TRYING TO REMEMBER THE KIND OF SEPTEMBER (THAT JUST FLEW BY)

Six weeks of school has elapsed, and October is about to begin. Here's what has happened (not in any particular order). We have taught classes, attended church, watched soccer and volleyball games, worked in the concession stand, graded papers, written lesson plans, talked to parents, made new friends, kept safe in travel, shopped, tried she-crab soup, gotten our South Carolina driver's licenses (even Abby--learner's permit), had company, been company, issued progress reports, sung in the choir (Larry), played the piano for choir (Liz), opened a checking account, joined the church, talked to our children in Nevada, Germany, and Japan, eaten out, eaten at home, gone to a fish fry for the 50-and-older group (just curious!), slept in comfortable beds, been encouraged by God's Word, received many blessings, and hopefully been a blessing.

Here comes October!

SETTLING IN CHARLESTON

We returned to Charleston on August 8th. Our apartment was available on Friday the 10th, so we spent that day moving in. Through our new church family, God supplied many of the things we needed for our new home. In addition to the gifts of furniture and household goods, the church collected a love offering for us which was exactly the amount we needed to buy our beds. They also had a "pounding" for us which provided us with many grocery items.

Our apartment is 6.5 miles from school and has easy access to both major roads that lead to our school. Between our home and school, we have all the conveniences we need such as our bank and shopping.

Our apartment is upstairs and has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a kitchen, a utility room, and a large living/dining area with a skylight and a wood burning fireplace (although I'm not sure we'll have reason to use it). We especially enjoy the balcony/deck off the living room. The complex has a nice pool and an exercise room. The grounds are nicely landscaped and well maintained.

MILES TO GO

We did a lot of traveling in July and August. We started July by heading down to Charleston, SC. We wanted to meet in person the folks at our new place of ministry--Ferndale Baptist Church & School. We were warmly welcomed, both in spirit and temperature. We spent our days hunting for a suitable dwelling, while in the evenings various families hosted us for meals and fellowship.



Our principal scheduled a couple of sightseeing
trips--one by boat and one by land. (That sounds almost "Revere-esque, doesn't it?) On the 4th, we also enjoyed watching fireworks with a number of church families.



After our time in Charleston, we headed west to Memphis to spend time with Elizabeth's family. We had a wonderful time of recuperation thanks to their generosity and hospitality (and swimming pool).

GRANDPARENTING IS GRAND!

GOODBYE, KOREA; HELLO, U.S.A.

We departed South Korea on June 12, and we arrived in Cleveland, Ohio the same day (17 hours later). We spent the next several days taking care of such things as renewing our driver's licenses, purchasing a vehicle, buying insurance, and basically getting adjusted to being back in the U.S.

Jerred, Joanna, and AJ were in Ohio for the month of June in order to participate in a couple of weddings. This enabled us to be active grandparents for a couple of weeks. We even took AJ camping for several days while his parents went away together. Martha was also in Ohio for a few days.

We enjoyed visiting with friends. A lot happens in a year, so it was good to get caught up with everyone.

NEW PLACE, NEW BLOG

Since we are no longer in South Korea, I decided to make a new blog. "Chucktown" is a term of endearment (I think) that I have seen around here in Charleston. The name appealed to me, so I decided to use it.

As before, I will try to keep you informed of our activities. I'll also share humorous incidents as well as "cultural" tidbits that we discover. For instance, did you know another nickname for Charleston is "The Holy City"? The reason for the moniker is that as one views the skyline of old Charleston, the numerous steeples are prominent. I believe there is a law that prohibits any structure in town from being higher than the tallest steeple.