Presbyterian

Finding the right church for us in Waco has been difficult. We attended a Congregational church in Wichita. It was formal, traditional, loving, simple, thoughtful, and intellectual. We've been attending a Baptist church in Waco that is many of those things; however, the children's program wasn't a good fit for us. I have some history in the Presbyterian denomination so we decided to visit First Presbyterian in Waco. We really liked it. It is very formal. More so than UCC in Wichita, but we appreciate formal worship very much. They have a children's chapel time that the boys loved. We enjoyed being able to focus on the sermon and message while the boys were in chapel. The liturgy, hymns, and history of the church fed my soul. The message of Christ's love was moving. Chris really loves it. I haven't seen him react like this since we've been in TX. We also like that the denomination will honor Ethan and Kaleb's infant baptisms. I think it is a good match. I've joined a casual Bible study on Wednesday nights. A friend from the other church we've been attending is going and invited me. It turns out that the organizer of the group attends First Presbyterian. Waco is small. The girls in the group are younger than me, but we had a great first evening together. I'm excited to get to see my new friend Kristin on a regular basis since we will no longer be attending the same church. Did I tell you how much the boys love First Presbyterian? The actually use the words "love it" when talking about the experience. I know we really worship against the grain of modern churches. Screens, worship teams, and media just don't appeal to us. We appreciate ritual, liturgy, and simplicity in worship. God is so good to provide differentiated worship for His followers. That's a big education term we use to describe "instruction designed specifically for individual students." It fits, doesn't it?

School Update

Three weeks into school the boys have managed to get written up on the bus. At least they were fighting with each other. Kaleb squeezed Ethan's privates because Ethan was hitting him. I got a call from the Asst. Principal and notes in the mail. Serious business. Other than that, things are going well. Kaleb and Ethan love school and love Mrs. Decker. They earn popsicle sticks and get the treasure box after ten. We send 75 cents on Friday for ice cream. They go to centers, PE, and Spanish. This is about all we get out of them. We have handwriting homework over the weekends.

There's No Place Like Home

We went to Wichita over Labor Day weekend to visit family friends. We had a wonderful trip. We spent time with my brother and his wife (who is expecting a baby cousin in January). We got to meet their new dog Lilly. We also saw the Fishers, all of whom we love tremendously. We spent time with all of our closest friends. I had dinner at PF Changs with friends....ahhh...so nice to eat at a great restaurant. We played with the Bogue's, Orth's, Vas's, and Collinsworth's. We drove by our house...which is for sale and empty. We peeked in the windows and recalled the many good times we had there. We found E & K 2004 carved in the porch. I cried for two hours on the way back to TX. Ethan cried, too. It was pathetic. I want to move back.