World Series Win and a Trip to Cape Girardeau

I'm sorry that it has been so long since my last post. There isn't too much to write about these days.

First of all, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series!!!!! Wooo!!!!!! As many of you know the Cardinals are my team. Being in St. Louis for this World Series was very exciting. Almost every business in St. Louis allowed their employees to wear Cardinals gear. I wore Cardinals shirts for like 2 weeks straight. When the Cards won it, there was a parade and celebration inside Busch Stadium. The tickets were $5 and the proceeds went to charity. Nate and I went to both. It was awesome! We had great seats. We enjoyed the Budweiser Clydesdales, the players and the managers. I love the Budweiser Clydesdales. Those horses embody St. Louis. My mom used to take me to see them when I was little at Grant's Farm. I was so happy share the celebration with the players and the thousands of Cardinal fans. Here are some pictures from that day.


Here is a shot of the crowds for the parade.


Here is a shot of the Clydesdales!


The players gathered around Tony LaRussa as he gives his speech.


One of us at the celebration!

Soon after the glorious triumph by the St. Louis Cardinals, we took a trip to Cape Girardeau. We were invited back to attend the Semi-Annual Sausage Supper. Some of you might remember this from last year. Nate had the experience of cutting up the hogs and making the sausage with the Men's Club guys. It was great to be able to go see everyone down there and to partake in some good cookin'. We dearly miss our friends in Cape and love it when we get to visit.

My dad and his best friend Steve take a trip every year that they call ManTrip. They just took their trip and returned today. They had a great time exploring caves in Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. They hit places like Nashville, Tn; Pigeon Forge, TN; Kentucky Lake, Murray State University and many more places. They blog about their travels and post pictures for every day. If you haven't checked out their travels, you really should. Visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/ManTripUSA. Become a fan!

In other news, Nate has had the past week off school and will be off until after Thanksgiving. This has been a nice break for him. He even cleaned our apartment and did a great job! What a guy! I like him being off school! :)

Well, that's all for now. I hope you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving!

God is good!

New Recipe and Sports

I'm sorry that it has been a while since my last post. We haven't had too much going on that is worth reporting. We are both working a great deal. Nate is getting into the busier part of the quarter. Our weeks fill up quick with work, homework, Nate doing things at his fieldwork church and I am leading a Bible study with some of my girlfriends from the seminary.

I have come across a new excellent recipe. When Nate and I were at Concordia Wisconsin we really enjoyed the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread from the BBC. I saw this recipe posted on one of my friends' (Karen Garkie) wall on facebook, I thought I would give it a try. It was sooooooooo good. It tasted pretty much the same as the bread from our past. So Good!




Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:

■3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
■2 teaspoon cinnamon
■1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
■1/2 teaspoon allspice
■1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
■2 teaspoon baking soda
■2 teaspoon salt
■1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (15 ounce can)
■1 cup vegetable oil
■3 cups sugar
■4 large eggs
■1 teaspoon vanilla extract
■2/3 cup water, room temperature
■1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9×5 inch loaf pans.
2.In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3.In another large bowl, whisk together the oil and pumpkin puree. Add the sugar and whisk to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and water. Stir in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
4.Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not over mix. Divide between the two prepared loaf pans and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking time. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

Source: Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

This weekend was Oktoberfest at the seminary. It is a night where they feed all the the seminarians and their families. There is a live German band and free beer flowing. We had a great time hanging out with our friends. The night ended with us sitting around a fire with our friends and the Cardinals winning their game that night.

Speaking of the Cardinals, this has been very exciting! Of course, as you all know, I am a very big fan of the Cardinals as a native of the most wonderful city of St. Louis. If there is one thing for certain, the city of St. Louis loves the Cardinals. President Obama was in town and regardless of how people thought about him, for or against, the Cardinals game that night had more publicity that day. The Cardinals have made it a long way this post season. Since our little friend the "rally squirrel" showed up he has caused a big commotion in the Lou. A great thing that has come from the rally squirrel is that Cardinal Glennon, one of our Children's hospitals, sold rally squirrel t-shirts raising over $150,000 for a playground in their hospital. This last series has been hard for me. I have a special place in my heart for Milwaukee but when the Cards are playing the Brewers, there is no contest in my book. Great job Brew Crew. I am so excited to be in my hometown with my home team going to the World Series!

