Spring Fling!

It has been such a beautiful spring here in The Lou. We've had a little winter, a little summer, some sunshine, and some rain. Kind of like our family this last month: some ups, and some downs, but altogether blessed.


I got a call one morning a few weeks ago saying Joel had gone to battle with the steps on the slide at preschool and lost. Thankfully I just have a two minute walk to get to his school, so I was able to put the ice pack on his head and hold him for a while. He ended up with a huge goose egg and two black eyes, but otherwise not too much worse for the wear.

We've had a couple of fun outings in recent weeks. We went to Wetlands for Kids at a nature conservatory and got to pet some reptiles, dig for random larvae and other floaty things in the pond, and get lots of fresh air. But the best part was the walk back to the car. I love those boys.

We also went to the Butterfly House with friends. It's so fascinating to see so many butterflies so close up.


The kids get to take swimming lessons this spring. They all love it!


In other news, Maci just got finished being treated for strep throat, Jonah had a positive throat culture this morning, and we're planning on taking Joel in for a doctor visit tomorrow. We're hoping to get everyone healthy soon, because we have an exciting few weeks coming up! More on that later, but until then, happy spring everyone!

February Festivities!

Our February started with a crazy ice storm. We had lots of freezing rain, then three inches of sleet, followed by snow a few days later. This is the under side of our back steps.

Everything was crunchy and bent over under the weight of the ice.


Thanks to the moderate (in our opinion!) weather in St. Louis, within a few days it was in the 60s, and Joel saw fit to go outside without his shirt on to play in what was left of the snow.

Every year the seminary has a Valentine's Ball, complete with dinner and dancing. Micah and I took the opportunity to have a rare evening out together. We had a wonderful time. Since the two of us are almost never in a picture at the same time, I thought I should attach one for posterity!


For Christmas, my parents bought us a membership to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. When they came to visit us, we went to see the orchid show...

...and climbed around in the Climatron.


Since we can't seem to go more than a couple of months between visits to Carlyle Lake, we headed there at the end of February during Micah's winter quarter break.

We are so thankful for a safe warm place to live in the midst of storms, wonderful friends and family to share special times with, and of course, the lake! God's blessings to you and yours!

January Mish-Mash!

We had a wonderful Christmas celebrating with family and friends. When we got back from our visit to Nebraska, we certainly didn't give ourselves any opportunity for an after Christmas letdown. We decided to spend New Years weekend at Carlyle Lake. Even though it was freezing, we wanted to be outside. This photo was taken by Joel (4) on the dam. It's better than most of the pictures I took!


The kids warming their backsides by the fireplace in the cabin...

We finally got to our first "Preachers" basketball game here at the seminary. It's so fun to see the games played with such great sportsmanship and integrity. At this game the seminary brass ensemble formed a pep band, the little girls performed a dance routine at halftime, and everyone was given "bam bams" to show their spirit.


We've had a few snowstorms this winter where we got a few inches of snow, but on Thursday we got a genuinely big snow.


Both school and daycare were closed, but the seminary was open, so the kids and I had a snow day at home. We did some lounging...


Had an impromptu music and dance ensemble...


And capped it off by making homemade play dough.


Then it was time to celebrate Jonah's 8th birthday. He asked to take a couple of friends to "Grossology" at the Science Center. They had a digestive system you could crawl through...


And a giant nose that sneezed.


In the next couple of weeks, we're looking forward to visits from both of our parents. We're so blessed by our families back home, our wonderful friends here, and by all that this journey brings.

"C" What We've Been Up To!

We have had a great couple of months. Sometimes I find it hard to narrow down what I should share in our blog posts, so more often than not I just don't do one! In honor of the Christmas season, I decided to limit myself to only subjects that begin with "C"!

Carlyle Lake: We were encouraged to do something special during Micah's fall break in November, so we returned to one of our favorite camping spots. It was too cold for the tent, so we rented a cabin for the weekend. We hiked, bird-watched, sat by the fire, and watched the sunrise. We had a wonderful time, and we can't wait to go back once the weather warms up.

Chair: Micah convinced me to make a Craigslist purchase of a new/old leather recliner. He said it would be nice for him to study in. I can't vouch for how much studying is being done in it when I'm not home, but I know it's great for snuggling!

Christmas tree: Anyone who has ever been to St. Louis knows that Ted Drewes has the best frozen custard around. Last winter, we discovered by accident that they also sell Christmas trees! We went back for round 2 this year, and got ourselves a very nice little tree.

