Wow! Does
anybody else feel like it was just Christmas? How is May already coming to an end? We’ve posted many “Carter’s Corners,”
thoughts we’ve had as we study scripture, or just multiple things God continues
to teach us… However, we haven’t
shared an update lately on what’s been going on in our world. If I shared it all, it’d be page upon
page… So, we’ll try to pick one
thing that’s happened each month the last few months. 
January: Kristin began her second semester of teaching. She says it every time someone asks how
teaching is going, “What an amazing opportunity it is to be back in the classroom! These students bless me each and every
day.” Kristin thanks God every day
for reminding her that His plan isn't always "my initial plan." We all know He guided her down “this teaching” path, a path different than where she thought she’d
be. How cool it is to enjoy going
into work every day!
At the end of January, Carter was in Charlotte for his first
residency. He thoroughly enjoyed
meeting all his cohort buddies.
There are first, second, and third year students all together. This first residency was “Pastor:
Counselor and Caregiver.” He was
super impressed and liked how they could talk about some of the most difficult
topics in a respectful and mature manner with one another. Those two weeks flew by so quickly…he
can’t wait until they are all together again next February.
February: We continued our “house hunt” journey. We found what we think is going to be
an awesome house and neighborhood for us.
Let the fun of house mortgage begin…ha!
We managed to escape on a youth ski adventure for a long weekend. Like always, we cherish our time with
these kiddos!
March: Kristin was just as excited as her students for
Spring Break. It was nice to sleep
in and enjoy random beach walks.
(Our weather definitely wasn’t “springy” yet.) We enjoyed the Robinsons being here that week for their
spring break as well.
April: What a
fun filled month! We celebrated
our 2nd anniversary as well as Carter’s birthday! We had one of our youth from Fairview,
Alicia, come spend her spring break with us. Was so awesome to have her here. We also went up to Myrtle to see
a Fairview family, the Warnkens.
The Verdins stopped for a visit on their way to Charleston, too! Towards the end of April, we made a
short visit to North Augusta. We
squeezed in a couple dives in the river there. : ) Kristin was excited to be
able to attend a women’s event at Fairview. Was awesome to catch up with so
many of those women I miss! Always great to catch up with friends!
May: We began
the month with Kristin finishing up her Spring semester of teaching. The day she finished, a couple of
Kristin’s vet girlfriends, Fig and Rachel, came for a visit.
Then, we headed to Atlanta for my Uncle John’s funeral
before starting our vacation.
From ATL, we went south to Macon to have dinner with Laura,
Daniel, and SE for Kristin's birthday,
and then down to West Palm Beach to visit Leigh (vet school
roommate) and to dive. More dive
stories will come…we are still in awe.
What an awesome WPB trip!
Wonderful first warm water, terrific visibility dive experiences!
Some of our PIPC youth went through Confirmation. What a joy it was to have the
opportunity to work with these students!
Carter led most of the classes, and Kristin was honored to be a mentor
to a beautiful teenage gymnast, Caroline!
We thought we were going to be closing on our house this
month, but God has different timing.
Maybe next month? He’s led
us every step of the way of this whole “house process.” We trust Him.
We enjoyed our time with Carter’s aunts, Brenda and Lynne.
For those of you who didn’t know, Kristin has been going
through the interview process for full-time teaching. She was extended an offer before she left the college
Wednesday. After more prayers and
conversation with Carter, she accepted it the next day!!!!! So blessed to be part of this HGTC
family more full-time.
More terrific news: We’ve been super excited with our “Under
40” fellowship group. After much
continued prayer, we recently had a “Under 55” cookout, which was a success,
too. On top of those, Carter has
been working on a “young” men’s ministry.
It’s already started to take off. Kristin is busy getting a “young”
women’s ministry started as well. It’s
been a slow start, but is coming around.
Just getting an email listserve set up with all the women under 55 in
our church has been time-consuming yet exciting! (There are more than I think folks realized, which is a good
thing. He he.) We can already see that God has amazing things in store for these groups!
So…we’ve been busy bees. Not a day goes by that we aren’t thanking God for His continual
blessings He’s showering upon us.
Love you all!
