Fall Update

Saturday, 27 September 2008

After a recent nudge from a favorite younger sister of mine, here's an update on what we've been up to the past 6 weeks. The day we got back from our trip to Colorado, Matt's younger sister Katie, her husband Craig and their sweet little girl Abby came for a three-day visit! It was an absolute ball to have them all to ourselves. I'm pretty sure we didn't do anything spectacular, other than a few walks and a vicious game of Sorry! Isn't Abby just so cute? If I would have thought to take more pictures, I would have posted one of Abby and Craig - they are identical! We really had a great time catching up with them.

Matt and I started back to school on August 18th. Matt's taking his last two classes this semester and is enjoying them - or a as much as they can be enjoyed at this point in his degree! :) Matt has begun writing his thesis and will finish and defend next spring. I think he's eagerly anticipating the dawn of hunting season, which starts here a bit later than it does in the upper midwest. We're getting our freezer ready for more ducks, geese, and hopefully another deer! It's so fun to grill up Matt's study subject! My kiddos are doing well, and it has been great being at the same district for two years in a row! (Notice I didn't say the DISTRICT is great, just the back-to-back years part is great.) I'm still a barista at Common Grounds 3-5 shifts a week and come home smelling like a coffee bean. Mmmm! I'm teaching just a few kids private lessons this fall and only go to Carterville on Thursdays. I'm also taking an online class and writing my own professional paper (last requirement for my Master's degree). Whew!

Over Labor Day weekend, Matt and I, Cory and Michelle, and Curtis and Destiny all played a Friends TV show trivia game. To get in the spirit, Matt and I made ourselves "Team Rustand" t-shirts! Awesome, huh? Matt came up with a great logo - and might be changing careers to graphic design! "You've been bamboozled" is a phrase from the show. We had a fun afternoon recalling funny episodes and quizzing each other.

Earlier that weekend, we went to our first Miners game in Marion. (Miners are the southern Illinois equivalent to the FM Redhawks.) The stadium is pretty new and our seats were 4 rows behind home plate. It was such a beautiful night to be outside. Our friends and group leaders, Cory and Michelle, scored some free tickets and a free parking pass and were nice enough to share with us. SCORE!

Matt and I have been doing some running in prep for the Kansas City half marathon on October 18th. I ran a 5k on the September 15th in conjunction with the Murphysboro Apple Festival and another 5k on the 21st that was called "Work Out Before The Pig Out." The Pig Out is a fall food festival in Carbondale. I scored some pretty sweet shirts, and even cut off a minute and a half off my time! This Sunday, Matt's running a half marathon in Cape Girardeau, MO. I'm going with to cheer him on! Matt doesn't mess around with the 'small' races - he goes all out! :) We'll post some pictures of the race and share his success story after running over 13 miles!

Coming up in October, we have tons of stuff on our calendar. I think we'll be gone almost every weekend of the month...the 8-11th, I'll be in Knoxville at the National Symposium on Multicultural Music; the 17-19th we'll be in Kansas City running the half marathon, and the 24-25th is the Women's Retreat with our church. We're hoping to get out camping at some point, and October is a good month to do that down here. I want to get out and see the fall colors! Leaves haven't really started to turn yet, but I think they will pretty soon.

Also, starting in October, we will be leading our own small group. Our group at Cory and Michelle's has gotten way too large (25 people, when it should be around 8-12), so Cory and Michelle are sending us out with 6 other group members. It's a little bit exciting, but much more terrifying knowing that we have to somehow help our new group members truly follow Jesus. We've been praying for our new group members and welcome any additional prayer from friends and family! God has given us our next step by calling us to be group leaders and will be stretching us like crazy in the upcoming months. (If you want to learn more about our church and small groups, go to www.vinecommunitychurch.com.)

Sorry for the time between posts, and we'll try to get better about it! Hope you're all enjoying the beautiful fall weather!