thanks

we had a great little poker night yesterday. there were only four of us, but that didn't seem to diminish the fun of it one bit. played 'texas hold'em' as usual, and all four of us were still in the game at 8:45, which is amazing... usually someone is out long before that. all four of us were "all in" at some point in the game, which is also crazy. i ended up winning--i can't remember if that's the first time or not. sam bott came for the first time, along with jeff zapor and peter VW. three great guys.

i just downloaded Enya's new CD, "Amarantine"... I love Enya! I used Enya tracks on the Eve DVD I made a while back. I'm sure to use this latest album for the next DVD I make. listening to her music is like getting a spa treatment... just makes you feel relaxed all over.

we're heading out to Kalamazoo tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving with the Chilimigras family. it should be a fun time, and lots of babies! Ava (Eve's cousin) will be there, who is only 2 months older than Eve. Christine's family will be there too.

i finished installing a bathroom fan in the upstairs bathroom. wow, what a project! had to cut a hole in the bathroom ceiling, install the fan housing, install a new switch (which involved cutting a larger switch box hole), install a new junction box in the ceiling, run new cable from the switch and the fan to the junction box, reposition the insulation in the attic, cut a hole in the roof, go up on the roof to install the outlet duct (quite a hairy project on a 2-story house), and then connect the ducting in the attic.

yeah, i'm looking forward to thanksgiving!

back in the USA

it's SO good to be home. i had a fantastic time in England, and a great response to my paper, but it's SO good to be home.

Eve looked just a tad bigger than when i left, but hadn't started walking or anything while i was gone (thank God). she's kicking a lot more now, which is fun, and her neck is much stronger, so she can keep her head straight when she's vertical. right now she's on her little play mat talking to the little lion suspended above her. she seems to really prefer the lion, so the giraffe is getting ignored.

the best thing happened yesterday while i was watching her... she laughted at me! i was smiling at her, so she started smiling really big, which caused me to start laughing, and then she laughed back. it was the cutest thing in the world.. one of the highlights in my life so far. Eve is staring at me whenever she has the chance... i must look funny to her, because my face is fascinating.

life is good. julie's back to work part-time now, so i work from home on thursday afternoon and all day friday. i can only work about half the time while i'm watching her, so will have to make up the extra time during the week.

i'll write more later... gotta get to work.

englishman

i'm sitting here in my room at Trinity. i'm very happy the wi-fi is working... i've got a nice view from my window, and it's very quiet--perfect for study.

i really miss my family! it's amazing how connected you become to your spouse and child. i really wish they were here with me. we'll have to find a way for them to join me next visit. i miss seeing eve when she wakes up, with those big full-body stretches, and rubbing her eyes with her fists. i miss hearing her talk to the fishes on her crib's mobile (thanks dad!) just miss being at home.

i've got another meeting with nolland today at 2pm. his new Matthew Commentary is coming out soon. should be excellent from what i've heard.

on saturday i'm going to be getting together with the hardison's daughter and son-in-law, who live in Bristol. it's a small world!

in the UK

i'm back in Bristol for the week, doing meetings with my advisor and a paper presentation on monday. i had my first meeting with dr. nolland this afternoon, and it went better than i had expected. the paper i put together was quite a bit rougher than i had hoped, because i really didn't work on it much before October. having a baby kinda puts things on hold! anyway, the overall gist of things was that he's happy with my writing style, and although i'll have to do a much more interacting with secondary sources in my final project, he thought i had some originality of thought expressed in what he's read. that's a nice compliment, considering he's written two major commentaries on the gospels and a couple hundred articles. so, not feeling to bad.

i really miss julie and the baby. i've been used to seeing the baby every day over the last couple of months, and it's weird being away. can't wait to get back and play with her. man, i just couldn't have one of those jobs where you have to travel a lot... at least not unless i could take the whole family with me every time.

the flight over wasn't bad. it was very full, but they put me in a seat that doesn't have another seat in front of it, which was great. didn't sleep, but sort of rested. i'm struggling to get back on some kind of schedule today. still quite tired.

i love england. i love the climate, the scenery, the history, the people, the language... love it. i love being able to study here, interact with a scholar like nolland... man, this is too cool. i'm so blessed.

well, i'll try to keep in touch this week. the college finally got wi-fi, so i can do this from my room, which is great.

bye!