Hail, All Hail, TCU!

Zach and I left Kansas City on Wednesday and drove south to Fort Worth, TX to spend a week with his family. We decided to visit TCU's campus while we were here because they've been building a lot and we wanted to see all the changes. It was so neat to be back on campus at the place where we spent four fantastic years, but the place really has changed a lot. Four new dorms are being built in the middle of campus, plus a new student center. The beloved Frog Fountain is still the centerpiece of campus, although it's been cleaned up a lot. It was never this shiny while we were there!
As we exited the freeway on our way to campus, I was reminded of the first time I visited TCU with my mom. Can it really have been almost ten years ago? If you don't know the story of how I ended up at TCU, read on. It is one of the clearest examples in my life of God leading me in a specific direction.

From the time I was a sophomore in high school, I really wanted to go to Rice University. I really, really, really wanted to go there. Rice is pretty tough to get into but I thought I had the grades, test scores, extracurriculars, etc. to get in. I applied for early admission and was absolutely devastated when I learned in February that they were deferring my decision to the regular admission pool.

I realized at that point that I was not happy with the other schools I had applied to. So, I decided to apply to TCU. Yes, just that suddenly. I had no real reason. I truly believe God placed the thought in my mind because that's where I needed to be. I know I had gotten mail from TCU during high school (along with dozens of other schools) but I had never given them any special thought. When I announced this intention to my parents, I'm sure they thought I was crazy, but being the supportive parents they are, they did everything they could to help me. They made calls to the admission office to find out how I could apply within the admission deadline (which was that week) and faxed my application for me so it would arrive on time.

A few weeks later I received an acceptance letter from TCU along with a t-shirt and a small scholarship offer. (I applied weeks after the scholarship deadline, so that was a big surprise.) The t-shirt may not seem like a big deal, but to me it represented a school that wanted me there enough to send a little token like that. Mom and I visited TCU during my Spring Break and while we were there I decided to accept the admission offer. TCU was the right size school with the right majors in the right kind of city.

I have not regretted that decision for a single minute in the past ten years. God worked in my life in so many ways during those four years--I am so thankful for the crazy decision He led me to make!

Cinnamon Rolls!

Christmas Eve in the Jones house means one thing: cinnamon rolls. Every Christmas morning for years my Grandma Irene served cinnamon rolls for breakfast when the family gathered at her house. Before she died my mom watched her make them and wrote out the recipe for the first time--Grandma didn't need a recipe. Now my mom continues to make cinnamon rolls for our Christmas brunch. It's a long process, with multiple rises and all the work of rolling out the dough, but by this time in the evening the house smells amazing and we can hardly wait for tomorrow morning, knowing what a treat is waiting for us!






Mixing the dough








Kneading in the flour








The dough before it rises








The risen dough








Rolled-out dough with LOTS of butter








Lots of butter deserves lots of brown sugar








Rolling up the dough








Slicing the dough and arranging the rolls in the pan








The finished product!

Thoughts for the Season

I read Isaiah 55 this morning and I was struck by its appropriateness to the Christmas season. My Bible has titled the chapter "The Free Offer of Mercy." Isn't that what Christmas should be: a reminder of the free offer of mercy that God is still extending to sinners everywhere?

Several verses in particular stood out to me. Verse 2 says "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance." Millions of people have been busy this month spending their money on things that cannot really satisfy our longing souls. Only Christ offers what we really need.

Verse 6 says "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near." It seems to me that during the Christmas season Christ is on the one hand a little "nearer:" we hear songs about Him, see Scripture proclaiming Him on Christmas cards, and see images of His birth as decorations. But on the other hand, this pushes the true Christ a little farther away from us if we treat Him like the jingle bells and snowmen that also decorate our world.

I pray that Christ would be near your heart in this season. I pray that you (and I) would call upon Him to satisfy us in the midst of so much worldliness.

