yes, we are alive!

So, I have a confession to make: I have not been a good blogger boy. I am ok with that, but I do promise to try to be better. Thus, this is an attempt to catch up on the past seven months in as few words as possible.

Our winter was spent waiting for Gracey to come, and while we waited, Cannon decided to start walking. Everyone was thrilled with his development, especially Fields, because Cannon's new skill meant that playtime would become a lot more fun. Well, at the end of March (the 29th to be exact), Pamela Grace Kirkland arrived! The boys were instantly mesmerized by the new baby, and both Deborah and I fell in love with our little girl at first sight. Since then, she has continued to be a stunning baby: she is sleeping through the night, eating quickly and thoroughly, and she calm temperament has made the transition from two to three kids very smooth for everyone.

The school year ended very well for all things Wesley. Our sign ups for student leadership were at an all time high, and our upcoming intern class is the second largest that we have ever had. The Lord is continuing to build us, and we are continuing to learn how to adjust to each year. Working in a campus ministry where your staff changes by 50-70 percent each and every year demands a fair bit of flexibility! Despite the challenge of change, it is a tremendous place to work and watch God transform young men and women. The directors return on July 18th, and the interns arrive on August 1 for intern training. Our 'summer' is quickly coming to an end, but good things always come in August!

We spent a week with my brother and his family as well as my parents on Amelia Island the first week of June. My parents are always gracious hosts to the madness that six kids six and under bring to a beach week! The boys enjoyed the pool more than the ocean, but in reality, they enjoyed the junk food, extended bed times, and the cousins the most. Gracey had a baby tent that was her favorite spot all week outside, and Deborah was able to soak up some rays and listen to ocean. The highlight of the trip for me was playing golf with my dad at TPC sawgrass!

So, that is our summer in a nutshell. Hope you enjoy!

clay for the kirklands

Colorado, Conference, Christmas

The Christmas break for us has 'officially' begun - kinda. Even though the interns and students are gone, my work still continues for a bit longer. I will be with Bob at a college ministry conference all next week in Kansas City. He and I will be teaching on Tuesday at the 'boot camp' of the conference. It is an event that I have attended several times with Bob, so we always look forward to it.

Tonight, though, the travel begins. The whole fam is heading out to Colorado to spend a week with Deborah's aunt, uncle, and cousin. Deborah has wanted to visit them for such a long time, and things worked out to where it was a possibility. So, we all fly out tonight, and I will hop over to KC on Monday morning and return to Denver on Friday night. We all will return to Athens on Sunday night. It should be quite an adventure!

Once we return, we will take a few days to regain our composure and then it is off to Marietta for a bit and then to Cumming for another bit. Our kids will be road and air warriors by the time Christmas is over!

We are attempting to finish and mail our Christmas season newsletter in the midst of all of this, so hopefully you will get that sooner than later. We would appreciate your prayers as we travel all over the country! Thanks!

clay for the kirklands

LINK

Hey everyone - I know, I know....it's been nearly three months since I posted. SORRY! And, to top it off, this post will be really short! Sorry again!

Anyway, if you have not already, please go to my facebook page and watch the WESLEY fundraising dinner video...it is awesome!

On a personal note, we failed on our first attempt to 'see' the gender of our baby three weeks ago! But, this coming Tuesday, we get another shot!

Clay

Are you serious.....Yes I am!

Why the title....because it is the question you will ask me, plus the response I will give you, when you read this next line:

DEBORAH IS NINE WEEKS PREGNANT!!!

We could not be more thrilled and excited about this third 'blessing' from the Lord! We told our parents a week ago, and now we are releasing it to the public, so pass on the good news!

Deborah has started to feel a bit queasy, which happened to her with both Fields and Cannon in the past. It is also a primary prayer focus of ours since she has two to take care of and also has two jobs! Please, please, please join with us in asking God for MERCY in regards to Deborah and her health.

As far as baby Kirkland goes, he/she is healthy, has a very good heart rate, and is right on schedule with his/her physical development. We are actually able to see the little arms/legs budding out on the ultrasound this week!

