Espresso, et cetera

8 months old

2011-05-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

Our little Jack Jack is not so little anymore. A big guy with a big personality!
At 8 months he can:
-Crawl! and oh my, does he get into everything! Very curious little man!
-Sit up very steadily
-Stand while holding onto something
-Walk very well with help
-Starting to get the idea of pulling up on things
-Say "da da" and says it all the time!
-Eat solid foods 3 times a day, especially loves yogurt and fruit
-Drink from a sippy cup by himself
-Sleeps from about 6pm-6am
-Goes down for naps really well during the day
-He loves going for walks and looking outside
-Also loves sitting up in the shopping cart and the retaurant high chair
-He definitely knows his mommy, starting to show a little bit of stranger anxiety
-Very tickleish and loves to laugh : )

6 month photos

2011-04-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

Stephen Guebert Photography

www.stephenguebert.com

happy half-birthday, Jack!

2011-03-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

me first st. patty's day!

2011-03-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

5 months

2011-03-06T13:40:00.000-08:00

February 19th marked Jack's 5 month birthday. No doctor's appt. this month, but by our measurements he weighs 15 lbs. and is 27 in. long.

What a great age! He can do so much already:

Standing for long periods of time (with help)

Sitting up if supported by mom or the boppy pillow (can sit on his own for a few seconds)

Rolling over both ways!!!

Started scooting (very slowly) this month!

Grabbing anything and everything he can get his hands on.

Playing in his exersaucer, on his playmat, and with any toys we give him.

Laughing a lot! (especially when he's tired)

Sleeping through the night! Yeah!

Taking 2 full naps during the day ... and usually a catnap before bed.

Eating about every 4-5 hrs.

Eating a little rice cereal before bed (definitely getting interested in our food)

And he even knows his name (at least we think he does).

Here are a few pictures of our happy, active, little 5 month old ...

4 months

2011-01-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

Our little guy is 4 months old already! We are so blessed to have such a happy, sweet, little boy!

At his 4 month check-up he weighed 14 lbs (45%)

and 26 in. long (75%).

He's really growing and doing very well developmentally.

At 4 months, Jack can:

Giggle (especially when we tickle his neck)

Grab toys--switch them from hand to hand

Put things in his mouth--which is usually accompanied by lots of drool!

Roll from his tummy to his back

Hold his head really well

Sleep through the night! (Well, at least he has the past 3 nights in a row!!!)

Eat about 7 oz. every 4 hrs. or so, and nap really well during the day

Splash in the bath!

Smile and talk to his mommy and daddy--he definitely knows us

He thinks he's big stuff sitting in his bumbo seat!

He loves sitting in his walker--notice how he grabs his toys and they go straight to his mouth!

So close to rolling from his back to his tummy!

Look at how good I can hold my head when I'm on my tummy!

Always smiling! He's got to be the world's happiest baby!

baby jack video

2010-11-26T16:08:00.000-08:00

jack can roll over!

2010-10-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

At only 4 weeks Jack rolled over! Todd and I both happend to see it--he went from his tummy to his back and then to his tummy. We were able to catch him on video last night.

our little pumpkin

2010-10-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

2 weeks

2010-10-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, on his original due date, Jack turned 2 weeks old. Boy, have we learned a lot in 2 short weeks! A few things we've learned REAL quickly:

     - Sleep is precious -- take advantage of every chance there is to nap.
     - Just because we are ready for bed, doesn't mean the baby is.
     - You need to cover up the front of little boys EVERY time you change them (we learned that the hard way twice!).
     - No doubt about it -- whenever there is company and you want the baby to be perfect, he's fussy, and that's ok.

Our check-up at the doctor today was great! He's not quite back up to his birth weight yet, but hopefully by next week. He's very healthy, and whenever he's not sleeping he's a very content little baby! What a blessing!

Here are our latest pictures of our little guy:

jack's first week

2010-09-27T06:40:00.000-07:00

Jack is 8 days old already. We've had quite the week.

It's been awesome and fun and tiring all at the same time!

Mimi came to visit and help out.

Poor little guy had jaundice and had to stay on this silly biliblanket to help with it. We called him the K-Mart baby--blue light special! He didn't seem to mind it too much...but we sure did since we couldn't hold him. He could only come out of it to eat. We had to go each morning to the hospital to get his blood drawn and his levels tested, he was such a trooper!

I don't think he liked his first bath very much--either that or the fact that we put a duck on his head!

I think his expression in this picture is just too funny!

What a sweet little boy!

a few more pics of our little guy!

2010-09-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of J. Hile.

This guy loves his hat.

Fast asleep! If only he could do this at night!

IT'S A BOY!

2010-09-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

Jack Thomas Liefer
Born Sunday, September 19

7:40 am
6 lbs 15 oz
20 in

all things baby

2010-09-14T10:05:00.001-07:00

Only 3 weeks or so before baby Liefer comes! Todd has started back at Seminary every day and I'm staying at home waiting and finding things to keep myself busy. Many of you have been asking about me and the baby, so here is an update:

How far along: 37 weeks

Due date: Sunday, Oct. 3

Gender: a surprise! The ultrasound technician in MI is the only one who knows!

Names: a surprise, too!

Weight gain: too much to mention. Way more than I would've liked. : ) But that's what's suppose to happen, right?

Stretch marks: none

Belly button in or out: definitely sticking out!

Food cravings: anything sweet--ice cream for sure! (but I was like that even before the baby)

Movements: the baby is very active! He/she likes to move at times when I'm relaxing, like sleeping or sitting on the couch. Not as much kicking, but lots of moving around--especially by my ribs. You can tell he/she is running out of room because it's getting a little more uncomfortable each time the baby moves. The baby's been having hiccups almost every day for about 2 weeks now--that's such a neat feeling!

What I miss: I miss being able to do all of the fun, active summer things--like going for a long walk without losing my breath or having to go to the bathroom ;). I miss being able to bend over or get up off the floor easily. I've been swelling alot lately, so I miss being able to fit in my shoes or wear my wedding rings! But, all that is not a big deal and this is definitely worth all of that!

What I'm looking forward to: meeting our baby in a few weeks! I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl! I'm excited for mom to come down and stay with me for a bit and help me.

Other: The baby is head down and in position to come into the world! The doctor thinks that he/she is going to be bald : ) I'm a little bit dialated already, so that means it's getting closer. I met with ou

Here are a few pictures of the baby's room so far:

trip to mn

2010-08-31T18:32:00.000-07:00

This summer has been full of traveling for the Liefers. The 2nd week of August we made the 8 hr. drive up north to visit Kelly's family one last time before baby Liefer comes. Here's our trip in pictures ...

Kelly LOVES ice cream. Kelly's 6 yr. old nephew LOVES ice cream. He had the brilliant idea that they should each get a box of ice cream popsicles (12 ct.) and race to see who eats more and then they will know who loves ice cream the most.

Todd and Kelly spent lots of time with Kelly's nephews. They took Todd to one of the coolest playgrounds in Fairmont. I think Todd had even more fun than the little boys.

Kelly's mom gave her a great baby shower at their church. About 20 family/friends came to celebrate, and play some crazy games that mom came up with. (They played the game where you guess how much yarn it takes to go around Kelly's belly and let's just say that she is feeling pretty good about herself when she learned that her strand of yarn is smaller than all 3 of her brothers!)

Katie, Kelly, and Amanda had a blast hanging out in Fairmont for a night. Just like old times in high school. Lots of talking, laughing, ice cream, and even an adventure where they may have gotten a bit lost.

Todd finally was able to experience the amazing Martin County Fair, "Minnesota's Biggest Little Fair." He won a game of Bingo, walked through the midway and lots of booths, went to a concert, and here he is trying his first ever deep fried oreo, yum! Tastes like a donut!

Most of all, our 7 days in MN were filled with lots of relaxation!

simply brilliant

2010-08-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

I just finished N.T. Wright's Simply Christian.

He wrote it to explain the faith to non-Christians, but also to shed some much-needed light for lifelong believers. Wow - he hit this one out the park. It's even better than [gasp!] Mere Christianity. I'd highly recommend this book to friends who have questions about the faith.

Not everything N.T. Wright says is pure gold, but this book is close. And it gives an inspiring picture of what we're doing here and what God is doing for and through us.

"Despite what many people may think, within the Christian family and outside it, the point of Christianity isn't 'to go to heaven when you die.' The New Testament picks up from the Old theme that God intends, in the end, to put the whole creation to rights."

Thank you, Nicholas. It's so refreshing to read something that so clearly articulates what Christianity is all about.

summer fun

2010-06-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

We have been so blessed by our church this year -- I could write pages just on that alone. We've been able to do some pretty incredible things just in June.

