An Update on the Gantts

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Johnson University, home of the Gantts for the next two years. We wanted to take this opportunity to give you an update on our adventures in Knoxville, Tennessee! God is here and we feel so blessed to have the opportunity to do what we are doing. Please let us share some of the details.

We moved from the only house our children have known on Saturday, July 2^nd. After six months of trying so sell our house, with no luck, we decided to rent it out. We are praying for protection over the property for the next two years and that there would not be any major repairs required. It is our hope that we have had to keep the house for some reason. Hopefully it is because we will need a place to move into immediately following school while Jason completes the hours of supervised counseling that he will need to apply for his license. This could take up to two more years after he finishes school.

Our move here was, overall, uneventful. Jason did try to take out a gas pump with the fender of the giant moving truck, but for once having the liability insurance for the rental vehicle paid off! We were met at our duplex on campus by several smiling faces and strong muscles ready to help us unpack. What a blessing this was! We also had goodies waiting on our counter and a refrigerator full of food. This is just the beginning of the many ways God has continued to care for us so far! Our duplex is smaller than our house in Scottsburg, but was so well designed! There is more than ample storage, and we have found that everything we brought has fit perfectly into our cozy little home.

We are very thankful that we decided to come a little earlier than we had originally planned. It gave us just enough time to adjust and be mentally available for the adjustment issues that our children faced before Jason started classes. Karson, by far, had the most difficult time adjusting, but by now has met several wonderful friends that he hangs out with almost every day! Karson, Gus and Tyler have become pretty much inseparable. The three amigos have been welcome in our house almost anytime, except when the two little ones are napping. What one doesn’t think of, one of the other two will! It is interesting because Karson is the oldest in his family, Gus is the youngest and Tyler is an only child. Is this why they get along so well?

Abbagail too has adjusted beautifully. Only once did she comment to us, “Mom and dad, I’m not mad at you or anything, but I do miss my Grammie and Papa.” I’m not sure how our family would exist without her colorful personality on a daily basis! She has enjoyed playing along with Karson and his buddies as much as possible. There are not as many little girls her age here, but she doesn’t seem to mind. Abbagail will turn three on Sept. 18^th.

Raleigh is just his joyful little self. He hardly ever gives us a fuss, and if he does, we know there is something he really needs tended to. He has cut three teeth so far since we moved here, and a fourth one is just about to poke through. We don’t call him Jolly Raleigh for nothing! He will be walking soon as well, maybe even before his first birthday on Sept. 23^rd.

Karoline has found much time to care for the family, and it is so fulfilling! Whether it be trying to figure out economical meals to prepare, keeping the house clean, figuring out the ins and outs of homeschooling or changing poopy diapers, all are a joy to GET to do! She is so very thankful that her mother taught her the joys of homemaking, because they have never been needed more than now!

Jason is in his fourth week of classes. The first three were crazy, but the fourth seems to be better. The term “boot camp” has been used to describe the first few weeks of this Grad program. Yikes! He received six credit hours in his first three weeks and will have 15% of his classes completed after just the first five weeks of the program. It has been a tremendous amount of work, but he has met the challenge without flinching! He will begin the clinical side of his studies in the next week or so, and he is very excited about it. This seems to be a very unique program in that there is so much hands on training included. The professors that he is working with have proven to be some of the most caring mentors that he has ever encountered. They seem to be genuinely invested in the success of each individual student and love what they do themselves!

We have begun attending Seymour Heights Christian Church in Seymour, TN. We love it there and have found various ways to get involved. We had some prior knowledge of this church, and have found it to be a wonderful place for our family so far! We are going into the city this weekend for Feed the Need 2011. The church is participating in this program to prepare meals for the hungry. Karoline has also found a newly organized MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers) to join. It seems to be a very intentional church and makes very good use of the resources that God has blessed them with. We are excited to be a part!

Karoline and the children will also be participating in a homeschooling co-op called The Edge that meets at the church once a week. Karoline will get to teach a class on bugs this semester to the kindergarten and first graders. It should be a fun time! Abbagail will get to be involved in a pre-school class there once a week. The other four days of the school week are spent working hard to learn the ropes of homeschooling. It has its challenges, but the rewards are so much greater!

So far, Johnson has been the perfect place for us to seek healing and new direction! There are numerous people here that share similar experiences as ours and we have enjoyed meeting so many new people. It has also helped to have many familiar faces around us. God knew what he was doing when he said, “GO!”

We want to thank all of you SO much for your love and support! Our needs continue to be met just in time! We are blessed and have found ourselves in one of the greatest tests of faith that we have ever experienced. It has been pure joy. What a great lesson to be learned, that when we reach outside of what seems visible or understandable, God meets us there! I’m not sure we will ever be able to settle for what just seems comfortable again. We look forward to seeing what is next, as each day seems to provide something new to learn!

Blessings to you all!

Jason, Karoline, Karson, Abbagail & Raleigh Gantt

7900 Johnson Drive
Johnson Box 777-1203
Knoxville, TN 37998

865-251-7845