Oh, There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays

The "home" I am currently referring to is my parents' house in Independence, MO. Zach and I are fortunate enough this year to have the resources to visit both our families during the holidays. We have been looking forward to this for months! No job responsibilities and no tuba, just lots of time to relax and frankly, to get spoiled. (If our parents are half as good at spoiling Austin as they are at spoiling us, he will be one lucky child!)

I am really glad that my parents still live in the house I grew up in because so many of my holiday memories center around this house. Here are some of my favorite things about Christmas in the Jones house:

• making Grandma Irene's cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve
• admiring all of my mom's beautiful decorations...she really inspires me to try to make my home as beautiful as it can be for my family
• listening to Christmas music both serious and not-so-serious...my mom just reminded me of the first time we ever listened to a "Cow Christmas" tape...pretty hilarious. We'll pull it out in a few days for old times' sake
• listening to my sister or my dad (no one else could do it justice) read aloud "The Christmas Tree in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. This short story is probably supposed to be poignant and touching but is so funny (at least to us) that we can hardly get through it.
• doing crossword puzzles or having long conversations with my dad...he is so intelligent and I love how many different subjects on which we can converse
• enjoying our traditional Christmas brunch and then relaxing for all of Christmas afternoon

Book Group

I posted a few weeks ago about joining the Women's Club of IUP. Since then, I have gone to Craft Night, Game Night and Book Group. All of the events have been really fun and I've met a lot of women of all ages. Today I went to Book Group for the first time. We discussed The Memory-Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Here's a brief synopsis:

It's 1964 and a young woman is giving birth for the first time. Because of a blizzard, she gives birth at her husband's clinic (he's a doctor) with only themselves and a nurse present. A healthy baby boy is born, then an unexpected twin girl is born. The husband recognizes that the baby has Down's Syndrome. While his wife is recovering from the sedative she was given during the birth, he tells the nurse to take the baby girl to an institution for the mentally disabled. When his wife wakes up, he suddenly decides to tell her that the girl died at birth. Once away from the clinic, the nurse decides to take the baby and raise her as her own daughter.

The book follows all of these characters' lives over the next 24 years. Maybe this book captured my attention so much because I'm expecting my own child and can somewhat put myself in the mother's shoes, but I think I would have found it compelling even before. It describes so well the tragedy that comes from a relationship based on lies, but you sense throughout the book that there is hope if only the truth could come out. Plus, for someone my age, it is really thought-provoking to read about how children with Down's were treated only a few decades ago.

If you're looking for something to read over the holidays, you might want to give this one a try.

Merry TubaChristmas!

TubaChristmas took place in Indiana last night. If you've never experienced TubaChristmas before, it is a national event that takes place in cities all across the country. Tuba and euphonium players of all ages get together and play Christmas songs for the public to enjoy. In Indiana, it takes place at the Indiana Mall. Zach has participated in TubaChristmas before but this year was his first time coordinating the event. Yesterday was a very busy day for Zach but everything went smoothly and we had a huge turnout. Here are some pictures of the fun!

Registering

Zach and I went to Monroeville today, the 40-miles-away location of our nearest Babies R Us, to set up our baby registry. Wow--what an experience! I don't think I have ever made so many choices in one day before. It certainly added to my "I don't know what I'm doing" feelings as a mom-to-be. I mean, a fifteen foot long aisle with nothing but bottles and pacifiers! How in the world are you supposed to choose what is right for the child you haven't met yet?

But...we had fun, despite the sometimes overwhelming nature of this task. It was nice to do something parent-ish with Zach--I was blessed (and am blessed every day) by his enthusiasm towards being a dad. I realized all over again today just how well we complement each other.

So our registry is complete, for better or worse, although not necessarily in final form. Thank goodness for the online accessibility that Babies R Us offers. Zach and I have already made several changes since this morning as we came home and read reviews of some of the products.

The news we've been waiting for

Baby Collins is a BOY! Nobody in the family was too surprised about that--we are just adding to the large number of Collins men! Zach and I are thrilled to know his gender, though, and to see him for the first time. Our ultrasound (my first) was a truly amazing experience. Our little one waved at us a few times and we saw his little mouth open and close. I'm not sure how long he is but he's measuring almost 20 weeks. (I'm almost 19 weeks along.) God truly works a miracle every time a baby is conceived!

