I realize I’ve become (if I wasn’t already) a nerd.

I understand Archer MSAs, HSAs, HDHPs, and LDHPs.

I know about stocks, Roth and SIMPLE IRA’s, 401k’s and 403b’s and mutual funds. I check the DJIA, NYSE, S & P 500, Russell 2000, S & P Mid-Cap 400. I invest in Vanguard Windsor II, the Stock Index Fund, a mid cap and small cap from Ariel, a mid cap index, but most of the money I have in mutual funds is in an Evergreen fund that has grown 14.92 percent over the past ten years. And the funny thing is, my money isn’t just sitting there (well, it is mostly sitting there, but that’s not what I meant). I understand what it’s doing, and why I have it in there. It’s not because someone told me it was good to do. It’s because I read and learned about these things. I’ve gone from ignorance to understanding, and I feel free because of it.

Rachel and I play Mille Bornes all the time. Nathan Blevins came down last weekend, and what did we make him do? Play Mille Bornes.

We spent the entire day watching movies yesterday. We watched Sleepover, The Terminal, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and five episodes of Monk.

We pay all of our bills on the first day of the month, and we don’t worry about them from day to day.

My wife has some sort of eye infection. I almost feel excited that I’ll get to use my health insurance for the first time. I probably shouldn’t be happy about that. I like having a PPO, and I feel empowered to know what those letters stand for.

I hate sleep, and I can’t understand why people like to stay in bed. My wife likes sleep and does it a lot.

I know the names of the leaders of most countries in the Middle East because I keep up with news. This is new. College was a bubble where I didn’t care.

I’m interested in the war in Iraq though I’d never go over there. Oddly enough, peace has become a pillar of my theology.

We pay $10.90 a month for purified water.

Our refrigerator makes funny noises.

Powerlessness and death are wonderful.

I love being married, and I love that it’s never been a burden. It’s such a relief to have such a wonderful wife. Many of the things that I thought would be a burden in marriage just really aren’t when God is your focus, and you have the right perspective on who your wife is, how she functions, and what she needs.

I admire my wife. She’s such a hard worker. I don’t think she works for the money. I think she works because she’d go insane if she didn’t. That’s one thing I’ve always admired about her. She’s smart. She sat down to do a practice ACT for fun. I scored her after the first section. I was impressed with her 32. She was upset and couldn’t believe she missed any questions. Why she likes me, I don’t understand.

I would say we don’t want for anything, but that’s not true. Everything is not perfect. Our church situation is less than ideal; her excommunication is still working its way through presbytery. We’re not really sure what our place is in Monroe, and where we’re called to serve. That’s probably our biggest frustration: Where are we called to serve, and what church best serves our needs at the moment?

Also, we don’t have a whole lot of friends. Well, it’s not that we don’t have friends; it’s just that everybody else is so busy. Everyone either has kids or are homebodies or we’re just too afraid to ask them over twice in a week and seem pushy. We really miss the fellowship of Rachel’s parents, Rebekah and Forrest, and Ryan and Taneisha.

There’s one other thing that’s missing in our lives, but I try not to talk about it, and just pray that God will give it to us soon. I’m sure a lot of you that know us well can figure out what it is. Will you pray that God would give us that?

-proofread and corrected by Rachel (I’m OCD)