Life Lately

Hello! Hello!

Life lately has been very full. Here's a recap:

• Will and I went to a Pentatonix concert in Birmingham for an early-birthday present for me. It was so fun! We left at 4:30 and got back at 11pm. Two amazing college girls babysat for FREE for us, which was a tremendous blessing. Date nights are rare for us, especially in this tight-budget season when we're both in school. Thank you Cate Ann and Stacie!!!
• Edith had an ear infection earlier this week. She had been rubbing her ears and had a cold, but a tooth popped through so I thought her up-all-night antics were due to teething. After two doses of amoxocillin, baby girl was sleeping through the night again! PRAISE the Lord!! I'm so thankful for easy access to medicine. 
• I've added a day to my workweek, so I'm going Monday, Tuesday night, Wednesday, Thursday and occasional Fridays. This addition will allow me to finish my internship in May. I'm loving my placement but I'll be thankful when I can close this chapter of school and start preparing for the license exam! 
• Speaking of work, I haven't really talked much on here about what I do. I work with a Christian foster care agency, and the last few weeks have really shown me the hard parts of foster care. I've seen children come from hard places, and we have had to say goodbye to kids too soon for different reasons. I am learning a lot about social work through my internship, but I have realized how broken the world is. It is a sad thing to see the effects of sin on innocent children! It is a beautiful and rewarding task to be involved in the redemption process. I think I could see myself being a foster mother one day, and that is something I never would have considered before this opportunity. 
• Israel was fitted for his very-own high-tech walker! We should get it in about a month or two. I'm really excited to see it in person. We're borrowing a great one from UCP right now, but this one will be Israel's to keep. 
• The warm weather has been good for our souls at the McGee house. We've been taking extra long walks, spending lots of time on the porch, and turning on fans at night. I love it. 
• When the weather is nice, we spend time on the porch and watch for cars. Israel says "car ca-ah" and "tru tru-uck". I love it so stinking much! He gets really, really excited when they come by and really, really angry when they are gone. So if you love us, please drive by in the afternoons! :) The other day I heard the dump truck coming by and knew that it would be entertaining for him, so we waited on the porch for about 10 minutes for it to make it's rounds (it turned in a subdivision before it came down our road). We kept hearing it but it wouldn't appear. He would look at me, look down the road, and say "car car!" over and over. I love this boy!!!! He also says "baby", "ball", "chair" and "cup" - although not consistently!
• Edith is on.the.move. She is rolling and crawling, and she crawls using her face and feet. It's hilarious. She is into everything and loves getting into whatever you thought was childproofed. I'm honestly so thankful for it. I now understand why people say that the baby stage is so quick. With Edith, the milestones have been so fast!
• There's only a few weeks left in the semester! I have three assignments left for school and then I have to finish my internship to be DONE! I'm so close to having my MSW!!! With the end of school approaching, Will is busy with college ministry. We have some of the most amazing college students in our ministry, and we are so thankful for the amazing leadership team that has really worked hard this year for #engageJSU. I need to do a separate post to celebrate all that God has done this year in our college ministry!
• It is my birthday week. I turned 27 on Tuesday, and celebrated with a Waffle House strawberry waffle (my favorite), a quick trip to Gadsden with my MIL who treated me to some new clothes, and this weekend I'm going to visit my parents to continue the spoiling. My brother John Mark has set aside time to hang out and we are also seeing Will's brother Evan when we stop by Auburn for breakfast one morning. I love our families so much and it is a blessing to spend time with them! 
• Will turned in a GIANT paper on Tuesday. I'm so proud of him. He's getting about a 2 week "breather" before he starts working on his next round of classes. 
• God is good! We are reminded of His faithfulness and grace in carrying us through this busy season. It has not been easy but we have survived and we are able to see the light and sunshine at the end of the tunnel. I'm thankful for the many blessings we have!