Abby's First Piano Recital

Abby, along with about 10 fellow students, had here first piano recital today. I remember being in her shoes when I was younger. Now it's her turn to play, and my turn to be the nervous parent in the audience.

Houston Frozen Over

They kept saying we would get it, and we did. Friday morning it snowed. In fact, it snowed the biggest snow flakes I have ever seen. They weren't really snow flakes. More like snow balls. The snow melted immediately. But eventually. It did stick. It melted by afternoon. But then the temperature dipped into the low 20's overnight - causing road icing problems. The natives of Houston have absolutely no idea what to do with this. They can handle a hurricane. But they can't handle snow and or ice. O well, it was fun while it lasted. It was the earliest snowfall on record and we had record lows over Friday and Saturday. Global warming anyone?

Sunday, we heard a great song on the radio. I thought it was appropriate in light of the weather and the season. Great family shots in the video. But, not mine.

Thanksgiving Visit

We had guests during Thanksgiving week.  Sheri’s parents and her grandmother joined us.  As in the past, we had a number of projects on the house – repairs and the like – that Sheri’s father, Rick was willing to tackle.  I had most of the week off, so I was able to join him in some of the work.

For Thanksgiving dinner, Sheri tried a couple of new recipes: one for stuffing and another for mashed potatoes.  Both turned out great. 

They also had an opportunity to hear me preach on Sunday, the 29th. 

Thanks for the visit and thanks for all your help!

Halloween 2009

Yea, I know its days past Halloween. I'm finally putting some pics up. This year, Emma was a fairy and Abby was a cat. One thing we did different this go around is that we handed out candy out our house from the driveway and not at the door. We brought our fire pit from the back yard and had a good fire going - for light and for heat (it was a pretty cool night for late October in way-South Texas.)

Once the girls got back from trick-or-treat, they sat with us and helped hand out candy. And it seemed as if they enjoyed handing out candy more than going out and getting it. There is a life lesson in there somewhere.

First Baby Tooth...Gone

A few minutes ago, that tooth Abby’s been moving and pulling and messing with finally came out. Now…what will the tooth fairy bring??!!

Happy Seventh Birthday!

Abby and Emma turned seven yesterday. No party…yet. That will happen on Saturday. We did go out for dinner at our local Mexican establishment.

On Thursday, they did open up some gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Petering. Notice something different about them in the photos below? Both of them have new glasses.

Camping Trip 2009 Photos

Last weekend, we returned to Garner State Park for an extended camping trip. But it was just us this time, the Dippels could not go. We reserved a site in a different area of the park. It was in an area called “Pecan Grove” - right up against the face of the hills and near the point where the Rio Frio is slowed by a dam.
Our weather was not as nice as last time. It was warmer, but it was cloudy most of the time and threatened to rain (and actually rained a little.) We had another close encounter with a skunk (walked right under Sheri as she was sitting in a chair). But if you ignore them, they will eventually walk away. Our first morning there, we climbed up unto the hills. Sheri and Emma went along this time. But we lost the trail. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones – other people we talked to had the same problem. I think that particular trail has lost some of its markings.

It was a good trip, and it was good to get away. Enjoy the photos below!

Camping Trip 2009 Photos

Updates Coming

We have a couple of news items coming soon: photos and recap from our latest camping excursion. Plus, a loose tooth! Stay tuned.

Ike Plus One

Today I was reflecting on what happened to us a exactly year ago. We had finished boarding up the house - digging in for what would the meteorologists predicted would happen. I remember being on this very computer as long as I could blogging here telling the world what we were experiencing - until the power went out. (For the detailed account, go into the blog archive on the right of the screen and look at September 2008.)

Where are we today? From our perspective in Friendswood, TX, everything is completely back to normal. You can still see broken limbs up in some of the trees. However, on Galveston and Bolivar Islands, there is still work to be done. However, I would say that it looks like Texas is farther ahead in the process than Louisiana. Work crews are still being sent, from Texas, to help clean up the aftermath of Katrina - four years later.

In God's great and mysterious way of doing things, our family was blessed by that storm. We were spared. Our house was relatively unharmed. We got to meet and help out ALL of our neighbors. Our church was pushed along by the aftermath of the storm to get going on the master plan for the campus. Old buildings damaged by the storm were torn down. And today, Hope Lutheran Church has a new roof on the Sanctuary, a state-of-the-art playground, new office space, a new parking lot, and an almost completed maintenance and storage building.

