Homecoming 2016

So this past week was Homecoming week for Mt. Zion. They do a theme for every day of the week. Needless to say, I didn't do a very good job getting pictures. Monday was Sports team...Kiersten wore her St. Louis Cardinals shirt, but I was in Chicago with Leah and my sister so I didn't get a picture. Tuesday was silly socks day. Can you tell that Leah was thrilled with me taking her picture??? Wednesday was School Spirit day. So the girls were rocking their Braves gear. Thursday was Decade day, so the girls wore their 50's poodle skirts...and I failed to snap a pic. Friday there was no school. It was teachers institute, but that night Mitch took the girls to the football game so they could cheer on the team...errr, watch the cheerleaders, Poms and Band perform. It was chilly but they had a great time. Go Braves!

Memory Lane

So after our trip up to Chicago, I decided that since I'm not North that often it would be a good time to teach Leah some family history. It probably didn't mean much to her then, but I hope someday she will think back to the stories I told her. My mom, Gigi, grew up in the Kankakee area. I don't visit much anymore, since my grandparents are gone, but I want my kids to know where they came from.

We started at the Zion Lutheran Church in Bonfield, Il...its the church my mother attended as a child. She was confirmed there, married there...and my grandparents were both laid to rest in the church cemetary. I showed Leah their resting place. As we walked back to the car, she noticed the dates on some all the way back to the early 1800's. We also pointed out all the German.

Afterwards, we headed into Herscher, mostly because I needed gas. But I told Leah about how Gigi graduated from High school there and then showed her the house that my Grandmother lived in at 196 Kay St. She hasn't lived there in nearly 10 years but I still know the address. I got teary eyed, telling Leah about how when I was in graduate school at the U of I, I would occasionally drive up and bring lunch to my grandmother. Not near often enough, but I'm glad I have those memories.

Then we went on to Buckingham. As we were leaving town I showed her the curve on the edge of Herscher. I remember learning to drive up there, in drivers ed with my dad. I took that curve to fast on a cold icy winters day once upon a time. Once we got to Buckingham I had no trouble finding the house. As a kid I always thought it was so big, but it didn't look nearly as towering this time. I probably hadn't been there in at least 20 years but the memories came flooding back. How my cousins and I would climb those porch walls and play on that porch swing. I shared how we jumped from the pedestal that the lions now sit on. I showed Leah the windows to the bedroom that was Gigi's as a girl. And told her how my Grandma made cherry pies from the tree right outside her kitchen window. The cherry tree was gone, the peony bushes out front too...but the memories last forever.

A few weeks back after a family funeral up North Gigi wanted to show me her grandparents farms. That's what the maps are from. I marked them on my GPS. Both were East of Buckley, Il. My family members are mostly buried at the St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Woodworth. The Bohlmann's were my Grandmother's mothers family and the Zum Mallen's were my Grandmothers fathers family. Family is important, and I won't forget.

WIldcats AND Leah in Chicago!

So my sister, Aunt Laura, doesn't come to Illinois often. I figured since she was going to be in Chicago, I would take advantage of the opportunity. And I took Leah along for a little fun. Sometimes the girls like Golf, other times, they could care less. But I knew either way, watching some really good golfers would be fun. And the Wildcats did not disappoint.

They were competing in Northwesterns Home Tournament at the Glen View Club on Monday and Tuesday. Leah and I drove up on Sunday and followed them during their practice round. Around hole 15 it started to rain!!! So glad I had my umbrella along. This is when things got really exciting for Miss Leah. Aunt Laura let her drive the golf cart. By the time the team finished up, Laura, Leah and I all had soaking wet feet. We hit up Target for some new kicks! Then we went to dinner at a sushi restaurant. Leah was pretty adventurous. She tried the soft shell crab and the spicy scallop and loved them both. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel. Leah got to show Aunt Laura some of her swimming moves in the pool.