Todd had spent months planning an amazing event that happened the last day of school ... an outdoor movie in our Main Street parking lot. What a fun night of fellowship with church and school families ... but even more what a cool witness to the community. This church has a parking lot right on Royal Oak's busy Main Street (you can see the building with the lights on in the background, that's Barnes and Noble). People constantly walk and drive by, and it's sometimes hard to notice that there's a school/church right there in front of them! I'm sure they noticed us that night. We did get many new faces that came and hung out with us -- around 140 came out to watch "The Bee Movie." It was also a way to hype up VBS that's coming up next month. What an awesome event!

One of our favorite things from this year was Tuesday nights. Every Tuesday we had a group of young adults meet for Bible Study in our living room. Almost every month we'd try to do some sort of social event -- this month was a BBQ in our backyard. Lots of fun, and lots of babies!

Friday night we rocked out at the Chris Tomlin and TobyMac concert with Anthony and Kristy and a couple other families from our church. We had lawn seats at the top of the hill -- how awesome to sing/listen to praise music under an open sky and stars!

it's been a busy day...

2010-06-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

oak apple run

2010-06-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

June 5th was an eventful day for the Liefers. The day started out bright and early at 7a.m. with a 10k run for Todd. He ran in the 33rd annual Oak Apple Run. 6.2 miles around downtown Royal Oak. This was Todd's first 10k race...and pretty sure his first time running that far altogether. He finished with a record time around 50 mins! He ran as a part of a team of 4 and as a team they took 2nd in the whole race!! No medals this time...but he did get a certificate and a savings bond!

Because of her "condition" Kelly opted not to run 6 miles (and she was very thankful she had a good excuse not to) but she particpated in the 2 mile fun run/walk. About 8 other young moms and their babies in strollers joined her. They did not make record time, but rather, took up the rear of the 2 mile race finishing around 40 mins.

After the race they ventured off to Ann Arbor with the Hesslers where Todd earned another college degree...but more on that to come later.

we're having a ...

2010-05-24T15:33:00.001-07:00

Surprise!

Last week we had our 2nd ultrasound. This was the one where we could have found out the sex of the baby if we wanted to--but we didn't. We want to be surprised. We are happy enough finding out that our little peanut is healthy. Everything looks great! We've been so blessed! It was so awesome to see the little mouth moving and hands waving at us--what a miracle!

20 weeks

(I feel like I am a lot bigger than I look.) My students remind me every day how much bigger I'm getting! "Whoa! The baby is growing a lot today because your tummy is really big!" and "Wow! Your baby is so big, I didn't even recognize you!" are 2 of my favorite most current lines from them. : ) 8 yr. olds are so funny-and so good for my self-esteem! :)

productive weekend

2010-04-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend we journeyed 2 hrs. away to a camp in southern MI with 9 youth on their confirmation retreat. The weather was not the best, but the camp was beautiful! Our 24 hr. adventure was packed full with teaching sessions, a reflection session, a hay-less hay ride, a "bon" fire and s'mores, 2 hr. game of charades, endless games of lightning, 4 hrs. of sleep for Kelly in the girls' cabin, and lots of sillies and Faygo! What a fun weekend with a great bunch of youth!

For the past 3-4 months this beast of a puzzle has been taking up room on our floor, taunting us. Starting off, Kelly thought we could finish it in a week--but soon lost motivation and left it up to Todd to finish. Out of 2000 pieces, Kelly takes credit for the words--the caption at the bottom of the puzzle--and Todd did all the rest (the actual hard parts). We are glad to say that it is complete and now taken back apart resting safely in it's box for another day when we are feeling ambitious ... or crazy.

.... my baby and me

2010-03-27T05:49:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

The Liefers are excited to announce ... drummer roll, please ... that we are expecting our first child! As Ricky Ricardo would say, "We're addin' a limb to our family tree!"

This little blessing is due on October 3. We couldn't be happier! Please pray for all three of us these coming months.

Just for fun, here's a clip from I Love Lucy. We actually watched this episode the day we found out ...

hello from chicago

2010-02-19T19:03:00.000-08:00

Since we were both off on Friday this week, we took the train to spend a few days in Chicago. Neither of us have really spent much time in the city, so we're having a great time!

So far, the highlights have been seeing the dolphins flip at Shedd's Aquarium, getting the Meaty Legend at Gino's Pizza, and shopping/walking along the Magnificent Mile. We head home tomorrow ... the weekend just doesn't have enough days!

View of the skyline, from Shedd's

It turns out this was "free week" at Shedd's Aquarium ... so that was a nice surprise! Although, the line was awfully long to get inside. It was crazy!

The show was sold out, but they still let us into Fantasea -- the revamped dolphin, beluga, penguin, and sea lion show. The amphitheatre was pretty awesome! When that backdrop is lifted, the view looks overLake Michigan. (The show, though, was a little odd. There was nothing spoken during it ... the people just got to observe the animals as humans dressed like the animals provoked them into doing tricks. And there were sea goddesses. Live ones. It was weird.)

Mmmm ... Gino's Pizza made all the difference in our weekend! Gotta love deep dish pizza.

detroit adventures

2010-02-19T15:53:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, we headed to downtown Detroit to ice skate with friends and go to the Detroit Auto Show. The pictures are a little old, but we still wanted to share!

Our friends, the Hesslers, and us taking a break from ice skating at Campus Martius Park on Michigan Avenue. Surprisingly, we actually had a "January Thaw" this winter... January actually had some nice days to be outside!

Action shot!

Kelly pounding the Detroit rock.

We live only a few minutes away this year, so we couldn't miss the Detroit Auto Show. It completely filled the convention center space of Cobo Hall. Walking through it was like strolling through the most elaborate dealer showrooms we've ever seen--over and over and over again. It was fun to see the gimicks each area used to promote the best of their brands.

Like acapella groups, for instance.

Todd's hardest time at the show was picking out the car he wants to buy next. Like this one ...

Or a blue Mustang ...

But he finally decided on something practical, like the Bumblebee Camero.

All of a sudden, we saw a crowd forming on one side of the hall. We went over to see what was up, and it turned out to be the Detroit Tigers!

twenty four

2009-12-31T14:51:00.000-08:00

This song was on my mind today ... thought I would share!

"I wrote this song near the end of my 24th year on this planet. Wherever we run, wherever the sun finds us when he rises, we remain stuck with ourselves. That can be overwhelming. Sometimes I feel like my soul is polluted with politicians, each with a different point of view. With all 24 of them in disagreement, each voice is yelling to be heard. And so I am divided against myself. I feel that I am a hypocrite until I am one, when all of the yelling inside of me dies down. I've heard that the truth will set you free. That's what I'm living for: freedom of spirit. I find unity and peace in none of the diversions that this world offers. But I've seen glimpses of truth and that's where I want to run."

- Jon Foreman, Switchfoot

Twenty four oceans
Twenty four skies
Twenty four failures
Twenty four tries
Twenty four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
Twenty four drop outs
At the end of the day
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty four hours ago
Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You

And I'm not who I thought I was twenty four hours ago
Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You

Twenty four reasons to admit that I'm wrong
With all my excuses still twenty four strong

See I'm not copping out not copping out not copping out
When You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now

And You're raising these twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts
But I wan to be one today
Centered and trueI'm singing
Spirit take me up in arms with You
You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now
And You're raising the dead in me

I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And You're raising the dead in me
Twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts.
I'm not copping out. Not copping out. Not copping out.

no one like jesus

2009-12-29T11:21:00.000-08:00

Below is a poem I wrote for the Children's Message for our Christmas Eve service this year. If you remember Target's Christmas ads from last year, it's a spoof off the idea. If you don't remember the ads, here's the YouTube link:

Thanksgiving is over,
the turkey’s been gobbled!

Pies, stuffing and gravy,
we ate till we wobbled.

When the table was cleared,
a new season had sprung.

Not taste of turkeys,
but carols on tongues!

Christmas has come!
All cheered for that reason.

But some were confused
‘bout the point of the season.

“To the stores!”’ said the ads
“Buy! Buy! Spend!” they all hollered.

Now parents are counting
not their blessings but dollars.

“Toys! Toys! Toys!” say the kids.
“Buy this!” they shout with glee.

“We want Barbies, and X-Men,
and Wii’s for T.V.”

“We want new shoes and Legos,
Songs, posters, and movies.”

Big presents are best,
stuffed stockings are groovy.”

Yet with all of this buying,
confusion had spread.

Is Christmas about buying
fun toys and new threads?

“Not so!” say God’s people.
“You’re missing one thing.

It’s Jesus
who gives us our reason to sing.”

When asked, “Why so merry?”
This answer they gave,

THERE’S NO ONE LIKE JESUS AT CHRISTMAS TO SAVE!

The shepherds were out
watching sheep sleep at night

When out of the sky
Came angels in white!

“Fear not” said the angels,
Your rescue has come!

Peace, love, and salvation
from God’s only Son.

He’s born of a woman.
Go see him today!

Look for a manger,
cows, donkeys and hay.

The shepherds took off,
not a minute to lose.

And they saw for themselves,
That this was Good News!

They jumped and they hollered,
they ranted and raved,

THERE’S NO ONE LIKE JESUS AT CHRISTMAS TO SAVE!

Stores have great deals,
and commercials are funny

But Christmas is about saving
MUCH more than money.

It’s for forgiveness
and rescue from sin

By ourselves we are helpless
but with Jesus we win!

So at Christmas this year,
don’t fret over “stuff.”

Be thankful for Jesus
who gives us more than enough.

Tell your friends and your family
of the one who forgave.

“THERE’S NO ONE LIKE JESUS AT CHRISTMAS TO SAVE!”

christmas at the vicar's

2009-12-23T08:18:00.001-08:00

We can't believe that Christmas is almost over ... and haven't even put up a Christmas post yet! It's been a full season ... filled with a few shopping trips, a bout of the flu for Kelly (she's just about over it!) a few relaxing nights of filling out Christmas cards, watching movies, and even a (terribly disappointing) viewing of Disney's new Christmas Carol. But now my parents are here to visit through Christmas, so we're very excited about that!

Here is the official Christmas tree of our vicarage year (with the classic paper chains and popcorn strands):

Plus some carolers who came by our home last week:

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

the liefer's take the cake!

2009-11-12T17:40:00.000-08:00

3 cakes that is. All in one weekend.

I took a beginner's cake decorating class the past 6 Mondays. Our town offers all sorts of community classes each season. This class was a steal that I couldn't pass up. It worked out perfectly since Todd has church and meetings each Monday night anyway, so it gave me something fun to do!

For my final class we had to bring in a round cake and spend our time frosting it and decorating it!

My first practice cake.

This is what happens when the cake sticks to the pan.

My final cake! Yay!

we're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

2009-11-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

We went to the Detroit Zoo last Saturday! We were pleasantly suprised by how cool this Zoo was. (We might even like it more than the St. Louis or Milwaukee Zoos! )

The day was a little cool, but super sunny--the animals must have liked it anyway because they were SOO active that day! Usually I leave the Zoo feeling sad because the animals look all sleepy and depressed and just lay there in a big pile, but that was not the case on Saturday! The polar bear was polaring, the anteaters were eating ants, and the monkeys were totally monkeying around! 6 chimps were climbing and swinging around their outdoor tree and screaming at each other, it was so fun to watch! The arctic exhibit was really neat, too! It kind of felt like you were walking with the eskimos!

We're still not sure what animal this is...

3rd annual pumpkin carving bash!

2009-11-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

Just a few of the pumpkins from the night---I love the emoticon pumpkin!

Franz rightfully named his 150 lb pumpkin "Big Bertha".

Most of our young adults group from church joined in the festivities.

Todd's proud pumpkins--yes he carved three....he loves Fall a little too much!

a little getaway

2009-11-04T17:13:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we AWESOME opportunity to travel "up north". A 4 1/2 hour drive took us to the very top of the mitten--Mackinaw City, MI. http://www.mackinawcity.org/ Members of our church very graciously offered us their cottage for the weekend--which was right on the water by the Mackinaw Bridge--beautiful!

The fall colors were gorgeous--the weather on the other hand, not so lovely. Our hopes of taking the ferry to the Island for the day were demolished when the strong wind and rain didn't let up. Instead we enjoyed walking around the small touristy shops in town, making t-shirts, eating fudge, doing a 500 piece puzzle, and watching movies. We kept busy by relaxing!

Even if our trip wasn't as eventful as we had hoped, we loved taking our first little vacation--just the two of us.

as if google needed more free advertising ...

2009-10-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

I had heard a year or so ago that Google was launching something called "Google Book" -- an online database for searching for text inside of books. I hadn't heard about it since and really just forgot about it.

Until today. I spent a good half hour flipping pages for an obscure quote in Bo Giertz's Hammer of God. Then I remembered, "Oh yeah, how about that Google Book thing..." I typed in a keyword and, BAM. There it was. Page number and everything.

Google, you might be taking over the world, but you sure made my life a lot easier today.

another win for the liefer republic!

2009-09-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, against Kelly's will, the Liefer Republic competed in the annual Diehl's Ciderfest 4 mile run. They braved the cold, the rain, the gravel roads, the apple trees, and the other competitors and made record time in their runs! (Look really close at who won the gold, and who won the silver ...)

Even though he only came home with the silver, Todd was most excited for the free apples and cider at the end of the race!

the case of the black squirrel

2009-09-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

dream cruise

2009-08-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

Classic cars EVERYWHERE.

That pretty much sums up the weekend of Aug. 15 for the Detroit area. The Dream Cruise is a unique event that takes place here each August. Classic car owners and admirerers flock the the area--all weekened long classic cars drive up and down Woodward--an 18 mile stretch. People set up tents and and lawn chairs,bring picnics and their kids and just watch the old cars drive by. It actually is a really awesome thing to watch! Todd and Pastor got to go cruisin' in one of the church memebers '63 Impala.

Check out more at the Dream Cruise Website.

well ... never too early to start planning ahead

2009-08-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

vicarage sermon #2

2009-08-18T06:15:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone -

If you get a few extra minutes today, check out Todd's latest sermon on the church website!

different

2009-08-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

Todd and I have each lived in 4 states now. Each one unique. Each one has it's own differences. Here are some that I have learned about Michigan so far:

- squirells are black

- pop is called pop

- a flashing red traffic light means go

- you pretty much can't turn left when driving ... instead you go straight and then make a u-turn then turn right (yup, that doesn't make sense to us either)

-you get paid for recycling (we learned a little late the difference between recycleables and returnables)

- cars can be used as decorations

- there's no such thing as interstates, but expressways

we'll keep you updated on any more we notice!

christmas in july

2009-07-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

Our 1st Tigers game! Sadly they lost. But we were able to hang out with members from church and enjoy the game, sunshine, rain, and handbells!

vicar todd

2009-07-28T13:35:00.001-07:00

I'm still getting used to Todd being called "Vicar Todd" and me being called "Mrs. Vicar" -- oh dear!

This vicarage year is Todd's "internship" year where he will get to experience many of the responsibilities of the parish pastor. He already has done liturgy for worship, preached a sermon, done an opening and closing for a day of VBS, gone on many hospital calls and home visits, sat in on a principal interview, attended a few meetings, and been to many cookouts and dinners in only 21 short days! This week he will lead his first Bible Study and go on his first mission trip with the youth group. He has an awesome pastor as a mentor! What an incredible year God is already blessing us with!

Here are a few pictures of the church and of installation day.

St. Paul has a very unique sanctuary. The pews go 3/4 the way around the altar.
The baptismal font is in front, directly behind it is the altar, then directly behind that is the pulpit.

Vicar and Pastor

Todd's family came, too!

Todd has a very spacious office! (It is much more organized now!)

our summer in snapshots

2009-07-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

My sole goal for Mighigan:
BLOG MORE!

I've realized it's days away from August, so much has happened this summer and we haven't updated our blog about any of it! So here we go:

In May we headed out for a fun and relaxing weekend in a condo at Lake of the Ozarks with John and Kelly.

In June we first headed out on the dusty path to good 'ol Nashville with Ryan and Jess.

The County Music Hall of Fame!

Cowboys

Cowgirls

One of our favorite memories from the trip was going on the General Jackson Cruise!

Parthanon anyone?

At the original Grand Ole Opry. The look on Todd's face tells you how he feels about playing any musical instrument.

You can't go to Nashville and not go linedancing!

At the end of June we were blessed to be able to drive up to North Eastern Michigan and be in Jess and Justin's wedding!

wait a second...

Any down time we had this summer between trips we spent working really hard!

We were very sad to leave our friends and St. Louis behind...

..but we were so excited to pack up our cars and head off to the new adventures ahead of us!

first sermon

2009-07-28T06:28:00.001-07:00

Hey all! I preached my first sermon here on Sunday ... we have two services that day, and then one on Monday evening. So it feels good to have a little pulpit time under my belt (/alb).

Check it out on the church website!

Let the vicarage begin!

2009-07-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

We are here in Michigan and LOVING it so far!
The community is really fun, and the church and members are awesome! We are so blessed to be here!

Some of the memebers of the church worked day and night getting our house ready for us to live in. We love it! Here are a few pictures of our house (I'll post more of us and the area soon so keep checking back!)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

very quick update

2009-07-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

A new post (with pictures!) is coming soon, but we just want everyone to know that we have moved to Michigan for vicarage! We'll be at St. Paul Lutheran in Royal Oak. More is on the way!

blockbuster(s)

2009-04-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

As I was reading a book (Clergy Killers ... almost sounds like a John Grisham novel, eh?) for my Congregational Dynamics class, I came to one of those profound, disturbing realizations--which often happens when you read deep theology books ...

I have no idea what movies are coming out this summer.

I guess I've been aloof from the world of film. I didn't even realize that the next Harry Potter was on deck until a member at our church kindly reminded me. (And for a guy who saw the last Potter movie as part of his bachelor party, that's saying something!)

But other than that, I've got nothing. I've even Googled a little, and didn't find much. A little help here? What are you looking forward to film-wise this summer?

Oh, and a related question (this one came while Kelly and I were driving one night): With Netflix, RedBox, and iTunes downloading, do you think Blockbuster is on its way out? How much longer do you think people will pay $4.95 for a movie -- new release or not -- that chances are has a few fatal scratches on it? Personally, I haven't been to a Blockbuster in over a year.

do you blog?

2009-03-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in class, one of my professors asked if anyone in the room blogged. I did not raise my hand.

As I told John sitting next to me, there is a difference between having a blog and being someone who blogs. Until today, I've recently only qualified for the first of those.

Hang in there, everyone. More is coming soon, I promise(/hope)!

finals week, here we go ...

2009-02-15T17:41:00.000-08:00

don't let kelly meet mo willems

2009-01-24T15:35:00.001-08:00

Will you let me meet Mo Willems?

No?

Please?

I'll Be your best friend!

I Promise I won't be too crazy!

No?

I have an idea! Let's play meet Mo Willems! I'll go first!

But everyone else gets to meet him!

I bet your mom would let me!

No Fair!

humph!

...

LET ME MEET MO WILLEMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay!

Thanks!

There he is! He just signed my things and gave me a high five for my obvious enthusiasm for him and his books.

He now officially knows me as "sign girl"....um, yeah!

There's Mo http://www.mowillems.com/ talkin' about his new book and answering questions. Hopefully you can see the pigeon hats that all the kids made and wore through the night--it was great!!

If you didn't know he's my FAVORITE children's picture book author!

Please read his books, they are hilarious! This site is fun--check it out! http://www.pigeonpresents.com/

*Special thanks to Christy for finding out about this and coming with me taking all the pictures when I was shaking and helping me hold the sign!

not a big deal, but it really does drive me crazy!

2009-01-19T19:39:00.000-08:00

Anyone out there know why the numbers on a phone are different from the numbers on your computer's keypad? Anyone?! This drives me insane. Especially when I'm at work, entering data and calling people at the same time.

snow day

2009-01-06T06:09:00.000-08:00

SNOW DAY for Kelly! She was all ready to drive into school when Dad called with the good news. (Thanks for that! You even beat Kelly's phone tree.) I don't have class until 12:30, so we're enjoying the time off together. Well ... we're actually in different rooms working on school stuff ... still not a bad way to spend the second day back from break.

This isn't St. Louis. St. Louis only has (had) a thin sheet of ice, which isn't all that photogenic. This is what Wisconsin looks like on a day with school.

Compared to a "snow day" here ...

christmas break update

2009-01-04T09:19:00.000-08:00

A point-by-point update of the past 17 days:

-We spent most of Christmas in Minnesota with Kelly's family. By some miracle, we dodged two different ice/snow storms in Iowa and were able to make it up there with clear roads. We had a 12-hour window when Iowa was NOT getting ice or snow, and we took it!

-Kyler's now 5. He asked for a cake with a brown puppy, green collar, green grass, and a rainbow. Kelly made it happen!

-Todd's now 23. No cake. But he had shrimp!

-We taught ourselves how to play Backgammon.

-We had a "second Christmas" in Red Bud on the 30th.

-We spent Todd's birthday at the mall in Fairview, checking out the Way of Lights, eating some delicious seafood, and ringing in the New Year with the family playing dominos and Scattegories.

-Kelly is now the proud owner of a Loon cookie cutter.

-We met the local fire department.

-Ryan and Jess took us to go see Marley and Me yesterday!

-Last night we went ice skating in Steinberg Park. The weather was WARM ... there were even a few (teenagers, of course) ice skating in shorts.

-We go back to school tomorrow ... gahh!

-I'm sure there's more we could say ... we'll post 'em if we think of any.

hurrah! it's christmas!

2008-12-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

A very Merry Christmas to you all!

- The Liefers

picture backlog!!

2008-12-23T10:06:00.000-08:00

I was just emptying my camera, and I realized we have quite a bit to catch everyone up on! Below are pictures from Thanksgiving, our weekend in Lake of the Ozarks with the Hiles, and the beginning of our Minnesota Christmas.

Kelly picked up pecans for the first time at our farm in Red Bud. She probably had too much fun doing it, too! (but if you know Kelly, that's not hard to imagine)

We had a relaxing Thanksgiving with the family in Red Bud. Lots of games and food ... and we even hit the mall and other stores on Friday morning.

At the fish-themed condo at Lake of the Ozarks. (It rocked!) A couple at John's field work church let us use it for the weekend. That's Kelly hiding behind the chair ... you can't tell, but the spoon she's holding has a smiley face cut into it.

The girls crocheting.

A spectacular view out of their bay window.

A not-so-spectacular view.

The Hiles!

The Hiles + bird

Playing "In a Pickle" just before we left. (Does it look like I'm sitting on snow?)

Kelly warming up next to our FIRST EVER fire in our apartment!

Kelly cooking with the nephews

Kyler with his new beard.

Kyler at his Pre-school program!

if he wants to rock he rocks ...

2008-11-20T13:38:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I didn't blog about this when it happened ... last week I won tickets to an Eric Hutchinson concert by calling into the radio. I was listening to Y98, when all of a sudden I heard something about a concert and "Call Now to Win!" So I dialed--without really knowing what I was calling for--and won.

The "concert" was today, at 1:00 in the afternoon (That's probably why no one else was calling in for tickets ...) But the set-up was very cool. It was one of the station's "Studio 98" events--where every month they bring in an artist to play a few songs and answer questions from the crowd. I don't think they sell tickets for this--they only give a few away over the radio and their website.

So today, about 50 people took a lunch break to hear Eric Hutchinson play at the Bottleneck Blues Bar in St. Charles. Or, as Eric said when he came out, "So how does this work? Do you all just say you have a dentist appointment?" John came with me, since we seminarians have little else going on during our two-week fall break.

I had never heard of Hutchinson before last week, but I was impressed. The guy was laid back, pretty talented, comfortable on stage, and threw in enough sarcasm to keep the performance interesting.

I'm not sure what my favorite part was. Maybe the 50 year old women in the front row hitting on him during the question/answer period? No, that's probably not it. But it was a good time. And now I have that song stuck in my head. Go to his website and you'll hear what I mean ...

seminary survival tip

2008-11-13T10:36:00.001-08:00

Schedule classes so that your finals fall on the FIRST day of exams. Because by the second day, you won't care an ounce.

Come Quickly, Friday ...

2008-11-09T08:04:00.001-08:00

Okay, it's finals week. I'm blogging to warm up my fingers for a day full of typing.

Here's what I have left to do until Fall Break ... the things in bold count as my finals.

- Exegetical Paper (15 pages) on Mark 7:24-30 ... CHECK!

- Write a Funeral Sermon (2-3 pages) ... CHECK!

- Read Sermons about Marriage (30 pages) ... CHECK!

- Read a book on Children's Messages (90 pages) ... CHECK!

- Translate Mark 16: 14-18 ... CHECK!

- Read Pieper, Vol 1 (30 pages) ... CHECK!

- "History of the Theology in the Early Church" Exam ... CHECK!

- Systematics I Exam ... CHECK!

Oy vey ... here we go!

highlights from last weekend!

2008-11-02T16:17:00.001-08:00

At the very muddy corn maze in Godfrey!

Our fans cheering us on at the 5k.

Pumpkin carving! Yum!

Me picking up poor Charlie Brown after I knocked him off our balcony. Sorry, Charlie! Poor guy can never get a break.

our first 5k

2008-11-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

I can’t say I’ve ever been chased by a pumpkin before. Or a banana. Or girls in poodle skirts. At least not until last Saturday, when Kelly and I ran our first 5k. Against our better judgment, we left our warm beds Saturday morning, bundled up, and made our way to the annual Gumbo Flats Pumpkin Run. (Why oh why couldn’t it have been a gorgeous 60 degrees like THIS morning?)

Up until a half hour before the race, we really weren’t too sold on the idea of running at 8 a.m. on an October morning. But when we got there, and the sun came out, and we saw all the people herded together waiting to run, we got a little more pumped.

Well, 25 min. 30 sec. later (in Kelly’s case, 31:10) we were sold even more. We had a blast. And not just because I beat the pumpkin suited guy on my tail (although that was a perk!). The run was a rush, AND there was FOOD at the end. Panera bagels, Kaldi’s coffee, Danishes, hot dogs, hot wings, Chick-fil-a sandwiches, pizza, and beer. Mmmmmmm. Good breakfast.

So yes, the crazy Liefers ran a 5k on Saturday, and their SUPER friends—Justin and Jess—even came out with signs to cheer them on. 5k may not sound like a big deal to any of you crazier marathoners out there, but to us it was a thrill. And will we do it again? Heck yeah. Bring it on!

annual pumpkin carving

2008-10-29T18:52:00.001-07:00

Below are the results from the Pumpkin Carving Night at the Liefers last Saturday. Vote for your favorite on the left!

Ninja Turtle

Eeyore

Charlie Brown

Spider in a Window

Pooh

Witch from Snow White

It was a good team this year ;-) Good job, everyone!

the curious incident of the color changing ottoman

2008-10-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a pretty outstanding gift card from Kelly's work, we decided to use the money toward an ottoman for the apartment. Our couches don't recline -- which is fine because recliners are SO heavy and we'll be moving a lot in the next few years. But there are just some nights when we wish we could put our feet up, gosh darn it.

Well, finding the right ottoman proved to be harder than we expected. We weren't even going for "perfect" ... just "decent." Weekends Only, World Market, Kirklands, Linens and Things had nothing really great (at least nothing great for $75!). A few at Target caught our eye, but we weren't sure. Eventually (as in, after taking every possibility off the shelf, trying them out on a make-believe couch, and narrowing them down one by one) we decided on a rectangular, dark olive, microfiber ottoman with storage inside. Even as we were leaving the store, Kelly was still a little skeptical--maybe concerned how the olive would look against our very red couches.

Taking trips back and forth from the car, we were unloading the ottoman and the rest of the luggage from our weekend in Red Bud. On my second trip, I looked at the ottoman (at this point, already in place in the living room), did a double take, and said to myself, "WEIRD."

I came outside, and said, "Honey, the ottoman turned brown."

"What do you mean, brown?"

"Uh, it turned brown. Like a light chocolate brown."

"Let me see." [brief pause] "WEIRD!"

We're still not really sure what color our ottoman is. It doesn't look at all green in our apartment, but at the store you would have NEVER called it brown. I guess we're faulting the florescent lighting at Target. Crazy! But it all worked out, because I think Kelly likes the brown better anyway.

pumpkin brownie

2008-10-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

Kelly and I went to Red Bud this weekend, and, among other things, we made a Brownie Jack-o-Lantern -- which I probably haven't made since I was ten. It's just a brownie in a pizza pan with orange frosting on top, with M&M's to make the face (in this case, it looks a little more like a very orange clown). It's about 500 calories per bite, but worth every bit of it!

As amazing as it was, though, it didn't even compare to Kelly's apple-pecan cheesecake. YUM!

By the way, we found the pumpkin deal of a lifetime in Red Bud. They're selling pretty large pumpkins for $3 each (which, compared to $12 at Rombachs, and pretty much everywhere else in St. Louis, three bucks is a STEAL).

crown valley

2008-10-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

I never posted these pictures from our Saturday at Crown Valley Winery in Ste. Genevieve. This was actually a trip planned by our apartment complex, and it was a PERFECT day to spend all day outside. They had a band, pavillion, bison burgers, and wine ... basically, it was awesome.

The other two people in the picture are our really cool neighbors, Ryan and Jessica!

way too long

2008-10-12T16:27:00.000-07:00

Just for the heck of it, Kelly and I went to a local high school football game on Friday night. We didn't know either of the schools, any of the players, but it was close, and random, and totally worth it. The last time I was at a Friday night football game, I was probably lugging around a saxophone as part of the RBHS band. So it's been a while. And way too long.

One of the biggest disappointments in college was not EVER having night football games ... floodlights in Mequon were deemed "light pollution," so all games were on Saturday mornings. Not the same!

So after class on Friday, Kelly and I grabbed our sweatshirts, paid the$3 entrance fee, and soaked it all in -- the crowd, the bleacher seats, the announcer blaring behind us, the cheerleaders, the high school cliques, the $1.25 pretzels, and, of course, the game.

But when we were making our way from the concession stand, winding back and forth between the groups too cool to watch the game, it really hit me ...

When did we grow up?

It's not that I wish I could go back to my band-geek days. But it was a little shocking to realize, all of a sudden, that I live in a completely different world from these youth.

I'm having a hard time articulating why I feel that way. Their world is full of iPod Nanos, texting entire conversations, cell phones that can play videos, Nintendo Wii's, so many more "toys" than were around when I was in high school. But it's more than that. It's what they value, their worldview, what they're looking for in life. It's just different. And I have a hunch I'd feel the same way if I walked through a college dorm.

As fun as Friday night was, quite frankly, it made me a little scared. Scared that these youth are going to be members of my church someday, and I'm going to have no clue how to connect to their world. Whatever I "had" that came so naturally to me three or four years ago is long gone. How can I get that back?

*Sigh*

I'll get there. Hopefully. Vicarage will help, I'm sure. Until then, I'll just have to TRUST.

Here's to five more weeks until break!

yeah, I guess it's time for this ...

2008-10-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Create yours at BlingyBlob.com!

It's Officially Autumn, Mooch.

2008-09-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

Let the pumpkin pies begin!

It was a little hard to see summer go. Or, at least, what the calendar called summer. The weather has been in an autumn (or, thanks to Gustav, spring?) mood for a while already. I can't even remember the last time we had the air conditioner on. And, for St. Louis in September, that's saying something.

But as classes have been creeping along, it's been easier to suppress my summer-hoarding habits, and welcome in the changing leaves, bonfires, cooler mornings, corn mazes, pumpkin carving, haunted houses, candy corn, and, of course, pumpkin pies. Maybe that's a little shallow, but I don't care. I love it. So readers, brace yourself for another round of pumpkin-related posts!

Can you tell I'm a little excited?

O yesh.

Wow

2008-09-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

I'm meant to post this sooner ...

Click here for the funniest thing I've seen all summer. (I guess it made it just in time, since summer ends on Sunday)

Fall Quarter Kickoff

2008-09-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

Well, vacation's over, Mooch.

Seminary life fired up again on Monday, so I guess that means I'm back to the daily grind--which, sadly, doesn't offer the choice to kick back and be lazy. Even in the summer, I don't often choose to take it easy. I'm prone to cram as much as I can into my summer "break." But now that all five syllabi have been distributed, the planner is filling up with reading assignments, and I guess that means my option to relax has slipped through my fingers. But since I never used that liberty much anyway, I doubt I'll miss it.

Until next week, of course.

For my last weekend of freedom, Kelly and I went full-throttle. Friday night, we dressed up all snazzy and strolled through the St. Louis Art Museum. Afterwards, thanks to a suggestion from some good friends of ours, we had an AMAZING dinner at Gian Tony's--I had the tortellini in a cream sauce with Italian ham, peas, and mushrooms. Wow.

Saturday morning was errand morning, and that afternoon/evening we went to the Sem's Welcome Back Picnic. We got to see tons of friends again, who we also got to see

At the Fall Quarter Kickoff we hosted in our apartment on Sunday night! Lots of people, lots of salsa, and a little bocce ball. Need I say more?

And now my desk is cluttered with books again, a few of which I should probably crack into before bed. Here's to Fall Quarter '08! Sigh.

Kelly and her trademark duck, on the way to the museum.

The St. Louis Art Museum, much better than Milwaukee

Getting ready for the big night!

Liefer Republic Nabs Gold, Honor

2008-08-18T05:45:00.000-07:00

It was an intense day of throwing, jumping, sprinting, serving, swimming. No, we're not talking about Beijing. Saturday afternoon (two) nations from around the world competed in the first-ever...

Married 'Lympics.

"It's been a hard, exhausting day, but in the end it finally paid off, " said Gold 'Lympian Kelly Jo of the Liefer Republic. The Liefer Republic was one of two nations competing in the day-long event, the other being the Isle of Hile.

The couples competed in a myriad of events, including tennis, archery (darts), three-legged racing, long-jump, shot-put (with bocce balls), bocce ball, discuss/Frisbee throw, water volleyball, swimming, and Scrabble.

The participants even came bearing flags for their countries. While the Isle of Hile flag was much more historic, flaunting their family crests, the Liefer Republic flag was much larger.

The results of the events were:

Tennis - Liefer Republic (LR), Gold; Isle of Hile (IH), Silver

Archery - IH, Gold; LR, Silver
Three-Legged Race - LR (Dominated!), Gold; IH, Silver

Long-Jump (Mens) - IH and LR, Gold

Long-Jump (Womens) - LR, Gold; IH, Silver

Shot-Put (Mens) - IH, Gold; LR, Silver

Shot-Put (Womens) - LR, Gold; IH, Silver

Bocce Ball - IH, Gold; LR, Silver

Discus (Mens) - IH, Gold; LR, Silver
Discus (Womens) - LR, Gold IH, Silver

Water Volleyball - LR, Gold; IH, Silver

Swimming - LR, Gold

Scrabble - IH, Gold

When the Saturday sun had set, and the last Scrabble letter was played, the Liefer Republic walked away with a whopping 8 Gold Medals, and the Isle of Hile with a respectable 6, giving the Liefer Republic the All-Around Gold. The nights events were capped with a closing ceremony, where the nations stepped up on their platform (made of couch cushions) as their National Anthem was being played/sung.

Even after the fierce competition was over, relations between the nations remain on friendly terms.

Some have questioned whether the Married 'Lympics has stolen its idea from other world competitions, such as the one currently underway in Beijing, China.

"There is no connection whatsoever," claimed John of the Isle of Hile. "Just because we had flags, sporting events, gold medals, an awards ceremony with platforms, torch lighting, and national anthems doesn't mean we stole Beijing's idea. We're going to do our thing, and let them [Beijing] do theirs."

Talk about next year's event was made, but no date or venue has been set.

The nations join in a friendly swim before the swimming competitions begin.

The Liefer Republic after snagging the Gold.

The Isle of Hile plays with their Silver Medals (clappers).

The Liefer Republic gracefully takes the platform.

The Liefer Republic drinking from their cup of victory.

Sweet or Scary?

2008-08-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

I can't decide. But I'm hoping for sweet.

Have you seen You've Got Mail? Remember the part in the opening scene when Joe writes,

Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms.

For a while now, I've admired Joe Fox's witty idea and have been waiting for the chance to actually do it ... send a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils. Today is Kelly's first day of school, so I'm nabbing my chance. So yesterday, while I'm shopping at Schnucks (which was when the idea first struck me), I faced figuring out how to actually DO such a thing. Basically, how can I make this "bouquet" look romantic and sweet, instead of sharp and hazardous. Without really giving it much thought, I decided to mix pencils with flowers (In case I really botched it up, at least she would still have the flowers, right?). I also went with those pre-sharpened pencils (ones with tips like a golf pencil) -- they looked a little less threatening than regular ones.

So I put it all together (thanks to a small piece of that green foam stuff from the florist). Kelly loves You've Got Mail, so hopefully she thinks it's a fun, sweet gift. But here are the reactions I'm fearing:

- Hmmm. That's weird. I wonder why he didn't just send flowers.
- I don't get it.
- Flowers! I wonder if they smell goo ... GAAA!! MY EYE! MY EYE!
- I'm too scared to even touch this thing.

Kelly just left for work. The bouquet is in the back seat, and she can't open it until she gets to school. I guess we'll have to wait and see for the verdict ...

Bullet Point Update

2008-08-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

- This morning I preached my SECOND sermon (well, really it was my second round of sermons ... I preached one last night and two this morning). I was just telling Kelly how much I ENJOY preaching ... and that can't be anything but a blessing from God. I can't begin to explain how thrilling it is to enjoy something I've studied and waited five years to do.

- After worship last night, our friends John and Kelly came over and we all pitched in making a BBQ chicken pizza (well, everyone except for John ...). They even introduced us to a new game, Last Word -- the winner is still being disputed, but it was either me or Kelly (Kelly-the-Liefer, that is).

- Thursday and Friday I attended the Willow Creek Leadership Summit (picture below) with some friends from the Seminary. Very cool conference! For those of you not familiar with the Summit, the conference actually takes place at Willow Creek in Chicago, but they broadcast the conference live to registered churches throughout the country. Just seeing how they coordinated such a HUGE logistical endeavor was neat enough. But on top of that, there were SO MANY ideas being circulated among the speakers and programmers ... and hearing about some incredible ministries being done in America and the world was, well, eye-opening. Among the speakers were the founder and CEO of Teach for America, the founder and CEO of the Prisoner Entrepreneurship Program, and the CEO of Best Buy. I'd tell you more about Summit, but I'm sure a more insightful and well-worth-reading post is coming soon on our NEWEST blog link, Show Me the Hiles.

- Kelly STARTS SCHOOL this week! Isn't that crazy. It might take an act of God, but she might even blog about it ...

- The opening ceremony for the Olympics ROCKED, didn't it?!?

- Last bullet point

She's back! She's back!

2008-08-04T14:37:00.000-07:00

My wife is back!!

Pei Wei and People

2008-07-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

If you've never been to Pei Wei before, you've GOT to find one in your area. (That is, if you're a fan of Asian food.) Last winter, some friends introduced us to the place and ... YUM ... life has never been the same ;-)

Our friend, Katy, flew into visit last evening (she's a flight attendant so we get to see her whenever she gets a layover in St. Louis) and we took her to the Pei Wei off of Olive. We all shared dishes of the Orange Peel Chicken, Dan Dan Noodles, and the Thai Dynamite. Then we dealt out a game of Phase 10 and hung out at the restaurant the rest of the night. The night manager was a hoot -- he came to talk to us and reminisced about "game nights" in his college days. He even gave us free cookies when they were about to close!

Before we picked up Katy, Kelly and I helped a Seminarian and his wife move into their new apartment (talk about a FULL moving truck... whoa). They're just getting back from vicarage, and they moved into the same apartment complex as us. Kelly and I are thrilled because we're actually getting to know PEOPLE over here! We like people!

(Sorry, Jess, this is T writing ... I'm sure a Kelly-post is coming soon!)

Tour de Missouri (and Surrounding States)

2008-07-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

So ... blah, blah, blah, we're bad at blogging, blah, blah, blah ... and here's what we've been doing this summer:

(in reverse order ...)

Our most recent trip was to Indianapolis. We were helping out at a Youth Workers Conference at the Westin in downtown Indy (which rocked! We were brainstorming to find SOME way to take the bed from our room and haul it to our apartment.) The last day of the conference was our One Year Anniversary (cue trumpet fanfare), so we got to hang out downtown, take a stroll down the Canal Walk, and eat at the Weber Grill before driving home. After we spent a few days in the city, we decided that we REALLY like Indy.

Us on the canal walk.

We almost convinced ourselves to ride the gondola or rent a paddle boat, but ended up just watching instead. We DID, however, rent a paddle boat in Forest Park a few days later ... our "Anniversary Day of Fun" - which also included rollerblading, the fastest walk through of the St. Louis History Museum in history, reading in the park, and dinner at Macaroni Grill. But (sad!) I guess we didn't take any pictures that day...

For the 4th the whole Liefer family went to Hannibal for the world-famous Tom Sawyer Days. Kelly had never been there before, and I was young the last time we went. Of course, we went to the museums, saw the parade, watched 7th graders compete to be Tom and Becky for the year (which is apparently a BIG DEAL in Hannibal...), and saw the whitewashing contest.

Kelly and Sam. I should have posted a picture I took with this guy next to a sign that read, "NOTICE: The City of Hannibal does not hire or endorse impersonators of Mark Twain."

Trying to have some fun at the Craft Fair. (What holiday with the Liefers would be complete without a craft fair??)

We found out that the whitewashing contest has a whole line of strategy to it ... where you place the bucket, how much fence you really have to cover. They were judged on speed, coverage, and neatness. (Wow.)

A few days before the 4th, Melissa, Kelly, and I grabbed free seats at the Muny to see ... (I can't believe I'm admitting this) High School Musical: Live!

Here's Kelly hiking at Lone Elk Park ... along with two of the 6ish elk we saw while we hiked.

And a few days before hiking, we spent an afternoon at the Science Center (this summer we're trying to do EVERYTHING Forest Park has to offer)

Here's a picture of B-Utiful Kelly Jo the first time we went to the Muny this summer -- to see The Producers (thanks to U. Steve!).

Early in the summer we hit up a festival in downtown St. Charles. I don't remember what it was called, but we were there! And there was music!

Of course we've done lots of other fun things this summer ... like going to Shakespeare in the Park to see King Richard III ("My horse! My horse!") And we spent a few days in Branson with WHOLE Gronewald family ... which I guess I don't have pictures of? Maybe Kelly can post some later :-)

small-town fun

2008-06-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

Every summer since I can remember, the community college in my home town shows movies on the lawn outside the school. I haven't been to one in a LONG time (the last one, I think, was Blank Check ... or wait, I take that back, I went to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in high school ... well, either way it's been a while). The movies are free, and if you subscribe to the town's newspaper, you'll have a coupon for free popcorn. Hard to beat, right?

Now that we're back in the area, I couldn't resist letting Kelly Jo experience small-town fun like this. The Spiderwick Chronicles was playing on Friday night (not exactly our first choice, but still fun). Popcorn coupons in hand, we spread our blankets on the lawn, doused ourselves in mosquito spray, and enjoyed a relaxing night under the stars as lightening flickered in the distance. Mom and Dad even came along, and Dad definitely gets points for bearing through the goblins and fairies (he's more of a Lethal Weapon type!).

I had hyped up the "event" to Kelly a little more than was necessary -- after telling her about the "big screen" they bring outside and how "lots of people" come out to watch, she was a little surprised to see a standard, classroom projection screen with fifty or so people crowded around it. As we're driving up, she says, "That's it?!" And we laughed ... because you just can't beat entertainment like this on a Friday night.

Camped out on the lawn.

The best part was Kelly didn't have to hide snacks in her purse (!)

Mom and Dad in their lawn chairs.

It finally did!

2008-05-20T13:19:00.001-07:00

The quarter-that-never-ends finally ended! Yes!!!!!!!

Also, Happy Birthday, Kelly Jo!

back to the blogging world (almost)

2008-05-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

Hey folks - only one more final to go, and then I might actually post something! If you're wondering why I'm posting this instead of working on that (take-home) final, I have a good reason. I'm procrastinating.

Last night was a blast--Kelly and I went to a "Taste of the Town" event at our apartment complex. We got to sample foods from area restaurants and a winery, set up at tables around our complex's pool. And the weather was perfect.

And then ... we went to go see Prince Caspian. It's long, but very well done. The kids playing the Pevensie children, though, have all really outgrown the "charm" they had in the first movie ("especially Lucy!" says Kelly). The good thing about these movies is that most (or none?) of the characters are in ALL of the books--that would probably make it easier for casting in later years (and that probably explains why they made Caspian second, I think it's the only other one with all four Pevensie kids in it ... oh wait, never mind... Horse and His Boy. But they have pretty minor roles in that one.)

I really hope they keep making these films ... it would be awesome to see Magician's Nephew or the Last Battle put on screen!

weekend update

2008-04-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

My big project for the weekend was punching out a 12-page exegetical paper on Exodus 19:1–8. Lots of typing! But it’s basically done now, aside from some footnotes.

Poor Kelly started out the weekend with a sore throat, which turned into a sinus headache on Sunday. No fun!

The movies playing on our TV this weekend were … Forever, Darling (the second film Lucy and Desi did together … not very good, but still fun to watch. It’s always weird to see Lucy in color.), Garfield (I didn’t watch this, but Kelly watched while she worked on her next embroidery project … see picture on left), and In Good Company (Do you ever think about who would portray you in a movie? I’m pretty sure my guy would be Topher Grace).

Kelly got some exciting news from Borders on Saturday, but I’ll let her tell you about that.

Sunday morning I did liturgy at Immanuel. Meanwhile, it “wintry-mixed” outside.

Sunday night the folks and sis came out to take us out to dinner at Mimi’s Café. Love that place.

come quickly, please ...

2008-04-11T06:31:00.000-07:00

happy pi(e) day, folks

2008-03-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

3.14 = March 14
Here is a picture of the beautiful pie that my beautiful wife made for me yesterday. Yum! Gotta love homemade cherry pie. And pi day.

spring quarter eve

2008-03-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

Seeing over six inches of snow pile up on the ground today, I'm a little sad when I remember that just days ago K & I were basking in the sun on the lawn outside our apartment (and, as Kelly put it, "I sure do love a good 'ole day of basking"). It was a gorgeous 70+ degrees that day, and we found GREAT JOY in flicking off the switch for the heater and opening the windows to let the apartment feel its first dose of fresh air of the year. We even grabbed a blanket and had lunch on the lawn. It was a great day -- the perfect last day of a very relaxing spring break.

And that night, we had a few friends over for a "spring-quarter-eve" party, just a chance to be with other friends before having new translation assignments and research projects loom over our heads. And since we didn't get to see many friends over break, this was a fun chance to catch up and be with people!

And now, two days later, I have one hand full of syllabi and a cup of coffee in the other. Ten more weeks until summer ... here we go!

icy with a chance of gilmores

2008-02-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

I slept in until 5:30 today! After getting completely ready for school: hair, clothes, makeup, perfume and all, I went into the living room to find my husband watching the TV with the 200+ school closings in this area. Then ... finally ... MY SCHOOL - CLOSED! WHAT?? I was not expecting that at all! I was actually really upset!

Today is my 4th day off of school because of the weather. This "snow day" is actually a valid day to be off--ice is falling from the sky without stopping, piling up on cars and roads making it pretty dangerous to travel. The other three days we were off were, well, questionable. Todd told me yesterday that we were going to have a day off today and I didn't believe him ... guess he is right every once and a while!

So - onto this day of doing nothing but relaxing and hanging out at the apartment. We are hoping that the mail trucks are tough enough to battle the ice-covered roads today because we are expecting the next disc of The Gilmore Girls to be delieverd to our mailbox thanks to Netflix!
Happy Icy Day!

a great weekend

2008-02-19T08:04:00.000-08:00

Hey all! It's a good thing that my New Year's resolution wasn't to blog more. It's not that I've had nothing to write about, but I've been wanting to update the "look" of the blog for a while now, and I didn't feel like posting until I could do that.

Well, now that I'm on break the updates are starting and the writing is back!

The past weekend was a blast. Katie and Jordan (recently engaged!) came to visit, which was a great way to relax after Friday's finals wrapped up. K & I tried our best showing them the sights down here, and we all got a chance to try out some new places to eat. Those two had a heck of a time trying to get home when the snow came down in that terrible state (for driving) on Sunday, but that gave us an extra time to take them more fun places on Sunday. Thankfully, they eventually got home safely after trekking through that tundra!

Monday we had a relaxing day spending the afternoon with the family. When we got back, Kelly hung a new picture on the wall (all by herself! see picture on left), and we wrapped up the night by watching our second Netflix.

Today, Kelly is at work, and I get to be the stay-at-home-husband. Breaks are such a blessing. Any ideas for dinner?

any suggestions?

2008-02-06T09:35:00.000-08:00

Kelly and I are starting our Netflix subscription tonight. Anyone have good movies to suggest?

but, baby, it's cold outside!

2007-12-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

Kelly all bundled up to check the mail (and it wasn't even that cold!)

three sentence update

2007-11-30T15:58:00.000-08:00

Week One back at the seminary has elapsed, so that means nine more to go (with Christmas break in the middle!).

Tonight, although Kelly doesn’t know this yet, is Judy Garland Movie Marathon Night (A Star Is Born, Meet Me in St. Louis, In the Good Ole Summertime) plus jigsaw puzzles and snacks (brats, smoothies, soda, chex mix, chips + salsa, crackers + cheese + summer sausage + jelly . . . mmmm) to help keep Kelly awake!!

After 12 years of threats, Dad actually pulled up a chair and sat by me in class today.

brrrrrrrrrrrrr . . . (or, "kelly's new addiction")

2007-11-29T15:45:00.000-08:00

Here are our friends that Kelly helped bundle up with her newly found crocheting skills. She is officially going crocheting-crazy (thanks a LOT, Mom and sis). She even wanted to crochet a scarf for every one of her kids (that's 15 scarfs!). But she abandoned the idea after it took her an hour to crochet two rows.

(Did you know that the plural of scarf could be scarves or scarfs? We didn't. We had to look it up.)

But Hoops and Yoyo (and Piddles) sure are happy with their new clothes! Too bad they're not house elves, or else we'd have to let them go . . . .

a gloomy day in north carolina

2007-11-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

Here is the candle we have lit for our friend, Holly, who has decided to join Facebook.

yes we do!

2007-11-24T12:24:00.000-08:00

We have curtains!

Bedroom

Study

our first christmas (decorating) together

2007-11-23T18:34:00.000-08:00

It's a little incredible to think that a year ago today, Kelly and I were decorating our first Christmas tree in the Gronewald living room. Today we did the same, only this time in our own living room and with our very own tree. Call us Christmas saps, but we've spent the whole evening decorating the apartment for the Season, with Christmas movies playing in the background.

My oh my, how much can change in a year.

We're definitely amateurs at this . . . earlier today, we were at Target buying Christmas lights (tipping my hat to my old Haven days). Well how are newlyweds supposed to know how many lights it takes to fill a tree? 300 sounds good, right? Well, it sounded good to us -- until we got home to find they filled only a good quarter of the tree. And back to the store we went . . . .

This is the ornament we bought at the Christmas store at Magic Kingdom on our honeymoon -- appropriately the first ornament we hung! (Calling all English majors: is it hung or hanged?)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . . (!!)

so proud ...

2007-11-20T14:47:00.001-08:00

Kelly always complains that I don't post enough pictures of her on my blog ...

... so this one's for her!

Today her kindergarten class had a Thanksgiving feast -- and luckily Mom has been storing this pilgrim outfit for years hoping it would get some more use. Well it did! And the kids loved it. Mrs. Liefer definitely stole the show for the day. (I was helping out in the room, and BOY were there a lot of kids!)

Late in coming, but still just as fun . . .

2007-11-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

One of the TOP things we (Jess, Justin, Kelly, and I) did that weekend was carve pumpkins. Since my sophomore year of college I've really looked foward to this every fall. We carved pumpkins all the time when I was a kid (well, I'm pretty sure Dad or Mom carved them; I just drew the design . . . .) -- but I'm not sure why I stopped.

Here are this year's creations!

Mickey is Kelly's; Donald is mine

Mickey and Donald in the light

Minnie was Jess's; Pluto was Justin's

They may not be as amazing as some INCREDIBLE pumpkins that I've seen (Holy buckets, Katrina! You all should go into the pumpkin-carving business. If there is such a business?) But we were still pretty happy with our Disney friends.

Gee, so where did I leave off?

2007-11-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

For the past few weeks, things have come up and I thought, "Oh! I should blog about that." Well, I didn't. I didn't have time. But now that my break from the Seminary is here, some exciting blog entries should be coming your way.

Gee, so where did I leave off?

The last weekend in October, my friends Jess and Justin, came for a surprise visit! Well, it wasn't a surprise for Kelly, but it was certainly a surprise for me. Some people get a real kick out of throwing the type-A's of the world off their schedules. Apparently, I'm friends with and married to people like that.

And, about four minutes after I realized the woman in my kitchen wasn't a woman at all, but Justin, he and Jess sprung surprise #2. They're engaged! Wahoo!! Congratulations, you two.

Here are some memorable photos from the weekend . . . .

Kelly made "fun options" for the weekend for us to pick from. Justin and I decided to throw them in the air, and "pick" the ones that fell closest to us. Kelly wasn't amused. But Todd and Justin were!

Kelly and Jess were really excited to touch the Arch! (I'm not sure why....)

Tourists....

The boys buying some pumpkins (Sorry, Holly. Just wait for the next post!!)

The Team! Icing cookies! What a great weekend. Thanks (I think) for the planner-free fun!!

The Mystery of the Two Lost Pumpkins

2007-10-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I'm writing this while Kelly ("Your BEAUTIFUL wife, Kelly," my sweet lady just interjected) and I are watching an episode of the Gilmore Girls, so I'll try to keep this short and sweet (just like me...).

Friday night, Kelly and I decided to do nothing but FUN things, and we decided on picking pumpkins at Rombach's down the road.

Here are a few pictures from the event. . . .

One Fun Fall Thing

2007-10-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight, to take a break from studying--or in Kelly's case, kindergarten-ing--we trekked to downtown St. Charles. Our goal was to peruse the shops and find "one fun fall thing" for our apartment. Well, we did...

It's a half-metal, half-twisted-wood pumpkin with metal leaves. It was tucked into a corner of the far room of the second storey of a store. As soon as we saw it, we both said, "That's it." Ahhh...fun fall times.

Happy Monday!

2007-10-01T06:05:00.001-07:00

Me on a sidewalk eating a muffin.

Welcome back, friend

2007-09-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

Happy fall, everyone.

When my planner flipped to a new week, I was so relieved to see “First Day of Autumn” beneath the date. At first I thought Father Time must have erred; last week’s 90 degree highs and thick humidity pointed to everything but a season of jackets and frost. But my omniscient planner knew better (it always does!)—yesterday, a breeze of fresh, cool air welcomed me when I stepped outside for a run. The summer heat is fun, but I’ve been a little jealous of my Wisconsin friends raving about their sweaters and jackets already in the first weeks of school. At least down here, when autumn finally gets here it seems to hang around a little longer, which is, in my opinion, well worth the wait.

Pumpkins, cider, leaves crunching everywhere you step--how could you not love this time of year?

And to top it all off, finally, my template is back in season. Latte da.

Who'd've thought?

2007-09-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

Did you know Vanilla Wafers have trans fat in them? They do! Blew my mind. 2.5 grams for 8 of those little guys. I'm not a big health nut, but I usually check the nutrition facts just to see what I'm eating. I always thought Vanilla Wafers were pretty healthy, but guess not!

Ever since this whole "trans fat awareness" craze has started, I've noticed how few foods really have this good-for-nothing substance in them (or at least enough to legally report). The only other thing I knew of is store-bought icing. Until now. Hmpf!

Well, anyway, thanks for humoring me by reading. Cheers!

Very, very proud...

2007-09-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

Today was my first potluck!

Well, not my first one ever. But it was my first one since becoming a Seminary student. That counts for something, right? Here was our contribution:

Actually, I contributed nothing to making this. It was all on account of my beautiful wife. It's called "Frog Eye Salad," one of the many strange (but mmm, mmmm delicious) concoctions she brought with her from Minnesota. Mmmmmm.

(I PROMISE more interesting blogs are on their way. In a term paper, this post is what students call "filler.")

So Much to Blog!!

2007-08-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

Yeesh! I haven't blogged in over a month--and it's been QUITE a month. A wedding, two receptions, moving to a new apartment, honeymoon, and the National Youth Gathering somehow all got jammed into July 2007. I think it's safe to say that the "craziness" is over. Kelly's starting teaching soon (actually, she's already started those "teacher meetings") and Seminary kicks off after Labor Day. But to have only one thing on our plate each is such a relief.

(If you're looking for some incredible pictures from our incredible wedding, don't look here. Look here. Or here. And especially here--e-mail me if you want the password for our gallery.)

But enough preamble! Here are the HONEYMOON PICTURES (Rated G).

Donald says, "Welcome to Todd and Kelly's adventure in Disney World! Quack."

The best thing was, when we wrote postcards, I had to ask Kelly how to spell M-i-c-k-e-y.

We waited, and waited, and waited in line to see characters in the Disney tent, and when we finally got in, we realized we'd been standing in the PRINCESS line. But it proved to be memorable. Those princesses are a hoot!

Our favorite quotes were:

"Have you had many adventures today? You have! Oh, you're so brave."

"Have you found your Prince Charming yet? I see you have!"

"Can I have my pictures taken with you? Oh, thank you!"

"Have a magical day!"

Magical, my arse. The Haunted Mansion was freaking closed for the summer!

MGM had memorabilia from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, including these stone statues, the four fur coats, and the witch's sleigh.

Muppets this-a-way!

All three days, I never got a chance to meet Donald. But here's a picture of him walking away from me!

Very scary!

Probably the best thing in all three parks: The Lion King Celebration at Animal Kingdom. It rocked. Those monkeys are gymnasts, by the way.

Eeyore was sad because we were leaving Disney. And because it was raining. Come to think of it, he was probably sad that the Haunted Mansion was closed, too.

(Actually, I have no idea why Eeyore was so stinkin' depressed. You see, he can't talk.)

Grease is the word, is the word, is the word, is the...

2007-07-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

Tuesday I got the chance to go back to the MUNY! I haven't been there since The Wizard of Oz ran way back when I was 7. So it was great to come back, see the park, and--of course--enjoy the show under the stars! For being July 2 in St. Louis, it was an INCREDIBLE night. It wasn't hot, it wasn't humid--I thought I was back in Wisconsin! And the show was a lot of fun, too. I'd never seen the stage version of Grease, but afterwards I decided this was a lot more enjoyable than the movie!

Of course, though, the stage didn't have the Frankie Valli song....or Olivia!