Welcoming a New Year

Best wishes on your 2013!  Here we are saying "Hello New Year! " with cake! My love decided we should celebrate another year of me a day early since work (and school) start again tomorrow.   He's been working all morning in the kitchen on a favorite recipe from America's Test Kitchen, Coconut Cake with Coconut Butter Cream Frosting. My day just got a little sweeter! Yum!  How sweet it is to be loved....

Welcome Baby Erik!

 

He's here!!!  And here are a few pictures from his first day with us.  I know an aunt who wanted to see some more pictures.

 

Erik Edward  11/14/12, 4:52 a.m. 9 lbs. 4.9 oz., 21 1/2 inches long

The family of five!

Big sisters!

 

Proud as can be, Dad and Katie!

My little girl.

Gramma Ann and Erik
Do you see the sticker Julia brought him?  Too, cute!

The girls and Gramma also brought him this outfit.  It went great with the John Deere bedding at the hospital! 

All is well here.  Just taking it easy and getting used to a baby in the house again.  We're adjusting.  He is a sweet thing and is determined not to stay a baby for long.  Lots of eating and sleeping makes you grow!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Take me out to the ball game...

Take me out to the park...

Buy me some peanuts...

And Cracker Jacks...

I don't care if I ever get back...

'Cause its root, root, root for the home team (or Brewers)...

A rain delay is a shame...

For its one!

Two!

Three strikes you're out...

At the 'ol ball game!  Play ball!

My Latest Fav Site

Divine Office - Liturgy of the Hours - Breviary - Free Audio - Bible - Prayer
Elizabeth Foss mentioned the app for Divine Office recently in a post...which was Divine Providence in my world as I have been feeling the call to go deeper in prayer after the worst Lent spiritually in my memory to date.  Anyway,  I've been too cheap to buy the app just yet but I have however been LOVIN' the web page.   This bookmark has been getting lots of use.
I used to pray the Liturgy of the Hours frequently before children so praying them in the midst of distraction and at infrequent nap and quiet times has been a new experience.   And at times a great challenge -- do I forgo that much needed first trimester sleep for a 5:30 a.m. wake-up before Julia?  Or attempt to pray Morning Prayer over the dirty but now deserted breakfast table with the crying of small children in need of adult mediation from time to time?  What do I do when eldest refuses to nap or be quiet in the afternoon?  And when I am sorely tempted to nap myself?   We're working through these kinks slowly. 

Regardless, I am excited to be praying the Psalms again!

Christmas, New Year 2012 and Moving Letter

“Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush; anxious for greater developments and greater wishes and so on; so that children have very little time for their parents; parents have very little time for each other; and the home begins the disruption of the peace in the world.” Mother Teresa of Calcutta

January 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

For the whole month of December I was working at practicing the virtue of peace.  As you may suspect with two small children, an upcoming move and the hustle and bustle of our culture around Christmas—this was at times just a worthy goal.   There have been a few moments when it seemed nearly impossible!  However it has been helpful for me to recall who the source of all peace is and how important this virtue is to cultivate! Our hope is that you have peace in your home this holy season and always even in the midst of your busyness.

And boy have our lives been busy this past year!  We were blessed to have a year full of visits and reunions of one form or another.  From the many house guests that have graced us with their presence- family from near (WI) and far (CA) and friends from far (Italy, NE, MN) and near. To the numerous road trips to the Shrines of Our Lady of Good Help and Our Lady of Guadalupe (to meet with classmates and teachers from my masters program), Brewers vs Twins @ Miller Park (instigated by a college friend),  and Winona, MN, too.  I was also blessed to attend my dear friend Bente’s wedding in Oslo, Norway this fall. My parents and Julia and I made the trip over the pond for the event and what an event it was!  And we spent time in AZ just before Christmas getting some R&R.

Beyond travel our home lives have been full of activity.  This summer we gutted our kitchen/dining room to do some updating. The result was beautiful and made cleaning up spills pure pleasure after having carpet under the table for so long. However, that joy was supplanted by another when God placed in our path an opportunity to buy a home a little bit larger for our young family.  And so, this fall, we began plans to move three miles closer to the river (Mississippi). 