As many of you know, we have been planning to name our boy Austin Zachary. Here are a few of Austin's first baby pictures!

Here he's on his back, looking up, with a little hand in front of his chest.

And here, as the ultrasound tech put it, he's "showing his stuff" so we know who he is!

Here I Grow

After my last post several friends requested a current picture of me and my preggo belly. Here you go! This is the first week I've felt like I'm actually "showing." I finally feel pregnant and it's pretty exciting.

Only 5 Days...

...until we find out if Baby Collins is a boy or a girl! I went to my 18-week checkup yesterday and we scheduled the big ultrasound for next Tuesday morning at 8:30. Zach and I can hardly wait! We will be thrilled whether it's a boy or a girl, but boys are abundant in the Collins family so we are sort of expecting that. Now is the time to make your predictions, though. Anyone have a premonition?

Go Tigers!

So you were all watching the MU-KU game tonight, right? After all, it's the second oldest rivalry in college football. (Thanks for telling me, ABC.) It was a little close at the end, but Mizzou pulled out a victory. My family is so excited that after years of faithfully cheering on the Tigers, they are finally having a great season!

Thanksgiving Part 2

Why Part 2? Well, my grocery store gave away free turkeys this month if you earned enough points. Although we ate Thanksgiving dinner with the McBrides yesterday (we ate Ashley's free turkey, as a matter of fact), I just couldn't pass up 15 pounds of free meat. That's a big help to my grocery budget, you know? So this afternoon I cooked my own turkey, with lots of help from Zach. And of course you can't just eat turkey by itself, so we also made gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, and stuffing for dinner. Needless to say, we have lots of leftovers!

Thanksgiving Part 1

Zach and I celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday with our friends Ashley and Patrick and Ashley's family. Ashley is an amazing cook and we enjoyed the fruit of her labor very much. Ashley made her first-ever pecan pie (Zach's favorite) and it was so good that I plan to tweak my own recipe a bit with suggestions from hers! Zach and I have only gotten to be with family twice on Thanksgiving Day since we were married, but we were blessed to spend an afternoon in the McBrides' warm and welcoming home.

Here is Ashley's beautiful table.
Interesting anecdote: Ashley's mom predicts that we will have a baby girl, based on looking at my rear end. Don't ask me what this told her, but we'll find out if she's right in a few weeks!

Conflict at Church

A rather disturbing scene took place at our church yesterday morning. Before he started the sermon, our pastor said he needed to address some rumors that had been circulating about the recent resignation of the church's associate pastor. He explained exactly why he had decided to confront this pastor and how a mutual decision had been reached that the associate pastor should resign. Now Zach and I haven't been at the church very long, so we never knew the associate pastor at all, but we have no reason to doubt Pastor Morton's version of the story. However, it seems that some in the church have been slandering the pastor and making him out to be "the bad guy," so to speak.

So far, this wouldn't have bothered me much...I think the pastor was working within his biblical role to admonish his flock about this issue and to try to set the record straight. What bothered me was that several men in the congregation engaged in a brief verbal argument with the pastor and each other right there in the middle of the service! I wanted to cry out "This is not how the body of Christ should be behaving!"

Brothers and sisters in Christ, please pray for our church. My heart is breaking for this group of people who have a wonderful, godly man trying to lead them but seem to let their own selfish desires rule their behavior. Zach and I do believe this church is the place God would have us worship right now, but we would love to see the members of the church grow in maturity and discernment.

Getting to Know You

Zach and I went to dinner last night with our new pastor, Nathan, and his wife Heather. It was a wonderful evening of fellowship. He really shared his heart for our church and his desire to see it grow. He also told us about the challenges he has faced since being called to this pastorate. His philosophy of ministry and that of the congregation are pretty different, but he believes that with time and strong teaching the Lord will change the hearts and minds of his flock. We are thankful to have found a pastor so committed to preaching God's Word, who believes that God's Word is sufficient for all our needs and will not return empty without accomplishing what He desires (Isaiah 55:11). He is not concerned with the latest fads for growing your church, as so many Baptist churches of our experience have been, but trusts God's sovereignty.

