Here is another installment from the life of the
Kirklands. The 'bullet point' format seemed to work out last time, so I am going to do it again.
- CHILDREN - the kids are doing so well. Fields turns two on Monday! He has become focused on a few important things: plastic golf clubs (thank you, God), Barney, trains, and books. Each time he goes to bed, he has to have several/all of these items in his crib with him! Some of his highlights have been sleeping with a full sized guitar in his crib, a plastic tricycle, and two full sized beach balls....funny stuff. Cannon is now 8 months old his specialties include crawling and cutting teeth. This week we have found him sitting up in his bed just babbling about life or playing with this crib toy. He also has a passion for increasing the size of his upper thigh!
- NEW HOME - We moved! It literally was a whirlwind of a move, but somehow (God) it happened. On July 6th we received an offer for our house - it had been on the market for ten weeks - and on July 23rd we closed! So many of our friends and interns from Wesley helped us pack up and get out so quickly. Instead of buying a home so quickly, we were pointed towards a great opportunity to rent a home in a wonderful neighborhood in Athens. It is quite larger and nicer than we are used to, but the Lord directed our steps to this place. We signed a year's lease and will reconsider our options for buying something next summer.
- WORK - The interns of the 2010-2011 school year arrive on Monday! We have nearly 75 interns serving with us this year! Intern Training is one of my favorite times of the year - I often can barely sleep because of the anticipation and excitement of each day. It is a great and crazy mixture of fun, worship, wildness, good teaching, and wonderful community. UGA students begin on Monday, the 16th, and our first big service of the year will be on the 18th.
- OTHER STUFF - Deborah and I celebrated 9 years of marriage on the 28th of July! Our anniversary dinner was a culinary journey at the Woodfire Grill in Atlanta. Kevin Gillespie, a Top Chef finalist, is co-owner and head chef there. We did the five course tasting menu, and it was out of this world. Below is a description of each course:
Five Course tasting menu:
- Chef’s treat #1 – amuse-bouche – local carrot, pickled beets, Moroccan spiced aioli
1. 1. Local glazed carrot, applesauce smear, German style red cabbage
2. 2. Olive oil poached shrimp, golden raisin tapenade, crispy fried eggplant donut
- Chef’s treat#2 – amuse-bouche – heirloom tomato with pickled cucumber relish
3. 3. Berkshire pork belly, fire roasted okra, sweet corn puree, local fire roasted glazed quail, roasted tomato vinaigrette
4. 4. Sous-vide and smoked lamb loin with Yukon gold sauce, braised pistachios in beef broth, pickled mustard seeds
5. 5. Blueberry and cornmeal cake with blueberry ice cream, white chocolate ganache, and sweet corn sauce, blueberry syrup, with crumbled cookies on the side
- Chef’s treat #3 – 2 chocolate truffles
It was fabulous - I mean, FABULOUS!!!!!
clay for the kirklands