We got back to the room and every one was tucked in and ready for bed by 11. Good thing, because the team was teeing off at 7:30 the next morning. Leah and I watched about 7 holes before we decided to hit the road. Once again our feet were sopping wet. But that's okay, it was a good time and we would certainly do it again!

Daddy does China!

We survived!!! Mitch just made it home from 16...yes, SIXTEEN days in China. It wasn't easy, many times my patience was tested, but he's home. And we couldn't be happier!!! He didn't send many pics from his trip but these are the few that I have. He really only had 2 days off to be a tourist. The rest of his time was spent working and visiting different plants. The Forbidden City and the Great Wall were both fascinating to him. He asked if I was going to be upset if he visited these places without me. I told him he'd be crazy not to.

He brought back lots of gifts. He said everyone there was very big on gift giving. There were boxes of moon cakes, ginger candy, other candy, lots of tea, some interesting artwork. He brought the girls each a statue of a temple and a paper fan. They liked the gifts but the best gift of all was having daddy back home with us!

Hike for the Hive!

Today we participated in the 2nd annual Hike for the Hive! McGaughey Elementary decided last year that they were done selling wrapping paper cookie dough to raise money for the school. They decided to do things differently...and I'm so glad they did. This is such a fun even for the kids. They get sponsors and they run laps at the High School track. We fill the stands, Kids Bop is blaring, the Drum line performs and then the kids get their run on! It's so fun! Bug did great and raised over $150 for the cause! The School set a goal of $10,000 and raised over $13,000. Amazing job, little bees!

#ScharfyStrong

Sometimes, even in the nicest of communities, terrible things happen. September 2nd, a boy in Leah's class suffered an aneurysm and was rushed to the hospital. Jackson Scharf had bleeding on the brain. He underwent surgery, they removed a part of his skull and were able to repair the brain bleed. He was born with a condition called AVM that no one knew about. Our community has rallied. Leah has had many questions that I have tried to answer. We pray for her friend, for his family...we even attended the community prayer vigil.

Thankfully, Jackson has begun to show improvements. He is speaking some, he is responding to his mother and the cues when they ask him to squeeze with a hand or wiggle a foot. Today he has been transferred to Ranken Jordan Rehabilitative Hospital in St. Louis. We pray that he continues to get amazing care while there, and that his family will continue to feel the love of God as well as from our community. This has been an eye opening experience for my young girl. She wants to give, she wants to help...and more importantly its shown her what a community can do when it comes together. Over $10,000 has been raised to help the Scharf family...we are #mtzproud and #scharfystrong

Okaw Valley Apple Orchard

It's the second week of school for this girl, and she's already off on her first field trip! Hattie's preschool class went to Okaw Valley Apple Orchard, down near Sullivan. The day started out rainy, but ended up pretty nice. And we met a new neighbor...Hattie's friend Alec will be moving on to our street in a few weeks, Fun!

We started out in the orchard, and our guide talked about the different kinds of apples. The kids were excited that they got to pick 2 Macintosh and 2 Golden Delicious. Mom's got to pick some too! Then we went over to watch how they sort the apples. We got to see the cider press and she explained how the machine works, and even got to go into the gigantic cooler. We saw the queen bee and all the worker bees and followed it up with Hattie's favorite part...SNACK! We had apple donuts, apple cider and apple cider slushy. Once we had wrapped up snack time, the kids got to enjoy some much needed time on the playground. What a fun morning!

Grandparents Day!

I love that Mt. Zion Schools does a Grandparents Day...and I love even more that we live close enough to have one attend. Cheers to Gigi for making it to Kiersten's school on Thursday night and Leah's school on Friday afternoon.

The girls had a great time showing Gigi around their schools and classrooms. Kiersten thought the photo booth was the best part for sure. And Mrs. Weirman also had them to do a math/counting game with M&M's. Leah's teacher Mrs. Swartz did a question answer session with the visitors. She compared what they paid for a gallon of  milk or a gallon of gas then verses now. Leah also got to interview her Gigi and ask questions about when Gigi was in 3rd grade. A great time was had by all! And now Hattie can't wait to have Grandparents day too!