July Madness

Big news first: Seth is going back to school!! He has been accepted to Western Carolina's Masters of Public Affairs (MPA) program for professionals. Evening classes will be offered at UNCA, a mile from our house. Seth is also receiving partial scholarship which truly makes this step possible for us right now. Pursuing his MPA is not so much about a career change, but broadening Seth's skill set and expertise. While he loves design and will probably have his finger in the design pie throughout his career, the MPA will also equip him to do more management, such as managing a Parks Department. The great thing about doing masters work (we think) while working is that Seth will choose research projects and write about the things that he's already curious about after working with the Asheville Parks Dept for five years (how do other cities handle x, y, and z, for example). Congratulations Seth! Will keep you posted on the classes he's taking as that time rolls around. We are grateful to have the GRE behind us...

In other news, the summer has reached a frenzied pitch in our household. We just returned from the beach, where we had a fabulous, quick time of retreat. My beloved friend Erin came to visit for the weekend and introduced Myles to his first board game, Memory (at this age, we just turn the cards face up and find "matches"), named his duck "Pato" (getting some Spanish language acquisition in there!), and just treated us to a great weekend. Tomorrow I am headed to New Orleans for another contract project with the Lutheran Peace Fellowship. My mom is coming to be with Myles and Seth to help out with child care while I'm away. I will return on Saturday, my dad's birthday. Sunday is our July worship service (thankfully Sara's preaching). I have a week to catch my breath before heading to Atlanta for a New Church Start Institute training for a few days. Being away from Myles is really hard for me. I'm trying to take a deep breath, offer thanks for Seth and my mom, and see what new things I might learn in my time away that make these trips worth the trouble.

In the mean time, we're thinking about our friends Karson and Jason as Karson continues on with her chemo. We're thinking about health care reform, which we hope will be comprehensive and include a public health option. And we're loving being so close to my sister, who popped by on Saturday with her family for a quick visit. As Karson and Jason often affirm, life is good.