Monday, March 24, 2008

Update

C.J. here this time--it's been a while! Keri's big board certification exam for OT is drawing nearer, so things like this come my way. She's not too stressed about the exam, but some changes in our schedule have recently taken some time away from her studying.

To update on my situation, my visit to Washington University last Friday went really well. The GK12 program would make my time there even more valuable, in my estimation, and would really free me up to pursue what I want as far as my research is concerned. Because the GK12 program is independently funded through a National Science Foundation grant, I wouldn't be restricted to whatever project the professors currently have going. So, as long as I would be somewhere within the realm of my adviser's interests/experience (which turns out are quite broad), I can really define my own research. I also learned that the new focus of the GK12 program is the globalization of engineering. This definitely fits well with my experiences, and the GK12 fellows may be taking a trip to Peru and Chile next summer!

As you can probably tell, I'm definitely leaning towards accepting the offer! I told them that I would decide by the end of this week, and I'll probably take all that time to let God convince me otherwise if that's His will, but as of now I'd say that I'm headed back to school! I'd definitely appreciate your continued prayers as I finish making this decision.

We continue to decorate our apartment. Though this is a continual process, I think we're about finished for now. I hung another 8 pictures and a mirror in our bedroom--I'm DEFINITELY finished with hanging pictures!--and we bought an entry-way table for our living room. I'm still looking to get a Foosball table for the basement, but Craigslist.com has not yet proven fruitful.

Other than that, life's pretty much the same. Thanks for hanging with the blog through the slow times!

New pictures (all from the cottage) in our bedroom

Table with stools in the living room--match our coffee/end tables

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Good News!

We have some good news to update! C.J. was accepted into the PhD program for structural engineering at Washington University in St. Louis (where he finished his undergrad). Not only that, but he was offered a fellowship that requires 10 hours of teaching per week of applied math and science in a middle school. He was very excited about this program, and it pays both his entire tuition and a generous stipend. He also would be assigned the professor that he wanted as his advisor through this program. This was a blessing to hear about this week! C.J. is going to an informational meeting about the program on March 21st to learn more about it so that he can make his final decision by the week after. Please pray for us as we seek God's will for C.J.'s life and as he tries to figure out if this is going to get him to where God wants him to be in his career. The next 5 years of our lives could be very affected by this decision!