Bring on the St. Louis summer! Well, perhaps we won't go that far but it would be nice to have some St. Louis spring weather. These last few months in St. Louis have been cold, gray, and wet. We don't necessarily have too much snow, though we do have an inch or two blanketing the ground right now, but we have had plenty of moisture. The ground has been wet and muddy for far too long now! At this rate, I won’t be playing any softball or baseball until mid-July!

Not only will the spring months bring good weather (hopefully), but it will also bring my final quarter of classes at seminary and the much-awaited, highly-anticipated CALL DAY on April 27th. It doesn't seem all that long ago that the countdown stood somewhere in the 3-digits. Now we are down to 76. 76 days until we find out where we will be moving next. 76 days until we find out the congregation & community God desires for us to serve. 76 days until we are (hopefully) able to move into a house with the intention of staying for a long time. It is very, very exciting. And at this point, we just want to get the heck out of here! Out of the classes and the world of academia and into the ministry of Christ to the real world. Sure we will miss friends we’ve met along the way, but we are just beyond ready to turn the page on this chapter of our lives. The winter quarter will finally come to an end on February 19th and after a two-week break I will start the last three classes of my seminary career.

Life sure does motor along. I am busy with classes and basketball/volleyball intramurals. I was able to preach several times the past two months so that was really nice. We’ve been blessed with a great, supportive field congregation out here to attend and serve. I have also been able to do some work catering on campus but since I sold my car last month it has meant I'm more confined to campus. Calie (who is awesome and beautiful) continues working with the National Youth Gathering registration. She is a trooper, but trust me, there is no one more excited to leave St. Louis. She can't wait to be done working and back to staying at home with Isaiah. She has been busy also trying to scrapbook the plethora of pictures she took of Isaiah during his first year of life.

Our little guy is doing great. He has started taking several steps but often decides crawling is just much easier and faster. But it is fun watching him become a bit more confident and comfortable walking as each day passes. He has even started eating on his own with a fork and spoon and is completely done with bottles. It is amazing how fast they grow! He is getting more of a personality each day but has thankfully not outgrown his love for cuddling and sitting on Mom or Dad's lap. And he’s certainly becoming more of a “boy” each day—playing with trucks, throwing balls, knocking down towers of blocks we build, and banging on everything and anything with his drumsticks! In addition to talking on the cell phone, we have learned that Isaiah loves basketball (Makes me so proud)! He loves watching IM games and loves to cheer and try and crawl onto the court after the basketball. There are a few pictures below. Hope you all have a Happy Valentine’s Day and may God prepare your hearts as we enter the Lenten season in preparation for our risen King!