The hurricane season has been remarkably quiet this year. God is merciful and abounding in steadfast love.

First Piano Lessons

The girls had their first piano lessons yesterday (on their great grandmother's piano). Miss Stephanie, our church organist, also does a ton of work with the children at Hope in developing their musical potential. Abby and Emma both played "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Serious flashbacks for me when I first took lessons. But I was much older. Thanks Miss Stephanie!

1st Day of 1st Grade

Abby and Emma started first grade on Monday. It didn't seem as big a deal as it was for Kindergarten. We are already familiar with the school. We know how lunch works in the cafeteria. We know how the bus system works. Just a different classroom with a different teacher and different classmates (oh, and they get desks this year!). So, going to first grade just isn't that big a deal. But we expect that a lot of learning and growing will take place this year. I look forward to watching it happen.

T-minus 4 days...

...Until the start of school. The girls need to go back - for more structure in their life again and for the sanity of their mother. This afternoon, the class lists were posted outside of Cline Elementary. I think knowing their teachers' names made it a little more real for the girls. Tomorrow, doubly so. We have "meet and greet" Friday afternoon - where they get to meet their teacher face-to-face and see their classrooms, etc. Exciting times.

And in other household news: A crew from the city came and took out two sections of concrete remaining in the front of our driveway (see previous post). But they've done nothing else. Now we can't use our driveway at all. Gotta love the swift progress of government-run operations. I'll keep you posted.

Raising the House

The same forces of drought at work on the water mains work on house foundations as well. About a month ago, I walk out onto our back deck and see that the corner of the house has slipped down about an inch and a half. After further inspection, we found another crack near the front door (explaining why it's so hard to get that door locked.) The house has had foundation work in the past. So we called Olshan, the ones who had done the previous work. Their guy came out and took some measurements inside and out. Part of the damage was covered by their warranty. However, the house was never completely "wrapped" in the past - they had only put piers under about 2/3 of the house. So, we needed 8 more piers.
That work was done yesterday. It was not cheap. But I consider it an investment in the house. A foundation completely covered by the best foundation company in the area is a good selling point.

Plugging the Leak

Last Saturday, I noticed water coming up out of the ground close to our driveway. I knew immediately what was going on, because this was now the third time in two weeks this has happened on our street - water main break. So, I called the city. They came out and got to work. But as you can see, they had to take out part of my driveway as well. The good news is, I can use a new driveway; and the city should be responsible for it, because they were the ones to dig it up. The bad news is all they've done so far is fill it with a fine gravel. Stay tuned to see what happens next.

Emma's Surgery Tomorrow

On Thursday, Emma will have surgery to put tubes in her ears and remove her adnoids. Procedure is supposed to take about a half hour. Abby will be at a friends house so Sheri and I can focus on Emma. We talked to her about it, but she doesn't seem worried or even cares. Let's see when we get to the hospital tomorrow! Pray for the surgeon's skill and wisdom and for a quick recovery.

About Time

I happened to wander back to my blog and noticed I haven't posted for over three weeks! So here's just some headlines to bring you up to speed:
Last week was busy. Girls were in VBS and I was working in VBS. That Thursday, I flew to Dallas to represent Hope Lutheran Church for the 58th Convention of the Texas District of the LCMS. Rather tame convention. Good preaching throughout.
This week, we found out from a specialist that Emma will have to have tubes in her ears and her adnoids removed. Doing that will help reduce the number of ear and sinus infections she gets. Procedure will be July 9th.
Today is the 3rd anniversary of my Ordination into the Office of the Holy Ministry and Installation as Associate Pastor at Hope. That was a quick three years. Looking forward to more.
That's the news from Friendswood.

Grandparents Visit

From time to time, our parents will come for a visit. My parents were in Friendswood last week (fortunately, before it started getting really hot this week.) There is the usual visiting and playing with the girls and such. But they have been here a number of times, so it is getting more difficult to find new things to do. They joined us for worship at Hope on Wednesday where they had the opportunity to see and hear me preside the service and preach. There was an organ recital by our director of music on Thursday. Dad is an organist as well, so that was good for him. We saw the Butterfly Museum at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We ate some local bbq and other homemade fare. Mom and Dad flew out Saturday which was interesting. Their flight originated in San Francisco. That morning, San Francisco International closed one of their runways - causing huge delays. We watched on the internet carefully as that flight finally took off. But Southwest made up a lot of time in the air and on the ground and the next stop in Phoenix. Ends up, an over hour and a half delay became only a 15 minute delay by the time the plane was in Houston. So, we rushed them over to Hobby Airport, and saw them on their way home.
It was a good visit and we look forward to many more.

