We decided to stay another day in Kentucky! Al and Jonathan are leaving in a few minutes to drive to Clarksville, Tennessee (Austin Peay University) to watch the Titans practice at their training camp. I am trying to get a few things done here for school.....but I am distracted with my family and my sweet nephews, Luke and John David!
We should be back in the Memphis/Mississippi area tomorrow!
Love y'all!
Julie
Monday, July 31, 2006
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Finished!
Yes! Today was the first day in three years that Jonathan has woken up and not had to start studying for comps! Yipeee!! (However, he did get up and go to the library at Trinity first thing this morning to do some research work for Dr. Carson.)
Jonathan's test yesterday was, again, difficult....but it is FINISHED!! Now it is just a waiting game because they have up to a month to grade the exams and notify us of the results.
While Jonny was busy taking his exam, I was busy having a wonderful lunch with my dear friends, Connie Zinkula and Karen Caraher (I taught their sons at St. Norbert)! Connie took a few of us on a tour of her beautiful new home in Northbrook, and I decided I would love for her to come and work on decorating my home when we build! After lunch, I met Lindsay White (my sweet fellow-Southern teacher friend) and little Larry Panozzo for ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Larry and I then went to Trinity to pick up Jonny!
That evening, Larry and Larry (Carol was out of town taking care of her mother) took us out for an AMAZING dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse! What a TREAT!! With appetizers, salads, steaks, mashed potatoes, and crazy-delicious desserts--Jonathan and I indulged! It was probably one of the best meals of my life! Then, to top it off, they gave me a fabulous TELESCOPE as a going away gift!! After dinner we went out into their yard and saw Jupiter and four of its moons! You could even barely make out the stripes on Jupiter!!! Needless to say, I cried like a child! It was such a very, very fun night!! I will miss them so much!
Today Penny and I went shopping and went out to lunch (while Jonathan worked hard at the library!). Tonight we are having a big dinner with Penny's family. (We are having an apple "salad" with Snickers Bars as a key ingredient! Is there any question as to why God picked Penny to be my "Chicago Mama!?")
We will be heading back for Mississippi in the morning. We will be making a stop at the Kentucky farm on the way down, of course!
Love to you all! It is almost time to eat that salad!! MMMMMM!
Love,
Julie
Jonathan's test yesterday was, again, difficult....but it is FINISHED!! Now it is just a waiting game because they have up to a month to grade the exams and notify us of the results.
While Jonny was busy taking his exam, I was busy having a wonderful lunch with my dear friends, Connie Zinkula and Karen Caraher (I taught their sons at St. Norbert)! Connie took a few of us on a tour of her beautiful new home in Northbrook, and I decided I would love for her to come and work on decorating my home when we build! After lunch, I met Lindsay White (my sweet fellow-Southern teacher friend) and little Larry Panozzo for ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Larry and I then went to Trinity to pick up Jonny!
That evening, Larry and Larry (Carol was out of town taking care of her mother) took us out for an AMAZING dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse! What a TREAT!! With appetizers, salads, steaks, mashed potatoes, and crazy-delicious desserts--Jonathan and I indulged! It was probably one of the best meals of my life! Then, to top it off, they gave me a fabulous TELESCOPE as a going away gift!! After dinner we went out into their yard and saw Jupiter and four of its moons! You could even barely make out the stripes on Jupiter!!! Needless to say, I cried like a child! It was such a very, very fun night!! I will miss them so much!
Today Penny and I went shopping and went out to lunch (while Jonathan worked hard at the library!). Tonight we are having a big dinner with Penny's family. (We are having an apple "salad" with Snickers Bars as a key ingredient! Is there any question as to why God picked Penny to be my "Chicago Mama!?")
We will be heading back for Mississippi in the morning. We will be making a stop at the Kentucky farm on the way down, of course!
Love to you all! It is almost time to eat that salad!! MMMMMM!
