You've got questions, I've got answers, maybe :)

Several of you have called or emailed over the last several weeks. You all seem to have the same common inquiries so I thought I would post the questions and answers here for everyone to see--just in case you were wondering the same thing.

When will Kevin be traveling again?

Kevin will be gone Sept. 16 and 17 to Colorado Springs to meet with a church planter to explore the possibility of our church helping with that project. Oct 3-13 he will be in India. Currently there are floods there along with an already unstable situation. Please be in constant prayer during those 11 days for his protection and for the gospel to be effectively communicated. The week after Christmas we will be sending a team to Sonora, Mexico again for vision and physical therapy clinics. At this point, I'm not sure if Kevin will be going on that trip or not, but I'll keep you posted!

How do you like your new town or Do you like it better than Dallas?

I actually love our new town. It has a small town feel--very little traffic, friendly people, slower paced--with all the big city conveniences. We already have the problem of not being able to go anywhere without running in to someone we know or knows us. I was at Alyssa's dance studio on Friday, which is quite a distance from the church, when someone walked up to me and said, "Aren't you Kevin Cottrell's wife?" As mentioned in the "Cheesecake" post, there are a few stores and restaurants (although I somehow left La Madeline off of the original list) we miss but we're surviving so far without them.

How is Zac liking public school?

Zac has adjusted very well so far to public school. He's not crazy about getting up at 6:45 but he's done a great job of setting his alarm clock and getting ready without my help. He has been a little surprised by all of the rules and the "one rule fits all" philosophy, especially when he is punished for the actions of a group not including himself. (He has run a lot of laps in PE for other's talking habits.) The homework load has been light so far and he's been able to get most of his assignments done in class.

How do you like your new church?
I love our new church and church family. Our Sr. Pastor is a wonderful teacher, and I'm enjoying learning from him. If you'd like to hear a sample of our services, leave me a comment or send me an email and I'll give you the website where you can download podcasts of the services. We also have a wonderful worship team and I love the music that they put together every week for our praise time. I've had the opportunity to get to know most of the staff and enjoy spending time with them on the social side of life also. I also love our church's passion for missions and their willingness to go literally to "the ends of earth" for God's glory. We're currently in the midst of an evangelism focus which will culminate in us hitting the entire city in teams on Sept. 22. We'll be handing out water bottles and tracts at sports complexes, parks, walking trails--any place we can find thirsty people who might be open to hearing the gospel.

How is your new job going and how does that work with homeschooling?

I love my new job. I'm doing mostly clerical/bookkeeping type work along with some customer service, which I actually enjoy. I get to listen to Christian music all day. The company is small and has family atmosphere and most of the employees are Christians making for a relaxing work environment. Not many people can say that about their jobs! I work Tues., Thurs., and Sat. Obviously, Sat. doesn't effect our school day, but the other 2 days have required some minor adjustments. I don't have to be at work till 11 so we try to get 3 hours of school done before I leave. I make sure we get anything that would require my assistance or teaching done in that time and leave the easy workbook stuff for Alyssa to help them with. If we're really disciplined and work hard, I can almost finish school with the little ones in that period of time. Alyssa then babysits for the afternoon. She's excited about having a steady babysitting income which I'm guessing is going to end up hanging in her closet.

Other questions? Leave me a comment and I'll post an answer.