Thus Speaketh the Nerd...

School has already started here in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. For the past few weeks, I have nostalgically flipped through ads for school supplies: notebooks, pens, highlighters, paper clips and post-its beckon to be purchased in anticipation of a new school year. Alas, though, I am not to be a student this semester. Yes, I know; I'm a nerd.

MTSU officially starts next week, and my friends and colleagues are in orientation this week, preparing the newest TAs (teaching assistants) for their roles as writing center tutors, research assistants, and instructors. When I was required to attend and even lead orientation in the past, I was not too thrilled to spend the last remaining week of freedom before classes started cooped up in a seminar room discussing plagiarism and how to use WebCt, but now that I am no longer part of the drama, I must say I miss it. There's something about the beginning of a new school year that invigorates me. Perhaps it's the buying of new pens and paper or going to the bookstore and purchasing my books or maybe it's meeting my new professors and students, or perhaps it's the promise of a new start, fresh beginnings, like the New Year. I think it's all of the above.

Even though I won't be starting back to school this semester, I do feel the excitement. I have even purchased some new notebooks and pencils and made some goals for myself, namely to write some every day and to continue reading for my exam, as a way to feel connected with what I used to be a part of. When I do return to school in the spring (Lord willing!), I will once again feel this euphoria of a new year and a new start. Call me a nerd all you want but I can't wait!

Reading Magic!

If you were to walk in our house on any given day, you would notice that there are books in every single room. Daniel has a book on General MacArthur in the bathroom; Kate has baskets of picture books in the living room, nursery, and our sleeping room; and I have books of all genres in all of these rooms (except the bathroom) including the kitchen. Books spill over our bookshelves, tables, and chairs. They are marked with pens, highlighters, and makeshift bookmarks, awaiting their reader to return and pick up where he/she left off. Needless to say, we are a reading family.

At this moment, I am reading six different books, one of which is Mem Fox's Reading Magic. Fox, an Australian children's book author and educator, preaches the importance of reading aloud to your children from birth as the best literacy tool. She also stresses that when children peruse books, turning pages, looking at the pictures, and telling the stories to themselves, they are reading, regardless of whether or not they know what the words on the page mean. So, Kate, who is going through her Googlie Farm book right now, is reading! It's a stretch, I know, but Fox says not to belittle this important step in literacy development.

I have been reading to Kate since before she was born, reading aloud Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea in their entirety, and now we read everyday although nothing quite so long. Kate's favorite books are The Gingerbread Man, Five Silly Monkeys, and That's Not My Dolly, and we read these same three stories at least twice a day despite having tons of others to choose from.

My mom read to me as a small child, instilling in me a love of reading that has always been a part of who I am. I hope that I can instill this same passion for the written word in my own children and that one day they will pass on this same love of reading to their children.

"[W]hat does the Lord require of you?"

It is amazing to me that God has patience for us human beings. We constantly disobey Him, follow our own passions and desires, and reject His Word and yet His love is everlasting and eternal. What do we do to deserve such love and mercy? What should we do?

Yesterday I was reading from a daily devotional that my mom gave me -- The One Year Daily Grind by Sarah Arthur -- and was particularly struck by a passage from Micah chapter six. I am always excited when I discover a hidden gem in the Scriptures and for me, Micah 6:6-8 is truly beautiful. The author’s poetic, fluid writing style speaks vividly to me as a writer and aesthete but more importantly, his message resonates to my soul as a Christian trying to please God.

Micah 6:6-8 (New International Version)

6 With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

God didn’t want Israel’s sacrifices and offerings. He wanted THEM: their hearts, their souls, their whole beings. Israel had turned from God to follow idols and pagan deities but were still trying to appease God with sacrifices. Today, just like in Micah’s day (750-680 B.C.), God desires that we live transformed lives. He doesn’t care about the religious rituals we perform but that we “act justly,” “love mercy,” and “walk humbly” with Him. Are we fulfilling His commands?

Lacey Lynn's 4th Birthday Party!!!

This Friday evening we had a birthday party for Lacey at Gram Gram and Papa's house. Her other grandparents--Mimi and Papa Nance--also came bearing gifts for Princess Lacey. Lacey specifically requested a "dinosaur wedding" birthday--who really knows what she meant by that??--so Gram Gram, Papa, and our good friend, Susan Cooper, made two very special birthday cakes: a pink dinosaur with yellow eyes (and buttons?) and a Barbie doll wedding cake. Lacey was in heaven! You should have seen her cute little face!

Kate thoroughly enjoyed playing with her big cousins who seemed to be as enthralled by her as she by them. It is amazing how young children bond so easily with others near their age and size. It's as if they know they aren't authority figures but their equals. However, Kate was not too thrilled when Mommy was holding Robby, who, by the way, is almost as big as Kate.





We had a wonderful time with our family and friends although we hate Uncle Brian couldn't be there. He was in South Carolina getting their house ready to sell. But we are so excited that they already have an offer!

Our Growing Girl

Last week Kate turned 9-months-old. She now has her two bottom teeth and is working on the top ones. Kate is also crawling, climbing, and cruising everywhere! At first she only hung around her Mama but now that she realizes she can go places, she follows her Daddy all over the house. She even pushed open the bathroom door the other day so she could await his exit from the shower. Mobility has meant more independence for her and me, and now Kate is even more of a Daddy's girl!

Everyone asks us if Kate is always such a good baby because the little girl they see is angelic, but little do they know that this little angel has a fierce temper and a defiant streak that has already resulted in countless "spankings." And she is not even one yet! Kate knows when she is not supposed to eat the yucky stuff off the floor or jump on Mommy's laptop and will pause and look at me like, "I know I'm not supposed to do this, but will anyone stop me?!" And when she needs a nap, which I think is her least favorite activity, she will stiffen those chubby little legs and throw her head back to try to escape. But I think she is just too busy to rest. There are so many places to go, things to see, and sounds to make to sleep.