Power...or the lack thereof

Hello everyone-
Sorry it's been awhile. Once again we were hit by another hurricane, only this time it affected our area a little more. We went to Monroe for the weekend, braving the BAADD weather, made it safely, but they had no internet connection. We arrived home yesterday, only to discover our house had been out of power for the whole weekend. So, sweating profusely in the dark, we searched for our candles, and we had no cell phone systems, so we could not call the parents either. However, we are back in business now, but you will have to wait for some pics, as I have to use the library computer right now. Other than feet of water on the roads, things are going well. We have started our choir, and although it is slow going, the boys are determined and hard-working. My parents arrive on Saturday, so that should be exciting.
This morning Hobbes and I ventured out with some other moms and drove( mainly to be in air-conditioning:)) to the Natchez Indian village. There we saw cultural artifacts, a huge mud hut, a 'mound,' and most importantly- fire ants! Yes, we were all up on the mound, where they would lookout from, with all these kids age 0-10 and we discovered multiple beds of fire ants. Needless to say, we were running back to the building to get some spray. Have you ever been bit by a fire ant? They hurt like anything!!! Believe me, they are not your friend. I guess anything having to do with fire just does not go well with me. Well, I just wanted to give a small update-I shall put pics up next week, and fill you in on more details later. We are having a new couple over for dinner tomorrow, the ones that have a baby girl 2 days older than Hobbes, so I need to go make some food! Love to you all!

A pic for Helen

This is the only one on my comp right now...but it's still cute! Pics with other friends and fam are on their way...

Fun and fires...

Well, we are completely moved in to our new house...the only thing that is missing is a dining room table, buut we don't mind eating on the floor!:)
This is a pic of Hobbes looking like a baseball boy- Bray and I had a debate over whether the bill of his hat looked better down or up, and mommy won.:) However, he is still cute either way.
I finally cooked my first complete meal in months the other evening. I had it all ready and planned out, and I had turned the oven on to heat to bake the bread. I had not stuck the bread in yet, though. Now, I grew up with an electric stove, and thus my mom put all her hotpads in the drawer beneath the stove. Being a respectful and obedient daughter, I did the same, only I have a very lovely gas stove. After a few minutes of the oven preheating, I saw flames and smoke pouring out of it! This was confusing to me, as I had nothing in it, and had nooo idea where the fire could be coming from. I yelled for Bray, and he came running. I took the baby outside, and we tried to figure out where the number for the fire department was. Meanwhile Bray poured water on it- and saved the day. Although it took awhile to air the smoke out, nothing was hurt, and I was still able to cook a nice dinner. AAhh, the exciting times of a new place!
Bray and I have also been very busy this past week. One of the teachers at Chamberlain-Hunt found out I had had logic and latin, etc. She was taking the girls on a field trip to Washington D.C., and so asked 2 hours before class started if I could sub for the next 3 days. Although I never have subbed for actual academic classes before, things went well, and Bray came and sat in to make sure the boys behaved. I've only had to make 3 if them do push-ups though.:)
One other small tidbit before I sign off for a few days- I thought I was used to small town routines, but nooo. I tried to go to the 1 bank the other day, at about 4:05, but what do you know, the bank closes at 4! Not only that but it closes for lunch every day, is not even open on Thursdays, and closes at 1pm on Fridays and Saturdays! Nice job,eh? So then yesterday I went to the post office on my lunch break, as I was teaching, but nooo they close for lunch too. I just had to laugh. So then in the afternoon I went back to the bank to get some cash for the weekend, but I believe every person in the town had the same idea that I did, so I had to return empty-handed due to a time crunch. It is all quite humorous.
My parents arrive in a few weeks, and I just found out Helen is coming late October to celebrate both our birthdays! Anyone else wanting to see deep south, give me a ring. The women came over this week, along with ARcher and Jaiken, we had a nice lunch at the cafe, and showed them the campus and our house. It's fun to live near family! Well, I think that is the most up-to-date info on us Wilkinses, except maybe to add that Hobbes was 13 lbs 2 oz at his last checkup- what a chunk! Thus, the double chin in the pic! Love to you all, and God bless

Sunday stud...

I finally remembered to take a pic of our new car...to prove to the world that we really did buy a car. Isn't it beautiful? I feel so 'adult' now.:)


I did not have time to take pics of all the rooms of the house yet, so this is just part of Hobbes' room-that's the cradle my dad made for him. Here is Hobbes in his Sunday duds- he can finally keep pants up around his belly now, so he is officially a "real boy!"

We have mostly moved into our house-it is far bigger and nicer than I could ever have thought! It is 2 bedroom, 1 bath with a living room, dining area, kitchen and family room...so if anyone wants to come visit,we have the space! They even installed a new washer and dryer in my little laundry room, and I have a dishwasher, so I feel like I'm living in a luxurious mansion. God has really blessed us in this situation-Bray is still going to take voice lessons, we are researching teachers in Jackson and Houston. He has an audition for the San Francisco apprenticeship program in November, and it is a paid summer program starting at the beginning of May 2006, so please pray that goes well.
It is wonderful to be near family, and to see all the cousins at 'play.' Of course we miss all our family and friends, but we just expect people to come visit us! (hint hint) Well I shall try and find the main lounge with internet access this week- I haven't ventured around much as I have been putting things in order.:) So until then, love to you all, and happy Lord's day!

