Just Ducky

Thought I would introduce you to a few of our friendly neighbors...
when we moved in our townhouse here in VA Beach, we had a mommy and daddy Muscovy duck nesting under the tree outside our front door, and there were several eggs in the nest. I was excited to think that we would have baby ducklings waddling around our front yard ( as long as the dog did not get out) but 8 weeks passed and the eggs never hatched so alas, we were duckling-less. However, our street seems to be the place to be when you're a duck, so we have been able to see a dozen or more ducklings grow up this summer as they tend to wander pretty freely from front yard to front yard. I have always been surprised at the apparent fearlessness of these ducks as they don't run away or hide from humans (or dogs!), but I was still surprised when the other night I opened my door to see the 9 ducks in my driveway and they started heading straight for my front door! I am convinced that had I not kept my door shut but for a crack, they would have come right inside. See them standing there on our welcome mat? That white one in front is apparently the ring leader and the most curious one... ya have to admit they are still pretty cute... So anyways, we haven't met many of our human neighbors yet but our feathered friends are quite friendly!

Thoughts

There are several things I could write about today, seeing as we just returned from a family vacation in Mexico, and I am beginning classes again in just a week... but instead I just wanted to share something from my heart and will wait for those other conversations to come later...

Something I have always accepted as truth fairly easily is the goodness of God. I believe that God is fully good and fully love. I believe that God desires the best for me in my life and for everyone who calls him Father. Its sometimes hard to grasp but I believe that God is passionate about me, that He loves me with an all consuming, never-changing, unconditional love that is like no other love we can experience. I believe that God desires me, that He seeks me and is full of affection towards me. I am God's treasured bride and He delights in me.

How amazing is that? How utterly humbling and unbelievable is that? Certainly if God's love towards me was based upon my actions or my thoughts or my desiring after Him, I could not believe these things because I am not worthy. I fall so short. I am marred and broken. Yet God looks at me and sees something beautiful, something desirable, something He longs for. How is this possible? It is His nature. The very nature of God is one that desires relationship. And how blessed am I that God desires a relationship with me, despite my inadequacies, my short comings, my weaknesses, my immaturities, my brokenness. What an amazing God we serve.

I began this post with the intention of posing a challenge to myself and to you based upon the above thoughts... but I changed my mind. If you have read this, be encouraged. Be full of joy and amazement. The Lord desires you, whether you are walking in obedience at the moment or not. It is never too late to turn back, to ask for forgiveness, to admit your weaknesses and claim the pureness of Christ. So clap your hands for joy, kneel before the King in humility, sing praises of hallelujah and thankfulness to the Glorious One. He desires to be in relationship with you. Let that truth guide your next step...

Beach livin'

Dear friends it has been far too long since we have posted and for that I apologize. Life has been busy and many changes have occurred since we have last spoken. Let me give you a rapid recap of the past few months for our family.

In April, my sister came to visit on her way back from Mexico where she had been for several months with my family. She watched Jeter for us while Geoff and I flew back to Wisconsin to visit his family before the summer craziness began and Geoff would be beginning his job, making it more difficult to get away. We enjoyed a long weekend with them and were able to see his parent's new apartment!

The first weekend of May we traveled back to Pennsylvania so I could attend a bridal shower for my best friend. We packed a lot into that weekend and came home exhausted but greatly enjoyed the chance to see family and friends. Its been strange and difficult for me living so far from family and friends, so I try and make the most of every opportunity!

May 10th- the big day- my hubby received his Masters! So proud of my man and all his hard work. As much as he struggled to persevere at times, he finished strong. We are both looking forward to a few months of homework-free evenings and weekends! Yay! Then I start classes at Old Dominion in August and begin working towards my Masters in Counseling. Despite Geoff's complaints about school, I'm looking forward to it and anxious to get started.

Geoff began his job at the Government Accountability Office on May 12th as a Defense Analyst (sexy title isn't it) and has traveled several times since then for training, both to D.C. and Atlanta. My little brother made a good observation "why does he need all this training if he already has his Masters?". Smart kid.

