Catching Up

I cannot believe September is tomorrow. Yikes!

Yesterday was our 8th Anniversary. It's hard to believe it's been eight years, and so much has happened in that time. I'm so thankful for Jenn and the wife and mother that she is in our home.

Lately, Lincoln and Lydia have been having a big time at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Lydia is officially all over the place now. She's a very busy girl, and sometimes she has a lot on her mind that she wants you to know. The stairs officially became a thing yesterday, and she's figuring it out pretty quickly.Lincoln, especially, has been enjoying the outside time. He's a riot in his sunglasses.Lydia has also said her first word.
It helps that her "B" sounds have been getting lots of practice lately, but she's consistently saying "bye" at the appropriate times. In fact, the first time she said "bye," Jenn and I were completely caught by surprise. We looked at each other and said, "Holy cow! Did she just say that?"

Grandma Gates fed Lydia for the first time this past week. Grandma was in charge of giving Lincoln his dinner for a long time, but since he does his own meals now, it's been a long time since Grandma's had a meal-job to do. She's re-enlisted.
Lincoln is a Leesville Lake with Grandpa Doug right now. Who knows how much sleep he'll get at nap-time, but he loves being Grandpa's Helper.

Jenn has been investigating some home-school preschool lessons to begin with Lincoln, and he had his first lesson today. He was so excited when I got home from work to tell me about his story, song, craft and memory verse. He's got the mind for these type of lessons and Jenn is really interested in keeping him busy with good, mind-building exercises.

I've been getting a little bit more involved at CVCA after many years away. Last January we took on a student at the clinic for their J-Term, and another student has contacted me about this upcoming J-Term. Not long after our J-Termer is through, we'll be taking on a Purdue veterinary student for a 6 week externship, much like Jenn did at CFVC during our fourth year.

Also, CVCA recently added to their Schools of Distinction model. In the past, the SOD has consisted of the School of Engineering, the School of Ministry, and the School of Business & Entrepreneurship. This year they've added the School of Medical Professions, and they've enrolled 20 Juniors in the program and arranged for 20 professionals from the community to serve as mentors, of which I am one. I met my student, Zach, at the parent meeting this past Monday, and he seems promising. He says he wants to be an orthopedic surgeon. Big goals! So I'll be his mentor over the next two years, and one of my roles is to impress upon him the importance of good study habits, perseverance, good peers, etc. And combining J-Term with the SOD, I'll be giving a presentation to the 20 Juniors at the clinic. Too bad volunteering in the veterinary realm doesn't count for CE!

Edge starts up again very soon. You'll recall that Edge is the middle school ministry at Christ Community Chapel (formerly Hudson Community Chapel). This will be my third year, and the sixth graders I took on in my small group are now eighth graders. Wow. They've grown up a bunch, and a number of them have taken on leadership roles within Edge, which is really neat to see. I'm also excited because my assistant last year, Tyler, who was a senior at Stow High School, is going to school locally and is going to stick with my small group! One of the questions I've been getting from folks at CCC is about what I plan to do after this year. Tha Porch (high school ministry) team would like for me to follow my small group after this year, and the Edge team would like for me to recycle and take on a new sixth grade group. But with all of the changes that will be coming in our home over the next year, the Gates team is pulling me to at least take a year off while things get settled at home.

Our home study was approved by Chinese Children Adoption International, and Jenn just had the last of our things notarized today. The next step involves the US Government and Immigration. Yes, it involves paying an outrageous amount of money and waiting for a long period of time. But I wouldn't want to say anything disparaging about the government.

So that was a bit of catch-up. Thanks for reading through to the end!