Our new home has been FULL of God’s handy work from the beginning.  The three bedrooms and full basement have offered plenty of room to grow, the yard with extra space to run has the girls excited for spring, the location just down the road from friends and particularly a farm has Kurt ready to putz on projects in his spare time and the view I just can’t get enough of it!  We are so grateful for the help of many people who assisted in our transition here!

The girls continue to grow up in front of our eyes. Katie, 3, has started preschool at home traveling the Alphabet Path.  We are learning so much.  She enjoys reading, practicing her letters, pretending,the Brewers and getting out of the house to socialize as much as possible (which she comes by naturally).  Julia, 1, is no longer a baby.  She is our daring daughter unafraid to scale great heights and seek out the realms of the forbidden cupboards, table tops and drawers.  Her vocabulary continues to grow.  She will parrot most anything.  JuJu is also quite proficient at shape puzzles and tormenting her sister who she would like to be just like most days.  I continue to enjoy life at home.  Kurt’s been perfecting his smoking (meat) and baking. We have happily been taste testers!  Please consider this an open invitation to stop in for a beer, coffee or drink of choice and visit of course!
Love and Peace,
Kurt, Angie, Katie and Julia

(Let me know if you need our new contact info!)

Its Coming! Its Here! Advent!

Well our preparations for Christmas have begun with the season of Advent (the beginnging of the Church Liturgical Year).  And here at our home there is much preparing going on, too.

With the impending move Advent (and especially Christmas) may be a bit more on the simple side than previously thought as there are preparations to be done in the moving department as well.  We are also taking a bit of a break from the Alphabet Path.  In December we'll just do the letter J (for Jesus- and his coming birth!) and our 'Advent Stuff' and resume in full swing in the new house come January. 

As for what we're doing for Advent.  I've mentioned Advent Adventure before, we're doing that and the Jesse Tree that they mention each day there.  The girls made their first ornaments today.  I've decided to forego my regular Christmas ornaments for the time being and just do their homemade ones this year.  We Julia being at that climbing monkey age our tree isn't that safe in her vicinity and once again the move will just make it all the crazier.  So our Jesse Tree will essentially become our Christmas Tree. 

Along with that we've got our Advent Wreath out and lit week one.  And we've been attempting a decade of the Rosary (with Advent Adventure).  We also have an Advent Calendar that they handed out in our church bulletin that we'll mark off days on.

Kate is already anticipating St. Nick's Day.  The stockings are hung and I've got a few things up my sleeve.  I'll try to take pictures.

We were up north last week for Hunting Season and I totally didn't take a picture.  Sorry.  It wasn't a good year for me 'catching a deer' as Katie called it.  Though I overheard a conversation between Kate and my niece (4 yrs) that might explain why--
My niece was telling Kate that her mom got two deer this hunting season (6pter and 14 pter, in MN) and then said, "My mom is a good hunter."  Katie's reply, "Well, my mom is not!" 

Our New Space

Well as fore mentioned I made a few changes to the blog.  I wish I were a bit more savvy at such things as I would figure out how to add a few 'tabs' to the top too.  But, I haven't figured it out yet. However you'll notice you can now follow by email for my friends and family who aren't addicted to blog reading like me!  Also, you'll notice that I've decided to change the name (though not the address) of the blog.  That's because though we're not changing names we are changing addresses!  After much discernment I decided on just "Environs" (the second runner up was Life on the Mississippi- Kurt nixed that one).  By definition-

Environs (en-ver-uhnz)

1.

the surrounding parts or districts, as of a city; outskirts; suburbs.

2.

surrounding objects; surroundings; environment.

3.

an area or space close by; vicinity.

The initial idea for the name Life in Kieler and Environs came from a map that used to hang in my grandpa's house, it showed the lake he lived on and the surrounding area and there was a small plaque labeling it Kleutch Lake and environs.  Now, with a move from Kieler proper it will be shortened to Environs.  I like to think of this blog space as some place close by not just for me but for visitors too.  And when we're on the outskirts of something we continue to be people on the move and on the way to Something Greater.   So thank you for joining us on the journey in this space!

