The Big Time!

Our baby shower was breaking news in the Bancroft Blade! They even spelled my name right!

The Mamas Visit!

Our mamas came last week! They brought many wonderful things baby! I have more clothes than I or Lily Ruth will ever know what to do with! I can't wait to put every little thing on her! They also brought a list of projects to get done while they were here. We spent the week sewing, cleaning, organizing and getting this place in order for our little one. We're ready now Lily! At least we hope it's Lily or Gerhardt will have to wear all these pretty pink dresses!

Our living room exploded with baby stuff after the shower.

Mama washed and folded until she couldn't wash and fold anymore!

Then we started in the nursery! Paint color: Sand 4 or Baby Cafe au lait! Phil got the easy part...all the trim. I was banished to the living room so baby and I wouldn't pass out or grow a third eye.

All finished painting!

Phil's dad arrived Sunday with the furniture he had made!

The changing table.

The crib.

The bookshelf and ta da! The nursery was finished!

James and Sandy's glider reupholstered in chocolate brown, Lily's favorite.

Neil also made a little rocker for her.

Look at all her pretty clothes. These are just the up to 3 month sizes. There are two more closets full of the larger sizes. I can't wait for Lily to be here!

Bancroft Baby Shower.

June 14th I was showered once more with kindness, generosity and of course baby stuff! Some of the ladies at church hosted a baby shower for us. We're all set now. I can't think of one more thing we'll need for this baby. It was also very nice to have Phil's and my mom there, for the shower and for the aftermath!

The hostesses.

Phil loved this one. It's a good thing this won't fit when she's 12.

My little helper Alix.

Here are Elizabeth, 96 and Gladys, 98. Still getting around.

34 Weeks.

Cousin Wes Visits.

On his way to Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, cousin Wes stopped in Bancroft to visit for a few days. I was so happy to see him and show him how much fun our little corner of the world could be.

Phil had other plans for cousin Wes. Fun was not on the list.

First he'd fill this bucket with water.

Then he'd see just how much "all you can eat" chicken Wes could handle.

Then he'd stand around a cooler filled with, no not ice cold beer and pop, but grain.

And over a boiling pot of brown liquid. Keep stirring Wes!

After that, he put him to work in the garden. There were a lot of weeds to get rid of.

Finally after days of labor, Phil consented to let poor cousin Wes join us at the table for supper and maybe some conversation. Wes left on Thursday to begin a summer of intensive Greek studies, a walk in the park compared to his 3 days in Bancroft. Good luck cousin!

Vacation.

Finally a little time to get away. Phil and I spent a few days in Minnesota and Iowa. We stopped in Sioux Falls, SD to see "the falls". We had no idea we'd find what we did in the middle of the city. It was worth the stop.

Lily wanted to see the falls from the lookout tower. I didn't know how many flights of stairs it would take to get up there, we'd decided not to take the elevator. Not the best decision I've ever made. And after the hike up she couldn't even see over the rail. Oh well.

We made it to Otter Tail, MN where we'd spend a few days fishing. You can see the cabin we stayed in behind Phil.

Northern Pike just can't resist a juicy silver spoon lure. We caught a lot of these, which was very fun, until I learned they have teeth. We weren't landing cute slippery little fish anymore but little finned alligators! Phil thought they were adorable.

They have tongues too!

I caught two of these monsters.

Here's what we were able to keep. 3 Northern Pikes and a Bass.

I wasn't sure they were dead but got close enough for a quick picture anyway. I think my hand was ready to dole out a "Vulcan Death Grip" should anything move.


I like my Pike much better this way! Yum!

On our way to Iowa we stopped in Stillwater MN the home of Loome Theological Booksellers. Phil was in heaven or something like it I'm sure he imagines. It was fascinating to see so many books in this old church. Here's a little about the store from their website:

"Founded in 1981 by Dr. Thomas M. and Karen Loome, Loome Theological Booksellers is dedicated to providing discerning readers with hard-to-find scholarly and classic Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and related books purchased throughout North America and Europe. Our bookshop, housed in the beautifully restored Old Swedish Covenant Church in Stillwater, is the largest secondhand dealer of theological books in the world. We supply institutional libraries, monastic communities, churches, clergy, scholars, and collectors with a vast array of books in theology, religion, and all related areas."

Have you ever seen him happier?

My piece of heaven was found in dark chocolate peanut clusters at a little candy store downtown. Talk about "Vulcan Death Grip", no one was gonna take that bag of chocolate from me.

Just outside of Stillwater was a German restaurant, The Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter. I couldn't wait to have some schnitzel, Phil looked forward to the beer. We were pleased with what we found here.

How could we not have liked this place? As soon as I saw our waitress I knew this would be good! It made me really miss my dirndl.

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Our final destination was Fredericksburg, IA where Phil spent a year as Vicar at St. Paul's Lutheran Church under Pastor Ron Koch. I was excited to see where he'd lived and learned so much about becoming a Pastor and to spend some time with the Koch family. The members of St. Paul's were so happy to see him and meet me.

We stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast, quite luxurious I thought.

Our room had a king size bed with soft sheets and tons of pillows! A pregnant woman's dream come true, next to all you can eat dark chocolate peanut clusters of course.

We picked up some fried chicken and had a picnic in the park.

Visiting Fredericksburg was a nice way to end our vacation. After a potluck the church held for us we headed home.