Not a Drill

Bad weather is no stranger to Georgia. We have had to deal with strong storms, hurricanes, droughts, and the like before. Still, sometimes bad weather can be intimidating when it seems to directly threaten you and your loved ones.

We had such an example yesterday.

I was at school, hanging out between classes. It was sunny and beautiful outside, no sign of what was to come. Suddenly, a faculty member announced to the little atrium that we were under a tornado warning (seemed rather odd since, as I said, it was sunny outside) and that everyone needed to head to one of the rooms that has been set aside in case of a tornado. So we headed inside, and quickly the room filled up to have about fifty people, students and faculty, including some that had been in the middle of classes upstairs; everyone else on campus was likewise herded into one of the "bad weather rooms," as I'll call it. Everyone was checking the weather and calling friends and family to see where they were. The storm was about twenty or thirty minutes away, and hail and strong winds were reported, as well as some rotation, and at first it looked like it was going to pass over us. However, the storm appeared to veer northeast and to pass by us, so after 45 minutes of waiting, we were given the "all clear" and allowed to return to our normal business (which for me meant my Rome class). About thirty minutes later, we got a heavy downpour that lasted about three or five minutes, and the sun came out again.

I don't believe that any actual tornadoes were formed in the storm, but there was bad weather like hail and heavy rain in some places. Thankfully, we were all ok, and I don't think the damage was worse than your typical Georgia thunderstorm.



And, since it's been a while since I posted, here are some updates on Nathaniel:

- He is a giant. He's wearing clothes for size 18-24 months and is close in size to babies from that age group
- He is looking a lot like his daddy, especially in his expressions, but we still see Mandy occasionally pop out.
- He has an easygoing personality and is good at figuring things out. From the looks of things, he may turn out to be quite mischievous with those cheesy grins of his.
- He now has four teeth which means...
- He can now eat adult food. He no longer wants baby food. When we sit down for a meal, he wants to eat what we do. He loves eggs, meat, and vegetables, and he has a rather large appetite.
- He is definitely mobile. He started crawling back in February, and he has become quite the speed demon at it. Now, he has begun pulling himself up and can stand. We think he'll be walking before his first birthday
- He loves the family
- He is quite the little flirt with both the admirers when we go shipping or with the "lady friends" among his baby peers
- Enya puts him to sleep pretty well. I call it my secret weapon when he's fighting sleep, and I've successfully used it numerous times (though it has nearly put the others to sleep as well)

Back in February, Ben and Mandy moved from their apartment to a rental house in our neighborhood. They weren't looking to move, though when they saw a sign, they checked it out and got the place. It has been nice having them just down the street, which enables us to have meals together frequently and to babysit a lot more easily, and it has been a lot easier on them, as they are a lot closer to work and shopping, which helps driving-wise.

Seth has got a new job. For months, he had been debating where to go employment-wise when an opportunity providentially appeared. A guy from our church works for an A/C company, and his company was looking for new people to train to be installers. Seth applied for the job,but they delayed in getting back to him. After some persuasion from our church friend, they hired Seth, and he started last week. So far, he has been enjoying it, though it has made his hours more irregular and unpredictable.

For the last few years, Seth was part of a choir that a peer from our church started. This February, I joined the choir as first alto/mezzo-soprano, and I've really enjoyed it/ Unfortunately, because of Seth's new work hours, our attendance is likely to become more sporadic, though Seth and I still want to be involved to some extent.

I am also proud to announce that I am officially a college senior and have a graduation date: Fall 2016. It is taking a while because I am only taking three classes a semester (I did this on purpose to prevent a burn-out and to preserve my sanity). My only concern at this point is the upper-level world history classes, as one of them for next fall is in danger of being cancelled, which means that I may have to re-arrange my schedule to make room for another class in its stead, but we'll see what happens.

In addition to college, I have been teaching six children from church geography and have been since last fall. I have been enjoying it, though my only frustration is that the class was last-minute because no one expressed interest until two weeks before classes started, so I haven't been able to plan it out well. If I'm approached to teach again for the next school year, I'm going to make it clear that I can't do last-minute again, as it just makes things stressful. Nonetheless, the class has been going well and has taught me a lot about teaching.

So, yeah, it's been busy for all of us between Nathaniel, college, church weddings, teaching, and every day life (hence the lack of posts). I will try to post more often with little tidbits and anecdotes.