Dumplings, Rummy, Mules, Sewing, Subbing

From Thursday of Last week until tonight Nate and I have been very busy people. On Thursday afternoon I went to Tom and Sharron's house. Tom and Sharron are awesome people of God. They have a wonderful family and great faith. Sharon invited me to their house to teach me how to make chicken and dumplings using her secret recipe. Of course, I cannot reveal this secret but we had a very good time and I learned how to make chicken and dumplings. We also made 2 apple pies. Nate and Tom joined us later for dinner which was delicious and then we all played some Apples to Apples with their grandson. It was a great time!

Friday during the day I started working on my first project on my sewing machine. I made a bag from an old sheet to put our recycling in before we take it out to the big can outside every week. Before we were just throwing everything on the ground next to the trash can trying to make it as neat as possible but it just wasn't working. So, I made a plain white bag with a drawstring. It looks like a pillowcase on a string but I'm pretty proud of my first accomplishment with my machine.


It's a little plain so I might iron on some letters to spice it up a little.

Friday night we went to Pat and Gib's to have dinner with them and the Kobaks (the pastor and his wife). Pat and Gib love to play games. They especially love to play variations of rummy. The last time Nate and I spent time with them we played 2 different variations of rummy. We played 3 and 13 well into the night. Nate and I are wondering how many forms of rummy there might be and we are ready to take on learning as many as possible.

Saturday we went to the East Perry County Fair (the Altenburg Fair). This fair is considered, "the best little fair in the land". If you don't know, Altenburg, MO is the home of the first LCMS seminary. In good German tradition, this fair holds a record concerning beer consumption. I am pretty sure it is the most beer consumed over the course of two days. It is also famous for its fried fish and cheese sandwiches. Nate stood in line for 30 minutes to collect cheese sandwiches for the group we were there with. The biggest thing to see at this fair though is the mule jumping. The mules compete to see which mule can jump the highest over a pole. Apparently this started as a bar bet and turned into the talk of the fair. It is VERY entertaining. I am not kidding either. It was great! I want to go again next year.

Picture from semissourian.com

Sunday we had church of course which my dad joined us for. He came down to hear Nate preach and to go to Nate's Bible study. Then there was a chicken and dumplings dinner at the church as a fundraiser. We also had chicken and dumplings again at a birthday party that night. I think that Nate and I are experts on what makes good chicken and dumplings now. :)

Today and yesterday I subbed at Jackson Junior High. I really enjoyed both days. I haven't really done much but the kids are great. I have had time to read which is very nice and I am doing something which is also good.

That's all for now! God is good!

Exciting Week

This past week was the week of the SEMO (Southeast Missouri) District Fair. In Cape Girardeau the SEMO Fair is a BIG deal. The kids from the congregation showed animals and other various 4-H projects. This is the first time that Nate and I have experienced the livestock showing and a horse show. We also got to see two concerts at the fair. We saw Bryan White which is famous for his song he sang with Shania Twain in the 90's, "From this Moment". We also saw the John D. Hale Band which is a local band. We had the chance to experience a deep fried Snickers bar. It was delicious and like all good foods, horribly bad for you. It's okay though because the fair is only once a year. All in all, the SEMO District Fair was a success with the Wollenbergs, fun and fellowship with a lot of great people.

The biggest part of my week was that, Sara, a wonderful woman from our congregation took me with her to the Cardinals game on Monday night. She works for Drury Hotels so we got to sit in the corporate seats, five rows behind home plate. It was awesome! When the ump and Yadier Molina (Cardinals catcher)were arguing I could read their lips. Fredbird also ended up coming to our section, sitting down next to people and messing with them. It was amazing! Sara and I had a great time!





Other exciting things that happened this week include me getting my first substitute job! I subbed at Jackson High School for a para-professional in the Special Ed department. I was very happy to get some work. I also ordered a sewing machine!!! I got a brother CS 6000i. Isn't it pretty?



I'm so excited to get it! I have used sewing machines a few times before but never on my own. We'll see how I do!

Nate is excited that football has started. He is keeping up with his and my fantasy teams. I don't pay as much to my teams as I should. He, of course, has not forgotten about baseball and his first place Yankees.

Anyway, all is good in Cape. God is good!

Goodbye Summer

Over the past month things have been good in Cape and elsewhere. It has cooled down significantly in the past couple of weeks and we are experiencing some very nice weather along with some rain which was greatly needed. Nate and I attended the wedding of our dear friends Shayla and Andrew. It was a wonderful wedding that we both got the pleasure of standing up in. We could not be happier for two of our best friends.





Before the wedding our friend Rachel McCall came to visit in Cape. We had a great time spending time with her. We gave her the grand tour of Cape Girardeau! We introduced her to stuffed jalapenos, which are delicious, they aren't spicy.

I am still looking for a job. Until I find one, I am thinking about taking up sewing as a hobby. I think it would be an excellent hobby to have and it would be fun. The only obstacle now is finding an inexpensive machine. I have been looking at some projects on Marthastewart.com and think it is definitely doable. I still like to bake as a hobby but I don't need extra sweets around the house. I did make an Oreo pudding pie which turned out nicely for the Rally Day Picnic at church. I will keep up the baking when there are events to take the goods to. :)

Things have been pretty normal up at church. Nate experienced his third funeral since we have been here. That might be kind of morbid for a blog but he is training to be a pastor and funerals are part of the biz. He has been preaching on a regular basis. If you would like to hear his sermons you can access them buy going to the iTunes store and typing in "Hanover Lutheran Church". If you go to the churches page you can watch the sermons.

God is good! That's all for now.:)