Wow, another year as passed.

Well, it's been a little over a year and much has come about - our daughter Gracie is now almost 18 months old and is keeping us on our toes. There is so much to discover and learn with a little one... I never had any idea how joyful, hard, and growing parenthood could be. I am so grateful for my wonderful husband Jason, with whom I am learning these lessons and living life with hope and gratitude.

In other news, I have begun a new blog to share my newest interest: baking and cake decorating. I have actually begun doing some orders for others and am enjoying it immensely as an avenue for creativity and serving others. So feel free to stop by and try out some of these ideas/recipes yourself:

http://bakeitupbabynow.blogspot.com

Have a very merry Christmas!

Okay, okay, okay...

So, it has come to my attention (thank you, Bradley) that I haven't updated my blog in almost a year. Truth be told, I have not made or had time to be online enough to maintain a blog... toward the end of my blogging era I was primarily blogging to keep up with friends, which I have been able to do through Facebook. (Alas, has Facebook made blogging obsolete? I will leave this debate for other more faithful members of the blogging community.) For the faithful to regularly check this blog, eagerly anticipating a new post (all two of you), I apologize for your disappointment. However, with a young baby in the house (who is currently crying for me in the other room), a husband to love and care for well, and trying to maintain face to face contact with my immediate community (a challenge in itself), I may have to forfeit future blogs until I am really motivated. If you want to keep in touch, please email me or leave a comment and I'd be glad to be in touch. Until then, thanks for checking in and have a great Christmas holiday season!

Guess who's going back to school??

ME!! Thanks to a generous help from a Korean church in Chicago, both Donna and Jason will be going back to class this spring. WAHOO!! We're eagerly sharpening our pencils, carefully etching our names into our Trapper Keepers, fingering our new box of crayons, and reorganizing our backpacks in anticipation.

It's weird how a short respite from education can make you kind of miss it, in a masochistic kind of way. You almost forget the sleepness nights of pounding out an already-late 20+ pager on a topic you are struggling to understand, nodding off in the study room as you try to get through a dry chapter of textbook, and the frantic runs from your two or three jobs, running from the parking lot across campus, sliding into the classroom just in time to hear, "Please pull out a sheet of paper for a pop quiz on that particular chapter that you spent more time drooling on than actually reading." Ah yes - the joys of higher education.

But you know, there is something about being challenged in the classroom that excites and cultivates a love of learning, seeking answers to tough questions, and being challenged to think more on a topic that you may have dismissed because you simply hadn't been prompted to explore it before. You begin to find yourself reading informational books in your free time and having random meaningful discussions with your friends and family that could change your life or someone else's. A lifetime of learning is a life that is rich, interesting, and good for the mind and soul.

For those of you Southernites, we'll be taking late afternoon/evening classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We hope to see you all around - I apologize for crawling into a hole the last two months or so. The first trimester has been killer, with almost constant morning sickness which leaves one barely able to go to work (most days), come home, try to eat something without seeing it again, and falling into bed. However, next week begins the second trimester and we are hoping for a turn of the tide...

Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the brief break before classes begin again. Drop a line and let us know how you are doing. See you on campus!

While I was Gone...

- Jason and I celebrated our 4th and 5th month anniversaries (we're not monthly celebrators that go all out, but they were noted and we praised God for His grace toward us)

- I've discovered that spending less time online has allowed more time to spend in prayer and meditation, with my husband, friends, family, and pursuing some lost hobbies and enjoyments. While there may be an occasional update here, you will probably see less of me than you once did.

- Jen was promoted to shift supervisor at her Starbucks store (okay, this may have happened earlier, but I haven't had a chance to congratulate her yet)... she is total barista material!

- Lisa is still serving/studying in England... and being mysterious (ahem). Check out her blog to see what she's been up to http://lisamcgary2005.blogspot.com

- One of my best friends (and maid of honor) Angela got engaged!

- Christine and her beau Mike got engaged - I can't believe I missed that whole drama! GAH! My one regret from leaving the blogosphere...

- Mike Ward and Beth Swearingen were married at a beautiful ceremony at Bernheim Forest... Jason and I were asked to be attendants and to celebrate with them

- My dad joined MySpace... now it's official. EVERYONE has an account.

- On Nov 6, Jason and I discovered that we are expecting our first child!

- We began to experience the joy and pain of pregnancy: mood swings, nausea, planning future, excitement of sharing the news with friends and family

- On Nov 23, we thought we lost our child to a miscarriage. Since it was the holiday weekend, no one could see us or tell us anything determinative until the following Monday. The holidays were heavy and full of grief, prayer, and struggling for hope.

- Yesterday, we were able to get an ultrasound... and we found that Baby Shaw is doing fine. He/she has a strong heartbeat, is implanted well, and looks like is developing great! It was almost too good to be true. Thank you so much for all of you who grieved with us, prayed with us, and encouraged us over the last week. Please continue to pray for the health of our baby as well as wisdom for us in the following months as we desire to walk in obedience to our Lord.

Pulling the Plug

Contolling my internet usage has always been something that I've struggled with since the beginning of public access to the world wide web - I believe I was fifteen when I began using internet in our home. I have recently begun to realize the exhorbant amount of time I waste online... some things are really worthwhile (emailing friends, checking the news, etc), but for the most part it's a good portion of my day that I won't get back and very little fruit to show for it. Point in case: I just spent the last two hours adding photos to my Facebook account that probably no one will ever see.

Anyway, our Wed. night small group has agreed to commiting to forty days of intense prayer, outreach to those who don't know Christ and mutual building up of the body of Christ, and seeking to become more consistent in spiritual disciplines. I have decided during this time (beginning Thursday, Oct. 12) to discontinue using excessive internet use (except for email, news, or specific information - by grace, not by the law) so I can devote more time to prayer and meditation, as well as helping to realign priorities in regard to time and energy. I have definitely decided that I want to gain control of this area of my life. And so, this of course means that I will be refraining to use blogs, MySpace, Facebook, etc.

So farewell, internet community - if you would like to communicate with me, feel free to email or call. I also encourage you to join us in assessing the usage of your time, and see where you can refrain from some activities to seek the Lord, enjoy Him, communicate and meditate on Him. It's not a bad thing to unplug for a while.