Not much

Well the weekend has come and gone and I really don't have much to blog about....I know, I should probably get creative and do something clever here but I don't think that that will happen today.

Some things that are going on here in Kieler...

I have been hard at work organizing (as much as is possible for me) and preparing for this years Religious Ed program at our churches. Things have been going pretty well. I found two more teachers and a prayer aide so now I'm down to needing one more teacher for our grade school program. The high school program still needs one, too. I put out a plea to the parents in this weekends bulletin. I wish I knew how to convince parents that THEY are the first and primary educators of their kids (in all things) and that we're just here to assist them...and not we're the primary educators and they just get to sit on their duffs and maybe help with something easy. ;-) Anyway, our first teachers meeting is this Wednesday night and I'm getting things ready for that and looking forward to it. Changes will come little by little and only as God sees fit.

Kate is definitely becoming Miss Independent these days. And I'm struggling with it a bit. We've had a few days now that have been rough. She's shown a bit of a temper when things don't go exactly how she'd like. Usually it involves food and doing something by herself. And it takes a long time for her to settle down with tears etc. Any advice would be appreciated.

Anyone like sweet pickles? We'll have 4 gallons worth canned here in t-minus 12 days. Kurt is trying out his Grandma Frances Snyder's famous recipe. They're rumored to be the best! I don't like pickles so I'm not sure what we'll do with all of them. You can put in your orders on the comments section or email me at kielersnyder at gmail dot com.

I think I'll sign off for today. Thanks for reading and hope you have a marvelous Monday!

Katie's Favorite Things These Days

1. Daddy
Kate and Dad have been enjoying each other's company more these days. Often when Kurt comes home it is to a gleeful greeting followed by time spend bouncing on the bed while Dad changes out of his work clothes. Kate and Dad have also been enjoying reading books together. Here they are after we prepared our corn for winter. We were out looking at the cows come in to eat the leftovers.

2. Corn
Corn is one of Kate's favorite foods these days. She likes it cooked on the cob the best. Hopefully she'll like the stuff we froze for winter just as well.

3. Phone
When the phone rings you'll often hear her say, "Phone!" And she takes every opportunity to act like Mom and talk on the phone... "Yes...no...moo...hi...bye-bye"

4. Cows
Cows are Katie's favorite animal. She would LOVE to see cows every day and could spend countless minutes watching them. When asked what the cow says she'll reply, "Boooooo" and lick her lips like she's seen the cows do. Its pretty funny! We're lucky to have so many friends with cows for entertainment!

5. Climbing
Kate is mastering the art of climbing though she sometimes gets stuck up on things. Getting down is a bit trickier. Here she's climbed up one of the kitchen chairs. She thinks its about time she lose her booster seat and use a big chair just like Mom and Dad.

6. Blanket
Katie still love her blanket aka baaa (not to be confused with baba, what the sheep says). Thankfully we have a couple of blankets on hand so we can usually have a clean one handy for snuggling.

Some of this week's highlights

My Lily- A few weeks back I received a gift on my front stoop. A potted blooming lily! I'm not sure what kind it is or if it will survive the winter in my care but boy oh boy has it been blooming this summer and making me so HAPPY! Check out this weeks blossoms!


Planned Parenthood- Kate and I went with a friend to pray and protest in front of Dubuque's Planned Parenthood this week. I would like to start going on a more frequent basis. One of the difficulties I have with Planned Parenthood is that they offer abortifacients and refer young women to abortionists in IA. My prayer is for those women and babies. I am really struggling with the proposed health care bills for this same reason. I don't want to have my tax monies go towards abortion. I wish they would simply exclude it from the bill! I read a good column on this same topic this week. If you're interested, check it out, I really appreciated the commentary.


3-0! Our good friend Louie is turning thirty this weekend and we're going to celebrate!! There are plans for a large BBQ and bonfire on Saturday night. I'm in charge of the cake. Quite the task for a novice. But I am pretty pleased with the final product. Just finished it tonight. Happy Birthday Lou! We love you!


Work- I certainly have plenty on my plate as a mom but I was recently asked and accepted a position to be our clustered parishes part time DRE. I am excited for the task though it wasn't necessarily on my radar. I was given 'the keys' this week along with a pile of other things from the former director. And now the work begins...calendars and registration, oh and I'm looking for a few teachers and classroom aides. Any takers? Currently openings in 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 11/12th grades. Please pray for me and this ministry. I wouldn't categorize myself as 'gifted' at this sort of work. My gifts lie in teaching not organization. Though I know it is God who qualifies the called. I would appreciate prayers nonetheless!


Beans- Tis the season for freezing green beans. We were blessed this week with a large bag from a friend's crop (between the rabbits and the storm we had no luck). I washed, snapped, blanched and froze most of them. Still have an ice cream bucket left in the fridge to do this weekend.

Weather- It has been a warm one this week. We enjoyed a dip in our friend Joann's pool early on in the week. Had a chance to do quite a bit of walking and today had friends over for some fun in the kiddie pool out back. With five kiddos three and under I must say I always enjoy the company of Sarah and Rachael and our kids have just as much fun! I'm so grateful that the weather cooperated!

Signing off from Kieler.... Have a great weekend!

The Latest and Greatest

Well, its been awhile since the storm (and we've had a few more though none as serious). Kate and I headed north that next week and spent time with my folks and the cousins of course. Here you can see the three of them "painting" the cabin.

Nothing like water in a bucket with paint brushes!

After our return, Sunday I finished teaching the last of 8 sessions in our summer Bible study and we had our niece Laura come and hang with us for a few days. Kate loved having her around. Here she is posing for a picture in Laura's pj bottoms. Notice the bruiser lip? She was switching seats in a moving wagon. Ouch!

Also on our recent radar- potty! I've got bear editing this picture for public view. Kurt thinks I'm silly for taking pictures of it. But, Kate has been really getting into going to the bathroom. She's pooping and peeing on the toilet and its fun (well anything is fun with bear and monkey)! I'm hoping if we can do more of this there will be less diaper rash. That hasn't been nearly as fun!

Tonight we were out getting laundry off the line and the neighbors invited Kate over to play on their swing set. She did great on the swing- wish I'd have taken a picture of that before her arms wore out. And loved the slide and platform, too.

She really has become such a big girl in the past few weeks. Her vocabulary, mobility and cognition amaze me! I am really enjoying watching her learn and grow.