Change is a comin'

It amazes me how one small envelope can more or less contain the ticket to your future. One of these such envelopes was waiting for us upon our return from California last Sunday night. This type of mail probably should not be opened after 9:30 PM on any night, let alone the eve of a particularly packed work/school week that would allow little time for Graham and I to converse. But we opened it and I'm proud to say no tears were shed (which is pretty amazing given that I am pregnant and cry without notice!) We are still processing what it all means, but think in the end, it is good news for our family.

We knew that Graham's recent switch to the nurse practitioner program at SPU might alter his graduation plans a bit, but we weren't quite expecting this. Basically, we received an updated curriculum planner for all of Graham's remaining coursework and according to it, he won't graduate until June of 2013. We were so hoping that we were entering our third and final year of school but he has one class outstanding that is only offered in winter quarter that needs to be completed before he begins his final year of clinicals. Soooooo, that means he will be taking a leave of absence from school for both fall of this year and spring of 2012. He will be taking one class this summer and then after that, will only be taking that single winter class until June of 2012 when the home stretch year begins.

As much as we would LOVE to just GET THIS OVER WITH, I'm honestly filled with relief. I sort of would like the guy around when our baby arrives and this new schedule will give him some good time at home to bond with our newborn. Let me illustrate by giving you a brief synopsis of this past week:

Sunday: arrive home from CA and rush straight to a Wilson family birthday celebration
Monday: Graham works 8 hours, heads straight to class, gets home ~9:45 PM
Tuesday: Graham works a 12, gets home at 9:15 PM
Wednesday: Graham works an 8, comes home to plan his worship set for Sunday, then we go on desperately-needed date which goes horribly, ending with me sobbing in the car (long story)
Thursday: Graham is off but studies all day
Friday: Graham works a 12, I work too
Saturday: Graham goes to class, I work, we go help friends move until ~11 PM
Sunday: I work, Graham leads worship at the AM services at church then works from 3-11 PM
Monday: Graham is back at work at 6:45 AM for another 8 hours, followed by class and then will have to pack sometime tonight after 9:30 so we can head for the airport by 6 AM tomorrow

Needless to say, the guy needs a break (and so do I!!!!) He has been working so hard and I think would appreciate having a life, even if just for a few months. We can't really remember what it felt like to "just work" and not have school/studies in between so I think some great family time is in order. And financially, we weren't sure how we were going to come up with an extra $15,000ish dollars for tuition this coming year + money for a new car + money to pay hospital bills without dipping significantly into our savings (which is supposed to be for a house down payment...) This will allow us some time to save up a bit before tuition bills start showing up right and left again.

So that's where we are right now. I feel at peace with this change, though I've occasionally felt a bit bummed. This means we'll be pushing the purchase of a house out another year but it also means we have another year for our townhouse to regain some value. I know the Lord is taking care of us and His timing is perfect. This passage in Jeremiah has come to my mind many times this week:
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

That's the latest news from our end....