Nearing the End

It has been so long since I have posted a blog, many of you have probably forgotten we even have one! I checked the date of the last post and I am not really sure how that much time slipped by in between posts. Well, sort of… This has been the most challenging semester so far and the last three months have been the busiest I have ever been. The combination of a full load at school that included Hebrew, working 20 hours a week, and serving at our church during a season without a pastor proved to be very time consuming! Not to mention being sure to spend quality time with Jess and the girls! Needless to say, when I turned in my last final exam on Friday afternoon, a great sense of joy and gratitude came over me as the Lord brought us through yet another semester! Now, I have five classes left to take to graduate with my Mdiv. I will take one this winter and four in the Spring to finish.

Despite a very busy season of life, we are doing well. The Lord has provided strength and mercy every step of the way. Our family outings were much more limited this semester than they have been in the past, but we still were able to make some great memories. We were able to go camping for three days during our fall break. We were able to once again experience the incredible colors of a Kentucky fall. The colors came late this year, but were stunning once again. One can only marvel at a God so gracious as to give us such beauty for us to enjoy. We were able to do several hikes in the surrounding state parks, including some picnic dinners. We were able to go watch the National Horse Jumping Competition in Lexington with the girls. I took Kate bow hunting for the first time. We were also blessed to have Ed and Sherie (Jess’ parents) come out and spend a few days with us. In fact, we were so grateful that Jess got the flu the night they flew in and we made sure it spread through almost everyone before they left!

Now we are settling in to enjoy the Christmas season and some relaxing time together as a family. We are going away next week to a cabin in Indiana for a few days. We have been looking forward to that for several months now. Our little house is cozy with our Christmas tree and decorations so that has been enjoyable. We are looking forward to snow and colder weather also.

As we begin to look to the future and pray for what God would have for us, we would welcome your prayers for us. It is hard to believe there is only a semester left until graduation. It seems like we just pulled in and unpacked the truck!

I have posted some pictures below of the past couple of months. Lord willing, either Jess or I will try to keep our blog a little more current from now on! May the Lord richly bless you as we near the time in which we celebrate the coming of Christ to rescue us from our sin and restore us into a living relationship with God our Father!

Blessings,
Shane

The girls with their new stick horses on a recent hike. An early Christmas present from Papa and Nana!

Hiking out at our favorite forest; Bernheim Forest.

Jess and the girls in front of the Christmas tree on Jess' birthday.

This photo was taken at Fort Harrod. It is a rebuilt fort from the first settlement in Kentucky, dating back to 1774. They have it set up as it would have been then and it is fascinating!

Tess has been collecting a zoo from Christmas presents over the past two years. She had them all set up in her bed with her!

I was blessed to be able to take Kate bow hunting for the first time. We saw deer but not close enough to shoot! Last season I was able to hunt quite a bit. This season I have only been out twice.

Kate caught a huge Praying Mantis in our yard this fall. She made a cage for it and named it Katie. She said it was a girl. Not sure how she knew that. Katie ate very large crickets caught in our basement and she slowly ate them alive. Pretty gross. Unfortunately, Katie only made it about two weeks.

Jess, Beth, and Tess on our camping trip in October.

The girls playing with fire on our camping trip. One of their favorite things to do! What kind of a dad.....?

Summer is Over (Praise God from Whom ALL Blessings Flow!)

Summer is over and fall is upon us. Despite the fact that Louisville set a record high yesterday of 102, we know the heat is about to break. It is supposed to be in the 70's tomorrow! Summers here are hard because the heat is very oppressive. July was especially bad this year. Fall is beautiful though and we are excited for the coming new season. I am also excited because football has begun and hunting season is about to begin. It does make me miss coaching football!

I am now three weeks into my final year. It is hard to believe three weeks have already passed of the semester. Counting this semester, I have 9 classes left. After this semester, I will have 5. The plan is to take one in the winter and 4 in the spring. Lord willing, I should graduate in May. This semester I am taking Systematic Theology I, Preaching Practicum, Christian Ethics, and Hebrew. It is a full load but the classes are really good. Hebrew is the class I have been the most scared of since coming to seminary so it is good to be getting a start on it! So far it is okay.