Graduation Exercises

Today, Abigail and Emma participated in their Kindergarten graduation exercises at Cline Elementary. It was one of those "proud father" moments that we get to have from time to time. They sang a couple of songs and then "walked the stage" as their name was called. We had the Superintendent of Friendswood School District, Trish Hanks there as well. The girls received diplomas as well, and they look better than the diploma I got for high school! The occasion would have been more enjoyable if many of the parents could have had common courtesy for those around, and more significantly, behind them. It was tough to see as the parent pappirazi swarmed in front of the stage.

Congratulations to Abby and Emma! Look out first grade...and the high school senior class of 2021!

Reflections at Forty

Another decade older. So what? I don't feel any older. Actually, I kind of feel younger. I am beginning to understand this mid-life crisis thing. It's not about being older and compensating for it. It's about doing again some of the things that I did when I was younger. For example: In my teens and through my twenties I rode my bike, a lot, just about every day. I dropped most of that in my thirties (kids and Seminary do that to you.) But recently I decided to get back on the bike. After working through the initial pain of muscles screaming, "you've got to be kidding me!", it's enjoyable again. I rode in a paceline with a number of riders yesterday. It felt great..until my lungs felt like they were going to explode. But I thought to myself, "I can do this again!"
After initially dreading the big four oh, I have come to acceptance. God in his grace and mercy has brought me this far. But the way I am beginning to see it, my forties might be better than my thirties...God willing and the creek don't rise (see post from April 20th.)

Probably Long Overdue

How long do you keep a car? Six, maybe even ten years? My bicycle, a road racing model, was over 20 years old. I want to ride, but I am almost embarrased to do so. Most people who ride around here have relatively new bikes. Sheri had a suprise for me for my birthday - an early birthday present. She had the brilliant idea that I get a new bike. I did some shopping around on the internet and found a possibility in a local bike shop - Webster Bicycle. We went, and found a model from last year, on sale at a price we could afford, and in my size! It must be the right thing to do, so we did it. They had great service at Webster and took good care of us - fitting me perfectly to the bike. So - no longer embarrased, I am back on the saddle!

Rainy...Really Rainy Saturday

This past weekend, we experienced over 10 inches of rain in 2 1/2 hours. We had significant flooding. But nothing in our house. In the photo, Abby is watching what looks like a river - that's our street. She is standing on our driveway - just past the sidewalk. Once the rain stopped, the water receded significantly. During the heaviest of the rain, Abby asked, "Is it ever going to stop? I told her that it would. "Remember what God told Noah? That he wouldn't cause water to cover the whole earth again? How do we know his promise today? Remember the rainbow?" And Abby had a big smile on her face.

Resurrection of our Lord

He is risen!
Here is a rundown of my day:
up at 4:00 am
at church by 5:00
lead Sunrise service at 6:00
Get a quick bite to eat
Assist at services at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00
Got home a little after 1:00 pm
Ate some lunch
fell asleep

It threatened to rain and then did rain during and after the 11:00 service. Now there is not a cloud in the sky.

Easter Egg Hunt...On Holy Saturday

Here are some pics from our "Easter Egg Hunt." We did it on Saturday because...well, because we can. Sunday is waaay too busy and by the time we are done at church, all we want to do is crash. Enjoy. We'll see if we can get an Easter post together tomorrow.

Multi-Cultural?

