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 :)

Ahh SPRING!!!

I absolutely love this time of year.  Flowers are starting to bloom...but wait!!! What was that white stuff a few weeks ago?  Oh yeah SNOW.  Well anyway Spring is coming.  The past few months have been so good.  Julie had another birthday -- Happy birthday !!!!  You are 26  Wow time is flying too fast.  I still want you to be that little girl with the long braids, and look at you know all grown up. I couldn't be more proud of you and your accomplishments!

Erin got a job working at WaterWay Gas and Wash.  She works the line which means she drys off your car and vacuums it out or whatever.  Sometimes they have to wax your car too.  What surprises me is that people will come in the snow and rain to wash their car.  Not sure I would do that, but then I guess everyone has their reasons   She is also being trained as a cashier, but she really likes working on the line.  She makes a ton of money in tips and loves being outside.  The best part is she gets 10 cents off a gallon of gas and we get free washes.  She wears a nifty little uniform...

We had a late Spring snow it was so beautiful and fortunately didn't last long.

Then we celebrated EASTER which is my all time favorite day.  Easter gives us so much to look forward to.  Our God is so amazing.  I know for a fact that I would not be able to sacrifice one of my kids the way He did his ONLY Son.  The choir sang In Christ Alone which is one of my favorite songs.  It says so much about how God loves me and I have nothing to fear.  That kind of love is beyond comprehension.  This past Sunday we sang All Hail the Power of Jesus Name.  Yes indeed -- Crown Him Lord of All.

We celebrated Katie's 29th birthday.  Wow as I have already said...Time is passing too quickly and she is getting ready to get married on Mother's Day.  That will be so much fun. I am so happy you are doing well physically, and you make such a great teacher.  So proud of you.   

Here are some pictures of the past few months.  Enjoy your spring.  Heat and humidity are on the way.

Palm Sunday Snow Storm.  Many people could not make it to church, but we went on Saturday, which I'm glad we did.  I really love that day.

 

 

Erin's duds for work.  She really can make your windows shine. 

Easter Sunday

Love, Lois

The Past Several Months

I obviously haven't been keeping this up-to-date, so I am going to bring you up-to-date with this post.  Here goes:

October - Erin gets her license

                 Carved some pumpkins for Halloween

           Celebrated Joe's Birthday.


November -

We finished the bathroom (except for a few final touches), but it is now functional and no more wet floors or subflooring from leaking fixtures.

Visited mom in KC

 Had a really nice Thanksgiving with family.  Out of all the blessings I have been given, they are absolutely, hands down the best part of my life. (For some reason, I never took pictures).

December brought us Christmas and all the joys and celebration that bring.  I am so thankful that God sent His only Son to save us.  That is the best gift of all.

The day after Christmas, Erin left on a choir trip to Orlando, Florida.  It was nice and warm there, and she had a fun time.  She got to sing at Epcot on New Year's Eve.  It snowed at home while she was in sunny Florida. 

and over New Year's weekend, I got to dog sit Yadi.  I enjoyed that a lot.

January was pretty uneventful, and then we celebrated Valentines Day.  So that's what I have been up to.  

~Lois~

Remembering Loved Ones

Today is November 1 and All Saints Day.  I really love this time of year, especially going to church on the Sunday that we celebrate this day.  My favorite hymn is For All the Saints.  I know that this Sunday, we will sing it with gusto, and joyously remember all our friends and family that are no longer with us.  The most awesome thing is that YES we will get to see them again. 

So today,  I wish to remember:

Alvina Viefhaus - my grandmother
Alma Stratmann - my Godmother
Randy Viefhaus - my Godfather
Olivia Stratmann - my Aunt
             and
Clarence Stratmann - my sweet dad

(Oh yeah,  I know that animals are not supposed to count, but I'm including sweet, sweet Shadow)

I love you and miss you all

~Lois~

October

Okay.  So I had a major fail by not posting for 30 days of everything I'm thankful for.  My life has been extremely busy the whole month of October, so in a way I am thankful for that. With all the things that have been keeping me so busy, I am thankful that I am able to participate in all the activities.  Most of those activities have revolved around band, yes I am a band mom, but I truly have had a lot of fun.

So I am going to sum up October in this way:

October 1 my birthday.  Another year older-- don't really like that idea, but nothing I can do about that.

October 6 - Erin had all suburban choir auditions and a band competition in Washington, Missouri.  She was selected for All Suburban Choir AND the band came in first place.  This was the first time since the 1990's that the band received a trophy.  They worked so hard and this was just the icing on the cake.

October 13 - Actually home, but spent it catching up

October 14 - AUGUSTA!!!..   Love the sausage dinner at Christ Lutheran Church.  This is the church my momma was baptised at.  The scenery was absolutely beautiful.  I forgot my camera but trust me it was spectacular.  I figured all the trees would drop their leaves early due to the drought from summer, but once again, God showed us who is in charge.

October 20 -- You got it BAND!!!.  The band had an overnight in Springfield Missouri at Missouri State University.  It was a great day.  I don't remember what the band placed, but I think it was 2nd or 3rd place.  Not sure.  Anyway, it was a lot of fun.

October 27 - I had to administer the ACT test for my work.  Which means I have to account for every test book, and make sure there are enough proctors and classrooms to accommodate everyone.  It also means I get up at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday to get everything arranged.  Then after the test, we went to Ste Genevieve, Missouri for...you got it... another band competition.  So that has been my month and the reason I didn't have time to write. 

Love to everyone

Day 3 Sunday

Okay today's sounds a lot like yesterday:

Beautiful weather.  It is so fall like out that I can't wait for the smoke of fireplaces and crisp night air.  I am also thankful for friends that I got to spend the afternoon with.  I had a lot of fun.  :)

Day 2

Oh todaywill be so easy.

Today I am thankful for:   a fun Friday night and absolutely beautiful weather today. 

Last night Erin had some friends over.  She was supposed to play at the football game, but because of the storm, the game was cancelled.  So they went to Steak and Shake after the storm.  Julie met me there and her and I had good food while Erin and her friends had fun.  Then we came home and Julie washed out some clothes and we watched The Lucky One.  Good good movie.  I do think the book is better, though.

Then this morning the sky is so blue, and the air is so cool.  Just a delightful day. 

Have a good day everyone.