The end of an era

For the past 4 1/2 years, Matt has been in school. It seems odd that for all of Chloe's life to this point, her daddy has been a student.

Uprooting and moving blindly to where we then unlovingly called "Nowhere, Ohio" was simultaneously frightening and exhilaratingly exciting. We moved here with the express purpose of Matt studying and earning his phd in English at Kent State University. Now that we've been here for so long, life pre-doctoral studies (and pre-kids) seems like a distant dream.

Matt and I had no idea how much we'd actually like living in "Nowhere, Ohio". :) God has graciously given us a wonderful group of fun, encouraging and supportive friends. And we've never enjoyed and thrived in a church as much as here at Parkside. I'm afraid all future churches we attend will inevitably be compared to our fantastic experiences at Parkside.

The student chapter of our lives is now closed (until I go back for my masters that is) and it has been liberating to have Matt fully present again in our family. Of course, my husband is not the type to just sit around and be lazy with his new-found extra time (though a new baby in a few weeks will certainly fill in those leisure-time gaps). Matt is already working full steam on new projects around the house and has dreams and schemes of more.

Matt has worked tirelessly throughout the phd process and we couldn't be more proud of him! Congrats to our dear Dr. Daddy! :)

A day of mourning

Today Matt goes back to school. WAH!!!!!!!!!

We've had SUCH a lovely summer together as a family that I am seriously mourning today. I'm super thankful that Matt is a college prof; having the summers off is too good to be true!

Besides being a personal blessing and help to me around the house, Matt has engaged and invested in our kids. He has a strong and unique bond with each of them.

I've had to do some focused thinking and planning to make our transition as easy as possible. Honestly, I think I might have the hardest time transitioning. I'm so used to having Matt around to watch the kids while I prepare supper, or take a nap, or need to run to the grocery store.

So, today officially begins our fall semester. Sigh. Goodbye summer. We miss you already, Matt!

NO MORE TESTS FOREVER!!!!!

Did my all-caps title with several exclamation marks sufficiently communicate the high-level of my excitement?!?

Yesterday Matt completed (drumroll please) . . .
HIS LAST COMPREHENSIVE EXAM OF THE PHD PROGRAM!

Hip hip hooray!

That means he only has two more requirements before being all done with school: 1) dissertation proposal and then 2) writing the dissertation. Mind you, those two items will probably take a year to a year and a half to complete. But it's such a relief to know that there are only two steps left to this schooling process.

Matt felt great about how he did on the test. In fact, he wasn't even nervous. Just overwhelmingly excited that this was his final test ever.

We celebrated with a very uncharacteristic pizza, chips and bottle of cherry coke. It felt positively sinful and yet so yummy to eat unhealthily like that. :) And I love doing the dishes after a pizza meal. We watched the first 1/2 of the Packers vs. Redskins game with Chloe (during which she learned a vital new vocabulary term - "Lambeau Leap") and then Matt and I snuggled up to watch a movie after she went to bed.

Another bonus about finishing this last test is that we get to steal Matt away from his books this weekend. In fact, he took Chloe grocery shopping this morning so I could have some computer work time and I'm relishing the quiet. Tonight we're planning to carve up Bubba, our huge pumpkin, and then tomorrow we're off to a farmer's market together.

We're proud of you Matt! We knew you could do it!

Big day today and big week ahead!

Boy, is Chloe growing up fast! It's awe-striking how she puts thoughts and words together so quickly now. And she continues to amaze us with her memory and powers of observation .

Today was a big day because today was Chloe's very first day of Sunday School! I know, she's still only two so Sunday School is not that huge a deal. But it seemed like a milestone of sorts as we walked past all the nursery rooms to the "classrooms" to drop her off this morning.

The teacher and mom in me was filled with curiosity as I closed the door to the classroom. What do they do with 2 year olds in an actual class? After the service, we headed to Target and I drilled Chloe about her class.

Surprisingly, Chloe answered my questions with unexpected clarity. She told me two of her teachers' names (she must really like Mr. Jim because she had several pretend phone conversations with him tonight), that Mr. Jim played the guitar, that they sang Jesus Loves Me, and that they watched a movie with songs. She also came away with two Bible coloring pages to do during the week.

This week will be a big week for our family as well. Tuesday is reading comprehensive exam #3 of 4 for Matt. He's been studying and reading like a mad dog! I'm sure he'll do a fabulous job but he's in that last-minute-cram-everything-possible-into-your-brain mode right now. So, tomorrow Chloe and I will disappear so he can have as much quiet studying time as possible.

This week is big for another reason; we finally get our ultrasound done on Thursday!!! I'm about 21.5 weeks along now and I'm a-quiver with curiosity to know our new baby's gender. I'm also ansy to pick out a name, get out the boxes upon boxes of baby clothes, and kick our Chloe-preparations into high-gear. We'll be able to bring Chloe in for the ultrasound; did any of you do this? How'd your child/children react to the ultrasound experience?

