Dang!

Well, so far I have not done too well on my new year's resolutions. My activator (strengthsfinder reference) gave me all kind of ideas, but so far I have not followed through! I still have two days in January, so I have the opportunity to make three total posts during this month!

I just spent a week in Orlando at an intensive seminary class, and I have a small break between the J-term and my spring classes. ONLY FOUR MORE AND I WILL BE A SEMINARY GRADUATE!!!!!! I can taste that sweetness of not having books, papers, and deadlines looming over me - five years is a long time to wear that yoke!

Wesley has started back and we have returned to having our services in our building. Last semester was great at the Classic Center, but we are back home and loving it. We turn the prayer chapel into an overflow room where we have live worship and a piped in video feed of Bob preaching. It has gone really well the past three weeks. Our hope is to rent a room in the New student center that will be more convenient to our students and less of a financial burden on our ministry.

OK...Fields is crying....

Till tomorrow,

Clay for the Kirklands

New Year Brings New Things

Happy New Year! Tis the season for resolutions, and since I am an activator (strengthsfinder refererence), below you will find a few of my 'blog' resolutions....

- I am going to blog more than once a month

- I will respond to other people's blogs (do unto others...)

- Our blog will be more diverse. We are moving toward a more electronic update style of communication with our supporters, so I plan to add much more content about Wesley and our ministry.

- More pictures of Fields (he is changing so fast!)

- I will learn how to 'spruce' up the layout of our page


More than likely, I will need some accountability in order to achieve these lofty goals!

clay for the kirklands

Good News, Good News, Good News

Deborah's surgery went very well, and the doctor was able to peel away and remove the cyst without having to take out the ovary or her tubes! He was encouraged by the way her ovaries looked, and he could not see any other major issues. Our doctor is awesome and is a major blessing - He came into the prep room where Deborah, her dad, and myself were on Friday morning, explained the surgery, and then prayed over Deborah and himself before he took her away!

The recovery part will be slow and somewhat painful because she had about a four inch incision. We have some folks helping us with fields, food, and such for a bit while we get our feet back underneath us.

On a completely different note, while we were in the hospital this weekend, Fields rolled over from his back to his belly three times for Honey (my mom) and Papa John (Deborah's dad)! They said he was shocked by it. Hopefully, we will get to see his new trick soon...

Thanks to everyone who prayed - we really appreciate it!

clay for the kirklands

PS - my title is a complete ripoff of Charles Sineath's set up line for the main thing of his sermon. I guess I did pay attention at some point in church while I was young!

Under the Knife

Hey Everyone - We would love your prayers this weekend as Deborah has surgery tomorrow morning  to remove a cyst near her ovary.  She will have to be at the hospital for a few days, and due to a community acquired staff infection going around there, Fields will not be coming to see his mom.  

Deborah is more worried about not being able to see Fields than having surgery - but you can pray for both!  Thanks everybody!

clay for the kirklands

Last Month Recap

To those of you frustrated by the lack of posts (Shireen - thanks for keeping me accountable), forgive me!  I can give you several reasons why I have not updated the blog, but no one really wants to hear that...

Anyway, things have been going so well with Fields.  He is nearly 4 months old, and from what we can tell, he is loving life!  Grabbing things and placing them in his mouth, drooling excessively, making noises, smiling from ear to ear, and sleeping through the night would be his 'interests' on his facebook page (if he had one of course).  He has become quite a traveler as well - He has been to Cumming and Marietta twice, Fall Retreat at FFA-FHA camp, Highlands, NC,  Dahlonega, and Hartwell in the past two months!  

Gaining weight has become somewhat of an area of expertise for the little guy.  Two weeks ago, he weighed over 14 pounds, and the nurse told us the average weight at that time was 12 lbs!  Also, he has survived his first cold, and he managed to pass it on to his daddy.  

Deborah and I are enjoying all of the new things that Fields is doing - it is hard to believe how fast he is growing up and changing.  We are looking forward to the holiday breaks so we can have a little bit of down time for ourselves with Fields.  The weeks are so incredibly busy for both of us with work and school, and the past few weekends have been taken up by weddings and retreats.  

Here are some new pictures...

clay for the kirklands

NEW PICS

Cat, my sister in law, Deborah, and Fields spent the afternoon together on Saturday.  The results are seen above!

Shots and Stats

So, Fields went in today for his doctor's appointment.  He is wearing two bright blue band-aids on his thighs from all the shots he received.  The good news is that he measured 24 inches and weighed 12.1 pounds.  According to the doctor, he is 'very advanced' in his strength and skills, apparently he is functioning like a four month old instead of a 10 week old.  I am not really sure how they measure that kind of stuff, but that is the news we got!

He continues to be an incredible blessing, and we have not lost the initial intensity of our fascination with every part and aspect of him.  

Enjoy the updated pics!

clay for the kirklands