Multi-culturalism is a big deal for some. But it seems to me that many of those placing an emphasis on multiculturalism think to narrowly. For most, multi-culturalism means respecting and being a part of multiple world cultures (think "race" here). By that definition, I am merely a white male of Germanic heritage who is U.S citizen. However, I think, for us who live in these United Sates, one is easily multicultural right where we are. In that light, I consider myself quite multicultural. I was born and spend my childhood through early adulthood in St. Louis, MO (unique midwestern city culture). I then had a job transfer that took me to big town (not city) Tennessee (the South). After seven years, I then moved back to St. Louis with wife and 2 kids on the way to go to Seminary. Vicarage was spent in Cape Girardeau, MO (smaller city, Southern MO). And now I have lived in the entirely different and unique culture of Gulf Coast Texas for almost three years. Each culture has had an influence on me and has shaped and formed who I am today. To this day, I identify each of them as part of me. I am a Missourian, a Tennessean, and a Texan. In my mind, culture isn't so much defined by race as it is by location - each region of a nation (especially the United States) enjoying its own unique practices, customs, foods, art, music, style, and general way of life. Culture is much more local than most socialogists, demographers, and others in academia would like to think and categorize us. Each of us are incredibly unique. And, to the consternation of pollsters and demographers, I like it that way.

Milo Update

Milo is doing great! He is completely back to normal. The vet still has no idea what it was. Important thing is that he's home and doing fine.

Death Scare

After Hurricane Ike, we "acquired" another cat. Best we can tell, he was literally blown into the neighborhood. We could not find any owner and Sheri basically fell in love...and I reluctantly gave in. The other cats were not happy with "that." But Milo was eventually accepted.
About a week ago, Milo started acting sick - real lethargic, not eating well, eventually not eating or drinking at all. We took him to our veterinarian and she was baffled. Eventually, the vet though that he might be suffering from FIP - an acronym for a cat disease that is almost always fatal. We feared and prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. Yesterday, we got the call that he was a totally changed cat! Sheri went over to the vet's office and found Milo - the Milo we had before he got sick. We brought him home today, and so far things seem okay.

25 Random Things About Me

There is a thing going around Facebook asking people to post 25 random things about themselves and then sending it to 25 friends asking them to do the same - a viral get-to-know-yah. So, I played along and did it. I haven't posted on this blog in awhile, so I thought I might post those 25 random things here as well:

#1 Until I moved to Texas, I lived my entire life 100 miles or less from the Mississippi River.
#2 I think Dark Chocolate M&M's chased by Diet Coke is an awesome flavor combination.
#3 I am an organization freak - so Aristotelian - and yet I am very left-handed.
#4 My wonderful wife Sheri is left-handed as well, yet both our daughters are right-handed.
#5 Since our first date fourteen years ago, my wife has changed me in so many ways...for the better.
#6 I have a passion for architecture - particularly church and sacred space architecture.
#7 I wish I took more time to read books for pleasure. I seem to only read professionally.
#8 For a very short time right after graduation from college, I was a stock broker. I left the firm before the SEC shut them down. It was totally like the movie "Boiler Room."
#9 I think a bowl of vanilla ice cream an hour before bed completes the day in a holistic way.
#10 I am a native of St. Louis and will always consider it home. For those of you from St. Louis, you understand. For those of you not from St. Louis, you never will.
#11 That said, I enjoy living in Houston. The weather is awesome if you like summer. And summer is my absolute favorite season of the year.
#12 I have the privilege of getting to study and proclaim Christ crucified as a full-time vocation.
#13 My most challenging, andat the same time, most fulfilling and pleasing vocations are "husband" and "father."
#15 I have a difficult time staying awake past 10 pm. I am so a morning person.
#16 I have never been to California.
#17 Aircraft and spacecraft have always facinated me. And look where God has placed me! I actually have rocket scientists and engineers in my parish - a lot of them!
#18 I had 8 wisdom teeth. All have been removed. What does this mean?
#19 Politically Incorrect item about me: I am of 100% German descent and the sixth generation in my family to be born on U.S. soil. Yet I cannot publicly celebrate my German heritage (except in Lutheran circles) because of what one raving lunatic did in the middle of the 20th century before I was born. There are centuries and centuries of German history besides the Nazi years. But German=Nazi is all the politically correct world knows That irks me.
#20 My daughters often teach me something new every day.
#21 I wish my garage was better organized. (see #3)
#22 I am quite proud to be a member of Generation X.
#23 The second piece of pizza is always the best one for me.
#24 I used to be involved in competitive cycling - road for Mizzou's bicycle club. Seminary killed that. I have pledged to get back on the bike this year. So far, sorta good.
#25 Wine is my favorite form of alcoholic drink.

I just noticed I skipped #14.

Jury Duty

Last week, I had jury duty.
Click here for my thoughts posted on my other blog.

