Our first Week of Classes at NTBI

Wow! Our first week at NTBI is over. Mike and I have had an awesome time starting our classes and getting to know more of the students here. It is quite an adjustment getting used to three of us in the family doing homework in the evenings! I'm sure we'll get into the swing of things quickly.

We have two classes together, Biblical Foundations, and Bibliology; he has one more class, Evangelism in a Postmodern World. Our classes are in 3-week blocks, so we will spend concentrated time on these classes, and then they will switch in three weeks. By the end of the semester I will have taken 7 classes and Mike will have taken 10. We have thoroughly enjoyed our reading assignments, homework, and listening to the teaching in class.

Our evenings are so different from what we are used to. Our kitchen table is covered in notebooks, textbooks, calendars, pens, pencils, highlighters, Bibles... the list goes on and on! I am constantly clearing it for a meal, then putting it all back. Nicole will sit and do her homework at the table while Mike or I do ours nearby, that way we can help her when she needs it.  So far our average bedtime has been midnight for Mike and I. I am hoping to get that down to at least 11pm. =) I do have to say that living on the second floor and having my classroom on the first floor makes for a very nice commute!!

The kiddos have really enjoyed getting to know some of the other kids here at the school. Jesse loves playing in our hall with 3 other little boys his age. He is attending the Pre-school class they have here on campus, and he loves his class. He just earned a 'sticky hand' for saying his memory verse this week... "Make a JOYFUL NOISE unto the Lord, all he lands" (I'm not exactly sure if that last part is right though??? I think it's all ye lands, or all the lands. He says all he lands.) Nicole has met a little girl that lives in our hall, and also has made lots of great friends at school. Two of our teachers have kids in Nicole's class.

The environment is so great here. We are really growing as a result of the way we do life. I know there will be lots of growth through the next two years here. It is an exciting feeling.

~Kristi

Zero Degrees And Snowing

It snowed about 12" last week. This view is outside one of our windows. The brown building holds the garage, maintenance buildings, and carpenter shop. The grey building in the background is staff and student apartments affectionately named "The Blues". Nicole's class couldn't play outside at recess this day because it was zero degrees outside.

"Sally" here is feeling the effects of the weather. She likes to ice up on the inside and the outside of the windows.

This photo of Jesse was snapped in the parking lot of the DMV. Looks a little different here than the DMV in Victorville! The staff inside was helpful and friendly...hmmm?

I took the kids sledding. It's hard to see it here, but there is an amazing hill right in front of the school. The snow is so dry and the powder blows everywhere, mostly in our faces. Good stuff.

Waukesha is a pretty cool midwestern town with a population of about 65,000. We are enjoying getting to know the area. Our days continue to surprise us with struggles and blessings.

Grace and Peace,

Mike