Jess and I went away for three days at the end of July to celebrate our 13th anniversary. It was a great time of relaxation and rest. It was also much needed as this summer has been incredibly busy. We went to Lexington and spent some time in the horse capitol of the world. One of the things we did was go visit the Kentucky horse park, the home of the World Equestrian Games. Put simply; it is the dadgum fanciest place for horses I ever did see!

The girls have started school here at home and they are doing well. Kate has started reading up a storm. She is reading regular books now and reading them quickly. On her own, she is reading through the Bible and in a few weeks is half way through Exodus. Rose is now writing the alphabet in cursive and at the beginning stages of reading.

Tess is riding a bike with training wheels now and Rose is riding her new bike like a pro. Beth has started eating solid food and she is now crawling. That has introduced a whole new facet to life!

Next Saturday, Jess and I are running a 5K on the campus of Southern Seminary to raise money for missions. I have already called the paramedics and they will be standing by. My prayer and hope is to cross the finish line and to beat someone. I know....lofty goals, but I am feeling optimistic!

Well, I better go. Enjoy the pictures!

Blessings,
Shane

Tess has started Cubbies now at Awana and she is very excited about it! She earned her vest last week and was beaming!

Beth eating her first solid food!

We had a cooler day at the end of August and went out hiking at one of our favorite places. This is the trip we learned about chiggers. Poor little Tess had over 20 of them on her when we got home. They are like tiny little ticks that suck blood. Not exactly one of my favorite creatures!

Beth is growing up so quickly! She is a very jovial and happy little one. She is a big smiler and enjoys life.

On July 31st, it was 95 degrees and we were tired of being holed up in the house because of the heat. So, we decided to brave the heat and went down to Bernheim Forest. They have a great bike trail down there. Jess and I rollerbladed and the girls rode their bikes. It was a fun day and all slept good that night!

Jess at the main arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. There are multiple arenas there, but this is the main grandstage one. There was a national event going on while we there so that was fun to get to watch some of it.

Near the end of July, we met my uncle Chris, my aunt Lynnie, and Grandma Sander in a little town in Indiana called Nashville. It was fun to spend time with them.

Tess does really well with little Beth and she enjoys holding her.

So Begins July

Well, July has begun and I realize I haven't posted anything in 2 months. Where did that time go? My bad. I would like to be a just a wee bit more consistent about posting things here!

The summer has been very busy. My job has been full time over the summer so keeping up with things at church and with my classes has been challenging. But, the Lord continues to provide grace and most things are getting done. I finished up a five credit class on Thursday and will begin working on my next class this week. I also need to start working on my reading for the fall semester, which begins in the middle of August.

Two weeks ago, I spent a week in Salt Lake City on a missions trip for school. The goal of the trip was studying Mormonism to be able to more effectively dialogue with Mormons and share the Gospel with them. We met with Mormon professors at BYU, Weber State, and the University of Utah. We also met with Mormon church leaders and with Christians who minister full time with Mormons. It was a great trip and I learned a lot. It was also great to back in the west! I sure miss the west and the nice clear air that does not have the humidity! Currently, I think the air here is thick enough cut with a machete.

Yesterday we went out hiking and had a family day. It was a good day. We went on two different hikes, had a picnic lunch, and got some ice cream on the way home. It was wonderful to be out in the country again. We have not been able to get out much this summer due to everything going on.

The Lord continues to provide for us and we are so very grateful. He has provided for us through the generous gifts of friends and family. We are continually overwhelmed with His provision through His people. Right now, I am on track to graduate next May which is very exciting. I have four classes to take this fall, one to take in the winter, and then four to take in the Spring to finish.

The children are doing great! Rose is riding a regular bike now. We were able to get her a new one this weekend because she outgrew her other one. The kids ride bikes every day in the yard and on their daily walks. She is very excited about this next step in her maturity!

