Again an OH driver

I passed my diver's license with an outstanding 98 (I lost two points for pausing during the cone exercise). I'm excited that hopefully I can move on to the next thing and forget about my brief return to being 16 again. It is funny how authorities like this affect you. I had one dream last week where I was in prison. Last night (as is often the case before any test or important meeting) I woke up to look at the clock every hour or two throughout the night. It's funny how shame works. I really felt anxious about the (real) possibility of failing. Last night Emily and I went to the church parking lot and I practiced in the cones for an hour. We even met a 21 year old whose Mom brought him over to watch and study how to do the test. I was grateful that Randy had the supplies to set up so that I could feel I'd put some time into practice. All of this said, I'm very glad it is over and don'e plan on repeating this experience. What a funny event! An upside of taking the test away from Cinci is that we had time to talk and enjoy the countryside. I don't think I've been in small town America for a while. It felt relatively peaceful. My brother and dad both like long-distance driving--hopefully it's something that I can do also. I also enjoyed driving our old Saturn, which was probably our first "big" purchase as a couple and which drives well a decade later with a 108,000 miles. Otherwise things are going well. Sam's loving the extra attention he gets in the US. Pretty much every day he gets to play in the sprinkler, ride cars in the driveway, and spend time with his grandparents and his aunt Reina. He gets to play with all of Alan's old toys (Tonka, stuffed animals, etc.). He's been to several playgrounds, and especially enjoyed when trains would pass by. It's been nice to have extra sets of hands around. The truth is our kids are up 7am-11pm (between the three), so it really can feel like a double shift sometimes. The babies are saying more are very entertaining right now. Eva seemed ecstatically happy when I came down this morning. Eva can say "kick" now, because of the kicking I have her do (and she also does a little stomp kick on her own). They also can say things like "shoes," "one two three," uh-oh, OK, no, up, done, dog, all gone (awgon),etc. Some of these only we can understand, but they are verbalizing a lot. Sam has on several occasions made up a "hot wheels" song. He is asking a ton of why questions, some seeking understanding and others seeking limits (why does / why can't). It's pretty fun to watch them developing. I'm having some good conversations with pastors as I seek to get to know congregations here. It'll be a busy few weeks ahead. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about it all and to stay focused on good things. I have always admired people who can do lot of travel/speaking. I'm still not sure it's my gift, but I'd like to get better at explaining what we are up to and helping congregations to think about their place in the broader world. I still feel like I have a backlog of projects. For instance, I have grades to do, a chapter to finish, and sermon/talk material to work on. I'm actually looking forward to the camp in a week in that it may give me some time to do an hour of writing a day in a quieter environment. I don't know if this is really feasible, but it would be nice. Some of my goals for the next two months: walk every day, read a couple of novels, check out some audio books from the public library, enjoy time with family, catch up with some friends, write a little. I think this is all possible, and it could be a pretty fun sermon. I also feel like I'm doing a fair amount of church-y work through October, so it may be the winter could be a little quieter (perhaps Sundays only, with the rest of the time devoted to prepping class, playing with kids, and diss work for Em).