And now, the journey continues as we signed on this home today-

Our New Home!

View from the front yard to the backyard.  Yes, that's The River (Mississippi).

My cousin, Heidi, and Julia in front of the apple orchard.

A view from the orchard back at the house.

The rest of the back of the house. You can just barely see the cap garage on the far left.

As you can see, we have a view from the deck. 

The view heading down river.

The "Pine Grove"

Quick Takes 11-11-11

1- As H week wraps up we are anticipating a visit from one of our favorite H's, my cousin, Heidi!  She's always a fun house guest and the girls are tickled that she'll be spending the weekend with us.  Hopefully we can get her some needed R&R away from the college life.  And her and Kate are requesting more SNOW!

We had our first round of snow this week and Katie loved every minute of it.  She was out in it not long after the day began!

2-Well I think that we're through the HFM and the disease never really seemed to take over as I expected.  Though 8 days of keeping the girls home was certainly enough in this mom's book!  Neither girl has a blister and there are just dwindling signs of the rash that plagued them.  I am grateful that it wasn't worse. 

3-FREE Things!  Really excited to see this printable at Catholic Icing not only for my own kiddos but for Religious Ed classes locally.  Really helpful, really handy and FREE! And just received a reminder about Advent Adventure from Holy Heroes, another FREE faith opportunity.  We really enjoyed the things they did for Lent last year and are definitely looking forward to Advent with joyful anticipation now!

4- We attended Wool Day at a local farm with the Home Education Network (HEN).  It was a big hit for Kate.  I was quite impressed with it too.  The family hosting had sheep that they showed how to sheer (though just a bit because a wool coat comes in handy this time of year), then a local artisan brought wool samples and supplies and showed the kids how they could each felt their own ball.  For the older kids she did spinning lessons and more.  Kate and I were quite happy with our felted ball.  And I was particularly pleased to meet a few other moms for potential networking

Katie took the pictures of our ball to post on the blog.

She also picked out the colors herself- blue, black and glitter sparkle (which you can't really see from her shot).

5-We did this act of thanksgiving today (and H is for Hands!).  I case you're wondering, it is a tree with hand print leaves that note things we're thankful for on the hands.  I have to once again put a plug in for Small Steps for Catholic Moms, It was the act of the "Think, Pray, Act" today.  I highly recommend this book for moms particularly ones with small children who struggle to fit prayer and apply it to daily life.   It has been a continual blessing to my days. 

Katie is thankful for- Grampa, Gramma, Mom and Heidi.  She traced her hands and wrote all the names herself!

Julia is thankful for "Boos" aka her pacifier, Cock-a-doodle-do aka roosters, and babies.  Mom is thankful for Dad, Our Church and coffee especially at today's 5 AM wake up.  I think I live with roosters!

6-And speaking of gratitude...ladies do you dare to try this?  I'm giving A Heart of Gratitude a go (started yesterday with my own adjusted version) but wow, I think Betty's right on the money in these remarks.  However, what a great lead in to Thanksgiving or just practice in gratitude and love!  I know I've seen a few folks listing things they're particularly thankful for on Facebook, too.  I dare not try that, I'd be on there way too much!

7- You'll be seeing a new look on the blog in the near future!  Be patient as I try to have patience!  Here's to a great weekend!

Head over to Conversion Diary as she hosts "Quick Takes" every Friday!

November Family Literacy- The Gingerbread Boy

For G week one of the books by our author, Paul Galdone, was The Gingerbread Boy.  It was definitely one of Katie's favorites.  As she told the story back to me a few times.  She was particularly humored by the ending (spoiler!) where the foxy fox settles in for a nap after his snack. 

 As a activity to go with the story we decided to try to make our own Gingerbread boys.  It was tricky as I had to borrow the cookie cutter from the neighbor, guess I should put that on our list. After that, we suited up for the task. Everyone was game for helping in the baking!

Aren't their aprons the cutest?!?