Well, I need to go. Here are some pictures to enjoy!

Blessings,
Shane


Beth loves to be on her tummy!


Redneck swimming pool! Three rubbermaid containers with water in them! Sprinkler play sure changes when you pay a water bill!



The girls on their flight to California!


The night Rose got her new bike. They sat there and sang with great exuberance for 20 minutes!




Rose affectionately named her bike "Misty". She covers it at night and talks about it is doing when she isn't home to take care of it!


Our team in front of the Mormon Institute of Religion at the University of Utah after three hours of dialogue with Mormon professors there.

This is the roof of the Mormon Conference center. It takes up an entire city block and holds approximately 21,000 people.

Looking down on Temple Square from the top of the LDS Administrative building. This building is 28 stories high and is the 2nd tallest building in Utah at 420 feet.

The Tabernacle. All work was done by hand. It was begun in 1853 and completed in 1893.

Our team in front of the tabernacle.

Yesterday's hike was a muddy hike!

The last two months have been exceptionally full! School was very busy, church is very busy, and life with our family has been very busy! But, on Friday I took my last final and skipped home (not really, but almost)! I will get a small break for a week and then I will need to start preparing for summer classes. It will be a full summer. Ministry at church will be busy this summer, I will be working full time, and trying to take classes as well. With the conclusion of this semester, I am 2/3 of the way done! Praise the Lord! With everything going on, this has probably been my hardest semester. If the Lord continues to provide financially, I should be able to graduate next May, although it will be a push to make it. That being said, we are losing the babysitting job in September that Jess has here at home. That currently accounts for nearly half of our income. So, if the Lord brings it to mind, please be in prayer with us regarding that situation. We are confident the Lord will provide because He has so faithfully provided thus far. However, we are curious!

Derby time just concluded here in Kentucky and three weeks ago, we all went down to Thunder over Louisville. It is a 6 hour airshow, followed by the largest firework show in the nation. We all went to the airshow, but I took Kate and Rose back down to watch the fireworks that evening. It was a really fun time. The firework show truly was incredible. It was comparable to the largest firework finale you have ever seen, but ongoing for 30 minutes. The finale was so strong and loud, it felt as if someone was pounding our chest with their fists as fast as they could. When it was over, I was laughing and turned to Kate, asking her what she thought. She said, "That was really loud in my tummy...I think I am going to throw up!" It was a good memory with them!

We were going to go camping this weekend to get some time away as a family after a crazy semester, but a cold front with rain came in. So, we are staying home. I am still going to take Monday off of work and we are going to relax together as a family. The weekend has been relaxing and we are grateful. On Friday night we went to pizza to celebrate the end of the semester, as is our tradition. Yesterday we hung out at home and I didn't do any school work! First Saturday not doing school work since the beginning of January. It was great!

There a bunch of pictures from the last month below. I will try to put some more up in the next week or two. I have more, but I thought it was full enough!

Blessings,
Shane


Kate relaxing on the back porch. It is really nice to have a porch and a lawn! We are barbecuing once in a while and it is great! We can't really afford much meat here because it is so expensive. So far we just have chicken or hamburgers. We miss barbecued steaks!


Hiking in Southern Indiana


Watching jets at Thunder over Louisville. The girls plug their ears because there are a lot of military jets, such as F-16's that come over really low and do a lot of cool stuff. It is really fun to watch!




A glimpse of the firework show!


The girls as we are waiting for the fireworks to start. It was a cold and rainy day!






The girl's birthday celebration. Jess found white "fancy" gloves in the $1 section of Target. They were pretty excited!


My Mom made these outfits for the girl's babies.




Rose loves having a real baby in the house! Sometimes too much!




The girls after a fun time in the yard. Our back yard is bowl and when it rains the neighbors lawns, as well as our driveway drains into the back yard. When we get a good rain, about 2/3 of the yard is under water. The girls love to play in the water!