Hello World.
The Wallers have missed you.
It is almost the end of October now, and the leaves are almost gone from the trees ( a stark contrast to our last home in sunny California). Last Friday I took a bike ride downtown and enjoyed the changing colors along the way. Neighborhoods were transformed as what were once plain streets had become Van Goghs – vibrant hues of amber, burnt orange and maroon everywhere – in the trees, on the ground. Leaves crunched underneath my bicycle tires; it sounded like someone eating cereal in the morning – and this is all new to me after living in Texas and California. I don’t even remember the leaves like this in Paris.
Bryce joined me for a bike ride yesterday afternoon. Monday is his day off and it has been a blast embarking on Monday adventures like hiking or biking, taking long walks, exploring new restaurants, or simply curling up in our pjs with a good book (sometimes this is our only option if it’s snowing outside). I was shocked yesterday to discover on our Monday bike ride that the beautiful hues I rode through on Friday had almost disappeared, and trees that were orange and red only a few days ago were now naked and bare. Lawns were dusted in yellow that had graced the branches only a short while ago. We enjoyed our ride, nonetheless, and stood in awe afterwards at how quickly the seasons change.
Seasons have changed in our lives as well. After a summer of adjusting to Montana, Bryce has finished preaching his sermon series on Acts and has been teaching a Christianity 101 class every Sunday before worship. As much as I love his preaching, I marvel at his teaching and find myself soaking up the material in class as much as anyone else. This has been a treat. He is learning to counsel and deal with real life problems and situations (something they don’t teach you in seminary), which has been so rich. On Tuesday nights our community group meets at our place. We dive into Scripture, discuss the sermon, and share our struggles with each other. This has been an incredible blessing as we have built new relationships as well.
And perhaps the biggest blessing of this season is the news of our first baby due May 7th. I have had an easy and healthy pregnancy so far with only minor fatigue. I begin my 2nd trimester this week, and we are both so grateful to the Lord for this time in our lives. Though we still have six months to go, we are ecstatic to meet this little boy or girl (we will find out which in December).
The beginning of November brings yet a new season in Montana: WINTER. We have experienced our first big snow and are anxious to see what the winter weather brings. In the meantime, we will be visiting Texas in a week to get our fair share of warm weather, family and friends before we go into serious Montana hibernation!
