Update on Nathanael (and future plans)

Nathanael gets older as you scroll down. This first pic is from 6 months, ending with a couple pictures from last week, at 8 months old.
That's a birthmark on his stomach... when he developed it as a little baby, I thought I had pinched him in his carseat or something! It's bright red and raised a little, made up of lots of blood vessels close to the surface of the skin. The pediatrician said these things are rather common, and typically disappear at about 24 months, leaving almost no mark at all. Sometimes certain varieties of this "birthmark" can grow rather large and tender, and pose a great danger that if punctured, the child could bleed to death. Fortunately, his is pretty harmless, and not on his face. One of my buddies here at school with me said he had one just like this on his shoulder, and all he has to show for it is a little sunken spot in his skin, and no discoloration. Strange stuff! On a different note, isn't he skinny?!? He hates eating, so we cram as much into him as we can. He's just got better things to do than eat, I suppose. He's still big for his age, so whatever.

All was well...happy babies playing together...until Trent made a cute baby noise that Nathanael couldn't tolerate. We have no idea why he's so sensitive, but little babies his own age freak him out if they make the slightest little peep. Older kids, 2 and up, can scream their heads off, and our baby will laugh. But if a peer of his says "goo-goo" it's all over for our baby.
Rubber duckies are the best.
Showing off his walking abilities, Greco-Roman style.


Ok, enough baby stuff. For those of you who only care about Nathanael, you can stop reading here.

Update on what's next for us:

Turns out, none of the American schools gave me an offer. I think it was a combination of how I presented myself in my statement (I could have been more clear, said a few things differently, etc) and my overall interests. And of course, the low writing score I got on the stupid GRE didn't help, either. Turns out, Notre Dame was also turned off by my undergraduate GPA from 10 years and two degrees ago. I guess a 3.0 in Political Science means a bit more than a 4.0 in theology at a well-respected graduate program. Oh well, what can you do? I think I was up against a bunch of guys who had perfect numbers, and wanted to work on things they found more interesting. I was told that I was definitely an interesting candidate, but ultimately didn't make the final cuts, or didn't get enough support from the dept's whole faculty. Such is life.

So, I started to clue in to this about halfway through receiving my rejection notices. I said to myself sometime mid-February, "I don't think this is going to work out." So, faced with the prospect of imminent rejection, what's a guy to do? Plan for the future, that's what.

So, I began to develop plans of gainful employment for a couple years, and to apply again to PhD programs, armed with my new-found knowledge of what schools are looking for and how to present myself more effectively.

Putting out feelers, at the beginning of March I emailed a couple professors in the UK, just to get an idea of how interesting they would find me and my interests, hoping to apply in a year or two. Turns out, the found me quite interesting. One guy at St Andrews in Scotland said, "send in your stuff, real quick." I said, "What, for this coming year?" "Yes." You see, the deadline for PhD applications was January 15th, and here I was emailing them in March. I had not even dared to think there might be time to apply for this year. I asked the woman at Durham (in Northern England) if there was still time, she said, sure, send me your stuff, I'd love for you to apply. Now, I've been thinking about going to study at Durham for years, but then got it into my head that I would study here in the US, where I could get paid to go to school. Turns out, all the schools with money have already told me no, so if I had to pay for my education out of pocket, I might as well go to a school I really like, with a good name. And in all likelihood, the style of theology done in most places in England will be more conducive to what I want to do anyway, with the exception of Notre Dame, which I think would be comparable.

Turns out, the current theology dept ratings in the UK go something like this:

1. Cambridge
2. Durham
3. St Andrews/Oxford

And wouldn't you know it, less than three weeks later I got offers from both St Andrews and Durham, two of the top four theology programs in the UK. I heard "yes" from them before I heard "no" from Notre Dame, even though ND got my app in November. I guess when you're giving away lots of money, you can take as much time as you like. Oh well.

The applications to the UK schools were were so much more simple and straightforward than those for the US schools. I filled out some basic information, and also sent them my transcripts, a writing sample, and a two page research proposal. So much more simple, the process was so much more streamlined and efficient. Either they really liked me, or they're just really flexible and laid-back compared to US schools. I'd like to think both are true.

So, that means we're moving to England this fall for PhD studies in theology, a lifelong dream of mine ever since I heard of CS Lewis when I was a kid. We'll most likely be there three years.

I've accepted the offer to study at Durham University.

Check out the theology department here, and take a look at Durham's 1,000 year old Norman cathedral here.The castle and cathedral are a World Heritage site, along with such structures as the Great Wall in China and the Pyramids in Egypt. It's really a beautiful, historic place! You can learn about North East England here.

I'm still getting over the disappointment of having read the US schools wrong... and the rejection stings a little bit, even two weeks later. It was difficult to have done so much research on what schools I liked, and what schools I had a shot at attending, only to find out there were factors in play of which I knew nothing. Live and learn, live and learn. And it's so ironic that I'm still letting that disappointment mitigate my enthusiasm to study in one of the best programs in the UK. A couple years ago, I had eyes only for Durham, now I'm letting something get in the way of having realized that dream. I'll snap out of it soon, I believe, but this has brought out a competitive spirit in me that I've never felt before... I'm now determined to out-publish and out-"theologize" all those guys who went to these hyper-competitive US programs. As my friend's 3-year old told her mom the other day, "Mommy, get over yourself." Perhaps I need little Irene to say, "Mr Jeremy, get over yourself."

Needless to say, the past 3 months have been a real roller coaster for us. However, it's nice finally to know where we're going, and a relief to be able to make definite plans and move towards a concrete goal. No more Limbo for us! Our destination is set.

Thanks for all your support, and thanks for checking the blog even though I go 3 months between updates.

Thanks for reading!