Mercifully January ends today.  Dallas January is better than Januarys that I have experienced elsewhere but we still had our share of gloomy cloudy cold days and the early nightfall etc that makes January just seem to drag on forever.  We did not have any snow or even ice but the cold winds that blow around here are simply amazing!  The family has survived January well aside from some runny noses, until the last couple of days when Katherine went down hard with the flu and ear infections.  She had a fever as high as 105.6!  But the Lord has been merciful and through his power working through lots of fluids and antibiotics she is doing a lot better today.  The doctor has her out of school until next Monday.  Today, Maya has a milder version of the same flu and she's knocked out, but it's nothing that the Texas househusband can't handle. 

Other news in January:  well, Becca has decided that she must now be called Rebecca and no matter how I say it, I can't seem to say it right for her.  Joshua is no longer Joshua but instead must be addressed as 'Missionary Batman', which I haven't figured out yet except that Missionary Batman runs around through the house loudly proclaiming himself to be Missionary Batman, usually with Rebecca on his tail saying she's Missionary Batgirl, but if you call her that she says that she is Rebecca.  Of course loudly running through the house is what Joshua used to do before he was Missionary Batman, so anyways . . .

We look toward February and the following upcoming stuff:  Rich goes to a partnership development workshop next week which is, conveniently, being held here in Dallas at the ILC.  Maya wraps up her Introduction to Language Structures Course which I know will bring her much joy.  The following week, Maya starts Second Language and Culture Acquisition (SLACA), her last class at GIAL.  Rich starts three advanced training classes (Discourse Analysis, Culture Language & MInd, and Cross Cultural Teaching) at the same time. 

In the upcoming month with its special day dedicated to love, may you know and be mindful of the amazing love your Creator God has for you, shown most clearly in his gift of Jesus Christ to offer you forgiveness of sins and newness of life now and forever!