Joining the Club

The club I'm referring to is the Women's Club of IUP. It's a group that started in the 1940s for IUP faculty spouses. Now, of course, it's open to female faculty and staff members as well as spouses. It's fair to say that I have a good amount of time on my hands these days so I decided this would be a good way to keep busy and meet some new people. The Women's Club has book discussions, craft groups, game nights, and community service opportunities: lots of fun activities.

Last night I attended my first event: a coffee in a member's home. The president graciously invited me to ride with her along with a few of her friends, so I didn't have to arrive alone. (I hate walking into situations by myself where I'm not going to know anyone.) As it turns out, I was the youngest woman at this coffee by about 25 years, but they assured me that the club really does have a variety of ages. It was nice to spend an evening in the company of women who possess so much wisdom and so many skills that I don't. And they assured me that my baby will have lots of surrogate grandmas ready to love him or her!

Need a Dinner Idea?

While Zach and I were driving home on Saturday afternoon, I had a random thought: " I wonder if I could find a good recipe for lettuce wraps?" So I looked when I got home and found a promising recipe on allrecipes.com. I made them for dinner tonight and they were a hit! Definitely a keeper. The original recipe can be found here. I tweaked the recipe a bit: I used ground pork instead of beef and added carrots (both at the suggestion of allrecipes.com reviewers) and left out pickled ginger and chile pepper sauce because they both sounded a little too zingy for my taste. I also used romaine lettuce because Bibb lettuce was tiny and expensive. Who needs to spend lots of money at PF Chang's when you can do this at home?

What is this white stuff?

It is snowing in Indiana! Just a few flurries...nothing is sticking because the temperature is about 40 degrees. Still, this is a sight I'm not used to. I dashed outside to try to get some pictures. I think you can just barely see the flakes in this one.


Like it or not, here comes winter!

Seeking Input

Zach and I are hoping to create our baby registry sometime in the next month, so it will be all ready by Christmas for Grandmas and Grandpas who are already spoiling our little one! I will be the first to admit that I'm no expert when it comes to baby equipment but I know I have a lot of friends who are! So I'm seeking input from all my mommy friends.

I'll start by asking about carseats and strollers. Please tell me if you have a brand you really love or hate, or even just a particular feature I should seek out or avoid. One thing I'm particularly interested in is whether we should get a specific infant seat or go for a convertible that will grow with our child.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Trick or Treat

Yesterday Zach and I learned, thanks to some of his colleagues, that trick or treating was not going to happen on October 31 here in Indiana, it was tonight! I can only imagine how confused I would have been when the doorbell started ringing if we had not been clued in to this local tradition! It seems that Indiana designates a Saturday close to Halloween and a time (6-8PM) for officially sanctioned trick or treating.

But thankfully we were prepared. We hear that people come from neighboring smaller towns for the candy action here, and I find that easy to believe after seeing quite a crowd come to my door tonight. I had fun passing out candy and saw some cute costumes. My favorite was the little girl, maybe three years old, wearing a chick costume, who was ready to step right over the threshold and come in! Her mom said she had been trying to invite herself into every house all night. So cute!

Where do we put the food?

We thought our dining set was going to arrive together sometime in November, but to our surprise we received our chairs a few days ago. After much unpacking, they are ready for use...if you're just looking for a place to sit. They will probably hang out in the living room until the table arrives.

Head for the Border

So far, pregnancy has not changed my food preferences in any dramatic ways (I still HATE pickles) but my sweet tooth has toned down a bit and instead I prefer salty, savory stuff. I think Zach is actually a little disappointed that I haven't been craving ice cream every night! Instead, for several weeks I have really been wanting Taco Bell! Sour cream, lots of cheese--perfect. Zach indulged me tonight with a dinner date of tacos and chalupas. Soooooo good! If we're not careful, that could become a habit!