Love,
Julie
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Two Down....One to Go!
Well, hello from the Windy City! Jonathan had his second comprehensive exam today at 1 p.m. Again, when asked how it went, he said, "I have no idea!" Jonathan knew that any test Dr. Carson created would be challenging...and he was correct! When he describes the tests to me, I can see why he felt he could use even more time to study! The tests cover such a broad range of topics. Jonathan has one more test tomorrow! We appreciate your prayers for Jonathan to be able to articulate well on paper what he knows in his head, for good time management, and a continued peace regarding the whole process. I cannot adequately tell you how grateful to God I am for the level of peace we have felt this week. I was anticipating feelings of anxiousness, panic, and helplessness (on my part!), and I was not sure what to expect of Jonathan! However, God has been so very sweet to us to allow us to actually enjoy our week here. (Even though MANY things have not gone as planned!)
My "Chicago Mama," Penny Weidman, is still in Michigan with her father who will surely be with Jesus very soon. She hopes to come home before we leave, but she is certainly where she needs to be! On a similar note, Carol Panozzo's 93-year-old mother broke her hip and had surgery earlier in the week, so she will be flying to Minneapolis tomorrow to be with her(missing our good-bye dinner with Larry and Larry!). They are taking us to Ruth's Chris Steak House to celebrate Jonathan's completion of comprehensive exams! (And to send us off to the South.) I'm sure both of these precious women would be thankful for prayers for them and for their families!
Today I met two new friends! Two-month-old Victoria Alice Whiteside welcomed me to her home in Addison this morning! (Her proud parents are Shannon and Mark Whiteside. I taught with Shannon at Oak Mountain Classical School in Birmingham, and I was also in their Christmas wedding a few years ago....) Shannon and I had a great visit and a great lunch (made by her mom!). It was fun to catch up with my sweet friend! Then this evening, Pat and Nancy (friends from Calvary Church) and I went to meet two-day-old Jackson Thomas Greer at the hospital in Elmhurst. (His proud parents are Patti and Steve Greer....sweet friends from Calvary.) So, I have been in Baby Heaven today!!
Well, just wanted to catch you up on everything here. Thank you so much for your prayers for us! We love y'all!
Love,
Julie
My "Chicago Mama," Penny Weidman, is still in Michigan with her father who will surely be with Jesus very soon. She hopes to come home before we leave, but she is certainly where she needs to be! On a similar note, Carol Panozzo's 93-year-old mother broke her hip and had surgery earlier in the week, so she will be flying to Minneapolis tomorrow to be with her(missing our good-bye dinner with Larry and Larry!). They are taking us to Ruth's Chris Steak House to celebrate Jonathan's completion of comprehensive exams! (And to send us off to the South.) I'm sure both of these precious women would be thankful for prayers for them and for their families!
Today I met two new friends! Two-month-old Victoria Alice Whiteside welcomed me to her home in Addison this morning! (Her proud parents are Shannon and Mark Whiteside. I taught with Shannon at Oak Mountain Classical School in Birmingham, and I was also in their Christmas wedding a few years ago....) Shannon and I had a great visit and a great lunch (made by her mom!). It was fun to catch up with my sweet friend! Then this evening, Pat and Nancy (friends from Calvary Church) and I went to meet two-day-old Jackson Thomas Greer at the hospital in Elmhurst. (His proud parents are Patti and Steve Greer....sweet friends from Calvary.) So, I have been in Baby Heaven today!!
Well, just wanted to catch you up on everything here. Thank you so much for your prayers for us! We love y'all!
Love,
Julie
Monday, July 24, 2006
One Down.....Two to Go!
Just a quick note to let you know that we are in the Chicagoland area this week! We arrived late on Saturday night and are staying with my "Chicago Mama," Penny Weidman and her sweet husband, Darold. Unfortunately, Penny and Darold are not here with us right now because they had to rush to Michigan to say goodbye to Penny's dying father (who is a believer). Do keep them in your prayers.
