Graduation Ceremony

Well, after four years of schooling, Jay joined his class for the graduation ceremony. Jay was one of the 2009 Trinity Lutheran Seminary graduating class. The class received diplomas of Master of Arts in Church Music or Lay Ministry, Master of Theological Studies, Master of Divinity, and Master of Sacred Theology.

The class gathered at TLS and then they walked over to Capital University's Mees Hall together where the graduation ceremony took place.



Here the Crucifer leads the procession to Mees Hall.





Mackenzie and Zack were outside waiting, watching, and taking pictures . . . Mackenzie was excited to be able to use her new camera to take pictures of her daddy's big day.











Once the faculty, staff, and students were all in and seated, President Ramseth addressed the audience.





There were prayers, some singing, Scriptures, and then the commencement address. This gentleman, a Bishop-elect from Michigan, delivered that address, and he was a very dynamic and energetic preacher.




Time for the class to be presented . . .




Here Jay is waiting for his name to be read so he can FINALLY receive his diploma. I tried to take a picture of him actually receiving it, but it was blurry so this is the best I have.

We'd like to thank those individuals who were able to join us for the graduation. We'd also like to thank everyone for their support during this journey, and we'd like to ask for your continued support and prayers as we wait in the wings for a church to Call Jay.

Basket of flowers

Well, I made this cake at the request of our mail carrier. We have developed a unique friendship with our mail carrier, we will miss her when we move. The girls shared a piece of the Mother's Day cake with her, and in passing she asked if I could make a birthday cake for a friend's 60th surprise b-day. So, it's official . . . I have made my first cake that I got paid for. This is suppose to represent a basket of flowers in the grass.

I hope the party was great. Thank you, Debbie, for the opportunity to make the cake.

Brownies End of year recognition

Last night we got to see our Brownie in action.

Mackenzie's troop gathered last night for an end of the year recognition at the leader's house. It was such a nice evening.



The evening started with a flag ceremony. Here Mrs. Miller, the leader, is trying to get the girls situated so they can start.



After that, the girls read from note cards to share what they have done together this year. They did a lot of neat things. This year they scrapbooked, went horse back riding, visited an elderly friend (Mrs. Smith), put together a care box for the veterans, earned many try-its, went dancing, took an art class, and so many other things.




After they talked about all the neat things they did over the last year, they received things they have earned since their last recognition meeting in February. We tried to get as many try-its completed since we don't know what the troop situation will be like when we move. We still have several that Mackenzie only needs to finish one or two things for to earn, which now we'll be here a little longer so we'll keep working on them the next couple of months.

Mrs. Miller presented Mackenzie with her try-its and some other special things. She got her some very unique things for her vest to help her remember her time with her troop here in Ohio. My two favorites that she gave her were the "Ohio Girl" patch which is the shape of the state of Ohio and the "I Love My Leader" patch. Mackenzie sure loves her troop and her leader and I know she and I both are going to miss the special times she has with them.





After all the recognition was passed out, they closed with the friendship circle like they do for their meetings. Then we had cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and punch.

Thank you Margot for everything you do for these girls. I want to thank you too for always having a unique relationship with Mackenzie. You always made/make her feel comfortable in being at the meetings and at any outings you do as a troop. I think back to the first time the troop went horse back riding. She was so excited to go for the whole week and then when the day came to go she was in tears and didn't want to go, but you convinced me to let her come with her dad and before it was said and done she stayed with you and the troop for the afternoon - you even had enough lunch to share with her because she was so adamant she wouldn't stay we didn't send a sack lunch with her. THANK YOU for everything.

Graduation Day

Well, today is the day that Jay and his classmates graduate from seminary.

Congratulations!! We are very proud of your hard work and your commitment. During this four and one half years of schooling, you have continued to put us at the top of your list, finding time to do dad things and husband things while taking a full course load and working. We love you very much!!

OXOXOXOX Dag & your Crumb Crunchers

A special visitor

Our favorite little chunky monkey, Odie, came and hung out with us today. The kids had such a great time with him. He got lots of fresh air today. The girls took him for a walk around the neighborhood and played out under the shade trees in the yard with him.






Check out those rolls!! He's so cute!

We had a great time hanging out with Odie today. We are going to have to spend as much time with him as we can before we move.

Father & Son working together

Jay's dad, Doug, was without a vehicle this week so he decided it was a good time to start working on the pergola. It was soon determined it was more than a one man, or even a two man, job at times. I don't think it was easy as he thought it would be. Then of course the sun and the heat decided to move in and everyone started to get busy, so work has slowed down.

But it has given father, son, and grandson an opportunity to work together.

Happy 9th Birthday, Mackenzie!!

Today we celebrated Mackenzie's birthday. At 1:37 a.m., nine years ago she made her debut in this earthly world. At 6:30 this morning she came in to let me know it was her birthday, like I forgot. You know I can't get her up on a school before 8:30 a.m., of course today was different because we cancel school for birthdays. There hasn't been any dull moments with her the last nine years, and I wouldn't expect her not to surprise us, challenge us, or amaze us while she is herself over the many years ahead.

Happy Birthday Mackenzie!!



Okay, one of our family traditions for birthdays, besides canceling school, is the kids get to pick what they want for their birthday home cook meal. Cassie always picks grilled steak kabobs and Zack always asks for stuffing and mashed potatoes. Well, Mackenzie asked for her traditional mac n' cheese, but surprised us when she also asked for creamed spinach and beets. What kid eats creamed spinach and beats? Oh yeah, mine.



