Pictures with Grandma and Grandpa

John and Solveig were coming back through town again on the day of our dedication service.  They made it a point to stay and attend.  They even sang in the choir.  We were so busy with all of the last minute things that I didn't get a chance to grab pictures until after the service.  Gus and Anders has both fallen asleep  and were, well, out of it.

 Gus is starting to yawn and Anders is dazed and confused.

 And it just keeps getting worse.

 At least Anders notices that someone is trying to take a picture now.  Gus still doesn't care.

And now it is just done.  I believe Gus started crying after this because he wanted to go back to sleep and be left alone. At least the grandparents look good.  Maybe we can just crop the kids out.

Church Dedication

Way back in August River of Life had a dedication of its building.  We waited so long to get a building of our own.  We were all so excited to finally be at this point.

The night before the dedication service we had a gathering of some of the original members to socialize with the first pastor of River of Life who came back to preach for the dedication.  No one had really seen him or his family in about 14 years.

 It was a nice day so all of the festivities were outside.

Larry and I decided to wear matching shirts.

Larry is a kind, gentle, and hardworking man.  He is always quick to offer help and loves, and I mean LOVES, babies.  This congregation is full of wonderful people.

 Hans and I were both thinking that, since the dedication service was in the afternoon, the morning service would have only a handful of people.  But thankfully we were wrong.

 The afternoon service was packed.  Standing room only.  It was FANTASTIC!

 All of the excitement was a little much for this guy.  He looks so innocent when he sleeps. Looks.

 After the service we had a light reception.  We invited people to walk around the building.

 One of our members got excited to see so many pastors at the service.  He just kept saying, "There are 14 pastors here!"  The funny thing is that there were actually more, it's just that only 14 wore their collars.

 One of the Pastors we had in attendance was Pastor Micah Wildauer.  He and his family will be going to Togo sometime soon.  But before he became a missionary in Togo he was the Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Milwaukee.  He was there when the congregation had to close.  His congregation gave us the pews, font and communion rail.  They are beautiful and we are forever grateful.

We also were happy to have Pastor and Mrs. Ulmer.  The Ulmers were graciously excited about our happy times in the midst of a very sad time for their congregation.  Just 6 weeks after our dedication service, Pastor Ulmer's congregation, Shepherd of Peace, hosted their closing service.  It was a sad time for everyone.  Several of those members are now our members at River of Life and thankfully Pastor Ulmer received another call and was installed on December 28th.  God is good.

Group Pictures

I love and hate trying to get these boys in a group shot.  When my parents passed through this summer we decided to give it a try as always.

 First shot and I almost had everyone.

 Anders is confused.  Which is funny because normally he is the one causing confusion.

 Gus was in a good mood.

This was as good as it was going to get.  At least everyone is smiling.  I still can't decide if Gus was really this happy or if he was so tired of taking pictures that he would do anything to get it over with.