WE'RE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!

Looking for 11 in '11!






That's all for now. God is good!

More LWML, Tower Tee, St. Louis Friends and Cape Friends

Hi Everyone,

It has been a little over a month since my last post but there hasn't been a ton of stuff to report since the last time I posted.

Right now is the busy season at LWML. LWML Sunday is October 1st. Since one of my responsibilities as the Office Assistant is to answer the phone and take orders, that is pretty much the only thing that I have been doing. The order form for LWML Sunday said to get orders in by September 1, you can imagine what it has been like lately. The phone has been ringing off the hook. Sometimes I don't even have a moment to take a bathroom break without leaving the phone while it is ringing. I think things will start to die down a little bit later this week. It has been a very pleasant working experience. I enjoy talking to people on the phone all day. You never know what interesting conversation may arise.

Nate has been working at Tower Tee a great deal lately. They are short-handed so he has been picking up shifts. He worked more hours than I did last week. He has been having a lot fun and playing free golf! He also just started school, it's going well. He has been asked to lead a small group Bible study and he will be directing the Seminary Handbell Choir again. So with classes, work and his extra curriculars, he has become quite a busy guy.

One of the nice things about being back in St. Louis is that a great deal of our college friends either live here because it is their permanent home or because they are also attending the seminary. It has been great to get back and reunite with these people.

Yesterday and today we had the opportunity to see some of our friends from our vicarage congregation. Yesterday we went to the Southeast Missouri District Fair aka. the SEMO Fair. It was wonderful we ran into many of our friends. We had lunch with our friends Jim and Vicki Frank. We hung out with Jonathan and Annie Micheal and their baby, Garret, who is precious! We saw a girl from the congregation, Danielle, compete in a karaoke contest. We watched a Horse Pull with the Schweer family minus Diane, she was busy. We had a GREAT time watching the Tractor/Truck/Hot Rod Pull with John and Charlotte Edwards. That event was super cool! I had never been to a tractor pull that wasn't for antique tractors.

Today we went to a Cardinals game with our friends Jeff and Sarah Heuer and Todd and Amy Roth. For the youth auction at Hanover when we were there we auctioned off tickets for a Cardinals game. We called it "Nosebleed Seats at the Cardinals Game with Vicar and Katie". Our friends that came with us were very generous and won the tickets. We had a great view in the shade from section 437 at Busch Stadium. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day for a game. The Cardinals even won meaning that they swept the Braves this series. There was also some great commemoration for September 11th.


This is one of Nate, Todd and Jeff at the game.

As you can imagine we had an excellent time catching up with our friends at the Cards game and last night. We miss our friends from Cape dearly and we hope that we can see them off and on throughout the year. Cape Girardeau is a very wonderful place. It has some of the most wonderful people I have ever met; friendly, caring and God-fearing.

It is crazy to think that 10 years ago today was the day of the September 11th attacks. We remember the lives lost, families who lost their loved ones, the first responders and the people who are defending our country now. We pray for these people and our country. God has blessed America in even our toughest times.


Part of the commemoration at Busch Stadium was a massive American Flag hung from the ladders of two St. Louis Fire Department trucks.

That's all for now. God is good!

Connecticut, LWML and St. Louis!

Hello Everyone! Last time I wrote Nate and I were beginning our trip to Connecticut. We had a great time there visiting with his family and friends. We attempted to go to a Yankees game but we got all the way to New York City and had to turn around. The game was postponed due to rain. All in all we had an excellent visit.