Pennsylvania Fall

It rained for most of Tuesday and Wednesday, so today I was really anxious to get out of the house for a few minutes. I decided to walk around our neighborhood to admire the fall leaves, since they will be gone all too soon. Fall is truly beautiful in Pennsylvania! Here's a little of what I saw today.

Exciting Purchase

Zach and I have been living in a home of hand-me-down furniture for our entire marriage. Don't get me wrong--we are very thankful for all of it, as the alternative would have been sitting/eating/sleeping on the floor for the last five years. But still, you get to a point where you would really like to have some things that you picked out yourself. Having moved into our own home, we are definitely at that point.

Tonight we finally ordered a new dining room table, which we have been talking about for months. We've had our eyes on one from Crate & Barrel for quite a while, but after taping out the dimensions on our dining room floor we just weren't sure it was wide enough. But while we were in Los Angeles we took advantage of the opportunity to see it in person one more time and we decided that it was the right table for us. (What a blessing--Zach and I have very similar taste in furniture.) It is on backorder and probably won't arrive until late November, so we have to be patient for just a little longer, but by Christmas (and hopefully Thanksgiving) we will be eating at our beautiful new table!

If you want to see the table, go to crateandbarrel.com and search "Kipling." We bought the extension dining table and matching chairs. Hopefully in the future we'll be able to afford the hutch as well.

Los Angeles

Zach and I have returned from our long weekend in Los Angeles and it was a great trip. I hardly know where to start!

I think the most exciting part of the trip, at least for me, was telling all our friends there that I AM PREGNANT! I know most of my blog readers know that by now, but it is fun to finally put it in print on the blog. For the record, I am about twelve weeks along, due April 30.

Saturday afternoon I met my friend Melina for lunch. She was a fellow sixth grade math teacher at Le Conte. Melina caught me up on all the news from school. I don't miss teaching at all but I do miss the wonderful people I taught with. Besides the pleasure of her company, I really enjoyed my meal at California Pizza Kitchen! We just don't have a lot of dining options in Indiana, you know?

We had dinner with our friends Daniel and Aimee on Saturday night, along with their sons. It was just like no time had passed--they are wonderful friends and I miss seeing them as often as we could in LA. Zach and I got to meet the newest member of their family, Jonathan, who was born about a month after we moved. Zach got some Daddy-to-be practice holding him--aren't they both so cute?


Sunday morning we went to Grace Community Church. It was wonderful to see so many friends in one place and hear two powerful sermons. In true John MacArthur fashion, we heard Part 4 of a many-part sermon on the Second Coming of Christ!

Sunday night we went to dinner at an Armenian restaurant with our friend Noah. Again, an ethnic cuisine choice that we probably don't have within 50 miles of Indiana. As Noah promised, they had truly amazing hummus. I wish I had a picture of the enormous piles of meat we were served. So tasty!

Monday was a big day. Zach left very early to go to USC for his doctoral exams. He returned a few hours later with a big smile on his face. Just call him Dr. Collins now! As he repeated often throughout the day, this means no more studying and no more tests. For the first time in 21 years, he is not a student!

Monday afternoon I headed back up to Aimee's house in Santa Clarita. I thought I was just going to have lunch with a few friends. Here is what I found:


Between the time she found out I was pregnant Saturday night and Monday morning, Aimee planned a baby shower for me! Nine of my closest friends were able to come on short notice. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the love and generosity these women poured out on me. I have benefited so much already from their wisdom as mothers and it is comforting to know that they will be there for me in the future as I learn to be a mom.

Monday night was Zach's concert with Southwest Chamber Music. He played Kraft's Encounters II "beautifully,"according to both me and the music reviewer from the LA times! (Read the review online here.) The rest of the concert was not exactly my favorite kind of music (strange, contemporary percussion stuff)--Zach's piece was the most "normal" and if you've heard it you know that's really saying something! Zach recorded the piece Tuesday morning. He felt like the recording session went very well and we look forward to hearing the edited version, although it won't be released until next fall.