Gettin' Back on the Horse

In my high school, college, and single days, I rode my road bike - a lot. I was involved in competitive cycling - racing in a few races - riding with Mizzou's cycling team. But the time pressure of marriage, work, etc slowly ended my riding. Seminary absolutely killed it. Yet this year, I have resolved to get back on the bike - primarily for health reasons: physical and mental. I cleaned up my bike, put new tires on her, got some new gear, and today, on this most gorgeous day (78 degrees), I rode.
My body quickly remembered position, form, and spin. And then my body quickly remembered that I haven't done this in a loooong time. I didn't ride too far - didn't want to overdo it. But I know that I will be a hurtin' unit tomorrow. But I plan to stick with it.
Everyone: keep my accountable!

Vacation, Phase IV - The Journey Home

It's a long drive from Harrison, AR back home. So we started early. We got up at six and were on the road by seven. Harrison is situated deep in the Ozark Mountains. So we spent almost three hours getting down out of the mountains. On top of that, their was thick fog cover that morning that made the going even tougher. We Texan flatlanders don't do to well in the mountains, so we were glad to be finished with them. It seemed to take a long time to get to Texarkana. But then we had to get all the way down to Houston. Texas is a huge state! You just have no idea until you get here. The girls were tired and cranky and everyone was just ready to get home. We finally arrived about 7:15 pm. Back home - back to the humidity we love and crave (when you don't have humidty anymore while you are travelling, especially in the winter, you miss it. You have to live here to understand.) - back to our cats and dogs - back to our beds. It was good to go on vacation and see everyone. But it is great to get back home.

Vacation, Phase III

The trip to from St. Louis back home to Friendswood, TX is too long to drive in one day. Fortunately, Mike Ada, a fellow brother pastor and classmate of mine, lives in a town called Harrison, AR - about 30 minutes south of Branson, MO. On the 2nd, we left St. Louis early and arrived around lunch. We had a great time catching up with, as Emma calls them, "Our far away friends." The Ada's have a girl about a year older than ours and a girl about a year and half younger. So our girls just jumped right into play with them. The last time we saw them, Chris was pregnant with their son. So this visit, we got to see Joel for the first time. And he is all boy! We talked for hours, and had a great dinner with them. After we put the girls to bed, we talked for a few hours more, then we went to bed. We had to get up early the next morning to complete the final phase of our vacation.

Vacation, Phase II

Early on the morning of December 30th, (yeah, I'm behind on the blog) we journeyed from Jackson, TN to Kirkwood, MO - the suburb of St. Louis my parents call home and where I was born and raised. We arrived around noon and ate a big meal with my parents and my sister, her husband, and their two boys who were in town from Charlotte, NC. We had not seen Nancy and her family for over two years, so this was a rare (and short) treat. We opened gifts, and then spent the afternoon together. Nancy and I coordinated our gifts. We got Mom a digital camera and Dad a turntable that he can plug into his computer in order to make mp3's of his old vinyl collection. That evening, we went to have family pictures taken (notice a trend here?). After the photo session, the Pezolds left for Belleville, IL on the other side of the river where EJ's sister lives. They spent the night there and headed off to NC the next morning. On the 31st, I went with Mom and Dad to purchase a new flatscreen TV and a dvd player that will upscale dvd's to near HD quality. I spend the rest of the afternoon installing their new equipment. We attended church with my parents for New Year's Eve. Then they went off to a party and Sheri, the girls, and I went back to the house. Isn't that just backwards! But, that's the way it is when you have kids. So, during this trip, we brought my parents into the 21st century. We left to begin our trip home on the 2nd.

Vacation, Phase I

Christmas Eve and Day are intense for a pastor. At Hope, we had three services to conduct on Christmas Eve (ending about 1 a.m.) and another service on Christmas Morning. I preached for half of them. So, it is time for some R & R. We decided awhile back to go see family after Christmas. It had been over two years since we've been to Tennessee (Sheri's family) and St. Louis, MO (My family).
Phase I of vacation began on the 26th as we made the long journey to Jackson, TN (the longest leg of our trip). We left at 4 a.m. (ugh) and arrive a little after 5:00 p.m. The girls traveled better than expected. While in Jackson, we had a Christmas celebration with all of Sheri's family. We also had photos of the whole family taken. In addition, we worshipped at Concordia Lutheran, the congregation that helped support me while in the Seminary. We visited other friends in the area and then journeyed to St. Louis the morning of the 30th. A good visit long time coming.