Since we have returned, Nate has been busy helping my dad in Greek because he has started classes at the seminary. Nate also got a job working at a golf course called Tower Tee. His favorite time to work so far out of the 3 shifts he has worked is Thursday morning. There is a Women's Seniors League that plays at this time and they crack Nate up. He is really enjoying this job. He gets to work a Glow Ball tournament tonight (Glow in the dark golfing)! Nate also cooked his first meal. He did really well, the only thing that didn't go as planned was it was a tad spicy. That's an easy fix though. This recipe was not the easiest in the world, especially for his first try. I'm very proud him!

I am now a good 2 weeks into my job at LWML. I love talking to the ladies that call in, they are hilarious. I love having a routine again. I also love having a commute to decompress and listen to some music.

We are loving being back in St. Louis. We have many friends here so its great to hang out with people. We went to the Muny and saw Singing in the Rain. I went with some girls from CPH to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers this week and it was excellent. We even had tickets. I have never sat in the not free seats before...thanks CPH! Nate had never been before and he enjoyed it. The only downside was the blistering heat.

Speaking of the blistering heat, holy cow, it has been like living on the face of the sun. Okay, maybe that was an overstatement. I have to say that it has been quite hot for a St. Louis summer. The good news is that it is like the Alaskan Tundra at LWML. When I walk out of work, it doesn't feel like a wave of heat, I'm just thawing out.

I tried a new delicious recipe last week. I have been on a chicken fried rice kick; so, I decided to try and find a recipe for it. This is delicious. I do substitute Olive Oil to make is a tad healthier and that seems to work just fine.

Here is the link.: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robert-irvine/chicken-fried-rice-recipe/index.html


Ingredients
3 large eggs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thin strips
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
4 cups cold, cooked rice
6 green (spring) onions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish, optional
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Directions
Beat eggs with a whisk in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat very little oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat and make an omelette using half the beaten eggs. Turn out onto a plate to cool (do not fold omelette). Repeat process with remaining beaten eggs. Place 1 omelette on top of the other, fold and coarsely chop. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, toss chicken strips with the sesame oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil over high heat in large frying pan or wok and stir-fry the prepared chicken strips until lightly golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until onion has softened. Add 2 tablespoons more vegetable oil and when hot, stir in the cooked rice and green onions, tossing and mixing thoroughly until very hot. Sprinkle with soy sauce and mix evenly. Remove from heat and stir in chopped cooked egg. If desired, garnish with additional sliced green onions.

Delicious!!!!

Well, that's all for now! I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer! God is good!

Move and Trip to Minnesota and South Dakota

On Tuesday, June 21st Nate and I moved from Cape Girardeau, MO back to St. Louis, MO for Nate's last year of seminary. It was very hard for us to leave Cape. The people of Cape were so nice to us in our time there. They sent us off with lots of love. We will miss them greatly.

We moved into an apartment about a mile from the seminary campus. It is a small apartment but it's not bad for two of us. The hard part about this move was the fact that we were moving from a three bedroom house to a one bedroom apartment that consists of 4 rooms. My clothes aren't getting the freedom of being spread out among 3 rooms. This is a good time to go through some, huh? The nice thing about moving into a small apartment is the fact that there isn't as much to clean. I am very happy about this.

Moving back to St. Louis also means being close to my parents again which is nice. Nate is busy working with my dad on his summer Greek since he has started Seminary classes. My sister Victoria is home most of the time for her summer break and my mom was a big help in our move.

Two days after we moved to St. Louis we left for a road trip to Minnesota and South Dakota. Our first stop was in Waconia, Minnesota to see the Lane family. Katie Lane is a good friend of mine from Concordia. Katie is a missionary in Peru and was home visiting the states in June. We are also friends with her brother, Marcus, and soon to be sister-in-law, Vanessa who were also visiting home that weekend. We had a great time catching up and seeing the sites of Waconia.

Our next stop was Lakefield, MN to see my friend Amanda. Amanda was one of my roommates my senior year at CUW. She showed us her small hometown where she grew up and her family farm which is really big. They farm corn and soy beans. We had a great time catching up and hanging out with her too!