So that's our trip to LA, in slightly more than a nutshell. I wish we could go back every three months but I know it will probably be a while, especially with Baby Collins on the way. But everyone is welcome in Indiana anytime!

Back to LA!

Some of you already know this, but Zach and I are leaving this afternoon for four days in Los Angeles. Zach is taking his DMA oral exams Monday morning, performing with Southwest Chamber Music on Monday night, and recording with the same group Tuesday morning. I am just going to have fun! We are really looking forward to seeing old friends, attending Grace Community church, and enjoying the SoCal climate once again. Expect some updates and pics in the next few days.

Busy Morning

My friend Liz invited me over this morning to help her watch a crowd of kids. She normally watches two one-year-olds, her own son and another little girl. Today she was also watching two sisters who are three and one, so she thought another pair of hands might be useful. I had a fun day playing with all the kids but am a little worn out now. My days are usually so much quieter than this!

Sweet Sounds of the Tuba

Zach gave a recital Tuesday evening. It was both his last recital as a doctoral student and his first recital as an IUP faculty member. To our great surprise, at least 150 people attended, including lots of students. (Granted, music students are required to attend a certain number of performances, but it was still nice that they chose his.) Zach played wonderfully, and really impressed his freshmen tuba/euphonium students, who up until now had not had a chance to hear just how good he is. I am so proud to be married to this talented man!

The Hoodlebug Brass Quintet (the IUP brass faculty) played with Zach during several pieces.

Yummy Recipe

If you had asked me about my favorite food when I was nine or ten years old, I would have said cornbread. Seriously. Not pizza, ice cream, or chocolate, but cornbread. For years the only cornbread I made myself came from a Jiffy box, but in the past few years I've tried to find a homemade recipe I really like. Not so easy, I found. One was moist to the point of seeming soggy, another was not sweet enough. (I like sweet cornbread.) I think the recipe I tried yesterday will be a keeper, though, so I wanted to share it. It's moist enough to avoid excess crumbs and sweet enough to taste great even without butter. Best of all, this is a Cooking Light recipe so you can eat them guilt-free. Enjoy!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons fat-free milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Combine yogurt, melted butter, milk, and egg in a small bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Place 12 paper muffin cup liners in muffin cups . Divide the batter evenly among cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

I feel a bit bad that I haven't been posting much lately, but honestly--life just hasn't been that interesting! Zach has been super busy for months preparing for his DMA exams, so we just haven't done much as a couple. But the end is in sight at last! Zach will be taking his written exams this Friday and Sunday and then life will slow down a bit. I am so excited for him to be done!

Waiting

I know a lot of you already read the Girl Talk blog, but if you don't you should at least check out today's post about waiting. I reflected on how true it is that waiting is about who we become while we wait rather than what we get at the end of the wait. How much less would I appreciate the art of homemaking if I had not worked for five years? How much less patient would I be now if I had been able to have children three years ago when I began to desire a family? God's timing is truly perfect.

Book Suggestions?

My sweet sister gave me a Borders gift card for my recent birthday. (Most of you know that I LOVE to read. Megan does too--we share book suggestions from time to time.) The gift card is probably enough to buy two, maybe even three books if I get some good deals. Anybody have any suggestions about how to spend it? I'm especially interested in hearing about any must-read parenting books I should get to while I still have the luxury of lots and lots of reading time. But I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Our new "neighbors"

A family of cats has taken up residence in our backyard recently. We don't know if they belong to anyone. We had noticed the mother wander around our backyard ever so often weeks ago, but just a few days ago we realized that the kittens were living under our hot tub. The reason we realized this: we found one of them dead on the stone path next to the hot tub and saw little eyes peeking out at us when we went to investigate. (I got the depressing task of maneuvering the poor dead kitty into a plastic bag and taking it to the Humane Society.) The remaining kittens are really cute but we hope they don't stick around forever. As many of you know, I am allergic to cats. How ironic that they would choose our backyard as their home! At least these neighbors don't have loud parties in the middle of the night.

