So a quick update in a nutshell of our last 2 months:
1. At the end of June, we said "see you later" (not goodbye!) to our dear friends/family in Peru. Casey and I treasured the 2 years we were able to spend in Lima, the relationships that were built, and the students whose lives we got to pour into! They will forever be part of our hearts! As hard as it was to say goodbye, we both know that God has new plans for us in this next chapter of our lives and we are excited to see those plans unfold!
2. At the beginning of July, we rented a U-Haul and moved our small collection of stuff we had from my parent's house in Raleigh to our new home in Wilmington for this next season of life! We don't know how long this season will last, but we are here for however long God has us here :) God was so faithful to answer our prayers in big ways by providing us a place to live, a job for Casey, and a car to drive around in!
3. Casey and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on July 11th! We had a sweet day together and had a picnic dinner on the beach as the sunset (one of the perks of living 3 miles from the ocean!) It's been a wonderful 2 years and I feel so blessed to have him as the love of my life and my best friend :) I'm a lucky girl!
4. In the middle of July, we had a reunion with our dear friends the Fryars!! We first met them in Brazil and they quickly became like family to Casey and I during our time overseas! We have started a yearly tradition of meeting up at my parents lake house for a few days every summer! We SO enjoyed catching up with them, swimming in the lake, boat rides, and enjoying the sunshine!! We also got to meet the newest addtion to the Fryar gang (sweet Negash who was adopted from Ethiopia!) Casey and I fell in love with him right away and it is so fun to watch their family grow!
Here's Case goofing off with Negash and Caleb!
5. About 2 weeks ago, Casey started his new job at Coastal Christian High School (about 10 minutes from our condo). He is teaching government and US history. He has really enjoyed getting to know the staff and students and is excited about the opportunities ahead of him this year. He JUST finished his Masters degree last night(woo hooo!) with the completion of his thesis defense! I'll go ahead and brag on him a bit and say he totally rocked it! He's been working so hard the last 3 years and I'm so proud of him!
6. As many of you know, back in December, God put it on our hearts the plans that He has for us and the future. After alot of prayer and listening, we feel that God has called us to start a school for disadvantaged children in Mexico. We don't know many of the details at this point, but we do know that He has put this passion and dream in our hearts and we want to be obedient! We are in no way qualified to do such a big task, but we are excited because we know it will have to be God showing up every step of the way- we can't do it in our own strength! The first step in starting a school is actually starting a non-profit here in the States to organize and fund the school. Since being back, our goal was to get all the paperwork done for the non-profit by the time baby comes! It looks like we'll be on track :) So far, we have filed and become a corporation (Igniting Hope for Mexico), have received a tax identification number, and now start the LONG paperwork of filing to become tax-exempt! Once, this process is done, we can turn our eyes to really start focusing on where in Mexico the school will be and making connections down there that will help us get started!! We are really excited about what the future holds!
7. On Saturday, I'll be 32 weeks pregnant! Sometimes it feels like this pregnancy has flown by and other times, it just seems to be creeping ever so sloooooowly! My due date is October 28th and Casey and I are SO so excited to meet our little guy! We had a new parent's class tonight at our pediatrician's office where we got to the meet the doctors who will be taking care of our little one. They seemed super sweet and helpful and informed us of what to expect the first 2 weeks!
8. We're still working on the nursery and will post some pics when we get it more set up!
9. I will have the privelage of getting to stay home with our little man after he makes his grand entrance into the world! I'm so thankful for my hubby who is working so hard for our family and managing our tight budget so that I get the opportunity to be a stay at home momma! I can't wait!
Well, those are the recent Herring updates I have for now! I'll leave you with a few new baby bump pics! We love you guys and are so thankful for what you mean to us! Until next time...
Baby H growing!
32 weeks
