really great and I was very sad to see them go - I cried a few times, it felt like leaving Louisville all over again. We are so glad they were able to come and stay with us - it was such a blessing and encouragement - time full of meaningful conversation about marriage and babies and life overall. It was a much needed refreshment from the Lord, for sure. They left on Saturday morning, and J and I went to the movies that night for a little date night.

The next day we went to a local Lutheran church and then spent the rest of the day hanging around the house and cleaning [me] and reading [J]. Let me just say that that man devoured books this break - I had my doubts, but he ended up reading the whole Wingfeather Saga [3 books], and a few others on top of that! I think he read 5 or 6 books! You know how many I read? None. I didn't finish one book. But I am currently reading 3. Well, really I'm reading 5, but two don't really count since I am reading one completely at my leisure [Harry Potter 7, at night before I go to bed...sometimes] and the other I am going to devote my full attention to once I finish the other 3 books [Book 1 of the Wingfeather Saga]. My current reads are:

50 Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die, John Piper [reading 10 a day...will be done by Friday!]
Real Food for Mother and Babies, Nina Planck [I love it! So interesting!]
The Triumph of John and Betty Stam, Mrs. Howard Tayor [not too far into this one - I "accidentally" started today, but it will be a fast read, and super encouraging]

So there you have it. I recommend all of them :) I also recommend reading them one by one, but this batch is pretty manageable since they are completely different genres from one another [devotional, food/nutrition informational, biographical, respectively].

Ryan and Marieke arrived Sunday night and the guys started school the next day [yesterday]. Its crazy how "full" the island already feels! Everything has felt weird - the fact that my family and the Violas were here only two/one weeks ago and are now gone is weird. The fact that break is already over is weird. J is now in 2nd term...weird. Working out at the gym and seeing people walking across campus when before it was completely deserted...weird. It's also weird that we only have a little over 4 months until we can come back to the states. In a way, Grenada has become my "norm," although we definitely miss home and missed coming back for the holidays...so it will be interesting to see how the summer goes. By the way, if anyone has any suggestions/know of any job openings for the summer, please let me know!!! I will be able to work for 6 weeks, and would really love some extra income :) Anyway, please continue to pray for us: for wisdom, for J and his studies, for our marriage, for increasing love for others, and anything else you can think of. I am looking forward to getting a lot of reading done this week before the term REALLY starts for me [Bible study, SO Board, etc. - it's going to be BUSY!!!]

We miss everyone back home! Much love to all! And here are a few more pictures from the week with the Violas :)