Teach Us to Number Our Days

My dad fell a couple of weeks ago and a few days later we noticed his collarbone seemed swollen so we took him to the doctor thinking he may have broken it. Instead we found out that the cancer that we knew was lurking somewhere in his body reared its ugly head. He is now under hospice care. We weren't terribly surprised because he had lost a lot of weight and grown a lot weaker in the last couple of months. Please pray for a freedom from pain and a strengthening of his faith for whatever number of days we will still have him. He has always wanted to live to be 90. He'll be 90 in May. We're praying G-Gpa!

For the Beauty of the Earth . . .

....And the beauty of another day off! I was very surprised to get a call at 5:45 this morning that school was called off. I spent part of the day working on progress reports so at least I was productive and didn't waste the day completely. I feel blessed to have the beauty of the ice without the perils and inconvenience that a lot of people have had. (Blogger doesn't seem to want to cooperate posting my picture of the icy sunset--I'll have to try again later.)

Woehlkes and Walls

If there's anything good about this morning's weather it's this--I get to stay home. I don't have school, but I was supposed to go to an in-service in Farmington. The psychologist who was to lead it thought ahead to the weather forecast and cancelled it. Yeaaa! ~~~ This weekend we closed in a window in our family room (if you're around when our house is torn down, look for a treasure in the wall.) Yesterday, Bob and the Woehlke girls came over to mud it for us and so I got to spend some time having fun and taking pictures. Emily stayed home and tore down wallpaper. Here are some pictures.

Christmas Again??

One of my schools has its Christmas program tonight. Thus, I'm able to have some free time this morning while they practice again. What? Didn't we do that already? It seems that the night of the program, the power at the school went out from 5:15 until 11:00 p.m. and so these teachers and parents who went through oh, so much work to set up the gym, put up decorations, move instruments, etc. etc. etc. are doing it all again. I've heard a few grumblings, and I wonder how well the children will be "up" for Christmas 3 weeks later. Maybe it's a good reminder to celebrate Jesus all year long! Merry Christmas everyone!

Same Breakfast Menu as Heidi's

I, too, have scrambled eggs for brains this morning. Usually I'm falling asleep by 9:00 o'clock. Last night I got working on a project on my computer and looked up and it was after midnight. By the time I got everything shut down and ready for morning, I got in bed at about 12:45. But could I sleep? No! It felt like I had just drank 4 cups of coffee and got very little sleep. I was even awake before my alarm went off at 5:30. What was that all about?? Of course, today is my first full day of school, and I promised to watch the McClelland children this evening. Tomorrow is school, a funeral, and choirs and then another full day Thursday. Will I make it? I guess I'll have to!

Happy Epiphany!

I love leaving my tree up at least until Epiphany. Today is the day. The phrase "Wise men still adore Him!" comes to mind. Today is also special for Tom and I for two other reasons. We had our first date 38 years ago today. Our first date was to chapel. Concordia College had chapel every Wednesday night and that was our first date--Epiphany chapel! Also, Tom was ordained on Epipany Sunday, January 6, 1985-- 22 years ago! Can that be? But I'm always sad to take the tree down--maybe I'll wait until tomorrow.

Our Amy Blessing!

Happy Birthday Amy! I hope you're having a special one with your Mom and Dad and Grandpa down there helping you celebrate! You are a blessing to all of us for 28 years now! God bless your next 28 years! They go fast! In that time you'll be our age! Shudder! We love you lots!

More Party Pics

The Schroeder Christmas Party

Can you believe that we actually got all 13 of Opa's great grandchildren to pose (relatively speaking) for this picture? Across the top - Chandler, Ella, Quinn, Savannah, Anika, Peyton; then, Kaleigh, Avery, Sophia, Cohen, Bailey, Opa, Lucy, and Addison. We had a great time! Our day included puppet shows, singing and piano playing, parachute play, basketball, balloon kicking, stocking emptying, freeze dancing, craft-making, and lots of eating and visiting.