This is what I've been doing since October

Oh gee have I been bad. October? Wow! I did not know it had been that long! Well, to get up to date...

I continued with the homebirth group (party) at my house up until last month. I just kept forgetting to call people and let them know. We actually had quite a crowd, about 9 moms and 16 children.

For Halloween, Lena went as a pea pod. Mom had bought the costume last year on sale and Eli was a clown. I even sewed his costume all by myself! I know there were things that I messed up on, but it looked pretty great.

We spent Thanksgiving with my family and the week before Christmas with Matthew's. Then Matthew went on tour with the Kantorei to the Northeast.

Obviously, Eli turned two on December 7th. We had a little birthday party for him.

The beginning of this year was fairly uneventful. We did get to visit our friend Matt just before Easter. It had been go long since we had seen him last. After Easter Matthew went on his second tour with Kantorei to Wisconsin and Illinois.

Now we get to the really fun stuff. Most of my family came up for call night. We are going to The Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word in Florence, South Carolina! We are so excited! The church sounds wonderful and I've never lived in that area of the country so it will be a real adventure for me. We move on June 6th. (Yes, that's THIS Wednesday.)

Matthew was officially done with seminary on May 18. He rang the old Springfield bell with a huge smile on his face. I don't think that I've ever seen him so relieved! His ordination will be at our home church in Brookfield, IL on June 17. Drop me an email if you would like to come!

Lena had her first birthday just last week. We had a party for her as well. We tried to make it a pool party for the kids, but the weather got kind of nasty and rainy. Oh well, it was a lot of fun anyhow. Speaking of Lena, she is brilliant. (I write this as I listen to her scream because she doesn't want to go to sleep without me there.) She started walking at 9 months and is now running and talking. She says several words including thank you, baby, Papa, duck-duck, E-I-O, neh-neh (for nursing), and I swear she said downstairs today when I asked if she wanted to go downstairs. She even pointed! She has just started table food in the last month or so and still nurses frequently. :) She is measuring a little bigger than Eli was at her age, but because she is so active she is not near as chubby as she used to be. :( I'm so glad that she is a happy and healthy little girl.

Well, as I write Matthew is packing up this very office. (And Lena is once again crying because she wants me to come to bed too. Those of you who read this, I expect you to remind me to post if I haven't done so by July. This month will be very busy for me with moving, ordination, and installation on the 24th. Until then...