There and Back Again...Part 2

So I have just finished The Return of the King, completing my year-long Hobbit/LOTR reading adventure. Now I just have to read The Silmarillion and I will have finished the books I told David I would read before we got married. I am almost there!

I really liked the end of the trilogy, particularly The Scouring of the Shire chapter. Those hobbits definitely stuck it to the man! (Someone should write a rock song about that). It's a shame that they weren't able to include it in the film, though I understand that its inclusion would have made the film's length prohibitive.

In other news, we are now four weeks out from our wedding, and things are beginning to get slightly stressful....but we are very excited! After ten months of engagement, we are almost there.

Also, I have some good news: I have been accepted to the UGA PhD program for Renaissance English and will begin my coursework this fall. It is very cool that in four years David and I will both be Dr. Grubbs.

There and Back Again...

So I have returned to my blog after an unconscionable absence. I promise to be more devoted to its upkeep from now on!! Things have been generally crazy ever since this semester started, what with teaching two classes and being a student in two classes! As the semester draws to a close, I have on my plate the grading of 39 student essays and twice that amount of portfolios! Also, I have to finish my 25-page seminar paper for Shakespeare Resources class. And did I mention that I am also applying for UGA's doctoral program in the midst of all of this!! Whoa!

In happier news, I am very much looking forward to this year's holiday season! In the past I think I was definitely a bit of a humbug, but this year I am really looking forward to my first Christmas with David. Right now it looks like we will get to attend some of each other's family's Christmas festivities.

In wedding news, we have secured almost all of our major vendors. We just need to hire a photographer to complete the list. Soon we will need to turn our attention to Save-the-Date cards and invitations.

It's all hectic, but I wouldn't have it any other way! It makes the time until May 17 go by that much faster!

Back From Nicaragua...With A Ring On My Finger!

In my first post, I mentioned that I was going on a mission trip to Nicaragua. Well, I returned on June 4, very sunburned but without malaria or typhoid or any other major diseases, which was a great blessing!! It was an amazing trip, in which we saw ten Nicaraguans come to saving faith in Christ and one recommit her life to Him. We hiked throughout four rural communities (Cebedillo, Sabana Grande, Cuatro Esquinas, and Ocatal), giving families the Gospel of Luke in Spanish and inviting them to a movie night at the nearby churches. At the movie nights, we showed Veggie Tales in Spanish ("Oh no, que haremos hoy, el rey le gusta Daniel mas que tu y yo...") and the Jesus film. At the end of each movie night, we would share the gospel with our new friends. The nine days we spent hiking were very trying, but rewarding. For me the hardest parts were the outhouses (yuck!) and not being able to call or e-mail David for that long. Until my two-week Nicaragua trip, we had never been apart longer than a week, and even then we could still talk on the phone, and did so several hours each day :). Needless to say, it was torture not being able to contact him. However, once we returned to Managua, the capital city of the country, I was able to e-mail and call him and my parents.
After we returned to civilization, the missionaries we worked with took us to a beach resort (Montelimar) on Nicaragua's Pacific coast to get a few days rest. The last day of our trip, we got to go to market for souvenirs. I got major "good girlfriend" points for bringing David a machete for his souvenir! God blessed me so much through this trip, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for sure!
The other major news in my life is that I am now engaged to the most perfect man I have ever met!! While I was out of the country, David spoke with my parents and got an engagement ring, and then on June 17 (Father's Day), about two weeks after my return, he asked me to marry him and gave me the most beautiful antique engagement ring (from the 1870's!)!! I am so excited to be the future Mrs. David Grubbs! For more details on the engagement day, see David's blog or my facebook profile. Also, pictures of both my Nicaragua trip and my engagement day will follow in future posts!

Blogging has begun!

So, following my boyfriend's example, I have begun a blog. It occurred to me that though I speak with my closest friends in GA and my family by phone every few days, it is harder to keep in touch with others. So I thought this might be a good way to keep other friends from Berry and elsewhere updated on my life, and a way for my lovely new friends in Alabama to get to know me a little better! I can't promise to be as faithful to updating my blog as David is to his, but I will try my best.
Another reason I wanted to start a blog is so that I can share some of my favorite things: poems, fun videos, etc. with friends. So be prepared for great poetry (since I am, after all, an English grad student and thus by default a nerd), but also crazy Indian pop music videos and other things of that nature. Also, friends, get ready for lots of exclamation points!! My name is Katie, and I'm an exclamation-point addict!
The biggest news in my life right now is that I am leaving May 21 for Nicaragua, to do missions in the mountains there for two weeks! I have never been on a mission trip like this before, and it will definitely be a new experience! Those of you who know me well can attest that the not-showering for several days at a time will especially be a stretching experience for me :). I know that God is going to grow me a lot on this trip, and I am just thankful that He is giving me the opportunity to participate in His work! If anyone with any mission trip experience has advice for me, I would be very grateful!