Today was Jonny's first comp (Comprehensive Exam for his Ph. D). When he got home after the test, he said he didn't know how it went. He felt really good about the first question (from 1 John), but he felt his answer on the second question (from John chapter 5) was not as strong as he would have liked for it to have been. He could've used more time! :) BUT--you are only allowed a strict 3 hours. (He typed 7+ pages today!)
His next two tests will be on Thursday 1 p.m.-4 p.m. and Friday 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
Do continue to pray for Jonathan during this week. God has been so good to us! He has truly calmed us and helped us to understand that He is in control. Jonathan told me about a week ago that he had decided not to let himself panic! (A wonderful idea--but hard to live out!) However, Jonathan truly knows that God brought him to Trinity and that he has benefited greatly from his studies here. It is completely in God's hands now. We are sure that if Jonny passes, it will certainly be by the Grace of God---There are SO MANY things that could be asked on that test!! We are praying that God guided Jonathan's studying.....
Either way.......................come Friday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. I am going to talk as much as I want to....as loud as I want to....as often as I want to....... I have been restrained for too long! (Of course, soon I will have to be quiet so he can prepare for his classes at Westminster!) :)
Love you all! Thanks for your prayers!
Love,
Julie (Jonathan went to bed mighty early tonight.....but I'm still up!)
Today was Jonny's first comp (Comprehensive Exam for his Ph. D). When he got home after the test, he said he didn't know how it went. He felt really good about the first question (from 1 John), but he felt his answer on the second question (from John chapter 5) was not as strong as he would have liked for it to have been. He could've used more time! :) BUT--you are only allowed a strict 3 hours. (He typed 7+ pages today!)
His next two tests will be on Thursday 1 p.m.-4 p.m. and Friday 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
Do continue to pray for Jonathan during this week. God has been so good to us! He has truly calmed us and helped us to understand that He is in control. Jonathan told me about a week ago that he had decided not to let himself panic! (A wonderful idea--but hard to live out!) However, Jonathan truly knows that God brought him to Trinity and that he has benefited greatly from his studies here. It is completely in God's hands now. We are sure that if Jonny passes, it will certainly be by the Grace of God---There are SO MANY things that could be asked on that test!! We are praying that God guided Jonathan's studying.....
Either way.......................come Friday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. I am going to talk as much as I want to....as loud as I want to....as often as I want to....... I have been restrained for too long! (Of course, soon I will have to be quiet so he can prepare for his classes at Westminster!) :)
Love you all! Thanks for your prayers!
Love,
Julie (Jonathan went to bed mighty early tonight.....but I'm still up!)
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Whew! What a Week!
Hello to all of you! (I know some of you have wondered what has happened to us since our last blog!! Sorry about that!) We did leave Northbrook on Monday morning on the 3rd. We arrived in Kentucky and got to visit lots of family! Of course, Mom fixed her yummy "company" meal for us! MMMMMMM! We got to spend lots of time with Luke and John David! (Always a highlight!!)
We left early enough on Tuesday so that we could hit Jackson, Tennessee before Chick-fil-A stopped serving breakfast! But, to our dismay, Chick-fil-A was closed for remodeling!! So, we went to Starbuck's instead. Crazily, at Starbuck's we ran into Johnna's (my youngest sister) college roommates: Ashley and Valerie! Jonathan recognized them first! We had a fun little conversation. I have to admit, the providential meeting was better than a chicken biscuit!
We got to Mississippi and within minutes, Aunt Ju Ju was playing Polly Pockets with Lizzie and Anna! We grabbed all of our stuff from the storage unit and moved into our upstairs bedroom at the Smiths' house! (And yes--Keri did repaint her nursery a nice neutral color! She felt guilty putting Jonathan in a pink room!)