Christ Child: Last but certainly not least, we are celebrating the birth of our savior. We had fun at the seminary Christmas party, and got dressed up to pose in the manger scene.

Back at home, we've been enjoying a "progressive" manger scene, inspired by a faculty family. Our stable started out empty after Thanksgiving, with just the animals feeding at the manger. Then the Mary and Joseph figures made their way towards the stable. The shepherds are tending their flocks in the hallway, and the wisemen are still in the "East," also known as the dining room. Baby Jesus will appear in the manger on Christmas, and then the shepherds and wisemen will come to the stable to worship Him. The kids have really gotten into the story this year!

We pray that you and your family will be blessed this Christmas season.

Sharing About Shutterfly!

I pride myself on being a bargain hunter. When I heard that I could get some free Christmas cards by sharing some information about Shutterfly, I had to jump on it! We've been sending out a lot of Christmas cards as we try to keep in touch with family and friends back home, as well as the new friends we've made here.

After receiving so many cute photo cards over the years, I started noticing that most of my favorites said "Shutterfly" on the back. A few years ago I decided to try it for myself for the first time. I found the process to be very easy. I can't wait to try out one of the new designs this year. Some of my favorites are the square ones that allow space for text, such as a top ten list of memorable moments from the last year.

In addition to cards, Shutterfly also has some neat ideas for photo gifts. Check it out!

Fall Festivities!

I haven't done a new post since we got back from our summer vacation! We've been having a great fall. September kicked off with our big girl turning three. This led us to bring her new/old big girl bed up from the basement. Here she is reveling in her entirely hand-me-down ensemble (thanks to cousin Mattie and some generous neighbors).

Then it was time for birthday cake. It has become our tradition that Micah always decorates the kids' cakes. He's had a lot of practice with rockets, motorcycles and trains, but this was new for him...

Before Micah started fall classes, he promised that he would take Joel to visit the Harley-Davidson store. I think he enjoyed it.

Next was apple picking. We always need lots of apples to make caramel apples on the first day of fall and take them to the neighbors.

One of our favorite events is the Balloon Glow. The night before a big hot air balloon race, they inflate the balloons and fire up the burners. The pictures can't do it justice. We were thankful that my parents were able to join us this year!

October brought my second half-marathon that I trained for with a group of friends. Here we are at our celebratory dinner afterwards. (I forgot that we were all supposed to wear our race shirts!)

We almost feel like we're back in Lincoln on Husker game days. There's a great pub nearby that gets packed with Husker fans, and everyone sings and cheers like we're at Memorial Stadium. On Saturdays we still get all dressed up in our red, put out the "N" flag, and watch the games with friends.

We praise God for our healthy kids, our wonderful family and friends, and the opportunity to be on this journey to serve Him. We are so blessed. Thank you for reading!

End of Summer Fun

Our summer officially ended last week, but not before we squeezed in quite a bit of fun. The highlight was a trip to Santa Claus, Indiana where we camped at Lake Rudolph. It's right next door to Holiday World, a really fun amusement and water park. There was an excessive heat warning almost the whole time we were there, but we found some memorable ways to beat the heat. One was "the avalanche" at Santa's Candy Castle.

This was a half gallon of frozen hot chocolate. It really hit the spot!

And yes, we were able to polish off the whole thing.

We rented a golf cart to get around the enormous campground. One of our favorite activities was to just ride around and enjoy the breeze.

We went fishing at the campground pond, but Joel and Maci mostly just wanted to take in the scenery. This picture was completely candid, we didn't ask them to do this! Before getting lost in their adorableness, notice that one of the roller coasters at Holiday World extends out over the pond in the background. We got a kick out of listening to the riders scream as they zipped by.

Once it cooled off enough to finally make a fire, we enjoyed roasting marshmallows. We couldn't end our trip before we did that! I included this picture, since it's apparently the only one from the whole vacation that had me in it!

After all of our fun, we were all pretty tuckered out and ready to head home.

After a day of unpacking and a few more outings, it was time for Jonah to start second grade. Here we are gathering with some of the seminary kids before we walked to school together on the first day.

Jonah was so excited to reunite with his friends from first grade, Jonathan and Leo. They all found each other within seconds of arriving on the playground.

Jonah had a great first few days of school. The rest of us are settled back into our routines too. We're looking forward to all that this next year brings, and the adventures that are to follow.

Blessings to you and yours!