The palm trees didn't hold up on her cake . . . so we decided to surround the monkeys with tiki torches (they're just her candles).

This was the one gift Mackenzie has been asking for. So this was her gift from us. She knew, or at least thought, she was getting it so all morning it's all she kept asking about. When I told her we still hadn't wrapped her gift, she asked why bother since she knew it was a camera. So, we gave in and gave it to her after lunch and all day all she did was take pictures.

She got a snow globe, among other cool things, from her Grandma & Grandpa Schmitt. She loves snow globes. It's the one thing she collects. Thank you for sending her gifts, they obviously arrived today - perfect timing.

After she opened Grandma & Grandpa Schmitt's gifts, she opened her gifts from Grandma Karen & Grandpa Doug. Now one of Grandma Karen's traditions, as the kids get older, is to take them shopping so they can pick out their gifts. So ultimately, they know what they are going to get. However, she alwasy sticks in a few surprises . . .

A sock monkey for our little monkey. Mackenzie showed this to Grandma Karen, but didn't know she was getting it.

I loved this box. Isn't it just so cute, and so fitting for Mackenzie.

I hope Mackenzie had a good time today. It's so hard to believe she is 9 years old today. Our baby is growing up so fast. A huge thank you to everyone for the gifts and cards.

Mackenzie's cake . . .

Well, here it is . . . Mackenzie's birthday cake. For those of you who don't know . . . she's our little monkey and I thought it would be neat to make her a cake with monkeys. I had this vision in my head, but wasn't too sure how to do it or even if I could. This isn't quite what I had in mind, but this was the simplest thing for me to do. I am a little disappointed in the palm trees. I made palm leaves yesterday, but they were too thick and didn't quite dry right so I couldn't make the trees the way I envisioned them. Cassie made the bananas and the coconut - Good Job, Cassie.

Preparing for Mackenzie's cake

Tomorrow is Mackenzie's 9th birthday, and I have never made her a birthday cake. Cassie and Zack had many character cakes made for their birthdays. I made cakes for Cassie's birthday from her 2nd b-day till her 5th b-day and Zack only got cakes from his 1st b-day till her turned 3. By the way, I stopped making birthday cakes the year Mackenzie was born. For some reason, I never made one for her. What was I thinking??!!

Well, today Cassie and I broke out the fondant to make the decorations for Mackenzie's cake. I will put it together tomorrow. So if all goes well, and it comes together like I plan (hope) then I will show you a picture.

What Now??

Well, just to let you know . . . two interviews down and no place to go. The one congregation we were excited about selected the other candidate and the other congregation that has expressed their intention to extend a call we have our reservations about. Now we need to figure out what is next. We can't see settling just for a "job", but now we don't know what happens. Jay has spoken with the bishop to share our concerns and now we wait . . . AGAIN!!!


This has not been as easy as I think we thought it would be. When Jay received the assignment to region 3, I started the footwork to learn as much about the state, the state home education laws, the opportunities for homeschooling in the state, etc. So, then after he received the call telling him western ND, I familiarized myself with that part of the state. I even got on Yahoo Groups to try and connect with homeschoolers in western ND. Then in mid March when the bishop gave Jay the three locations, I began putting feelers out in those areas for homeschool support groups, co-ops, resources, email loops, etc. to try and obtain as much info about each area as possible.

One area had absolutely nothing that I could find. Fortunately, that congregation removed us from their pool of candidates because they too could see it was not a good fit for our needs, stating that family is a huge part of this Call. One area had support groups, co-ops, resources, tools, activities, and opportunities. The other, I was told, too has things but I could/can not find it. So, we knew one area was definitely feasible for our needs, but we kept looking in the other area so we could make a decision down the road. For over a month we struggled with the "what if" . . . "What if the one congregation didn't extend a Call and the other did? Meaning the one with the smaller community and the less than visible opportunities, could we make it work?" So for over a month we have tried to figure out that "what if".

Here we are, the "what if" is a reality. It's a struggle for me because I want the kids to have the same things they have here. I want them to have a co-op where they can attend classes on a weekly basis. I want them to be able to attend field trips, outings, and gatherings with other homeschoolers, a group of their peers. I would like them to be able to continue their instruments with private lessons. Cassie would love to continue her voice lessons and taking acting classes and participating in productions.

The one communication I have had with a homeschool mom indicated that they have a once a month meeting geared towards the early grade school/preschool age children which leaves my kids without that social aspect. Evidently it's hard to find a music instructor for private lessons so some homeschoolers use the music program at the public school. As well as the older students use/take classes available in the public school. To me that defeats the purpose of homeschooling. If we are going to have to use programs directly affiliated with the public school system then why bother homeschooling? Which, at this time, is one of our main priorities as a family unit. We all want to continue our home education.

The bishop has asked Jay to discuss with him more of our concerns. He has also asked Jay and us to take this time to pray, to discern, and to consider this Call. He said he is not going to force Jay to accept this Call, but in the same breath he says he has no other openings/options for him at this time. I guess the bishop doesn't understand . . . we have been praying, discerning, discussing, evaluating and we still feel like it is not the right place.

Sorry I was rambling, but I just wanted to update you on our current conundrum (as my husband would say). Trust me I could have shared waaaaaay more because there are waaaaay more issues/concerns, but I spared you. LOL