On Wednesday evening, we got the call that Johnna was in labor! So, since we were already packed......we jumped in the car and drove to the hospital in Huntsville, Alabama! (For those of you that don't know....my sister Johnna married Jonathan's brother, Aaron. They were, at this point, one week overdue!)
As we were leaving, Lizzie was quite alarmed that we were already leaving so soon! But I assured her we would be back to play more dress-up and Polly Pockets later in the week!
We left early enough on Tuesday so that we could hit Jackson, Tennessee before Chick-fil-A stopped serving breakfast! But, to our dismay, Chick-fil-A was closed for remodeling!! So, we went to Starbuck's instead. Crazily, at Starbuck's we ran into Johnna's (my youngest sister) college roommates: Ashley and Valerie! Jonathan recognized them first! We had a fun little conversation. I have to admit, the providential meeting was better than a chicken biscuit!
We got to Mississippi and within minutes, Aunt Ju Ju was playing Polly Pockets with Lizzie and Anna! We grabbed all of our stuff from the storage unit and moved into our upstairs bedroom at the Smiths' house! (And yes--Keri did repaint her nursery a nice neutral color! She felt guilty putting Jonathan in a pink room!)
On Wednesday evening, we got the call that Johnna was in labor! So, since we were already packed......we jumped in the car and drove to the hospital in Huntsville, Alabama! (For those of you that don't know....my sister Johnna married Jonathan's brother, Aaron. They were, at this point, one week overdue!)
As we were leaving, Lizzie was quite alarmed that we were already leaving so soon! But I assured her we would be back to play more dress-up and Polly Pockets later in the week!
On our 3-hour trip to Huntsville, we had a flat tire (my first flat tire with Jonathan)! God was so sweet to us---It happened just before we reached a gas station, right before dark, and right between rain storms! We arrived at the hospital around 10 p.m.
Catherine Ashley Davis was born at 10:20 p.m. on July 5th! She was 7 pounds 8 ounces (not totally sure) and the perfect length (again, not sure!). She has Johnna's lips (so that's just like my lips!) and she has Aaron's nose (possibly like Jonny's?) She was just tiny and BEAUTIFUL!!!! We fell in love with her instantly! Jonny made the comment, "So this is what a Davis-Green baby looks like.....I wonder if this will ever be us...." That was the only heart-wrenching moment for me....Other wise it was pure bliss! We are so very excited about our new niece! This makes us Uncle Jonny and Aunt JuJu for the 9th time! Can you believe it? We can't!!
We had great visits with Jonny's parents (Gilbert and Jane); Matthew (Jonny's oldest brother) and his wife Melanie and their three children (Will, Alex(andra), and Sophie); and Andrew (Aaron's twin) and his girlfriend, Katie. We also had great visits with my mom (Joyce) and my sister Jennifer, her husband Al, and their two precious children Luke, and John David; and my sister Joann and her husband Scott and their precious child, Austin. We all did a great job of sharing Catherine Ashley! We even let Johnna and Aaron hold her some!
We got our tire fixed (actually two tires!), and we left early Friday morning so we could get back to Memphis to close on our land! We bought our two acres without a hitch----It is mind-blowing how fast we spent $30,000! Afterwards, I wanted to go and grab a blanket and sit on our land, but Jonny was not too in to that......(!) So, we just drove by it really slowly! :)
On Friday, Keri and Andrew headed with their family to Florida! They are spending the week at a camp called RYM--and you have NEVER seen so much stuff packed into a van in your life! It was quite comical to watch Andrew stuff every nook and cranny of that van! Alone for the weekend, Jonny and I did our own thing. Jonny studied and studied. I painted window sills and cabinets (this will make Keri happy!). On Sunday, we visited South Woods Baptist Church on Germantown Road in Memphis. We had a great visit, and we were VERY impressed with the theology and the pastor. We met a couple who knew both Johnna and Daniel (Jonny's brother) from Union! We will be visiting several churches in the Memphis area.....HOWEVER.....we are pretty certain we will be joining St. Patrick's Church in Collierville. We have visited this church MANY times with Keri and Andrew.......and it will be EXTREMELY hard to beat. (And yes, St. Patrick is a Presbyterian church. We can discuss all of that later...... :))
After church, Jonny decided we should go and eat at Corky's BBQ on Poplar! MMMMMM! Great decision! Pulled Pork BBQ and rolls will now be our new replacement for the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza! (However, it cannot ever really replace it!!!)
