Evening Friend

This remarkable fellow, has been showing up at our house nearly every evening for the past week.  He is some sort of Heron or Egret, probably the former.  He just shows up in our backyard and is quite calm - almost interested in what we are doing.  He stays a little while, hops up on the fence, then takes off.

Here are a few more pics:

Any ideas about what species he is?

Well Done Faithful Servants

On May 17th, my parents were honored with the Christus Vivit ("Alive in Christ") Award during commencement exercises at my alma mater Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.  The award is kind of like a "Lifetime Achievement" award in service to our Lord's Church.  I was honored to be a part of the nomination process for them and honored to be present when they received the award.  Here are some pics:

And here is the link to the story on the Sem's website.

Obviously a proud moment in my parent's lives and for me as well.  No small shoes to one day attempt to fill.