Before we head out...

As many of you know, BJ has begun a doctoral program this year to earn a Doctorate of Ministry in Spiritual Formation from Lipscomb University.  The way this program works, BJ will be spending two weeks in Nashville every July and February for the next two years, and he will work on his final project at home the third year.  At the end of all of this, he will be Rev. Dr. Gensic (which he is fully intending to make any boy Lydia ever brings home call him.)  BJ's first residency begins Monday, July 15th (our anniversary).

The down side to all of this is that BJ will be missing Lydia's first and second birthdays and our 7th and 8th anniversaries.  A week from this Sunday, Lydia will be a year old.  I'm seriously not sure where that year went.  The good news is that Shepherd, Lydia, and I will be spending this coming two weeks with the Gensics.  We will be in Alton, IL, with BJ's parents (Nana and Papa), and in the middle of the two weeks, we will be in Markle, IN, with the extended Gensic family.  That middle part just so happens to include Lydia's birthday, so needless to say, there is going to be a big family celebration that I am very excited about.

I record all of this here for the purpose of warning that my post are likely to be sporadic for the rest of July.  We'll just have to see what I manage while I'm away.  But in the mean time, here are some wonderful pictures of my children.

First, here are some pictures of Shepherd in his new favorite sleeping location: his tent.  He has put every blanket and stuffed animal we own in there, and he sleeps with them all every night and every nap time.

And here is Lydia's first real pony tail.  It was a big moment for me.

I guess that's all for now.  I'd better go work on packing.