Tonight I am typing this at St. Columba Retreat Center in Bartlett, Tennessee....just outside of Memphis. Jonathan and I are at a GREAT conference to train us in the Classical Christian model of education! Several Westminster teachers are here, and the leader this week is James Daniels. He is the Upper School Administrator at Westminster (so he is Jonny's boss). FYI--James and his wife, Larissa, have bought Keri's parents' house! They will be our neighbors on South Slayden Road in Mississippi! (We are starting a Westminster compound!!)
Well, I must close. This entry has become way too long! Thanks for reading all the way to the end! Love to you all!
Love in Christ,
Julie (and Jonathan)
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Tomorrow is the Big Day!
Tomorrow morning (Monday) at 5 a.m. we plan to leave Northbrook and drive out of Chicagoland! We will hopefully arrive at my Mom and Dad's house in Kentucky by lunch time. Jonny and I will stay in Kentucky overnight--visiting mom, dad, my sister Jennifer, her husband Al, and their two children--Luke (2 yrs) and John David (1 month), my grandmother, and her husband Billy.
It is very strange that we will be leaving Chicago only to return in 3 weeks for Jonathan's comps. However, when we return, we will be Mississippi residents. There are so many mixed feelings resulting from this move! We were so excited, but then our hearts became very heavy as we have spent the last month saying goodbye to so many people that we dearly love.
Today we said goodbyes to our sweet Calvary family. We got cards and flowers from the sweet children at church, a generous check from the congregation, and an embroidered blanket that says "Sweet Calvary" on it ! We had a very wet picnic after church--but it didn't even hinder any fun! We had a great day together.
We surely will miss our church family--they have been an instrument that God has greatly used in our lives over and over and over! I love what Rick (our pastor) said this morning---He said that we have worked hard for the kingdom together, side by side, and that is what true fellowship really is.....not just picnics!
Well....we are scrambling to pack all of our things. (Darn the History Channel!!--While here at the Panozzos we have discovered and have fallen in love with the history channel. I am now an expert on all kinds of things: tanks, Roman architecture, the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin, DaVinci.........) We are both moving slowly tonight due to George Washington crossing the Potomac!
Pray for our journey! May God use our trip for His glory!
Love,
Julie (for both of us!)
It is very strange that we will be leaving Chicago only to return in 3 weeks for Jonathan's comps. However, when we return, we will be Mississippi residents. There are so many mixed feelings resulting from this move! We were so excited, but then our hearts became very heavy as we have spent the last month saying goodbye to so many people that we dearly love.
Today we said goodbyes to our sweet Calvary family. We got cards and flowers from the sweet children at church, a generous check from the congregation, and an embroidered blanket that says "Sweet Calvary" on it ! We had a very wet picnic after church--but it didn't even hinder any fun! We had a great day together.
We surely will miss our church family--they have been an instrument that God has greatly used in our lives over and over and over! I love what Rick (our pastor) said this morning---He said that we have worked hard for the kingdom together, side by side, and that is what true fellowship really is.....not just picnics!
Well....we are scrambling to pack all of our things. (Darn the History Channel!!--While here at the Panozzos we have discovered and have fallen in love with the history channel. I am now an expert on all kinds of things: tanks, Roman architecture, the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin, DaVinci.........) We are both moving slowly tonight due to George Washington crossing the Potomac!
Pray for our journey! May God use our trip for His glory!
Love,
Julie (for both of us!)
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