Mama cat did not take her eyes off me for a second when I crept outside to take this picture. I didn't dare get any closer!

Thankfulness

This weekend I started rereading Out to Canaan, the 4th book in Jan Karon's Mitford series. (I highly recommend this series. The characters are wonderful and God is glorified on every page.) Anyway, the book included a quote from Patrick Henry Reardon that really stopped me in my tracks.

Suppose for a moment that God began taking from us the many things for which we have failed to give thanks. Which of our limbs and faculties would be left? Would I still have my hands and my mind? And what about loved ones? If God were to take from me all those persons and things for which I have not given thanks, who or what would be left of me?

How often I fail to give thanks! If I am honest, I realize that most days nothing would be left of me, my loved ones, or my possessions if thankfulness were required for keeping them. And there is so much to be thankful for: my Savior, my husband, a job that Zach loves and allows me to stay home, a solid roof above my head, eyes to see the beauty God created in Pennsylvania, friends who know the Lord and encourage me in my faith...the list goes on and on. Even my frustration with looking for a church turned to thankfulness as I pondered these thoughts. I'm thankful to live in a country where I am free to choose a place in which to worship God.

Oh, the patience of our God who continues to bless us in innumerable ways even when we give no thanks! May we consistently pray as we're instructed in Philippians 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."

"Cops" The Indiana Episode

The house next door to us is a rental, home to four male IUP students. Like so many college students, they like to party. Loudly. In the middle of the night. Their first party was the weekend before classes started. They were outside on their back porch until about 4 AM. It kept us up for a while but we didn't do anything about it; we decided to wait and see if it became a regular occurrence.

So last night we came home from watching the TCU/Texas game with some friends (so sad) and a party was in full swing on their back porch. I decided to give them til midnight and then I was going to call the police. (Online research had told us that Indiana has a 24 hour a day noise ordinance which they were definitely breaking.) But we were saved the trouble when the police showed up around 11:30. Apparently they could hear the party from their car a block away! Most of the kids ran into the house and tried to hide from the police, so there was a lot of yelling on the part of the police and threatening to get the landlord to open the door. Eventually the kids came out and dispersed, and the kids who live in the house got a big lecture from the police. Not surprisingly, there seemed to be a lot of minors in attendance at this party and everyone had been drinking.

So this is life in a college town, I guess. I was very reassured by what I saw last night, knowing that the police take disruptive/underage partying seriously. I won't hesitate to call next time if it turns out our neighbors didn't learn their lesson.

It's hot dog night in Indiana!

IUP football season began today with a home game against Cheyney. (Cheyney, like IUP, is a school in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.) We only stayed until halftime but when we left IUP was up 42 to 7. Because they scored more than 30 points, it's hot dog night in Indiana! That means that if you take a reserved seat ticket stub to any area Sheetz (a popular convenience store around here) you'll get a free hot dog. Too bad, Zach and I got in with our I-cards instead of tickets so no hot dogs for us. But the game was fun to watch and we enjoyed cheering on our new home team. Go Crimson Hawks!

The new Crimson Hawk mascot was "hatched" today.

The Hawks in action

IUP's marching band

Funny Story

Now that September is here, Zach has been spending more time than ever preparing for his doctoral exams. Fortunately, IUP's music library has a lot of helpful resources. Zach was there tonight checking out a big stack of books. The girl at the desk made small talk. The conversation went something like this.

Girl: "Wow, what are all these for?"

Zach: "I'm studying for my doctorate."

Girl: "Oh, what are you getting your doctorate in?"

Zach: "Tuba performance."

Girl: "So, how do you like the new tuba professor here?"

This is not the first time Zach has been mistaken for a student--he gets asked at least a few times a week as we meet new people in town. I guess looking young is a good thing, right?