The Northern side of the fam:)

(from top down) A week ago Sunday we had Hobbes baptized by Pastor Steve...this was his outfit-oh soo cute! We were finally able to document his smile on camera-and thus show it to the world.

The proud parents of a now 'holy' child!




















I talked to my dad yesterday, and he mentioned that I did not have the ‘Northern’ grandparents up…thus I downloaded these pics to show both sides of the fam, and the country. Ohh…I miss my grandparents soo much!: (And of course all the rest of our friends and fam!)


Well, the movers are arriving tomorrow morning, so we shall officially be in Mississippi, and things shall go from very slow to incredibly busy. I am looking forward to finding out what I own, and to having our own place again. Plus, it will give me time to put my house together before my parents arrive on October 1st! My dad had a business trip to Texarcana, so he is dragging my mom away from work to see her one and only favorite grandson! Needless to say, we are looking forward to having them here. It will be fun to have both sets of grandparents together in the other side of the country. Well, I shall try to be as consistent as possible with my blogging, but things will be hectic for the next week or so, so bear with me. Pray that all goes well with our move, and we miss you all!

The chaos in the south...

Although Monroe was not directly hit by Hurricane Katrina, the aftermath is effecting the whole of the southern states. Every time I watch the news I feel like I'm looking at some other country-as this has never happened in ours. Bethany told me yesterday that people are purposely creating fender-benders and then when the other person gets out of their car, they take the keys and steal the car! And that IS happening here in Monroe.
I have not seen any violence or anything, but the power is still off and on in Port Gibson, and thus we have not moved in yet. We should head over there the first of this coming week, but we are waiting to make sure things are alright as we do not want to be stuck without power. Bray's grandparents are still here from Mobile, AL as both freeways through Mississippi down are closed. They are glad to spend time with the 3 great-grandchildren, but like everyone else, are anxious to get home. I trust you all (sorry, not completely southern yet:)) have a good Lord's Day..and continue to pray for the hurricane victims. God bless, Kajsa

Pics from in Santa Barbara

The pic of Bray is in front of our apt...we had a little courtyard. This was on Father's Day, when he was ALMOST a father. The ferrari was just typical Santa Barbara rich people-and a cool car!This was when Jill came to visit, and a pic of our happy family!




This was a just a sailboat we saw in Montecito.
The flowers and veggie pics are from the farmer's market that was 5 min from our apt. The
pelican was on the wharf that we often went to.

I promised to put these up long ago and am now just doing so. However, you can get a taste of what our summer was like.:)

Pics at last!!!

Hobbes' first bath in a REAL bathtub!
We didn't have one in Santa Barbara.:(
This is when I surprised the Wilkins' at Trinity Fest in Moscow-it was well worth it!



We swapped babies...in case anyone was confused!:)





Our friend Gus helped us figure out how to put pics up...so hopefully this will work! Enjoy!

Southern bound...

Well, hello to all...
It has been an insanely long time since I last updated our blog, but I do have a reason for doing so. After the babe was born, time seemed to fly by in California. Jill Fagan came down to visit for a week, when Hobbes was about 1 week old. We had a blast touring the beautiful California coast, and listening to the melodious sounds of Bray. Shortly after that, it was time for me to pack up our teensy apartment (if you would call it that:)) and say goodbye to Bray for 2+ weeks.
Although the Academy was only a summer program, it did not end until the middle of August, and I was scheduled to be at a Garfield Family Reunion on July 30 in San Francisco. Thus we had a rather sad goodbye at the airport, and I went off, toting Hobbes with me, to tour Napa valley wine country, hear bagpipers, shop, and of course see relatives. Being that this was also the first time my parents and siblings saw Hobbes, it was well worth it. After that, I drove back with my fam to Moscow to surprise Bray's parents, who were up for the Trinity Festival. It has been a CRAZY summer! Bray then met us in Moscow, and we turned around and flew to Louisiana for an interview for a job in Mississippi.
OK- Now for present day news...for the next year or so, we shall be teaching at a Christian military boarding school for boys called Chamberlain-Hunt Academy. Yes, this sounds like a weird combination, but it is a very old school, started in 1879, that is becoming classical. They have completely revamped everything, and now have some wonderful, godly men at their head. We will be starting a music program for them. It is a beautiful old campus, lots of brick buildings, in a quaint little town. The south is beautiful!:) We are about 20 minutes from Vicksburg, MS which is a big town with lots of shopping, etc for those of you who were wondering...we are only a little less than 2 hours from Bray's parents, so it will be really fun to see our family, and watch the cousins play together. I already have pics of the 3, and when I learn how to post pics( I know, me and my technologically challenged mind) y'all can see them.
We will also probably be involved in the local community theatre, which I am really looking forward to. Bray will be auditioning for the San Francisco apprenticeship program, which would be in the summer, and is a paid-performance type of thing. I think that is the most up to date news on us, oh, except to add that we bought a car! It is a 2002 Honda Civic, silver, and a standard...it was a bit amusing at the car dealership, as I had to drive it with the salesman, and it had been several years since I last drove a stick! After choking it right away, I got back into the swing of things, and it was all smooth sailing from there.
Do pray for the hurricane victims, it has truly impacted the whole of the south. We are almost out of gas in Monroe, due to all the extra people and refugees who have come up north to stay. Bray's grandparents are up here, as their home is where the hurricane hit as well.
We miss y'all, and are praying for you, as we trust you do the same for us. I shall try to be better about more constant updates! -Kajsa