Our last stop was the wedding of Chad and Jenna (Newman) Elfe. They are friends of Nate and mine from CUW and they are also at the seminary. They were married in Sioux Falls, SD in a very nice outdoor setting, under a tree by a river. There were even two people in a canoe who passed by on the river during the wedding. I did get a little sunburn but it was well worth it. We were able to see many of our friends from CUW at this wedding. Including our friends Andrew and Shayla Gerike. We are all pictured below. It was a very great trip overall and on Sunday we headed back to St. Louis to continue unpacking.



For the next 10 days Nate and I will be visiting his family in Connecticut. I'll fill everyone in our adventures there when we get back.

Well, that's all for now. God is good!

Wisconsin, Call Day, New Job, New Apartment and New Car

I apologize for how long it has been since my last blog post. I know it has been about 3 months. Things were really slow until Easter and there really wasn't much to talk about. When Easter hit things got really busy and still haven't stopped. Easter was great!

The day after Easter we traveled to Mequon, WI for a week long vacation. Yes, you would think we would go to hot sandy beaches for complete relaxation but we can't help that our hearts draw us to Wisconsin. For those of you who don't know, Nate and I went to school in Mequon at Concordia University. That is also where we met. Our reason for going to Mequon was to attend a reunion concert for the Handbell Choir Nate rang in while he was attending CUW. Many of our friends were attending this event and we thought it would be a great way to catch up with everyone all at the same time. It was a great time. We had the opportunity of visiting with many friends from Concordia, students and professors. It was so great to reconnect with these people. We also had the opportunity to visit with the people from Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Mequon which is where Nate worked and we both attended church during our time there. It was so great to visit with so many people who we hold very dear to us. All in all, it was an excellent trip.

May 4th was Call Day at the St. Louis Seminary. We went up with a group of people from our church to welcome the vicar that will be serving at Hanover when Nate and I leave. On this day I also found out that I will be working for Lutheran Women Missionary League (LWML) as a receptionist (and other misc. jobs). I am very excited for this job. I love to teach but I also love working with women's ministries within the church. It is also a very big relief to know that I have income to support us in this last year at seminary.

The next biggest news for Nate and I is that we bought a new(er) car! It is good that we are coming back from vicarage with a new car because they say guys come back with a wife, a car or a baby. Nate already had me so I'm glad he's not coming back with another wife and we're not really looking to start a family while he is still in school. My old car, Mona, is a great car but she is 10 years old and had reached 152,000 miles. I started to keep my eyes out for good deals in the car market. A month ago I found a great deal on a 2007 Ford Edge. Long story short, JLo, is the newest member of our family.



Well, we are getting close to the end of our time here in Cape Girardeau. We will miss this place greatly and the people here. We are currently packing to move one week from today. We have found a small (and cheap!) apartment one mile from the seminary that we will be moving into. I will be sure to post pictures when we are all moved in. It may be a while before I do that. In the next month, we will be traveling to Minnesota, South Dakota and Connecticut. I will also be starting a new job.

Well, I better get back to packing! That's all for now. God is good!

Memphis, Sausage Supper and a New Recipe

Once again it has been quite some time since the last time I have updated the blog. To be honest not too much has been going on. February has been a pretty uneventful month. I have been substitute teaching a good amount of the time which is always good.

For many people February is already the month of love but for Nate and I it is also the month of our anniversary. We celebrated our First Anniversary on February 27. It is crazy to think that we have been married a year already but at the same time so much has happened this year as well. We decided to take a weekend and celebrate this milestone in Memphis, TN. This was a good place for Nate and I to visit because we are such big music fans.

We arrived in Memphis on a Friday afternoon. We visited Sun Records first. This was the place where many famous artists were discovered. Some of those artists include Elvis, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. It was cool to stand in the room where these three men once recorded some of their hit songs.



We then went to the Rock N' Soul Museum which is a Smithsonian museum about the birth of Rock N' Roll and the history of music in Memphis. It was a very cool and informational museum. We were very glad we stopped there. We then made it over to the Peabody Hotel to see the famous Peabody Ducks. I couldn't get a picture though because the place was packed and the lighting was bad. It was still very cool. We got a bite to eat and then decided to head back to our hotel.

