tears

For the very first time, Hunter cried when I left him today. I took him into the nursery at church, a church nursery he has been to several times, and set him down next to the toys and a boy about 6 months older. Immediately, he started to cry. I took his coat and hat off of him and gave him a hug and his cries got louder.

I proceeded into church, heartbroken and a little confused. Was Hunter crying because I was leaving him? Or was it because he hasn't pooped in 48 hours?

I was in the service about 15 minutes before the nursery workers came to get me. Hunter was inconsolable. There were about 6 other babies in the room and they couldn't get Hunter to stop crying. As soon as I walked in, he calmed down. I took him and immediately he stopped crying.

So was it separation anxiety? Or was it the fact his belly didn't feel good? Maybe it was hard to be away from me and Josh when he didn't feel well.

I hope this isn't a new pattern!

our Valentine's Day Celebration

For Valentine's Day, Hunter made the whole family cards that he himself finger painted. We were going for hand prints, but with an 8 month old, we took what we could get!!!

I love my Officer

Josh is an Officer now! The ceremony was short and simple, yet held a lot of meaning for all who were involved. Several of our friends attended and made the event extra special. A retired chaplain works on campus and he did the opening prayer. A fellow student who moved here at the same time as us just retired from the Air Force. He did Josh's commissioning. I am so proud of Josh!

What this means is now, while we are in seminary, Josh will shadow a Chaplain for the United States Army Reserves one weekend a month. He will also spend one summer, probably 2011, in training and Officer's School. Hopefully this will help Josh & I to know if becoming a Chaplain is right for him.

Goodbye Air Force and hello Army!

Josh with Randy Nelson & Jim Pakala

Josh's closing words (I wish I would have recorded them, he did so great!)

Charlie Gibson & Jeremy Ruckstetter: friends from Virginia!

Wimm & Josh

Josh's study buddy for Greek: Jameson



Here is a video of the prayer and the oath:

Vacation Officially Over

Today officially ends Josh's vacation. Not that he has really been on vacation in the past month. He has been very busy with classes, transition, and getting our household settled. But his sabbatical from the military is officially cut short.

Literally.

Here is the "I've been on vacation for the past 3 months look":


Here is step one: hair gone

Step two: beard gone


We have been joking and wondering all morning if people will recognize him today?

8 months!

Hunter is 8 months old now!

He has five teeth (three on top, two on bottom), eats two meals a day, and sleeps like a pro. He loves music and is easily amused by anything he can fit into his mouth. For the very first time today, he crawled backward. He loves to play "up-side-down baby" and watch his mobile over his crib. Bath time is one of his favorite moments of the day. He loves playing with his rubber ducky the most out of all his bath toys. He loves people and doesn't show any signs of separation anxiety. We are pretty sure he is an extrovert already! He claps, gurgles, babbles, yells and bangs his toys together in his free time. We love our little boy!

Cheers!

So many wonderful things have happened in the past few days! First and foremost, my brother, Josh, proposed to Ashley this morning! YAY! My brother is getting married. I am so happy for him. Ashley is a wonderful compliment to my brother's great talents. I know they are going to have a great life together. Marriage is wonderful and I couldn't be happier for the two of them!!!!

Secondly, our house sold! :) Yay! We are officially no longer home owners. God really blessed us by allowing our house to be sold via short sale. It is like the year of jubilee-- our debts have been paid in full. Praise the Lord! We had a bottle of sparkling wine with our new friends Joshua and Katie tonight to celebrate.

Thirdly, Josh got his commission. So he is now a Second Lieutenant for the U.S. Army Reserves. This assignment will help us get through seminary as well as introduce Josh to the military Chaplaincy. He is a Chaplain Candidate and will get to shadow a Chaplain for the next three years. That should help Josh answer if he is called to Chaplaincy in the future.

Fourthly, we got to go on a date tonight! Hunter went to an on-campus ministry called the log cabin for two hours while we went to the city for a long walk, nice cup of coffee, and great conversation. It was so nice to be out of the house and just with my sweetie! :)

We are feeling quite excited and giddy around here. So many awesome things in the past few days! Plus, we both love our classes and all of the opportunites we have around campus. We are feeling so blessed! The only bad thing: Hunter had his first runny nose. He seems to be all better now, though.

So cheers to the future Mr. & Mrs. Josh Skinner.

And all praise be to the God & Father of my Lord Jesus Christ for blessing us in Christ with every blessing.

divine design

My other class this semester is one I am taking with Josh: Spiritual and Ministry Formation. Dr. Douglass is a personality and spiritual gifts expert and he seeks to help all first year students discern their calling. Right now we are reading The Call by Os Guinness. The book is excellent: it not only discusses calling in a vocational sense, it discusses calling as in being called unto God. Guinness expounds upon the thought that all of life is to be lives as worship to God, therefore whatever you do-- from changing diapers to cooking dinner and everything in between is as unto God. This certainly gives what could be considered mundane a greater meaning.

Dr. Douglass takes time to meet with every student one-on-one throughout the semester to go over what he calls "Divine Design." This 80 page packet is something he originally created for his daughter when she was 14 and uncertain about who God had made her to be. Over the years it has changed and grown into something that has helped thousands to see who God has made them to be. There were several diagnostic tests that gauge temperament, personality, spiritual gifts, passions, and skills. I found it incredibly enlightening.

Josh & I met with Dr. Douglass yesterday. Josh & I are very different (surprise, surprise! ha!) on most everything when it comes to personality and giftedness. Dr. Douglass was so encouraging with us as he went over out packets. He kept saying, "God did not make a mistake bringing you two together." He said that our differences will help to balance us as we move forward together in ministry. The way he explained our differences was really helpful, too.

As part of our packets, we had to come up with a mission statements for ourselves. Mine is still in progress. Dr. Douglass actually wrote parts of this one for me:

Kim Hammans is a compassionate Teacher—Shepherd called of God to make a difference for others by understanding, clearly explaining, and applying the word of God to the lives of people—especially her children—thereby causing greater Christ-likeness in the lives of listeners in order to assume a long-term personal responsibility for leadership and the spiritual care, protection, guidance, and teaching of a group of believers and especially caring for them with acts of love that help alleviate their spiritual, emotional and physical distress. Her ministries involve:

* Being a wife and a mother—preserving the faith from one generation to the next
* Discipling and training women by being an excellent listener, approachable, supportive, reliable and loyal.
* Providing hospitality and giving her time and energy to make sure that the needs of others are met
* Being Friendly, outgoing, neighborly and being extremely sensitive to the feelings of others, which leads to her being sympathetic to all types of people
* Organization: Being in control of time, priorities, possessions, and processes


Here is Josh's:
Joshua Hammans is a xyz discerning, knowledgeable, teacher called of God to assist people to grow spiritually as well as intellectually, pushing them where appropriate to take risks for the kingdom. For the lost, to speak into their life, piercing the darkness of their minds and life with God’s truth and love.

Implementation Strategy
Train at Covenant Theological Seminary, ferreting out my calling with prayer and practice in the local community, church and the local arm of the US Army Reserves. Currently, I am drawn toward Military Chaplaincy. I love my brothers and sisters in arms and want to bring the gospel to what I perceive as an oft-overlooked field ripe for harvest. However, I wonder if this is a good fit and how my others gifts of writing and teaching fit with this path. Also, only time will tell if this is a good fit for my family.

Here is a picture of Hunter, just so this post isn't too boring: