Seasons

I am not a native Missourian. In fact, when I have to answer the question, "where did you grow up?," which I am answering quite often in these get-to-know-you days at a new church, I often falter as to how to answer. The northern mid-west? Chicago-area? Or do I list the places and then answer the obvious follow-up questions of if I grew up in a military family or if one of my parents was a pastor? No matter how the conversation goes, it usually lands on how I ended up here, here in Missouri. My answer... I married into Missouri and once you marry in, you can never get out.

When my folks moved to St. Louis in my senior year of high school, I never thought I would stay in Missouri when "I grew up." That said, I didn't really have any dreams or ideas of where I would end up. As time has moved along, I have found not only an appreciation, but a love of this state. Now, that isn't to say I don't crave the metropolis of Chicago or the lakeshores of Michigan, but I have come to love all that Missouri offers -- even rural Missouri.

Of the many things I enjoy about Missouri, and life in the mid-west in general, is the change of seasons. We get to experience all four seasons here and I absolutely love it. I drive 30 miles through the rural landscape on my way to work each day. The winter has a quiet peace about the land -- the soil is resting, the livestock are huddled close together to stay warm. The horizon is often grey, but full of mystery and beauty. The spring is so very pretty with the spring-green leaves and the row crops beginning to pop up along the dark, newly turned-over soil. The first hay is cut and baled. The summer brings forth rich greens as the beans and the corn grow. Cows, goats, sheep, horses, and other animals enjoy the summer heat. The lilypads bloom on the local lakes. Currently, with fall, the acres of bean fields are turning from their deep rich green to a bright golden color -- one that takes my breath away each year. The corn stalks are bare and dry. The leaves on the trees begin shifting their colors. The mornings are often cool and foggy. The round hay bales have steam rising off of them during the cool mornings. Experiencing the seasons in rural-Missouri is like nothing I have experienced before. It keeps my perspective fresh and it reminds me of just how dynamic life truly is.

The change of seasons often brings forth a variety of busy-ness in church life as well as our family life. We are getting used to new fall customs as I get my feet wet in a new church home. We are busy with school events, homecoming parades, campus band days, church organ concerts, fall kick-off events, church picnics, and a Blessing of the Animals service. Autumn is proving to be a wonderful season not just in rural Missouri, but also in our home and in our churches. It is easy to get overwhelmed as we think about all the next season will bring (afterall, it isn't "winter" so much as it is "the season of advent."), but with each commute to work I am able to take in what the current season offers and it grounds me once again to the present. Such a great gift.

Enough with that. You are reading out of interest for what is going on with the girls and you are probably hoping for a picture or two (yes, Mom, I am on to you!) Josie is thriving in second grade with a teacher she absolutely adores. She is a spelling machine, having passed every spelling test so far on the practice round. Josie started piano this fall and is thoroughly enjoying that musical outlet. That said, she has plans. She figures once she masters piano, she can learn guitar and then become more like Hannah Montana -- complete with CD sales and the "Rockstar" title.

Norah continues on at Pam's in preschool. She is counting, singing, playing, and having a jolly-good time. She has adjusted well to life at a new church and has taken a strong liking to her nursery worker friends. Our joke is that while some churches have a church cat, MUMC now has a church Norah. Bless her heart, she is with me wherever I go! Josie has also been enjoying her time at MUMC meeting new friends, but she also has fun with her weeks at "Dad's church" with her school friends.

Below are some random pics from the last couple of weeks. Some are from a church picnic while a couple others are from the Blessing of the Animals service we had. The latter aren't great pics of the girls, but they are pics just the same!