A New Beginning

Having trouble sleeping this evening.  Thought I'd check out the old blog.  This was something I really enjoyed doing for quite some time.  I think I may revisit it.

We are in a new place now.  My husband is still a Lutheran pastor, and a darn good one at that.  I'm still a Lutheran teacher.  Our church and school are bigger than before, which brings a whole new set of blessings and struggles.

We have developed some new interests in our new place, far away from our kids and their families.  We love to dance...Texas country, two-steppin', waltzing fun.  We have an amazing little venue we love and usually dance 2-3 times a week. We are close enough to our family farm to spend as much time there as we'd like.

I'll be tweeking some things and updating my list of links...hopefully find some new people to follow.  I will try to share some insights into our new lives, into my walk of faith, and sometimes some of the heartaches that come along the way.

Here's to making a new beginning and new friends.

A Day of Rest from My Labor

The first week of school was exhausting. I suppose it is always like this. It seemed to take forever to get anything done. 

There is an entirely different feel to things this year. An entirely new staff makes it like I'm in an entirely new school. Weird. I have 12 boys and 1 very brave and awesome girl. 12 boys = LOTS of energy!  But they are all great, full of personality, a pleasure to be around. 

Thanks to some wonderful suggestions from Allan, I'm feeling prepared to begin tomorrow with some new policies in place to encourage better behavior and quicker actions. Hopefully this will make it easier to stay on schedule. 

I totally needed a day off today - plus a 4-day week. Bring it on!

And Now It's August

August-always a bittersweet time for me. There's only a few weeks of summer left. My time at home during the summer fills me with joy. I adore spending so much time with Allan. He works so hard to make this a special and fun time for us. I treasure these times.  I literally would be thrilled to sit in his office with him all

day every day. God has blessed me beyond measure with such a wonderful man to share my life with!

The upcoming school year is an uncertain one for me. Our staff is full of new people - I'm the only one returning. The not knowing how things are going to be done is unsettling. I've been in a very comfortable 15 year routine, and am not sure how much will change. Frankly, I'm feeling like the outsider already. Only one official thing so far, our registration day, and that didn't end on time.  Just worrying for no reason I'm sure. 

Happy Ordination Day!

On this day, fourteen years ago, my dear husband was ordained into the ministry of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.  What a blessing he has been to me and so many others.  I feel so blessed to sit in the pew each week and hear his message.  It gets me through the week.  Our worship service is well thought out, with everything working together to enrich our worship.  It all ties together. He is a devoted, thoughtful, kind and caring pastor.  Our congregation is so blessed by his service to them.  He's a great pastor, and I for one am a very proud wife. 

New Orleans

Well, we have eaten our way through yet another city.  This was our second trip to New Orleans...the first post Katrina.  We found the people of New Orleans to be great and patient with us tourists.  Didn't meet up with ANY less than pleasant people!  Our first stop after checking into our hotel was Mother's.  This is the one place we had been before and couldn't wait to go back to!

Oyster Po'Boys and Seafood Gumbo - Yummy

Headed to the casino after this to check out the action.  We tried out penny slots for the first time and didn't do half bad (since we only lost half the money we put in!)  Then it was off to the trolly.  Our first new experience since we hadn't ridden them years ago.  I must say - LOVE the trolly.  $3 for a day pass and they go all over.  People are a great mix of locals and tourists and the trolly drivers ROCK!

Dinner was at Royal Oyster House.  A beautiful Riesling and a dozen oysters on the half shell.  Oysters were fair...not real cold and a little sandy.  Followed this with Crawfish Etouffee - excellent. Walked back to the casino to hit those penny slots again - bingo, our lucky day.

 

This was halfway through!

Back to the hotel we went - lots of walking and tired feet.  Woke up and bought new trolly tickets and headed out to Cafe du Monde for breakfast.

Enjoyed walking around the French Market area, Jackson Park, the Cathedral and checked out the Hurricane Katrina exhibit at the museum.  Very interesting to see and read about this disaster from a local point of view.  Then it off to Central Grocery for the Original Muffaletta sandwich!

Irritating that I can't rotate!  These were too delicious to not show!

Lots more walking through the French Quarter back to the hotel for an awesome nap!  Dinner at Acme Oyster House...a dozen raw followed by gumbo, fried shrimp and oyster plate and bread pudding for dessert! More trolly riding and coffee at Cafe du Monde before losing a large portion of our winnings from the previous day at the casino!  Easy come easy go, right?

Walked back to Jackson park to have breakfast before our flight home.  Good ole bacon, eggs, toast and creole potatoes at Stanley's.

We had a fun time.  It was nice to get away, but as it always is, great to get home.  Thank you to my beloved husband for going above and beyond to show me a good time.  There is no way I could ever, ever deserve such a great guy!  I love him more than words can ever express!