Probably the biggest news of the summer is that we moved! June 2nd we signed the lease and June 14th we moved into a townhouse in Virginia Beach! We are getting all settled in, enjoying having more square footage to work with and I am enjoying decorating a new home. Jeter loves his fenced in backyard and we have enjoyed it too, being able to grill out and sit on our deck on those cool summer nights (which we have had maybe 2 of). We even bought a washer&dryer, our biggest purchase yet! And we have a spare room, so if any of you all want to come visit the beach, feel free to crash at our place. Once we get everything all situated, I'll post some pictures so you can see our new place.

Well, thats all for now folks. We hope you all are enjoying your summers!
Take care and stay cool.

40 Days

In 40 days:
I will no longer be a student.
I will be employed full-time.
I will have no more classes.
I will be earning a decent paycheck.
I will not have homework to do over the weekend.
I will be working for the GAO.
I will no longer see some good friends from W&M on a regular basis.
I will start making new friends in a new place.
I will enjoy having my nights free of projects and papers.
I will enjoy more carefree time with my wife.
I will start looking for a new home - with a yard.
I will, for the first time, be a working man.

For as long as Danielle can probably remember now, I have been looking forward to no longer being a graduate student but instead working and earning money for our family. That day is rapidly approaching, and I am not upset in the least. But I have noticed that more and more lately I have been talking about how many days are left until then. I keep looking forward. I keep anticipating what will be. I keep wishing that day was here.

Anticipation can be a good thing. Forward planning can be a good thing. Wishing can be a good thing. But all good things are only good in moderation. I've been thinking lately that perhaps I am dwelling on what will be at the expense of what is now. I still have another month of classes, with several papers/projects to finish up (read: start and finish). Perhaps one of the things I am most excited about is tackling a paper about embryonic stem cell research, which is an incredibly complicated but incredibly important ethical issue in this day of remarkable scientific capabilities. Furthermore, this is my last major piece of worthwhile work I will do as a student, and I wanna go out with a bang!

President Bill Brown of Cedarville University would challenge us with the following: "Today is one more day, but it is also one less day." The idea is that we choose what do with our day - whether to waste it or to squeeze every moment out of it for something that will last beyond the day...indeed, beyond even our lives. My challenge is to stop focusing so much on 40 days from now, but to focus on living the day I have been given today.

Playing catch-up

Hello to all of our faithful blog readers! I know that a post is long overdue, and so at the strong urging of a few of you I have finally sat down to update you all on the latest and greatest with the Pecks! First of all, there has been an addition to the family since I have last written, so please meet Gus, our beautiful beta fish which Geoff bought for me for Valentines Day. He is swimming there above the orange flower in case you can't pick him out too well... the best part of having Gus has been that our dog Jeter is insanely jealous if we pay any attention to the fish. Now of course otherwise, Jeter does not want much to do with us (unless food is involved) but walk over to Gus and start making a fuss, and Jeter is suddenly the most attention-seeking dog you have ever seen!

At the beginning of the month, Geoff's family came down to the visit during his spring break and we enjoyed spending time with them! They had not seen where we were living at yet, so they were able to become familiar with the area, and we also did some touristy things, of course. Geoff and his brother, Jordan, also got to spend some quality time together golfing and playing Playstation :)

Geoff is anxiously counting down the days until graduation and we are both looking forward to him earning a paycheck and not being reliant upon my measley income. At the beginning of this year I was not getting enough client hours with my child therapy job, so I have added a second job with HomeInstead Senior care, working with seniors during the day, serving as companion and doing light household chores such as cleaning and preparing meals, as well as providing transportation. God certaintly has been faithful in providing just what we need. Speaking of school, I just received my acceptance letter to the Counseling program at Old Dominion University for this coming fall! We're both very excited that both my school and Geoff's work will be on one side of the dreaded bridge-tunnel, so we are planning on moving to the other side (aka Virginia Beach area) once our current lease is up this summer.

Well... dinner is on the stove and I've about run out of news so I'll sign off for now... good night!