First Day of School - 5th Grade Edition

School began once again this past Monday.  Per our tradition, here is the the first day of school photo for 5th grade.

And just to compare,
Here is their first day of school pic for kindergarten:

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.

Christmas, Texas Style

Merry Christmas from the Petering Household!

And from our newest members:

Figaro...

And Piccolo...

Zoom, Zoom

It's been 12 years since we bought a new car, so it was time.
Behold - the Mazda 5

Our van was having too many mechanical problems - to the point that we couldn't
trust it anymore.  The 5 is a little smaller, gets great gas mileage, and is loaded with features at an affordable price.

Zoom, Zoom.

Camping Trip to Garner

A few days ago we took an extended-weekend trip to Garner State Park in southwest Texas.  Garner is the number one camping destination for all of Texas.  We had not gone camping for two years, so we were over-due.  This time, we went with four families from our small group at Hope.  We hiked together and explored the Rio Frio together.  We were blessed with beautiful weather as we enjoyed the wonders of creation that our Lord has given us.

Braces Free!

Abby had her braces removed today.  She has been waiting for this day for quite some time - counting down the days.  Look at that million dollar smile!