on our way home...

hi everyone! how are you doing? things in vancouver are crazy as usual--i'm wrapping up my second of four summer classes, karen is up to her eyeballs in frappuccinos with the onset of the summer heat, and jeremiah is playing hard and getting bigger with each passing day. i wish i could pass on some exciting news about mac, our dog, but other than sleeping his days away on the cold bathroom floor, going for an occasional jog, and pooping in our landlord's house, he hasn't been up to too much of late.

before i go on, i've got to say that i realize i frequently use the word "crazy" to describe our life as a family. don't take that to mean that we're miserable, discontent, or even that we think our life together is busier or more hectic than yours. on the contrary, we're loving life and are thankful for all that makes it so chaotic--we've enjoyed going through the graduate school experience together, vancouver has been a great place to live, and we've made some really great friends along the way. i simply use this word, because i've yet to find any other that quite describes this fast-paced, messy, stressful, (at times) painful, and certainly fun and exciting journey that we're on.

well after saying that, i must point out that the crazy-meter seems to be especially high right now. this is because on top of all we normally do, we also find ourselves preparing for a trip home. that's right, everyone, strike up the band, dust off those welcome signs, stock those refrigerators, and get those guestrooms ready, cause we'll be seeing a lot of you very soon!

i can't say enough that we're really looking forward to being back home for a couple weeks. we hope it's filled with plenty of chances to catch up with a lot of you through conversation over coffee, a meal, or during an evening of playing games/cards. we also hope it gives us a chance to tell you more about what this last year has been like for us--a lot has happened in our lives and this blog has only communicated a bit of what we've done and learned, or how we've grown and changed through the process. finally, it’s going to be nice to simply be away from school and work for awhile (even though both of us still have a bit of course work to take care of while we're gone).

well, i better go--i've got a hungry little boy fighting for my attention. if you're going to be in/near dayton or columbus from aug 1-16 then drop us a line so we can meet up! hope to hear from a lot of you soon!
p+k

7.1.06- the craziness of life on full display at a seattle mariners baseball game