I KNOW IT'S BEEN AWHILE

 

Hey everyone,  It's been way too long since I wrote, so here is the last few
months in a nutshell.

MAY -- My beautiful mama turned 90.  We all went to Kansas City to help her celebrate.  It was so much fun seeing all the nieces and nephews and their kids, WOW.  My mom still has a good memory so I hope I have her longevity genes. 




Mom with her Grandchildren Bryan, Erin, Lynn, Katie, Julie, Laura and Nathan

Mom, with her three daughters, Ruth Ann, Carol and Me, and David, Mike and Brad



Mom with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Violet, Cody, Lina and Ashley,  Isaac was born in September

The next day was Mother's day and sweet Katie married her best friend, Chantz.  It was an absolutely beautiful day.  She is really happy and I wish both of you a long and blessed life together. Welcome to the family, Chantz.


Katie and Chantz

Mason Jars, Burlap, Ribbon and wild flowers,  so pretty.

Katie and Lina, her beautiful flower girl

 At the end of May, we took a short trip to Kentucky Lake.  We fished, fished and fished some more.  Kentucky Lake is huge and we stayed in this really quaint little house.  It has a wrap around porch that ended with a screened in porch.  We played a lot of games and ate a lot of meals in that porch. Loved it!  It was so fun to watch all the different birds and animals scamper around.  All in all it was a very relaxing weekend.

JUNE -- Things settled down.  Erin finished her sophomore year of high school,  and is continuing to work hard to earn money for her trip to Germany next May. 

JULY --  Erin went to the LCMS Youth Gathering in San Antonio, where not only did she have a great time with 30,000 teens and fell in love with Texas, but she also strengthened her faith in God. She stayed right across from the Alamo. While she was in Texas, Brad and I went to Wisconsin Dells for a few days to get away from home and have some relaxation time.  We had a great time.  It was so much cooler there than at home, and the cooler weather was a welcome relief.


Erin's group at the Alamo in San Antonio, TX

 

Me going through a very narrow cavern in Wisconson Dells


Band camp started in earnest when Erin came back and I went back to work to a very busy year.  I enrolled more new kids to the high school than any other time in my ten years at Clayton HS.

AUGUST --  School started with all of the activities that band can bring a family.  It started out with Erin playing with her band at a Cardinal baseball game and continued on through November.

Parkway North High School Band at Busch Stadium playing the National Anthem  Notice the Cardinal Players right by them

 

SEPTEMBER --   Not only did work and band stuff keep us busy, we had birthdays, and other family things going on.  Erin went to her homecoming at school with a group of friends and had a fantastic time. 

Erin and Garrett

The whole gang -- Tobias, Garrett, Erin, Melinda, Brandon, Eric, and Megan

 Pretty soon it was

OCTOBER--  My birthday came, and then Erin turned 17.  She is so grown up now its scary.  Knowing that she will be at home for one more year makes each birthday so sweet.  I have told her that college is overrated and she should just stay in town, but yeah like that's going to happen.  Anyway,  she drives herself to school and work and this has been a welcome change for us since Brad took off work every afternoon to take her to work.  She continues to enjoy school and has a close group of friends which she hangs with when she is not working.

We also went to the annual sausage dinner at Christ Lutheran Church in Augusta, MO.  It is such a fun day.  We got to see cousins, 2nd cousins, and see the beautiful fall colors.  Erin and I were at a band competition that weekend at Missouri State and so we drove to Augusta from Springfield, MO.  We ended up taking a lot of country roads that made our trip so much fun.  It was nice to see another side of the drive than the usually one we take.

Cousins

Our mama made it back to the the town she was born in

NOVEMBER --  The weather is getting colder and the fall colors were beautiful.  We celebrated Thanksgiving twice this year.  We celebrated with Brad's family on Thanksgiving and then I hosted on Friday so Julie and Joe could join us.  She had to work on Thanksgiving so this works better for us.  Anyway we had a nice time and enjoyed our day.

Which brings us to

DECEMBER--  and CHRISTMAS!!!  I hope all of you had a very blessed Christmas.  May the joy this day brings remind you of the true meaning of Christmas...the Christ child born to save us.  What a wonderous Savior we have.

 

See you next time :)