How's your week shaping up?

(p.s. Forgive my excessive use of hyphens in this post. Matt assures me I used them all correctly.)

Bye-bye, Matt :(

Bright and early this morning (6:30 a.m. to be exact) Chloe and I dropped Matt off at the airport for his flight to the east coast. Sigh. I miss him already!

Matt's off to a conference at Dartmouth this weekend where he'll be presenting a paper. We're exceedingly proud of him!

Thankfully I'm only a single mom until my mom and gramma come to visit tomorrow night. The morning was challenging enough to make me vvvvvvvvvvery grateful that I'm not alone in this parenting adventure.

At lunch today, Chloe was especially endearing. She plays this little game where she leans over and says "Love you!" quickly back and forth between Matt and I. Even though daddy wasn't sitting in his regular place, she still said "I love you daddy!" to his empty chair. It was so sweet, I teared right up. She ruined the moment of course by laughing hysterically at her own little joke and then she proceeded totalk to daddy when he wasn't there. :) What a 2 year old.

One test down, three to go!

Yesterday Matt successfully completed and passed his Latin translation exam! Great job, honey! He sat and translated for 4 hours straight and then answered questions for 1/2 hour from the classics professor over the text.

We celebrated with dinner out at a local restaurant (this also served as my belated mother's day gift). Now Matt transitions into hard-core study mode for his next test; his medieval reading exam is coming up in just 10 short days.

Matt hopes to study about 6 hours a day in preparation for the medieval reading exam. Though this is going to be a rough period, I am so thankful we're getting closer and closer to Matt's dissertation.

What a lovable brainiac!

The final countdown has begun!

Matt's final day of the semester at Kent State will be Monday, May 7th. Yipee skippee! He's got one more big requirement to do (a take-home exam which he is working on as I type) before then. He's been SO DILIGENT at his studies this semester! His two big major papers are already completed, revised, and turned in.

I'm so very proud of him and I can't believe the end of the semester is here already! There were so many times this term that I thought we'd never make it to the end. But God has brought us through and has been so faithful to provide strength and grace to our family. My heart is singing the doxology - very loudly I might add!

The end of this semester marks more than just a regular semester conclusion. For Matt, it marks the end of his phd coursework. No more classes to take to earn his phd! Unfortunately, that doesn't mean he's in the clear yet . . . .

The ending of his coursework signals the beginning of a new phase in his studies. Now he starts the exams-portion of his phd program. He'll first be tested in Latin by having to translate a portion of Latin text. Then the reading exams begin. Or more accurately, then his study for the reading exams will go into full-swing-mode. He will be tested over three areas: Medieval Religious Literature, Critical Theory applied to the Renaissance, 17th century literature of dissent in England. For each test he has to read and know the content of 30-40 books that are essential to the topic.

Maybe I should have titled this post, "Everything you never wanted to know about Matt Horn's phd requirements" :)

Now you can understand a little bit of my pride in his studies! He's such a hard-working brainiac and I'm incredibly proud of him. Way to go, schmoopsy-poo! We love you!

An unexpected Valetine's gift

Better than a box of chocolates is the unexpected gift I got today - Matt's school is closed because of our recent snow dumpage! YAY! No classes for him to attend and no classes for him to teach all day. What a great break for him and what a blessed Valentine's treat for us to have him home.

Unfortunately, he hasn't had too much time to read or study. He spent most of the morning shoveling our driveway and sidewalk and then he did a few neighbors' sidewalks. This evening we're going to splurge and have a dairy queen dinner (we just love their bacon cheeseburgers) and either play a game of scrabble or watch a movie. I'm hoping for scrabble. Matt's whomped me the last two times we've played and I need to redeem myself. :)

A quiet snowy Valentine's Day for our family trio. How nice! How are you celebrating today?

Back to life, back to reality

Don't know if anyone out there remembers that 80's song but it's stuck in my noggin' this mornin'.

Today is Matt's first day back at school for the spring semester. Sigh. It's been a wonderful dream having him home with us during the Christmas break. He's been an amazing help with Chloe (especially yesterday) and around the house so that I can have time to do my online work. Last night he even cooked dinner (dinner seems to taste better when I don't have to prepare it!) and gave Chloe a bath so I could get a few more tasks done. What a guy!

In honor of his first day back, I cooked Matt a big breakfast of french toast and real bacon (I also discovered how easy it is to bake rather than fry bacon this morning). I say real bacon because I normally buy turkey bacon to use in quiche or for bacon bits. Real bacon sure is delicious!

So today it's back to me and Chloe time. I miss Matt already! I know Chloe and I will have fun together though. It's a beautiful cold sunny day here so I think a walk is in order. Plus I'm hoping to try finger painting with Chloe this afternoon - wish us luck!