Well, as you can see I still haven't gotten to posting. We were on vacation last week and I've got some good pictures of our trip to St. Louis that I intend to get up here but I don't think it will happen this morning perhaps this afternoon? So once again I'll give you some quick takes with the hope that I'll publish more on these thoughts/topics eventually.
1- Our family vacation to St. Louis was WONDERFUL. My parents, brother Tom and his family came down to Kieler on Sunday (before Memorial day) and we hit the road Monday morning. The kiddos, 1, 1 (almost 2), and 4 were great travelers. Though it helped to have Gramma along for entertainment! The mornings of our trip were spent seeing the sights of St. Louis the afternoons napping (or napping attempts for some) at the hotel and then evenings at the pool. The highlight- The Magic House Childrens Museum (and you thought I was going to say the brewery, right?) was awesome- the kiddos loved it so much and it was entertaining for the adults as well as educational. Impressive! The lowlight- The Bigfoot 4x4 Monster Truck Museum was a dive. Really just a mechanics shop and the Bigfoot 5 we went to see was taken apart and loaded on a trailer. A disappointment from what was in the tour book. I'll post more pictures and commentary soon, I hope! Sorry my camera is covered by a tarp where the window guys are working (see #3)
2-I am going ahead with the summer Scripture Study on Sacraments and Scripture. My preparations are coming along well this week- hence my blog falls to the wayside. I've got our reading list compiled with the help of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and my dear friend Fr. Derek Sakowski's book Understanding Sacraments. Thanks Padre! The study will go for 8 weeks and will be a brief overview of what the sacraments are and a quick look at each one and the Scriptures that explain its beginnings and our understanding of it. Please pray for all those attending and thinking about attending.
3- We have been busy since Kurt finished grad school working on some home updates. Kurt's basement shop is pretty much finished and he started on a new project- drywalling and running new electrical to the garage. It is looking quit nice. We're blessed that he's had lots of help. This week out patio door and picture window are being replaced by professionals. Kate has been thoroughly entertained every day they've been here. I've had to get creative in keeping her out of their hair. But she'll stand behind our makeshift gate and holler 'hi hi' to them all day long. It is pretty funny!
4- Our garden this year is up and running. We've already reaped a early harvest of radishes (Kurt likes 'em) and yesterday our tomatoes and peppers came in the mail. We planted them after weeding their spot. I must say, some of the weeds we've been growing are huge! Evidently we don't mess around. I need to get some sun protection up for the new plants yet hopefully before they fry today. Otherwise it looks like a hopeful harvest as everything is in, up, and growing.
5-I've been reading quite a few good books recently but want to mention one that friends lent me eons ago that I've finally made it through. It's called Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I'm giving it mixed reviews. There are some things about it that I really liked and others that I didn't go for so much but all in all a good read. Not the typical fiction or parenting stuff I usually read- that was kinda a change. My favorite part of the book was about tithing. It is something I struggle with somewhat -the balance of time, talent and treasure. It gave me something to pray about and work on. I want to write more about it...we'll see if that happens.
6-Nose! Katie can identify this body part and is working on eyes and mouth. Its pretty funny when she realizes that other people have a nose, too! She's also mastered oh, oh, this week. This morning when the window guys were hacking way at our window she looked at me in all seriousness and said, "Oh, oh!"
7- I mentioned in my last post we were expecting company before Memorial Weekend. It was wonderful to have Paula and Jacob visit. I especially enjoyed our conversations after Katie was down for a nap/bedtime. We ate well, played some mean games of Uno and just relaxed. My folks and Tom and the fam also stayed a day before our trip and a day after....it was good to have them, too. Katie cried when the cousins left. She's her mothers daughter- all about the company! We're expecting company again this weekend and I am once more looking forward to it!
