So, I just realized it's been over 2 years since we blogged, and we should probably provide an update... sorry it's been so long.
Over the last 2 years, a lot has happened - we bought a house in April 2010, Louie went back to school to work on his Masters Degree in the fall of 2010, Kate got a new job this January, and we got pregnant this April!
It has been a crazy, but good adventure and we are so thankful for being where we are in life right now. I can hardly believe 3 years ago we were at the huge turning point when God showed us that full-time ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ was no longer the path we should be pursuing. The long grieving period that followed left me (Kate) asking a lot of questions of God, including what His plan was, if it wasn't CCC, and why we never got to even step foot on campus as staff. Louie was unemployed for about a year (see post below) and I continued to be so frustrated, often feeling that God's best wasn't that great.
We have learned so much about God's best and trusting in His timing, and I (Kate) have learned that it's ok to ask God questions and to be honest when his plans don't make sense to me or I'm having a hard time trusting Him. My view of God's best has changed a lot. Louie and I have grown so much in our marriage and our friendship and our faith through these experiences, and can see so clearly why CCC wasn't where we were supposed to be now.
God had so much in store for us here, that we would've missed out on if we had gone on to Milwaukee to serve on staff with CCC. Here, God has lead us to be a part of a church plant from the beginning, and on the launch team, and now we're a part of a small group too. We've made many new friendships and connections and Louie and I have been blessed to be able to help launch the senior high ministry at the church too. I (Kate) get to serve on the worship team as a vocalist from time to time and Louie gets to serve by teaching every week with the Senior High Students and he often helps with counting the weekly offering. I also serve the church on the Finance Team. We are able to help so much, in such significant ways, it is such a blessing to be a part of the growing community at the new church.
We also purchased a home near 3 parks, within walking distance of the quaint downtown area of our city and some beautiful walking paths as well. Although we're a little further than we originally thought we'd settle down, our house suits us so well and we feel so at home here. Another blessing from God. We have a huge garden in our back yard, which we share the work and the fruit (well, veggies to be specific) of with some of our neighbors. It is so cool to have neighbors that are fun to hang out with and work together with too :)
We are 32 weeks pregnant and loving the process of preparing to be parents. Thankfully, the pregnancy has been pretty easy on Kate's body and on us in general. God has provided some pretty awesome things for the baby already and we know that He will continue to provide everything that we need to have this little Washleski join our home. We are excited to find out if we will be welcoming a son or a daughter to our family in mid-January 2012 and work on the name list when we can. We are reading The Bradley Method book and will be doing an Express Birthing Class at the hospital we're delivering at too. We can hardly believe how quickly the last 8 months of this pregnancy have flown by and that we only have 8 weeks left blows our minds. We still have some preparation to do before we will feel totally ready, but we are so excited!
That's a lot for one update, but we hope to write more often, so stay tuned :)
