Like last year, Amy and I went to Chick-Fil-A on Labor Day for our free sandwiches, earned by wearing team shirts, which Amy once again expertly crafted. We spread out a picnic table cover on our living room floor to eat our holiday repast, and then had an exciting game of Monopoly. As usual . . . well, can you guess who had all the money?

(If you don’t recognize that thumb, take a look at this face.)

Speaking of sad faces, here’s Amy two Monday evenings ago looking at the dinner I fixed:

There was supposed to be macaroni with those beans and hot dogs, but, well, things didn’t come out pretty. (A few minutes into supper I decided to supplement things with a grilled cheese sandwich. Not macaroni, but still good.)

Some people have asked for a photo showing whether Amy is showing. Stay tuned.

This summer we got to meet and spend time with Dan’s fiancée, Isabelle during two meals at Jon and Ashleigh’s. (Dan got engaged in May and the wedding date is set for December 19th, 2009.) Jon and Ashleigh had us all over for dinner to celebrate our birthdays. Ashleigh made my family’s traditional watermelon basket (which my mom used to make for my July birthday). It was good to spend time with both my brothers and sisters-in-law (one future).

Mom J also made me a watermelon basket — and right now I’m using the gift Dad&Mom J got me/us!

In other news . . .according to BabyCenter.com, little baby J is now the size of a turnip!

In July between my 2nd and 3rd classes, we had a Jensen family weekend. Friday night we went to an Italian restaurant and had some amazing stuffed pizza and then attended the BJU summer play in Performance Hall.

On Saturday we went to Mount Mitchell, North Carolina. (Mt. Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi.) We had grilled hotdogs for lunch and then went on some hikes around the area (I will admit that since I was in my first trimester, the hiking really wore me out . . . at one point I didn’t think I could go on much longer and was glad that my husband gave me a piggyback ride so I could have a short rest!).

And that pretty much sums up our summer in review. The rest of the time was spent in class and (for me) in studying/researching and (for Josh) working. Our road trip home was fun – we headed up to PA/NJ to visit my parents, grandma, and great grandma and then took three days driving from PA to TX. We were delighted to make it home safe and sound!

This past June, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary. And yes, this picture is actually from this summer.  Mom J needed a picture to match with the other siblings’ wedding shots on the wall, so we got dressed up again and had a mini photo shoot – it was fun to be in our wedding clothes again! Our anniversary fell on a Sunday before one of my mid-term exams, so instead of a big to-do, we celebrated that day rather simply by going to church and exchanging cards.

After school was over we got away for our wedding anniversary celebration for two nights at a bed and breakfast in Spartanburg —  The Inn on Main. We had a wonderful time relaxing and enjoying a break after our very busy summer. When we arrived, the owner upgraded our room to the best in the house — the bridal suite — since the air conditioning was out on the bottom floor (where our reserved room was), and the wedding couple who had reserved the bridal suite decided they wanted a smaller room. We were delighted by our upgrade.

School has started. I’m teaching Grammar and Morphology to 16 eager seniors and MA students every Monday and Wednesday from 7 to 8:20 pm. I’m taking 2 courses: Structure of a Non-Western Language and The Computer & Natural Language. The final projects for both classes should directly contribute to my dissertation. Additionally, I’m working on my dissertation proposal — with a goal of defending the proposal by spring. Will I graduate in spring 2012? That’s what we’re hoping.

Before school started, I finished a web project for a local business, Earhart Electronics:

I also helped set up (but didn’t design) an e-commerce site for Hartley Cruver (for those who know him, that’s Dan Cruver’s dad), who arranges sacred instrumental solos. I continue to do web and publications work for Nightlight Christian Adoptions (which acquired Carolina Hope Christian Adoption Agency).

And, speaking of things that don’t change, I’m married to the beautiful, amazing, now pregnant RuthAmy Sutter Jensen. What could be greater than that?