Surfers, Easter, and Sunshine

It's been a nearly a month, and I've done a really awful job of taking pictures. Actually, I didn't do anything at all...hence there are no pictures. I PROMISE there will be some in the next post though! And that the next post will come within less than a month!

First off, Seth has decided he's ready to start submitting his novel, A Leaf Falls. He's submitted it to one publishing company which has open submissions, but realizes that most likely the next step is to find an agent. So, anyone reading this - if you have any tips on the matter, we'd love to hear it! Overall though, we're just in prayer that God would use this work that Seth has done in a really great way. Whether that means worldly success or not isn't really as important. Of course, I know Seth would appreciate being able to make a living out of doing what he loves.

Also, Seth got into two graduate programs: the Masters at CU Boulder and Maryland College Park. However, he has decided not to accept either offer. Mainly it's an issue of funding - which didn't exist - and justifying spending that much for the programs. And on top of that, when Seth pictured just taking out the loan, biting the bullet and doing it, he just didn't feel any sort of excitement or passion about it. To commit so much money and time to something, we really felt like there should have been more enthusiasm at the prospect. We were in constant prayer over it, which was kind of a frustrating experience. We felt we weren't hearing much of anything back, but once Seth made the decision, he said that he had a feeling of peace about it. So at this point, we're not sure about our plans for next year...there are several options, but most of them include moving back to Georgia for the time being. Any prayer on this matter would of course be appreciated.

Note: Seth would also like to add here that he did not get the job with Kaplan. Basically, they really wanted to hire him, but his visa was too short. They were very nice about it, and offered to recommend him to the branch in Georgia. So, even though he didn't get the job, I think it was definitely a good thing for him to have a positive interview experience.


We had our first couchsurfer! (We've really been enjoying the sunny weather lately, but actual surfing would still be a bit ambitious). So the way we stayed with random people on our honeymoon, sleeping on peoples couches and such, we were essentially returning the favor this time around, letting them stay with us. They slept in the tiny empty space of our room on air mattress Jason left with us after his stay (still waiting on that guest post, by the way...). They were from the Czech Republic, and were nice enough to bring us a few gifts from their homeland! They were great people, and we had a nice time chatting and hanging out with them, though most of the time they were out being tourists, of course.

Our first Easter as a married couple was "lovely" as they'd say over here. We went to the service at a local church here in Harlesden -- it was packed! We really enjoyed the worship portion...one of the preachers from the church has come to CCH (our church) to speak before, and he's very genuine and enthusiastic about reaching people in the community. After the service, Dave, a guy in the church, cooked a roast for the few of us remaining in town (most people were away on holidays/with family) - it was delicious. Then we all sat in the back garden and enjoyed the sun. We did miss our families at home, but our church family here really is amazing. And hey, I feel like people use the word amazing too often for situations that aren't really amazing. So if I'm using that word, you know it must be good news.


We had a nice day away from work/school when we borrowed a bike from a friend in the church and rode down to Hyde Park together. Neither of us had ever been there. The ride itself was really pretty -- took us straight through Notting Hill into the city. The park was big so we biked around most of it. There's a lake in the middle, where we settled and ate some lunch. Anyway, it was just a really picturesque day. About ten minutes into the way there, I realized my camera was sitting back at our apartment. *Sigh* I will try to start remembering it.

Never fear though, as the next post will detail the McKelvey clan coming to the UK. Seth's family should be arriving within a week, and have an ambitious schedule of all the things they want to see! So I know it's going to be exciting and fun.