Many have asked/assumed about our desire for a girl this time; however, we really do not have a preference. Either way we consider ourselves blessed. It really is overwhelming to remember God's faithfulness to us throughout our journey into and out of infertility. He has been, is still, and always will be GOOD!

clay for the kirklands

Another Summer Update

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

SUMMER UPDATE

Life has been really busy around the Kirkland home these days. Here is the readers digest version of the our summer activities:

- Beach

We went to the beach with my parents and my brother and his family at the end of May. Spending a week in a Amelia Island with five kids ages five and under is both fun and challenging! This trip has become an annual event, and each year more and more children are added to the mix. The great news is that our kids loved the water, both pool and ocean, and they would wear themselves out and sleep well at night. Pictures will tell the story better so look for them at the end of this post!

- Bees

Here is something that you might not have known about me: I have had beekeeping on my bucket list since I was a young boy. Three weeks ago, I was able to erase that entry on that list! In the back right corner of the lot, I have two bee hives! It has been a lot of fun, even though my neighbors probably think that I have come back from NASA space camp when I walk around the yard with my outfit on! The bees are in the process of developing their 'home base,' and once they do, I will be able to add more boxes on top for honey production.

- House

We have put our house on the market. Before you send me emails about how bad the market is/are you moving away and where are you going, please keep reading on! We are NOT moving away from Athens, and we realize it is not the ideal time to sell a house. But, we are attempting to be obedient to what we believe the Lord is leading us to do. If it sells, that would be wonderful and we could look for a house with a bit more space and in a better school district. If it does not sell, then we took a shot at obedience and we hit the drawing board again!

- Wesley

The summer is actually one of my more busy times throughout the year since it is the time that I have to regroup and forward think about the upcoming fall. With the number of interns that we have coming in this year (over 75 + the 14 directors), I have a LOT to do! Intern Training begins on August 2nd, which is a two week period where the staff comes together and prepares for the year. I, along with Daniel Simmons (my partner in all of this), plan, create, and administer those two weeks. It is a labor of love, and each year it sets the tone for the staff.

- Kids

Cannon just turned six months, and Fields is two months away from being two! Cannon is now sitting up, eating baby cereal and bananas, and teething like a madman! He is a very happy baby and is often content to just sit and be. Fields, on the other hand, has had the energy levels cranked up lately! He is talking all the time - sometimes in English, others times in an Asian/African dialect. Fields is now in a booster sit at the 'grown up' table and is in the beginning stages of potty training.

ENJOY THE PICTURES!

End of the Year Wrap Up

We have 'officially' brought our school year to an end at Wesley, although our work for this fall has already begun. Last Thursday, we had Intern Appreciation out at Deborah's uncles house in Gainesville. Traditionally, we always have it at Wesley, so we led our interns this year to believe that we were going to be at Wesley this year as well. However, once they all congregated at Wesley, a charter bus came and picked them up! They were extremely surprised and excited about the off campus evening we planned for them. After some really good food (yes, I cooked it all) and some very encouraging words shared to the interns, we concluded the night with a fireworks extravaganza! It was so wonderful, and I truly believe that every intern was blessed by it.

As I mentioned, next year's planning is in full swing. We spend three days earlier this week at our director's retreat, and I (clay) will spend two days away with Daniel Simmons (my partner in crime with the internship program) planning for next year. Why all this work so soon? Oh, it is because we have SEVENTY SEVEN interns coming in on August 2nd!!!!!!! A year ago at this point, we had just finished intern appreciation for our 38 interns, and we were wondering what we were going to do with 51 incoming interns! Now, 51 seems small compared to 77! With 14 directors, we will have over 90 people on staff at Wesley for 2010-2011. It will be crazy but fun for everyone to see what God is up to with this type of staff.

Our family will be joining up with my brothers family and my parents to participate in the annual Kirkland Beach Trip in Amelia Island during the last week in May. Since last year, by brother and I both have added a child, so we now are having to rent two condos to fit everyone. This will be the first time that I have ever attended this blessed event and not have to either leave early or study at night because of seminary. So, this will be a new experience for me! When we get back, I will post some new pictures of the kids. They are both growing like weeds!

clay for the kirklands