The next day our first stop was Graceland. You can't go to Memphis for sightseeing and not see Graceland. It is quite the expensive attraction but it is very worth the cost. We toured Elvis' home seeing where he lived, where he worked and many of his awards and flamboyant costumes.



We also had the chance to see his many cars and his airplanes.



It was all very cool and we had a great time.

After that tour we grabbed some food at a restaurant that I don't remember the name. The name was not important to the story. The cuisine and atmosphere are the interesting parts. I hadn't heard of this until recently but apparently something that is really popular to eat in Memphis and the south is Fried Chicken and Waffles. It is exactly what it sounds like. The dinner consists of a peice of fried chicken and a fluffy waffle as the second part of your main dish. Some of our church friends has recently been to this place and insisted that we go there for the chicken and waffles. Nate did just that. Here is a picture...he was very excited.



After the Chicken and Waffles place we toured the Gibson Guitar Factory. This was pretty cool. All of the guitars are hand made and a lot of work goes into them. I now understand why they are so darn expensive. This is a picture of the lobby as you walk into the factory.



After the Gibson Guitar Factory we just sat on Beale Street for a while listening to the music that was playing in the bars and restaurants around us. You don't have to even go inside to hear the music. We also got in some great people watching. When it started to get a little more crowded and late we decided to head back to the hotel. Walking around Graceland all day took it out of us. Back at the hotel we ate the top tier of our wedding cake and had some champagne to celebrate our first anniversary. The cake actually tasted pretty good for being a year old.



The next morning we went to Christ the King Lutheran Church in Memphis. It was a very nice service. They seem to have a thriving church and Lutheran school there. It was a very nice experience.

After church we grabbed some Lunch at Neely's Barbecue. We couldn't go to Memphis and not have some barbecue. I wanted to go to the Neely's because I am a big fan of their food network show. It was delicious! That brought our trip to a close. We had a very good time.



Last Sunday we had the famous Hanover Lutheran Church Sausage Supper. They have two a year so this is our second. Again Nate helped butcher the hogs and make the sausage on Friday and Saturday. I helped out in the kitchen with the ladies. It was a success and a great time.

Recently I have tried a new recipe from Rachael Ray that I love and I wanted to share on here. Naturally I love Mac and Cheese like anyone so this recipe takes this old favorite and puts a new spin on it. I love it! I don't generally like meat in my pasta but this broke me of that. Quick side note: I always cut the amount of onions Rachael uses in half. I hope you enjoy it if you try it!



Ingredients

6 slices bacon
Salt and pepper
1 pound whole wheat, short-cut pasta
2 pieces skinless chicken breasts, lightly pounded
EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
4 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, quartered lengthwise and very thinly sliced
2 rounded tablespoons flour
1/2 cup cloudy apple cider or chicken stock
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese ( I used all white cheddar)
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
Chopped flat-leaf parsley or celery greens, for garnish

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 °F. Arrange the bacon on a slotted broiler pan or on a rack placed over a baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 15 minutes. Chop and reserve. Switch on the broiler and position the rack in the center of the oven.

Bring a pot of water to boil, salt it, add pasta and cook 1 minute less then instructions indicate, or until just shy of al dente. Drain and return to the pot.

While pasta is working, heat grill pan or cast-iron griddle over medium-high heat. Drizzle chicken with EVOO to coat lightly then season evenly with paprika, salt and pepper. Grill chicken for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Transfer to a cutting board and halve the pieces lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.

While the chicken cooks, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until light golden brown and very soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute. Whisk in cider (or stock), then add milk. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Add thyme and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in the cheese until melted.

Add the chicken, bacon and sauce to the pasta and transfer to a casserole. Broil until bubbling and browned, about 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley or celery greens.

That is all for now. God is good!

Not much snow, Super Bowl XLV and Kindergarten

Not too much to report here. Unlike the rest of the country, here in Cape Girardeau we haven't had that much snow. Nate is excited that we may get a few inches tomorrow. I don't mind not having to dig my car out of the 4 foot plow piles like I used to have to do at CUW.