Psalm 16

Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good besides you."
As for the saints who are in the earth, They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied; I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood, Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.
I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
You will make known to me the path of life; In your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

I have been dealing with some anxiety lately. I know in my head that God is sovereign but it is so hard to live out that knowledge sometimes. My heart wants to feel like I'm in control when really, I'm not. The truths of this psalm have been very comforting to me: I have no good but God. (verse 2) God supports my lot. (verse 5) God is at my right hand and I will not be shaken. (verse 8) Only in God's presence can I find fullness of joy. (verse 11) How wonderful to know God who causes all things to work together for my good!

Cooking for a Crowd

We had the "Tubaphonium" crowd over to our house last night for a Back-to-School party. (Tubaphonium=tuba/euphonium ensemble) There were 21 students plus me and Zach. I've never cooked for more than six people at one time, so this was quite an adventure. I made fettuccine bolognese because pasta is relatively easy to cook for a crowd, plus huge amounts of salad, bread, and cookies. The kids seemed to have a good time, and Zach and I enjoyed entertaining a crowd in our home for the first time. We really desire for our home to be a place where we can share the love of Christ with Zach's students through hospitality and the testimony of our lives.

Thanks for the big pot, Ashley! I definitely need to invest in one of these for my own.

The cookies are just that good!

Transformation

My parents generously decided to buy us a guest bed as a housewarming gift, so last week while my mom was here we went shopping for the bed and all the linens. Of course, the new comforter required a new paint color in the guest room. (The color is called Almond Fudge, and it looked just like melted chocolate ice cream in the can.) The transformation was completed today when the bed was delivered. Now all we need is some guests!

The First Day of School

Today was Zach's first day of classes at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. His lectures went well, he taught several lessons, and he had his first faculty brass quintet rehearsal. Overall, he likes his job so far. I am so thankful that his first day as a teacher was exactly the opposite of my first day as a teacher in LAUSD: I came home crying and wondering if I could quit, but he is looking forward to his future here. I am so amazed at what a talented, dedicated husband God has blessed me with. Zach has a lot going on right now (starting a new job, preparing for his doctoral qualifying exams, preparing for several performances he's giving in October) and he's doing it all so well. His example helps me be more diligent with my time.

Zach in his office

Sutton Hall, the oldest building on campus

The Oak Grove, home of the campus-wide picnic lunch every Wednesday

The search continues

Zach and I have been in Indiana for a month now and we still are not sure which church we will call home. We have visited four churches so far and each has strengths and weaknesses. Today we went to Faith Orthodox Presbyterian. The people were the friendliest of any church we've been to and the preaching was good. From what we've learned, Orthodox Presbyterian churches have very solid, Calvinistic doctrine that we agree with except they practice infant baptism. We strongly disagree with that, so we wonder if it would be a problem in the future when we have kids but don't want them baptized as babies. We miss Grace so much!

Our new house, then and now

Many of you have seen pictures of our house from our May house-hunting trip; now we finally have pictures of the changes we've made. Nothing major, basically just a lot of paint. (As an aside, we met the previous owner last night at a University reception and realized how thankful we should be for all the things we didn't have to change because he did, like the green shag carpet that ran through much of the house and is now a beautiful hardwood floor.) Anyway, I have been waiting to paint my living space for five years of apartment dwelling and I am quite content with the way things turned out here.

Then and Now

Painting the kitchen made me the most nervous, since we chose such a bright color. I sometimes wish we had chosen a darker blue, but I'm satisfied with this.



















The living room turned out to be my favorite. I love the yellow and red together.












The bedroom is my other favorite place. The wall behind the bed curves up and becomes the ceiling, so we chose a very neutral color for that, but the other walls are all green.

















This is the small office attached to the bedroom. It's probably too small to see but that is the official PCBS picture on the wall!










The former playroom has become Zach's music room. It is wonderful to finally have a dedicated place for all the tuba stuff!









We didn't take pictures of every room in May, so here are extra pics of rooms that only have a "now" version.

Thank you Bill, Becky, and Heath for helping us paint!