Katie took over the camera for a few of the pictures. She had to get a shot of my apron.

 As I didn't have a recipe in mind I ended up using this one from Allrecipes.  I liked it because it didn't call for any eggs and I new that I'd have some dough eaters in the kitchen.  I did have to adjust it a bit as the initial recipe (as mentioned in the comments) was too dry to roll out.  It may have been because I ran out of white flour and had to substitute with wheat.  Regardless,  a bit more water in the mix seemed to do the trick.  I also ended up taking the cookies out earlier than 10 minutes (it was more like 6-7 min) so that they were soft.  I didn't know with the current bout of HFM if hard cookies would be right for us. 

 I must say the recipe was delicious both cooked and uncooked.  I honestly thought about balling up the dough and serving it as is though the final product is delicious, too.  I will probably make them again at Christmastime.  I had one cookie stealer in the kitchen...at least twice I caught her with cookie in hand and on the run!  Rascal!!!

"You can't catch me with the gingerbread man!"

Katie thought the dough was mighty tasty, too!

Much to my delight, Katie did wonder to herself as we put the first batch in the oven if one was going to jump off the pan...and if it did, we'd definitely catch it for a snack (and if I had my way, a nap like that foxy fox!)!   We all enjoyed catching the gingerbread boys- especially Daddy. 

What have you done as a family to encourage literacy lately?  Head on over to Work, Play, Read and link up to November's Family Literacy Challenge. 

Homemade handywork

I am not the handiest homemaker but managed a costume request that has been really appreciated.

Two placemats $0.69 each, 4 pieces of white felt $1.00, a scissors and a hot glue gun.

Someone's Halloween costume- PRICELESS!

Honeymooners

I think one of the best parts about our engagement and time leading up to our wedding day was the thought that I would get to enjoy some quality time with my new spouse when it was all said and done. And the other good part about that was that I wasn't in charge of planning it! Yes, Kurt's assignment was THE HONEYMOON. Sure, we talked about ideas together-things we'd like or wouldn't like in a getaway, a price range and budget, timeline and so on. But, when it came down to the trip I was completely in the dark. He even went so far as to have my roommate help me pack my bags without sharing a detail. Clothes for warm weather (bathing suit, capris, tank tops), clothes for cold weather (hat, mittens, sweatshirts), formal clothes (fancy dresses, heels, shawl), informal clothes (jeans, birkies, ball cap)....needless to say, I was baffled. And though I think everyone at Mass and gift opening that Sunday knew the plan their lips were sealed!

We were off to the airport Monday morning and at the ticket counter all was revealed as we lined up with travelers headed to Seattle. I of course cheered with an abundance of excitement! "I've never been to Seattle!" "What a great surprise!" etc. However, when the attendant checking our baggage asked if we wanted them sent through to Anchorage I was surprised once more and more exclamations ensued! Alaska!

Here we are in Whitting before catching our boat- a bit travel worn but so excited.

Upon arrival in Anchorage I discovered that Kurt planned for us to go on an Alaskan cruise. A fantastic honeymoon for a nature and geology buff. And the glitz of a cruise was an added treat! It was our first cruising experience and a great way to get a taste of Alaska including food and of course visits to ports along the way. We cruised south toward Vancouver, Canada with stops in Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. The one thing I would recommend though is to look into Mass times. That was by far the lowest point in our trip there was no Mass on board the ship and though there were Masses at the port that day they didn't coincide with the times that we'd be able to be ashore. I am not posting the 'sad pictures' of that day but here's a short photo review of the rest as I don't have time to write more.

Our dinner celebrating our recent wedding- with special dessert and of course looking our best.

My favorite day of the cruise, Glacier Bay!

While cruising we made friends with another couple from WI. In Skagway we went hiking with them.

We decided to splurge on one excursion. We couldn't resist the Bike and Brew-- mountain biking to the Mendenhal Glacier and hitting the Alaska Brewery afterwards for a sampling.

All in all, a wonderful honeymoon.

Head on over to Betty Beguiles and add your honeymoon story to the list!