We were both quite happy about the outcome of the Super Bowl. While living in Wisconsin Nate and I both became Packer fans. You have no choice when you live there. There is no way to take a nap during the game because everyone is yelling and Packer fever really is a disease. It's hard not to catch. The Packers also remind us of a place we love. So congrats to the Pack!



Speaking of the Super Bowl, I love Super Bowl food. Characteristic of most food that I love, Super Bowl food isn't good for you. I consider the Superbowl to be a food holiday. Hot wings, stuffed jalapenos and chili are some of the delicious items that we had on Sunday. We were supposed to head up to St. Louis for a party but the weather canceled the party. At that party there were to be chili and pie contests. I had already bought all of the ingredients to make Nate's favorite pie, banana cream. I decided since I had the stuff I would go ahead and make it. According to Nate, my first try at banana cream pie was successful. Here is the recipe if you are looking for a good one. It is pretty easy.


Here is a link to the website where I got the recipe: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1937,134184-243194,00.html

Yesterday, I was privileged to substitute in kindergarten at Trinity. I had never taught students that little before so I knew it would be an adventure. They are very cute kids. I love that they have nap time. However, it was very hard to stay awake during their nap time. I was about to pass out myself. One of the cute things that they said was during Jesus time. I was telling them about what Jesus told us was the best commandment and they tried to guess what that was. One of their answers was, "Is it listening to your teacher?" Haha. It was priceless. It was a very good day. I love subbing at Trinity.

That's all for now! God is good!

Christmas, New Year's, Wedding, More Subbing and Cardinal Caravan

Happy 2011 Everyone! (22 days late) Sorry about that. I have been horrible about posting to the blog but now that the Christmas rush has come to a complete end I hope to pick it up again on a regular basis. I hope that lent doesn't throw a kink into this plan but it might.

Nate and I had a lovely Christmas season here in Cape Girardeau. We definitely learned what it meant to be church workers during the Christmas season. It was very, very busy. We spent Christmas Day with my parents in St. Louis. It was a nice visit with them. Later, the week after Christmas Shayla and Andrew Gerike were in Missouri so we met up with them in St. Louis and spent the day with them.

On New Year's Eve, Nate preached at church and then we had a great night out with some of the people from church who invited us to be a part of a progressive dinner. This was also an "ugly sweater" progressive dinner. We had a great time.



The next day, Nate and I attended the wedding of Wesly and Will Pinkston. Wesly is one of my very good friends from Camp Lakeview. We had a great time seeing friends and dancing the night away.



This month I have subbed a handful of times at Trinity Lutheran in Cape. I love subbing at Trinity! I love being able to share Jesus with the kids and I also love the people there. They are very welcoming. I subbed for second grade 3 days last week, it would have been four if there wasn't a snow day. So, I had the second grade for what felt like a long time. They were a good class. The snow made them a little over excited seen as how in Missouri we get snow storms maybe 3 or 4 times a winter and it doesn't stay for long. I like it this way because you get the snow but you don't have to see it turn black and get yucky. Nate disagrees. He would love to have lots of snow all the time. Anyway, the second graders were a fun group to have, they exhausted me but I had fun.

This past Monday the St. Louis Cardinals had an event in Cape called the Cardinal Caravan where a few current players and a few Cardinals Alumni come and do a Q&A and sign autographs. My favorite comment was from Al Hrabosky. A kid asked him how he felt about the Cubs. His response to this child was a lengthy explanation about what has happened since the Cubs won a World Series. His answer was "everything" and then proceeded to list many examples. My favorite example was, "Wrigley field was built, five poles were placed at the top of this stadium to fly future world series flags, they rusted, fell down and were never replaced." Some friends from church hooked me up so that I could meet Danny Cox and Colby Rasmus. It was really cool!


Me with Danny Cox


Colby Rasmus signing my baseball

I think that is all for now. God is good!